Following the opening ceremony with around 150 guests from the worlds of politics, education, culture and society, including the Managing Prime Minister of the Free State of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow, and the Hessian Minister of the Interior, Security and Homeland Security, Prof. Roman Poseck, visitors can now visit the new permanent exhibition at the Schifflersgrund Border Museum. The approximately 400 square meter exhibition is entitled “Schifflersgrund and the inner-German border”. It tells the story of the causes of the division of Germany and the expansion of the GDR barriers, of everyday life on both sides of the border as well as how it was overcome and its aftermath. It shows how the border developed from a demarcation line of the Allied reorganization after the Second World War and the victory over National Socialist Germany through the Cold War into an almost insurmountable bulwark. It makes clear the profound impact the border had on the lives of people in the East and West and reports, among other things, on the forced resettlement of politically unpopular people to the hinterland of the GDR or documents successful but also fatal escape attempts. The focus is on Schifflersgrund and the surrounding Hessian-Thuringian border region between Eichsfeld and Werratal, which serves as an example of the history of the division of Germany. The new permanent exhibition thus also serves as a reminder of the region. The new permanent exhibition makes history vivid and tangible using multimedia. An interactive border model, 260 pictures, 110 documents, 98 objects, ten media stations, over 150 contemporary witness videos and numerous page elements, infographics and quotations ensure this. Changing viewing and learning habits, different prior knowledge and changing visitor expectations as well as the latest research findings were also taken into account in the planning and design. “In addition to commemorating the victims of the division, our aim in the new permanent exhibition is to convey history in an understandable and impressive way and to strengthen historical awareness and judgement,” explains museum director and exhibition curator Dr. Christian Stöber. “We don’t want to lecture, but ultimately raise awareness of the values of freedom and democracy, which seem to be questioned more than ever these days. This is why the redesign is not only a milestone for our institution, but also for the culture of remembrance and political education here in the center of Germany.” The architecture of the exhibition, with its cut-outs, edges and slopes, is derived from the fragmented, torn border landscape. The large glass front of the new permanent exhibition building with a view of the preserved GDR barriers and the place of death of Heinz-Josef Große, who was shot on March 29, 1982 while attempting to escape in Schifflersgrund, means that the exhibition and outdoor area are closely interlinked. The historical site becomes a large exhibit. The redesign of the border museum also includes a fundamental reorganization of the outdoor area and the construction of a cross-border hiking trail. The result is a three-part ensemble of buildings connected by a new visitor path. So far, more than 3 million euros have been invested in the redesign of the Schifflersgrund border museum. The majority was financed by the Free State of Thuringia, Hesse and the federal government.
Further project funding enabled the implementation of smaller partial measures. In addition, numerous personal contributions were made. The redesign of the memorial site is the result of a preparatory process lasting several years. It is the first comprehensive redesign that the border museum, which opened in 1991, has undergone. The sponsoring association is still the Arbeitskreis Grenzinformation e.V., which was founded in 1990. Its chairman, Wolfgang Ruske, says: “As an association, we also see the funding as an appreciation of decades of voluntary work. Without the financial support, a redesign would have been inconceivable. This will secure the future of the border museum and significantly benefit the educational work. We are very grateful for this.”