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A stream so shallow you scarcely got your feet wet separated a village for over four decades of time. Due to a quirk of topography, the 50 inhabitants of Mödlareuth, a hamlet surrounded by pine forests, meadows and stunning vistas, found themselves at the core of the cold war. They had the misfortune to straddle the Bavarian region, in the Federal Republic of Germany, and Thuringia in the East, a border that was established first by a barrier and then by a partition. US troops dubbed it Small Berlin.

Commemorating the Past

A few months after their own division was opened, and even before their nation had become one in 1990, a collection of residents set about commemorating their history. The project is close to be completed: on 9 November, the 36th annual anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will open. It was officially launched by the federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in the beginning of October, but the exhibition was not entirely finished. Speaking to the residents who endured the past era, Steinmeier said: “You were observers of an brutal split, which tore relatives apart and turned neighbours into aliens.”

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

Past Origins

Even at its founding in 1810, the community spanned the Kingdom of Bavaria and the Princely State of Reuss, a noble lineage most renowned for bestowing all its men the name Heinrich and counting them in order by birth. As Steinmeier related to the crowd, the peculiarity was never an obstacle in the path of the locals socializing in the very same pub, visiting the same church and sending their children to the same learning center.

Following WWII Separation

Subsequently occurred the second world war. As soon as they appeared, the Soviet forces erected wooden posts by the stream. For a twelve months they took over the complete village, establishing their headquarters in a dwelling on the Bavarian territory side, decorating it with a portrait of Stalin and a communist symbol. The US forces persuaded them to retreat back over the brook. For a while, locals could still jump across, though as limitations increased they were obliged to show identity papers, although everyone understood who they were, and to come back at night.

Intensification of Boundary Controls

After that, in 1952, came barbed wire and the formal sealing of the boundary. In 1966, as in Berlin half a decade before, a wall was built, with explosives, tank traps and guard posts. The locals could still see each other by ascending slopes, but on the eastern side gesturing and calling out were forbidden. A female resident was added to a Stasi watch list for replying “likewise” to a West German villager who greeted her “happy new year”.

Museum Development

I was told narratives such as these tales by Robert Lebegern, the head of the institution, who has devoted a large part of his working life building it. Locals were consulted early on about how much structure they wished to maintain. They chose a section on the Bavarian perimeter, near where a villager succeeded to flee in the darkest hours with a climbing device, following which the frontier was substantially fortified.

Conserved Installations

Two observation towers are preserved together with a series of displays depicting the most dramatic events in the hamlet’s past. As we stroll, Robert Lebegern details the restrictions: not a single person could get closer than 5km of the frontier. Farmers required specific authorization to look after their produce; the partner could operate the combine harvester but never the pair, for fear that they attempted to make a run for it. Soldiers were on duty.

Wider Context

The boundary between Western Germany and the German Democratic Republic ran nearly 900 miles, from the northern sea in the northern part to here in the south. Berlin is recalled and documented the most frequently, but over two times more individuals (well over 300) died attempting to pass over it in countryside regions than in the urban center. Lebegern tells me that 95 percent of escape attempts were unsuccessful.

Hamlet Existence

The greater part of Mödlareuth’s locals were agricultural workers or skilled workers, who adapted to residing in the uncertain territory between two political systems by avoiding attention and caring for their land. They nor did they supported the communist regime nor fought it, Robert Lebegern clarifies.

Visitors

For sightseers, however, the hamlet became a type of pilgrimage. About 15k visited every year, binoculars in their hands, to stare – and then rapidly leave. In 1983, the United States leader, George Bush, was guided by the German defence minister.

Twenty five years after unification, Tannbach, a television program about a made-up community similar to Mödlareuth, led to fresh curiosity.

Current Developments

The opening of the new museum – with a cafe, shop, cinema room and sizable car park – is probable to