ABSTRACT
Among the forested rolling hills and wheat fields at the northern edge of the Bavarian region of Upper Franconia stands the tiny German village of Modlareuth. In a nation known for its extensive rail network, reaching Modlareuth is difficult without a car. Modlareuth's location on this state border means that the fifteen-house village is a modern administrative oddity. Villagers must pay long-distance fees to place a telephone call to their neighbors across the street. The map of Modlareuth is central to understanding the local Cold War division. The small size of the community along with its isolation shaped Cold War partition here, leading to a process of division with a different hue than in other spots along the border where research has convincingly shown that locals themselves on both sides worked to create the Iron Curtain. In remote Modlareuth, uncertainty emerged as a central theme in local life in the context of the late 1940s.
