Like the city of Berlin, the village of Mödlareuth – also known as ‘Little Berlin’ – was divided by the Wall, which ran here along the border between Bavaria and Thuringia, leaving part of this small community in West Germany and part in East Germany. Located at this historic site, the Deutsch-Deutsches Museum Mödlareuth tells the story of this division, how it came about and the impact it had on the residents of the village. In 2019, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down, plans were made to provide the museum with a new building and a new permanent exhibition, which opened on 9 November 2025.

During the initial construction phase, which lasted until the end of 2022, the museum’s outdoor exhibition was completely redesigned and revamped. Working closely together with Grünplan Landschaftsarchitekten, facts and fiction designed and implemented the visitor wayfinding system, diverse information pillars, an outdoor display showing the course of the Wall through the landscape, and a reconstruction of the East German border fortifications that includes original artefacts.

The permanent exhibition is divided into four periods (1945-1951, 1952-1961, 1962-1989, 1989-1990) with a prologue and epilogue. Partition walls measuring several metres shape the space and intuitively guide visitors through the exhibition. Visitors explore the chronology of events in a classic museum tour that gives them new and clearer insight into the historical developments.

Each period begins with an exhibit that highlights the milestones of the day. A great many original artefacts such as historical documents, uniforms and everyday objects used along the border illustrate how people used to live and work at the crossroads between East and West. Historical videos and photographs provide insights into the history of this remarkable place and the scarcely imaginable situation that people faced back then. The first-hand accounts of those who lived in the village or who describe their escapes across the border are particularly impressive. Personal stories convey a tangible and intimate sense of historical experience within an otherwise largely documentary and informative narrative structure.

The scenography of the exhibition is derived from the building’s architecture. Large display walls converge on the imaginary vanishing point of the exhibition hall. As the architectural space narrows, the scenographic presentation at the rear of the room becomes denser and dimmer. Visitors experience a vague sensation of confinement that steadily grows as they move towards the far end of the room, before reversing course and heading for an opening, where their sense of space is restored – and this is where the narrative transitions to the fall of the Berlin Wall. In the epilogue, visitors return to the beginning of the exhibition and once again experience the view from the panoramic window and of the remaining section of the Wall.

Photos: David Matthiesen