Mödlareuth

Village border between the Thuringe and the Bavaria in Germany located halfway between Berlin and Munich which was cut into two by a wall just like Berlin.

The village is crossed by an unimportant brook, the Tannbach, which had at all times constituted the administrative border between the various religious and political entities of Thuringe and Franconie (forming today part of the Bavaria).

History

The origins of the partition go back to an old dispute several centuries on the line border between the Brandebourg and the principality of Reuss. New boundary stones were installation, of which some are always there. One can see there on a side initial the KB ( Königreich Bayern , kingdom of Bavaria) and other FR ( Fürstentum Reuß , principality of Reuss). After the First World War, the village depended for half of Bavaria and Thuringe. The school and the inn were on territory thuringien, for the religious offices, everyone went to the church in the Bavarian village close to Töpen. As from 1806, half of the village pertaining to the state of Brandebourg, had been placed under French administration (see the Napoleonean Guerres). To the summer 1810, this portion of the Prussia was attached to Bavaria.

After the Second world war, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation. The lines of demarcation followed in the majority of the cases the old borders of 1937. The territory located on left bank of Thannbach was managed by the American , opposite, by the Soviet . The children still went in the same school and the inn was opened with all. But the political and economic evolution different in the American zone and the Soviet zone did not remain unfortunately without continuation for the village. In May 1949, the the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) obtained a constitution ( Grundgesetz or fundamental law) and in October with the same year, was founded the German Democratic republic (GDR). From now on, a half of Mödlareuth was in FRG, the other in GDR. One could cross the brook only with one leave-to pass.

In May 1952, the Council of Ministers of GDR adopted a bearing decree to the “measures concerning the line of demarcation between the GDR and the Western zones of occupation of Germany”. This founded a “band of ground supervised” (Kontrollstreifen) deforested and plowed of 10 m width along the line border, a “closed area” (Sperrzone) of 500 m width and finally “a 5 depth km protection zone” (Schutzzone) in which one could from now on penetrate only on special permit. Other measurements such as the night curfew and the prohibition of gathering strongly limited the common life to the plans social and cultural. Near the frontier zone, thousands of inhabitants were off-set towards the interior of the grounds of GDR and of innumerable villages were shaven. The inhabitants of the locality “Obere Mühle” (the mill top) were the touched first with Mödlareuth but could flee in extremis towards Bavaria. The construction of a palisade in boards of approximately 2 m in height constituted the first stage of total insulation. The point of organ of the efforts intended to protect the citizens from GDR against the imperialism was going to be sadly famous “the wall of shame”. It was made up on a length of approximately 700 m of length and 3,30 m in height, concrete panels embedded one in another and had been set up in a few weeks in 1966. It is from this day that Mödlareuth was also called “small Berlin”. And this building will perdura 24 years. The Americans called it “Little Berlin”, this whole small village with the borders of the western world, become like his/her big sister a symbol of Germany cut into two. But if there were well there a wall, there were not a point of passage or “check not”. East coast, the zone was prohibited access, west coast, the visitors were pressed. It was like everywhere in GDR, interdict to make signs in direction of the West. It was the Iron curtain in the middle of the village. Supervised night and day, flooded of a sinister light during the night. Until an excavator ends up cutting down it on June 17th, 1990. This second falls of the wall sounded at the same time the birth of the museum germano-German of Mödlareuth.

Political situation today

The village remains a single case, pulled about between two Länder. From an administrative point of view, the village always remains our days crossed into two, the northern part of the village located in the Land of Thuringe depends on the town of Gefell and the southern part (Bavarian) depends on the town of Töpen. Each half carries the marks of this imposed divorce, they differ in all: zip codes, telephone codes, number plates… And of course, two different mayors manage the few 50 managed whose membership is felt as of the first word of greeting. Thuringiens say “Guten Tag” (hello) and on other bank of Thannbach the Bavarian ones say their famous “Grüss Gott” (That God greets you).

Inheritance

inter-German Museum of Mödlareuth (Deutsch-deutsches Mödlareuth Museum)

External bonds

Official site of the inter-German museum of Mödlareuth
Testimony: interview of the director of the Museum (2002)

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