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An brook so low you hardly got your ankles wet divided a village for more than four decades worth of time. By an accident of topography, the 50 locals of Mödlareuth, a hamlet bordered by evergreen groves, fields and spectacular vistas, found themselves at the center of the Cold War conflict. They had the misfortune to span Bavaria, in Western Germany, and the Thuringian region in the Eastern part, a frontier that was demarcated first by a barrier and then by a wall. American soldiers called it Little Berlin.

Preserving the Past

A few months after their own wall was torn down, and before their state had become one in 1990, a group of local people started documenting their history. The project is close to be completed: on 9 November, the thirty-sixth remembrance of the demolition of the German barrier, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will open. It was officially opened by the federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the first part of October, but the exhibition was not completely prepared. Addressing the villagers who endured the past era, Steinmeier said: “You were observers of an inhuman split, which tore families into pieces and turned neighbours into strangers.”

“You were bystanders of an brutal division, which pulled families asunder and turned local residents into foreigners.”

Past Background

Even at its founding in 1810, the village straddled the Bavarian Kingdom and the Princely State of Reuss, a noble lineage most renowned for giving all its male members the name Heinrich and labeling them consecutively by birth. As Steinmeier informed the gathering, the quirk did not stand in the way of the inhabitants drinking in the same pub, visiting the same church and sending their children to the same educational institution.

After the War Separation

Then came the World War II. The moment they appeared, the Russian troops put up timber poles by the stream. For a twelve months they took over the entire village, setting up their command in a house on the Bavarian side, adorning it with a picture of Stalin and a Soviet emblem. The US forces urged them to withdraw to the other side of the creek. For a period, residents could still cross over, though as restrictions increased they were required to present identification, despite the fact that everyone understood who they were, and to return at after dark.

Increase of Boundary Measures

Then, in 1952, came wire fencing and the official shutting of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a barrier was built, with mines, vehicle barriers and guard posts. The locals could still view each other by climbing slopes, but on the Soviet side waving and shouting were prohibited. A local woman was placed on a Stasi watch list for replying “back at you” to a West German local who wished her “prosperous new year”.

Museum Creation

I heard stories such as these tales by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has spent a large part of his working life building it. Residents were consulted at an early stage about how much structure they desired to keep. They chose a portion on the west fringe, close to where one of their own succeeded to flee in the middle of the night with a ladder, following which the frontier was significantly fortified.

Maintained Structures

Two watchtowers are preserved in addition to a set of displays illustrating the most dramatic dates in the community’s history. As we walk, Robert Lebegern details the restrictions: nobody could get closer than 5km of the boundary. Farmers had to obtain special permission to look after their produce; the partner could work the harvesting machine but under no circumstances both, lest they tried to make a run for it. Armed guards kept guard.

Wider Background

The border between West Germany and the East Germany stretched nearly 900 miles, from the Baltic Sea in the northern part to here in the south. Berlin is remembered and honored the most, but more than two times more individuals (more than 300) died trying to traverse it in provincial zones than in the big city. the director reminds me that 95 percent of efforts to cross did not succeed.

Community Daily Living

The greater part of Mödlareuth’s locals were agricultural workers or craftsmen, who adjusted to dwelling in the grey zone between a pair of ideological spheres by keeping their heads down and tending to their fields. They nor did they supported the socialist government nor resisted it, Lebegern explains.

Interest

For visitors, however, the settlement became a sort of pilgrimage. Approximately 15k came to visit every year, viewing tools in their hands, to gawp – and then swiftly go away. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was guided by the German defense official.

Twenty five years after merger, the TV show, a TV series about a imaginary hamlet similar to Mödlareuth, resulted in new interest.

Modern Developments

The opening of the modern exhibition center – with a cafe, shop, movie theater and large vehicle area – is probable to