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A creek so shallow you scarcely got your feet wet divided a village for in excess of four decades. By an accident of landscape, the half a hundred locals of Mödlareuth, a tiny settlement encircled by pine forests, meadows and spectacular scenery, found themselves at the center of the Cold War conflict. They had the bad luck to straddle the Bavarian region, in West Germany, and the Thuringian region in the Eastern part, a frontier that was demarcated first by a fence and then by a partition. US troops nicknamed it Small Berlin.

Memorialising the Past

A few months after their own division was torn down, and even before their country had reunified in 1990, a collection of residents began commemorating their history. The work is about to come to fruition: on 9 November, the thirty-sixth anniversary of the demolition of the German barrier, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will inaugurate. It was formally inaugurated by the national president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the beginning of October, but the display was not completely finished. Speaking to the villagers who lived through the past era, Steinmeier stated: “You were witnesses of an cruel division, which tore relatives into pieces and turned neighbours into aliens.”

“You were observers of an cruel split, which pulled families into pieces and turned local residents into foreigners.”

Historical Background

Starting at its founding in 1810, the community spanned the Bavarian Kingdom and the Princely State of Reuss, a princely house best known for giving all its male members the title Heinrich and counting them in order by date of birth. As Steinmeier related to the crowd, the oddity never stood in the path of the residents socializing in the identical inn, attending the identical religious building and placing their young ones to the very same learning center.

Post-War Separation

Next arrived the second world war. Immediately after they arrived, the Russian troops installed timber poles by the creek. For a twelve months they took over the whole hamlet, establishing their command in a house on the Bavarian territory side, embellishing it with a picture of Stalin and a red star. The US forces persuaded them to withdraw to the other side of the creek. For a period, villagers could still hop over, though as controls became stricter they were required to show ID, despite the fact that each person was aware who they were, and to come back at after dark.

Intensification of Border Measures

Then, in 1952, came metal barriers and the formal shutting of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a barrier was built, with explosives, tank traps and watchtowers. The locals could still observe each other by climbing elevations, but on the eastern side gesturing and shouting were banned. A female resident was placed on a East German secret police surveillance list for responding “same to you” to a western villager who greeted her “happy new year”.

Museum Creation

I heard narratives like these by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has devoted much of his occupational time creating it. Villagers were polled at an early stage about how how long a section barrier they wished to keep. They selected a portion on the west perimeter, close to where a local resident was able to escape in the darkest hours with a climbing device, subsequently the border was significantly reinforced.

Preserved Buildings

A pair of guard towers are maintained together with a collection of displays illustrating the most dramatic events in the village’s chronicle. As we move, Lebergen lists the restrictions: no one could come within 5km of the border. Rural residents required specific authorization to look after their crops; the partner could work the agricultural equipment but never the two, in case they attempted to flee. Military personnel stood watch.

Larger Background

The frontier between Western Germany and the East Germany ran 1,400km, from the Baltic coast in the northern part to here in the south. Berlin is commemorated and honored the greatest, but more than double the number people (exceeding 300) were killed trying to cross it in provincial zones than in the metropolis. Lebegern tells me that 95 percent of attempts to flee were unsuccessful.

Community Life

Most of Mödlareuth’s locals were agricultural workers or craftsmen, who adapted to dwelling in the uncertain territory between 2 political systems by keeping their heads down and caring for their fields. They nor did they supported the socialist government nor resisted it, the director explains.

Visitors

For sightseers, however, the settlement became a kind of site of interest. About 15k came to see annually, optical devices in their hands, to stare – and then quickly go away. In 1983, the US president, George Bush, was shown around by the national security head.

25 years after reunification, the TV show, a TV series about a made-up community similar to Mödlareuth, led to fresh curiosity.

Current Changes

The launch of the new museum – with a restaurant, boutique, film screening area and big car park – is expected to