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An brook so low you barely got your feet wet divided a settlement for over four decades. By an accident of topography, the fifty residents of Mödlareuth, a hamlet encircled by coniferous woods, pastures and breathtaking views, found themselves at the core of the Cold War conflict. They had the misfortune to cross Bavaria, in West Germany, and Thuringia in the East, a boundary that was established first by a enclosure and then by a partition. United States military personnel called it Mini Berlin.

Memorialising History

A few months after their own division was opened, and prior to their state had become one in 1990, a assembly of residents set about documenting their heritage. The effort is close to come to fruition: on 9 November, the thirty-sixth commemoration of the collapse of the Wall in Berlin, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was formally opened by the national president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the first part of October, but the exhibition was not completely prepared. Addressing the villagers who experienced the past era, Steinmeier remarked: “You were bystanders of an brutal division, which pulled families apart and turned neighbours into foreigners.”

“You were witnesses of an cruel division, which tore families apart and turned neighbors into strangers.”

Historical Background

Starting at its founding in 1810, the hamlet spanned the Bavarian Kingdom and the Principality of Reuss, a princely house best known for giving all its male descendants the title Heinrich and numbering them in order by date of birth. As Steinmeier told the crowd, the peculiarity never stood in the path of the residents socializing in the very same tavern, going to the very same religious building and sending their young ones to the same school.

Following WWII Split

Then came the World War II. The moment they came, the Soviet forces erected timber poles by the brook. For a twelve months they occupied the complete hamlet, creating their control center in a dwelling on the Bavarian side, decorating it with a portrait of Stalin and a Soviet emblem. The US forces persuaded them to retreat to the other side of the brook. For a time, villagers could still cross over, though as controls increased they were required to show identification, although each person understood who they were, and to come back at night.

Intensification of Frontier Controls

Subsequently, in 1952, came wire fencing and the legal shutting of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin half a decade before, a concrete structure was constructed, with explosives, anti-tank obstacles and watchtowers. The locals could still see each other by scaling elevations, but on the east side gesturing and calling out were prohibited. One woman was put on a East German secret police monitoring list for responding “same to you” to a Bavarian resident who greeted her “good new year”.

Heritage Site Development

I was told accounts including these by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has dedicated a large part of his working life creating it. Villagers were consulted early on about how what length of wall they desired to keep. They chose a portion on the Bavarian fringe, adjacent to where a villager managed to get away in the darkest hours with a scaling tool, following which the border was heavily strengthened.

Preserved Buildings

2 observation towers are maintained alongside a collection of tableaux showing the most impactful dates in the village’s history. As we stroll, Robert Lebegern details the rules: no one could get closer than 5km of the frontier. Farmers required special permission to tend to their fields; the partner could use the harvesting machine but not the pair, in case they tried to make a run for it. Military personnel kept guard.

Broader Background

The border between the Federal Republic and the East Germany stretched 1,400km, from the Baltic Sea in the northern part to here in the southern region. Berlin is commemorated and documented the most, but over twice as many individuals (more than 300) lost their lives trying to traverse it in countryside regions than in the metropolis. Robert Lebegern reminds me that 95% of attempts to flee did not succeed.

Community Existence

Most of Mödlareuth’s residents were farmers or artisans, who accommodated to residing in the uncertain territory between 2 ideological spheres by avoiding attention and tending to their farms. They did not backed the socialist government nor opposed it, the director clarifies.

Tourism

For sightseers, however, the hamlet became a kind of pilgrimage. Approximately fifteen thousand came to see each year, viewing tools in possession, to gawp – and then quickly depart. In 1983, the United States leader, George Bush, was shown around by the German defense official.

Twenty-five years after reunification, the television series, a broadcast production about a fictional hamlet similar to Mödlareuth, resulted in renewed interest.

Present-Day Developments

The opening of the recently established museum – with a cafe, store, movie theater and large parking lot – is expected to