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An creek so narrow you barely got your feet wet divided a settlement for in excess of four decades. Because of a chance of topography, the half a hundred locals of Mödlareuth, a small village bordered by coniferous woods, fields and breathtaking views, found themselves at the core of the Cold War tensions. They had the unfortunate circumstance to span Bavaria, in West Germany, and the Thuringian region in the East, a boundary that was demarcated first by a enclosure and then by a wall. US troops called it Mini Berlin.

Preserving the Past

A few months after their own barrier was torn down, and prior to their state had become one in 1990, a group of local people set about commemorating their past. The work is soon to be completed: on 9 November, the thirty-sixth anniversary of the collapse of the Wall in Berlin, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was publicly launched by the federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in early October, but the display was not completely finished. Addressing the villagers who endured the former times, Steinmeier remarked: “You were bystanders of an brutal division, which tore relatives asunder and turned neighbors into strangers.”

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

Bygone Origins

Right from its founding in 1810, the village straddled the Bavarian Kingdom and the Principality of Reuss, a royal family most renowned for bestowing all its male descendants the designation Heinrich and counting them consecutively by date of birth. As Steinmeier informed the crowd, the quirk did not stand in the manner of the residents gathering in the very same tavern, visiting the identical church and placing their kids to the identical school.

Following WWII Division

Next arrived the World War II. As soon as they arrived, the Russian troops put up wooden posts by the creek. For a year they occupied the whole village, creating their control center in a building on the western side, embellishing it with a picture of Stalin and a red star. The US forces convinced them to pull back across the brook. For a period, locals could still cross over, though as restrictions increased they were obliged to present identity papers, despite the fact that each person was aware who they were, and to go back at evening.

Escalation of Border Controls

Subsequently, in 1952, came metal barriers and the formal sealing of the frontier. In 1966, as in Berlin previously in 1961, a barrier was constructed, with explosives, anti-tank obstacles and guard posts. The villagers could still observe each other by ascending hills, but on the eastern side waving and yelling were prohibited. A local woman was added to a East German secret police watch list for replying “same to you” to a Bavarian villager who wished her “happy new year”.

Museum Establishment

It was related to me accounts including these tales by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has spent a large part of his professional career developing it. Locals were polled early on about how much wall they wished to keep. They chose a section on the western fringe, close to where a local resident succeeded to escape in the darkest hours with a climbing device, subsequently the boundary was substantially strengthened.

Preserved Structures

Two observation towers are maintained in addition to a series of displays depicting the most impactful events in the village’s past. As we walk, Robert Lebegern details the rules: no one could come within 5km of the boundary. Farmers required specific authorization to care for their fields; the spouse could operate the agricultural equipment but under no circumstances both, in case they attempted to flee. Armed guards kept guard.

Wider Perspective

The boundary between the Federal Republic and the East Germany extended 1,400 kilometers, from the Baltic coast in the north to the south in the south. Berlin is remembered and documented the most, but more than double the number persons (exceeding 300) died trying to cross it in countryside regions than in the metropolis. Robert Lebegern reminds me that 95% of attempts to flee were unsuccessful.

Hamlet Daily Living

The majority of Mödlareuth’s residents were farmers or craftsmen, who adapted to dwelling in the uncertain territory between 2 political systems by avoiding attention and looking after their fields. They neither endorsed the East German authorities nor fought it, Robert Lebegern states.

Interest

For visitors, however, the hamlet became a kind of destination. Roughly fifteen thousand came to visit every year, viewing tools in their hands, to gawp – and then quickly depart. In 1983, the United States leader, George Bush, was guided by the German defence minister.

Twenty-five years after unification, the television series, a broadcast production about a imaginary village similar to Mödlareuth, resulted in renewed attention.

Modern Evolutions

The opening of the recently established museum – with a coffee shop, store, movie theater and large car park – is probable to