Jun 11, 2021
In this episode of Radio GDR - the East Germany podcast, we are
joined by Patrick Hoffmann, assistant director, pedagogue and
historian at Borderland Museum Eichsfeld, one of the more than 20
museums along the former Inner German Border
Founded in 1995, the museum sits at the border crossing point
Duderstadt-Worbis, which is about 190 kilometers west of Leipzig on
the border of Thuringia and Lower Saxony. The museum is comprised
of the original buildings of the former border crossing point,
which include the original rooms, such as the passport checking
rooms and the detention cell, as well the Borderland Trail, a
circular hiking path with originally preserved border
fortifications. The exhibitions are along the former death strip,
today’s “Green Belt,” and deal with different aspects of the German
division, focusing on the GDR border regime and the everyday life
of East and West Germans living in the border area, as well as the
Peaceful Revolution and the border opening (“Fall of the wall”) in
1989. While visiting the museum in person is most definitely
recommended, check out the museum's impressive virtual reality
tour.