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A creek so low you hardly got your ankles wet split a community for over four decades of time. By an accident of topography, the 50 inhabitants of Mödlareuth, a small village bordered by evergreen groves, meadows and stunning views, found themselves at the heart of the Cold War conflict. They had the unfortunate circumstance to cross Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany, and Thuringia in the Soviet sector, a frontier that was marked first by a enclosure and then by a barricade. United States military personnel dubbed it Small Berlin.

Preserving History

Months after their own wall was opened, and prior to their state had unified again in 1990, a collection of local people set about commemorating their past. The effort is close to come to fruition: on 9 November, the 36th commemoration of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was formally launched by the head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in early October, but the show was not completely ready. Telling the villagers who endured the old days, Steinmeier stated: “You were observers of an cruel division, which tore families into pieces and turned local residents into strangers.”

“You were bystanders of an inhuman separation, which tore families asunder and turned neighbours into strangers.”

Past Background

Even at its founding in 1810, the community cut across the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Principality of Reuss, a noble lineage most renowned for assigning all its male descendants the name Heinrich and numbering them sequentially by date of birth. As Steinmeier informed the gathering, the oddity did not stand in the path of the residents gathering in the identical inn, attending the same place of worship and placing their children to the same educational institution.

After the War Division

Subsequently occurred the World War II. As soon as they appeared, the Russian troops installed wooden posts by the stream. For a twelve months they occupied the entire hamlet, setting up their command in a dwelling on the Bavarian side, decorating it with a image of Stalin and a red star. The Americans persuaded them to retreat back over the creek. For a while, residents could continue to jump across, though as controls increased they were required to show ID, although each person understood who they were, and to go back at night.

Intensification of Frontier Controls

Subsequently, in 1952, came barbed wire and the official closing of the frontier. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a wall was built, with mines, anti-tank obstacles and observation points. The locals could continue to observe each other by climbing elevations, but on the east side waving and shouting were forbidden. A female resident was placed on a Stasi surveillance list for responding “likewise” to a Bavarian resident who greeted her “good new year”.

Heritage Site Development

I heard stories like these incidents by Robert Lebegern, the head of the institution, who has dedicated much of his occupational time developing it. Locals were asked at an early stage about how what length of wall they wanted to preserve. They chose a stretch on the west fringe, close to where one of their own was able to get away in the darkest hours with a climbing device, following which the border was significantly reinforced.

Maintained Buildings

2 observation towers are conserved alongside a collection of exhibits showing the most significant moments in the community’s chronicle. As we stroll, Robert Lebegern lists the rules: no one could come within 5km of the border. Rural residents required specific authorization to look after their produce; the spouse could work the agricultural equipment but under no circumstances the pair, in case they attempted to make a run for it. Armed guards kept guard.

Larger Context

The boundary between the Federal Republic and the German Democratic Republic extended 1,400km, from the Baltic coast in the northern part to this location in the southern region. Berlin is remembered and honored the most frequently, but over double the number people (more than 300) lost their lives seeking to cross it in rural areas than in the big city. the director reminds me that 95% of attempts to flee were unsuccessful.

Village Life

Most of Mödlareuth’s locals were rural laborers or skilled workers, who adapted to dwelling in the uncertain territory between a pair of political systems by keeping their heads down and looking after their land. They nor did they backed the East German authorities nor opposed it, Robert Lebegern clarifies.

Interest

For tourists, however, the hamlet became a sort of destination. Roughly 15,000 visited each year, optical devices in their hands, to gawp – and then quickly leave. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was shown around by the national security head.

Twenty-five years after unification, Tannbach, a broadcast production about a imaginary hamlet similar to Mödlareuth, caused new attention.

Modern Evolutions

The opening of the modern exhibition center – with a cafe, boutique, movie theater and sizable parking lot – is likely to