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A brook so low you scarcely got your feet wet divided a settlement for more than four decades worth of time. By an accident of geography, the 50 residents of Mödlareuth, a tiny settlement encircled by coniferous woods, meadows and stunning views, found themselves at the core of the cold war. They had the unfortunate circumstance to cross the Bavarian region, in West Germany, and the Thuringian region in the Eastern part, a border that was established first by a fence and then by a barricade. United States military personnel dubbed it Little Berlin.

Preserving the Past

Months after their own wall was opened, and before their country had unified again in 1990, a collection of villagers started documenting their history. The project is close to reach completion: on 9 November, the thirty-sixth remembrance of the demolition of the Wall in Berlin, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was officially inaugurated by the head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in early October, but the display was not completely finished. Speaking to the residents who experienced the past era, Steinmeier said: “You were bystanders of an cruel split, which tore households asunder and turned neighbours into aliens.”

“You were observers of an cruel division, which tore families apart and turned local residents into aliens.”

Historical Context

Starting at its creation in 1810, the community cut across the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Principality of Reuss, a princely house most renowned for giving all its male descendants the name Heinrich and numbering them consecutively by date of birth. As Steinmeier told the crowd, the peculiarity never stood in the path of the locals socializing in the same tavern, going to the very same religious building and sending their children to the very same educational institution.

Following WWII Split

Next arrived the global conflict. Immediately after they arrived, the Soviet forces put up wood stakes by the stream. For a twelve months they took over the whole village, establishing their headquarters in a dwelling on the western side, adorning it with a picture of Stalin and a red star. The American soldiers urged them to retreat back over the stream. For a period, residents could still cross over, though as restrictions tightened they were required to present ID, despite the fact that all knew who they were, and to go back at evening.

Increase of Boundary Measures

Subsequently, in 1952, came wire fencing and the formal shutting of the frontier. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a wall was built, with explosives, vehicle barriers and observation points. The villagers could still see each other by ascending hills, but on the east side gesturing and calling out were prohibited. A local woman was placed on a Stasi surveillance list for replying “same to you” to a western resident who said her “good new year”.

Museum Development

It was related to me accounts like these by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has devoted a significant portion of his professional career creating it. Locals were consulted early on about how much structure they wished to preserve. They chose a portion on the west fringe, near where a villager managed to flee in the middle of the night with a ladder, after which the border was significantly strengthened.

Preserved Structures

A pair of guard towers are conserved alongside a series of exhibits depicting the most impactful moments in the hamlet’s history. As we stroll, the director enumerates the rules: nobody could come within 5km of the boundary. Rural residents needed specific authorization to look after their produce; the husband or wife could operate the agricultural equipment but not both, lest they sought to escape. Armed guards kept guard.

Larger Context

The border between Western Germany and the German Democratic Republic ran 1,400 kilometers, from the Baltic coast in the northern part to this location in the south. Berlin is recalled and documented the most, but more than double the number people (exceeding 300) died seeking to traverse it in countryside regions than in the big city. the director reminds me that 95 percent of escape attempts failed.

Community Daily Living

The majority of Mödlareuth’s locals were rural laborers or artisans, who adjusted to dwelling in the ambiguous area between 2 ideological spheres by keeping their heads down and tending to their farms. They did not endorsed the socialist government nor fought it, Robert Lebegern clarifies.

Visitors

For tourists, however, the village became a type of destination. Approximately 15,000 came to visit annually, binoculars in possession, to look – and then quickly depart. In 1983, the United States leader, George Bush, was given a tour by the German defense official.

25 years after merger, the TV show, a broadcast production about a imaginary community like Mödlareuth, resulted in renewed attention.

Present-Day Evolutions

The opening of the new museum – with a restaurant, store, movie theater and big parking lot – is probable to