Serious Problems in ‘Tiny Berlin’: This Minuscule Settlement Split in Half by the Cold War

A brook so narrow you barely got your feet wet divided a community for in excess of four decades worth of time. Because of a chance of landscape, the fifty residents of Mödlareuth, a small village surrounded by evergreen groves, pastures and stunning scenery, found themselves at the heart of the Cold War conflict. They had the bad luck to span the Bavarian region, in West Germany, and Thuringia in the East, a boundary that was established first by a fence and then by a partition. US troops nicknamed it Little Berlin.

Memorialising History

A few months after their own barrier was torn down, and prior to their nation had become one in 1990, a assembly of local people started commemorating their heritage. The project is close to reach completion: on 9 November, the 36th annual anniversary of the demolition of the German barrier, the German-German Museum Mödlareuth will begin operations. It was publicly launched by the federal president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in early October, but the display was not completely ready. Addressing the residents who experienced the past era, Steinmeier said: “You were bystanders of an inhuman split, which ripped relatives into pieces and turned neighbours into foreigners.”

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

Past Context

Starting at its founding in 1810, the village spanned the Royal Bavaria and the Princely State of Reuss, a princely house most famous for giving all its male members the name Heinrich and numbering them consecutively by birth. As Steinmeier informed the gathering, the oddity was never an obstacle in the path of the inhabitants socializing in the very same pub, going to the identical place of worship and sending their children to the same school.

After the War Separation

Subsequently occurred the second world war. Immediately after they came, the Russian troops put up wooden posts by the creek. For a annual period they took over the entire hamlet, establishing their control center in a dwelling on the western side, decorating it with a picture of Stalin and a Soviet emblem. The Americans convinced them to retreat back over the brook. For a while, villagers could still cross over, though as controls became stricter they were obliged to display identity papers, despite the fact that all knew who they were, and to go back at night.

Increase of Boundary Restrictions

After that, in 1952, came metal barriers and the legal closing of the frontier. In 1966, as in Berlin half a decade before, a barrier was erected, with landmines, tank traps and observation points. The locals could continue to see each other by scaling elevations, but on the eastern side waving and shouting were prohibited. A female resident was put on a Stasi surveillance list for answering “back at you” to a western villager who said her “good new year”.

Heritage Site Creation

It was related to me narratives such as these by Robert Lebegern, the museum’s director, who has dedicated a significant portion of his working life developing it. Locals were asked early on about how much structure they desired to keep. They chose a portion on the western fringe, close to where a local resident succeeded to escape in the darkest hours with a scaling tool, after which the border was substantially strengthened.

Conserved Structures

2 observation towers are preserved alongside a set of exhibits showing the most impactful moments in the village’s history. As we stroll, Robert Lebegern lists the rules: no one could come within 5km of the boundary. Farmers had to obtain particular approval to look after their produce; the husband or wife could use the agricultural equipment but under no circumstances the pair, for fear that they attempted to escape. Soldiers stood watch.

Larger Background

The border between West Germany and the German Democratic Republic stretched 1,400 kilometers, from the northern sea in the northern part to the south in the southern region. Berlin is commemorated and documented the most frequently, but over twice as many individuals (more than 300) died seeking to traverse it in provincial zones than in the metropolis. Robert Lebegern informs me that 95% of efforts to cross failed.

Hamlet Existence

The greater part of Mödlareuth’s locals were farmers or artisans, who adapted to residing in the grey zone between a pair of political systems by keeping their heads down and tending to their land. They did not supported the socialist government nor opposed it, the director clarifies.

Visitors

For sightseers, however, the village became a type of site of interest. About 15k came to visit every year, viewing tools in possession, to stare – and then rapidly leave. In 1983, the American president, George Bush, was shown around by the national security head.

25 years after merger, the TV show, a TV series about a made-up village resembling Mödlareuth, caused new interest.

Current Evolutions

The inauguration of the modern exhibition center – with a coffee shop, boutique, movie theater and large parking lot – is expected to