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An creek so narrow you barely got your ankles wet separated a village for more than four decades worth of time. Because of a chance of landscape, the fifty locals of Mödlareuth, a small village bordered by pine forests, meadows and spectacular vistas, found themselves at the core of the cold war. They had the bad luck to span the Bavarian region, in West Germany, and the Thuringian region in the Eastern part, a border that was marked first by a fence and then by a barricade. American soldiers nicknamed it Small Berlin.

Commemorating Historical Events

Several months after their own wall was torn down, and even before their nation had become one in 1990, a collection of villagers began commemorating their heritage. The work is close to reach completion: on 9 November, the 36th commemoration of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the Deutsch-Deutsches Museum Mödlareuth will open. It was officially opened by the national president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in early October, but the exhibition was not entirely finished. Addressing the villagers who endured the former times, Steinmeier said: “You were observers of an brutal split, which ripped families into pieces and turned neighbors into strangers.”

“You were witnesses of an inhuman separation, which pulled relatives into pieces and turned local residents into strangers.”

Past Context

Even at its founding in 1810, the village straddled the Bavarian Kingdom and the Princely State of Reuss, a noble lineage most famous for assigning all its men the name Heinrich and counting them in order by birth. As Steinmeier informed the audience, the oddity never stood in the way of the locals socializing in the same tavern, attending the very same place of worship and sending their kids to the identical learning center.

After the War Separation

Then came the second world war. As soon as they appeared, the Russian troops put up timber poles by the stream. For a twelve months they occupied the complete hamlet, establishing their headquarters in a dwelling on the western side, adorning it with a image of Stalin and a communist symbol. The Americans urged them to withdraw to the other side of the creek. For a time, residents could still jump across, though as controls became stricter they were obliged to present ID, even though all understood who they were, and to go back at night.

Escalation of Frontier Measures

Subsequently, in 1952, came metal barriers and the legal sealing of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin previously in 1961, a wall was constructed, with explosives, tank traps and guard posts. The locals could still observe each other by climbing slopes, but on the east side waving and shouting were banned. A local woman was placed on a Stasi watch list for responding “back at you” to a western local who wished her “prosperous new year”.

Heritage Site Creation

It was related to me narratives such as these by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has dedicated much of his professional career developing it. Residents were consulted early on about how much barrier they desired to maintain. They chose a stretch on the Bavarian perimeter, close to where a local resident managed to flee in the dead of night with a scaling tool, following which the boundary was significantly reinforced.

Conserved Installations

2 watchtowers are preserved alongside a set of tableaux illustrating the most impactful moments in the community’s history. As we move, Robert Lebegern details the restrictions: not a single person could get closer than 5km of the frontier. Farmers had to obtain special permission to look after their fields; the husband or wife could use the combine harvester but not both, in case they tried to flee. Soldiers stood watch.

Wider Perspective

The frontier between Western Germany and the East Germany ran 1,400 kilometers, from the Baltic Sea in the north to the south in the south. Berlin is commemorated and honored the most frequently, but over double the number persons (well over 300) died attempting to pass over it in rural areas than in the big city. Lebegern informs me that 95% of efforts to cross did not succeed.

Village Life

The majority of Mödlareuth’s residents were agricultural workers or artisans, who adapted to residing in the grey zone between a pair of political systems by staying low-profile and caring for their land. They nor did they endorsed the communist regime nor resisted it, Robert Lebegern explains.

Visitors

For tourists, however, the village became a sort of destination. About 15,000 came to visit each year, binoculars in hand, to gawp – and then swiftly leave. In 1983, the American president, George Bush, was shown around by the German defense official.

Twenty five years after reunification, Tannbach, a TV series about a made-up community resembling Mödlareuth, led to fresh interest.

Present-Day Developments

The inauguration of the new museum – with a cafe, store, movie theater and sizable car park – is probable to