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An brook so shallow you barely got your feet wet split a village for in excess of four decades. By an accident of geography, the 50 residents of Mödlareuth, a tiny settlement surrounded by evergreen groves, fields and breathtaking views, found themselves at the core of the cold war. They had the misfortune to straddle Bavaria, in West Germany, and Thuringia in the Soviet sector, a boundary that was marked first by a barrier and then by a partition. United States military personnel dubbed it Mini Berlin.

Commemorating Historical Events

Months after their own wall was opened, and before their state had reunified in 1990, a assembly of residents began commemorating their past. The work is about to be completed: on 9 November, the 36th annual anniversary of the demolition of the Berlin Wall, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was formally opened by the federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the beginning of October, but the show was not entirely ready. Speaking to the locals who lived through the past era, Steinmeier said: “You were observers of an cruel separation, which pulled relatives apart and turned neighbours into strangers.”

“You were bystanders of an inhuman split, which tore relatives asunder and turned local residents into strangers.”

Historical Background

Even at its creation in 1810, the hamlet cut across the Royal Bavaria and the Princely State of Reuss, a noble lineage most famous for giving all its men the title Heinrich and labeling them sequentially by birth. As Steinmeier informed the crowd, the quirk was never an obstacle in the path of the inhabitants drinking in the same inn, visiting the very same place of worship and enrolling their young ones to the very same learning center.

After the War Separation

Then came the global conflict. The moment they came, the Soviet forces erected timber poles by the brook. For a year they took over the entire village, setting up their headquarters in a building on the Bavarian territory side, decorating it with a picture of Stalin and a communist symbol. The US forces persuaded them to withdraw back over the brook. For a while, villagers could still jump across, though as restrictions tightened they were forced to present ID, despite the fact that everyone was aware who they were, and to come back at evening.

Escalation of Frontier Controls

Then, in 1952, came metal barriers and the official sealing of the border. In 1966, as in Berlin previously in 1961, a barrier was built, with mines, vehicle barriers and watchtowers. The residents could still see each other by climbing elevations, but on the east side signaling and yelling were prohibited. One woman was put on a Stasi surveillance list for answering “likewise” to a West German local who said her “good new year”.

Exhibition Center Establishment

It was related to me accounts such as these tales by Robert Lebegern, the director of the museum, who has dedicated a significant portion of his occupational time developing it. Locals were consulted at an early stage about how what length of barrier they desired to preserve. They chose a portion on the west fringe, adjacent to where one of their own succeeded to flee in the darkest hours with a ladder, following which the boundary was significantly reinforced.

Maintained Installations

A pair of guard towers are maintained in addition to a set of exhibits illustrating the most dramatic events in the hamlet’s chronicle. As we move, Robert Lebegern enumerates the rules: not a single person could approach 5km of the frontier. Rural residents required specific authorization to tend to their fields; the husband or wife could operate the combine harvester but never the pair, for fear that they attempted to escape. Military personnel stood watch.

Wider Background

The border between the Federal Republic and the East Germany ran 1,400 kilometers, from the Baltic coast in the north to the south in the southern region. Berlin is recalled and honored the most, but in excess of double the number individuals (exceeding 300) died seeking to cross it in rural areas than in the urban center. the director informs me that almost all of escape attempts were unsuccessful.

Hamlet Daily Living

Most of Mödlareuth’s residents were farmers or skilled workers, who adjusted to living in the ambiguous area between 2 belief systems by staying low-profile and looking after their land. They did not backed the communist regime nor opposed it, Lebegern explains.

Visitors

For tourists, however, the settlement became a type of destination. About 15k came to see annually, binoculars in hand, to stare – and then rapidly leave. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was shown around by the German defence minister.

Twenty five years after unification, Tannbach, a TV series about a fictional hamlet like Mödlareuth, led to fresh interest.

Modern Developments

The opening of the new museum – with a cafe, shop, film screening area and big vehicle area – is probable to