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A brook so shallow you scarcely got your ankles wet divided a settlement for in excess of four decades worth of time. By an accident of topography, the fifty locals of Mödlareuth, a hamlet bordered by pine forests, fields and stunning vistas, found themselves at the center of the Cold War tensions. They had the unfortunate circumstance to cross Bavaria, in Western Germany, and the Thuringian region in the Soviet sector, a boundary that was established first by a enclosure and then by a partition. US troops called it Little Berlin.

Memorialising History

Months after their own barrier was opened, and even before their state had unified again in 1990, a group of residents set about commemorating their history. The work is close to come to fruition: on 9 November, the thirty-sixth commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will open. It was formally inaugurated by the national president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the beginning of October, but the show was not completely ready. Speaking to the locals who experienced the former times, Steinmeier remarked: “You were observers of an brutal separation, which tore households asunder and turned neighbours into aliens.”

“You were bystanders of an inhuman split, which ripped families apart and turned local residents into foreigners.”

Historical Background

Starting at its creation in 1810, the community straddled the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Princely State of Reuss, a noble lineage most renowned for assigning all its male members the name Heinrich and numbering them in order by birth. As Steinmeier told the gathering, the quirk did not stand in the path of the inhabitants gathering in the identical pub, visiting the very same religious building and placing their young ones to the same educational institution.

Following WWII Split

Subsequently occurred the second world war. As soon as they arrived, the Russian troops put up wooden posts by the brook. For a annual period they occupied the entire hamlet, setting up their headquarters in a dwelling on the Bavarian side, adorning it with a picture of Stalin and a red star. The American soldiers persuaded them to withdraw to the other side of the creek. For a period, residents could continue to cross over, though as controls tightened they were obliged to display ID, despite the fact that each person was aware who they were, and to come back at night.

Intensification of Frontier Restrictions

Subsequently, in 1952, came metal barriers and the formal shutting of the frontier. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a wall was constructed, with landmines, anti-tank obstacles and observation points. The villagers could continue to view each other by ascending slopes, but on the east side gesturing and shouting were banned. A female resident was placed on a East German secret police surveillance list for replying “likewise” to a Bavarian villager who greeted her “good new year”.

Museum Development

It was related to me narratives such as these by Robert Lebegern, the head of the institution, who has dedicated much of his working life creating it. Residents were polled early on about how much structure they desired to keep. They selected a portion on the Bavarian perimeter, close to where a local resident managed to escape in the dead of night with a climbing device, after which the frontier was substantially reinforced.

Preserved Buildings

Two watchtowers are preserved alongside a set of tableaux showing the most impactful events in the hamlet’s chronicle. As we walk, the director lists the restrictions: no one could get closer than 5km of the boundary. Agricultural workers needed particular approval to tend to their produce; the partner could operate the agricultural equipment but not the pair, lest they tried to make a run for it. Soldiers stood watch.

Wider Context

The border between the Federal Republic and the GDR extended 1,400 kilometers, from the northern sea in the north to this location in the south. Berlin is recalled and documented the most frequently, but more than twice as many people (well over 300) lost their lives attempting to traverse it in rural areas than in the big city. Robert Lebegern tells me that 95% of attempts to flee failed.

Village Existence

The majority of Mödlareuth’s locals were agricultural workers or skilled workers, who accommodated to residing in the uncertain territory between 2 ideological spheres by staying low-profile and looking after their farms. They nor did they supported the socialist government nor opposed it, the director states.

Tourism

For sightseers, however, the settlement became a type of site of interest. Approximately 15k came to see annually, viewing tools in their hands, to gawp – and then rapidly leave. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was shown around by the German defence minister.

25 years after reunification, Tannbach, a television program about a made-up community resembling Mödlareuth, led to renewed interest.

Modern Evolutions

The opening of the new museum – with a restaurant, boutique, movie theater and big car park – is likely to