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An stream so low you scarcely got your ankles wet separated a community for over four decades. Due to a quirk of geography, the half a hundred locals of Mödlareuth, a hamlet encircled by coniferous woods, meadows and spectacular vistas, found themselves at the core of the Cold War tensions. They had the misfortune to straddle Bavaria, in West Germany, and the Thuringian region in the East, a frontier that was demarcated first by a fence and then by a wall. US troops dubbed it Mini Berlin.

Memorialising Historical Events

Months after their own wall was opened, and prior to their country had become one in 1990, a group of residents started commemorating their history. The effort is soon to reach completion: on 9 November, the thirty-sixth anniversary of the demolition of the German barrier, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was formally opened by the head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in early October, but the display wasn’t quite finished. Addressing the villagers who experienced the past era, Steinmeier stated: “You were witnesses of an inhuman division, which ripped households into pieces and turned neighbours into foreigners.”

“You were witnesses of an inhuman split, which pulled relatives asunder and turned neighbours into aliens.”

Past Context

Right from its establishment in 1810, the village straddled the Bavarian Kingdom and the Princely State of Reuss, a noble lineage best known for assigning all its men the name Heinrich and labeling them consecutively by date of birth. As Steinmeier informed the gathering, the quirk did not stand in the manner of the residents gathering in the very same tavern, attending the very same church and sending their children to the very same school.

Following WWII Split

Then came the global conflict. Immediately after they appeared, the Russians put up wooden posts by the brook. For a annual period they took over the entire community, creating their control center in a house on the Bavarian side, adorning it with a portrait of Stalin and a Soviet emblem. The American soldiers persuaded them to retreat across the brook. For a time, residents could still hop over, though as limitations became stricter they were forced to show ID, although all was aware who they were, and to go back at evening.

Escalation of Border Controls

Subsequently, in 1952, came metal barriers and the legal sealing of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a barrier was constructed, with landmines, anti-tank obstacles and watchtowers. The locals could continue to see each other by scaling hills, but on the Soviet side signaling and shouting were prohibited. One woman was added to a Stasi surveillance list for replying “same to you” to a West German resident who said her “good new year”.

Museum Establishment

It was related to me stories such as these tales by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has devoted much of his working life building it. Locals were consulted in the initial phases about how what length of barrier they wished to keep. They selected a section on the Bavarian fringe, near where a villager succeeded to get away in the middle of the night with a ladder, after which the border was significantly fortified.

Maintained Structures

2 guard towers are maintained in addition to a set of exhibits showing the most dramatic dates in the hamlet’s past. As we walk, Robert Lebegern lists the restrictions: not a single person could get closer than 5km of the boundary. Rural residents needed particular approval to look after their crops; the spouse could operate the harvesting machine but never the pair, for fear that they tried to flee. Soldiers stood watch.

Wider Background

The boundary between West Germany and the GDR ran nearly 900 miles, from the Baltic Sea in the northern part to this location in the southern region. Berlin is recalled and memorialised the most, but over twice as many people (exceeding 300) lost their lives seeking to traverse it in provincial zones than in the big city. Robert Lebegern reminds me that 95 percent of efforts to cross were unsuccessful.

Community Existence

Most of Mödlareuth’s locals were rural laborers or craftsmen, who adapted to dwelling in the uncertain territory between 2 ideological spheres by staying low-profile and caring for their fields. They did not supported the socialist government nor fought it, Robert Lebegern states.

Tourism

For visitors, however, the hamlet became a kind of destination. About fifteen thousand came to visit each year, viewing tools in possession, to stare – and then swiftly leave. In 1983, the United States leader, George Bush, was guided by the German defense official.

Twenty five years after merger, Tannbach, a broadcast production about a fictional community similar to Mödlareuth, resulted in fresh curiosity.

Modern Developments

The launch of the recently established museum – with a cafe, boutique, cinema room and large car park – is expected to