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An creek so low you hardly got your ankles wet split a settlement for more than four decades. By an accident of landscape, the half a hundred locals of Mödlareuth, a small village bordered by pine forests, pastures and breathtaking views, found themselves at the core of the Cold War conflict. They had the unfortunate circumstance to straddle Bavaria, in West Germany, and the Thuringian region in the East, a boundary that was marked first by a barrier and then by a barricade. American soldiers called it Little Berlin.

Preserving History

A few months after their own barrier was torn down, and prior to their country had unified again in 1990, a collection of residents set about documenting their past. The project is close to be completed: on 9 November, the 36th anniversary of the demolition of the Berlin Wall, the Museum of German Division Mödlareuth will open. It was formally inaugurated by the head of state, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the first part of October, but the show was not completely prepared. Speaking to the residents who endured the former times, Steinmeier remarked: “You were observers of an brutal division, which ripped families asunder and turned neighbors into aliens.”

“You were bystanders of an inhuman separation, which pulled relatives apart and turned neighbors into aliens.”

Historical Background

Right from its creation in 1810, the hamlet spanned the Royal Bavaria and the Reuss Principality, a noble lineage best known for bestowing all its male members the name Heinrich and counting them consecutively by date of birth. As Steinmeier informed the gathering, the quirk was never an obstacle in the path of the locals drinking in the same tavern, visiting the very same religious building and sending their children to the very same school.

Post-War Division

Then came the World War II. The moment they came, the Soviet forces erected wood stakes by the stream. For a annual period they seized the entire hamlet, establishing their headquarters in a dwelling on the western side, adorning it with a image of Stalin and a red star. The Americans urged them to retreat across the brook. For a period, locals could still hop over, though as restrictions tightened they were obliged to present ID, although everyone understood who they were, and to go back at night.

Increase of Boundary Restrictions

After that, in 1952, came wire fencing and the legal sealing of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin five years earlier, a concrete structure was constructed, with explosives, anti-tank obstacles and watchtowers. The residents could still see each other by scaling elevations, but on the east side signaling and shouting were banned. A female resident was put on a GDR intelligence monitoring list for replying “back at you” to a West German resident who said her “good new year”.

Museum Development

I was told narratives including these by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has spent a large part of his professional career developing it. Villagers were asked at an early stage about how much structure they wanted to keep. They opted for a section on the Bavarian fringe, adjacent to where a local resident succeeded to get away in the middle of the night with a ladder, after which the border was substantially reinforced.

Preserved Buildings

A pair of watchtowers are preserved alongside a collection of tableaux illustrating the most dramatic dates in the hamlet’s history. As we move, the director enumerates the restrictions: not a single person could approach 5km of the frontier. Agricultural workers required specific authorization to care for their produce; the husband or wife could work the agricultural equipment but under no circumstances the two, in case they attempted to make a run for it. Military personnel kept guard.

Larger Perspective

The boundary between the Federal Republic and the East Germany ran nearly 900 miles, from the Baltic coast in the northern part to the south in the south. Berlin is remembered and honored the greatest, but in excess of double the number individuals (more than 300) died attempting to traverse it in countryside regions than in the urban center. Robert Lebegern tells me that almost all of attempts to flee failed.

Hamlet Life

The greater part of Mödlareuth’s residents were rural laborers or craftsmen, who adapted to residing in the uncertain territory between 2 belief systems by keeping their heads down and tending to their fields. They neither supported the socialist government nor resisted it, Robert Lebegern states.

Interest

For visitors, however, the village became a type of destination. Roughly fifteen thousand came to visit annually, binoculars in hand, to stare – and then swiftly 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 TV series about a imaginary hamlet like Mödlareuth, resulted in fresh interest.

Modern Developments

The opening of the modern exhibition center – with a cafe, shop, cinema room and big car park – is likely to