Grenzweg

I'm a person of a certain age (on the cusp of old) so have an interest in such things as the Inner-German border. The split between the US and USSR was the background of my life growing up, as it was for all of my generation, whether we cognizant of it or not. Many of us in the US had a happy "Gen X free range" childhood, but even back then (thanks to my father who loved history and current events) I always knew something was lurking.

So we went on this short hike outside the village of Sorge, along the service road that was used by the East German border police and troops. Sorge is one of the villages that wasn't liquidated by the Soviets/ DDR, though the residents were placed under severe restriction of movement limitations. There are re-creations, sometimes with original materials, of a border tower, road and water barriers (to keep one from crossing rivers), and very good informational signs in German and English. YAY! I didn't have to figure out the German-- we'd still be there hours later. Thankfully, they picked up all the land mines though.

There's also the Ring of Remembrance, in honor of the people who were killed attempting to cross. It's an outside installation right around the old border. Short video included. Video isn't my thing. I'm tech-challenged.

Sobering exhibit, but something I really wanted to see. It's very beautiful around there, with the rolling mountains and fields of flowers. Today, there are hunting blinds in the fields (a lot of deer and wild boar here), a handful of vacation rentals in the village, and a train that takes tourists up to the Brocken, passing just in sight of the border.Leggi altro