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A stream so narrow you hardly got your feet wet divided a settlement for over four decades of time. By an accident of landscape, the 50 locals of Mödlareuth, a small village encircled by evergreen groves, meadows and spectacular vistas, found themselves at the heart of the cold war. They had the bad luck to cross Bavaria, in Western Germany, and Thuringia in the Eastern part, a border that was marked first by a fence and then by a wall. US troops called it Mini Berlin.

Commemorating History

A few months after their own barrier was torn down, and before their country had reunified in 1990, a group of local people started memorialising their history. The work is about to be completed: on 9 November, the 36th annual remembrance of the demolition of the German barrier, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was officially opened by the head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in early October, but the exhibition was not completely finished. Telling the villagers who lived through the old days, Steinmeier stated: “You were observers of an cruel separation, which pulled families asunder and turned neighbors into strangers.”

“You were bystanders of an brutal split, which pulled households asunder and turned neighbours into foreigners.”

Past Context

Starting at its founding in 1810, the community straddled the Royal Bavaria and the Reuss Principality, a royal family most renowned for bestowing all its men the title Heinrich and counting them consecutively by date of birth. As Steinmeier related to the crowd, the peculiarity was never an obstacle in the path of the locals gathering in the identical pub, going to the identical church and sending their young ones to the same educational institution.

Following WWII Split

Then came the global conflict. As soon as they came, the Soviet forces installed wood stakes by the creek. For a twelve months they took over the whole community, establishing their command in a dwelling on the western side, embellishing it with a portrait of Stalin and a red star. The American soldiers convinced them to retreat to the other side of the brook. For a while, residents could still jump across, though as controls increased they were forced to show identification, even though everyone was aware who they were, and to go back at evening.

Increase of Frontier Restrictions

Then, in 1952, came wire fencing and the official closing of the border. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a wall was constructed, with mines, vehicle barriers and guard posts. The locals could still view each other by ascending elevations, but on the Soviet side gesturing and calling out were prohibited. A local woman was placed on a Stasi watch list for answering “back at you” to a West German villager who said her “happy new year”.

Museum Establishment

I heard narratives such as these tales by Robert Lebegern, the head of the institution, who has devoted much of his occupational time building it. Locals were consulted at an early stage about how much structure they desired to maintain. They opted for a portion on the western perimeter, close to where one of their own succeeded to flee in the dead of night with a climbing device, subsequently the boundary was substantially reinforced.

Preserved Buildings

2 guard towers are conserved together with a collection of exhibits illustrating the most dramatic dates in the community’s history. As we move, Robert Lebegern enumerates the regulations: not a single person could approach 5km of the border. Farmers needed particular approval to care for their crops; the husband or wife could use the harvesting machine but not the pair, lest they sought to flee. Military personnel kept guard.

Broader Perspective

The boundary between Western Germany and the East Germany ran nearly 900 miles, from the northern sea in the north to this location in the south. Berlin is remembered and honored the most frequently, but over two times more individuals (more than 300) lost their lives attempting to traverse it in provincial zones than in the urban center. the director reminds me that 95 percent of efforts to cross did not succeed.

Village Existence

The greater part of Mödlareuth’s residents were rural laborers or artisans, who adjusted to dwelling in the grey zone between a pair of belief systems by staying low-profile and caring for their land. They did not endorsed the East German authorities nor fought it, Lebegern explains.

Visitors

For visitors, however, the settlement became a kind of destination. Approximately 15k came to visit every year, viewing tools in their hands, to gawp – and then swiftly depart. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was given a tour by the German defence minister.

25 years after merger, the TV show, a television program about a made-up hamlet similar to Mödlareuth, resulted in new interest.

Current Developments

The inauguration of the modern exhibition center – with a cafe, store, cinema room and large parking lot – is likely to