Böseckendorf
Encyclopedia
Böseckendorf is a village in the Teistungen
municipality in the district of Eichsfeld
in Germany
. It became famous during the Cold War
for two mass escapes in 1961 and 1963 involving a total of 65 inhabitants – a quarter of the village's population – across the heavily fortified inner German border.
The village is first recorded in a deed of about 1250 of Count Ulrich von Regenstein for the monastery of Kloster Beuren. The entire village became a monastic settlement in 1431, after which the villagers were required to pay tithe
s to support the monastery. Its monastic ties were abolished in 1809.
After the end of the Second World War the village found itself just inside the Soviet occupation zone, which became the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany) in 1949. The village is situated in a salient
of the German Thuringia
, surrounded on three sides by the border with Lower Saxony
. In 1952 the inner German border was fortified by the East German government, with access to the West being cut off and Böseckendorf being added to the high-security Schutzstreifen ("protective strip") adjoining the border.
Thousands of inhabitants of the East German border region were expelled en masse in 1952 in an action, codenamed Operation Vermin, intended to rid the border villages of so-called "unreliable elements". In 1961, rumours of a new wave of mass expulsions began circulating in Böseckendorf. Many inhabitants, particularly farmers who had resisted the forced collectivization policies of the GDR regime, feared that they were on Stasi
blacklists of those slated for expulsion.
On the night of 2 October 1961, 53 people from twelve families – 16 men, 14 women and 23 children – fled from Böseckendorf across the border without being detected by the East German border guards. Their escape was celebrated in the West. Although the border was mined to prevent further escapes, a second mass escape occurred at Böseckendorf on 22 February 1963. Twelve people from two village families crossed the border successfully, led by a GDR border guard who was engaged to one of the escapees. He was able to guide the villagers across the border at a point that he knew was free of landmines. In March 1963 the West German authorities announced that they would build a new village for the escapees, to be named Neuböseckendorf (New Böseckendorf), located about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the original village.
On 24 September 2009, the German television channel Sat.1
broadcast Böseckendorf - Die Nacht, in der ein Dorf verschwand ("Böseckendorf - The night on which a village vanished"), a dramatised version of the 1961 mass escape.
Teistungen
Teistungen is a Thuringian municipality in the district of Eichsfeld in Germany.It was the site of the fourth workshop in May 2011....
municipality in the district of Eichsfeld
Eichsfeld
The Eichsfeld is a historical region in the southeast of Lower Saxony and northwest of Thuringia in the south of the Harz mountains...
in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It became famous during the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
for two mass escapes in 1961 and 1963 involving a total of 65 inhabitants – a quarter of the village's population – across the heavily fortified inner German border.
The village is first recorded in a deed of about 1250 of Count Ulrich von Regenstein for the monastery of Kloster Beuren. The entire village became a monastic settlement in 1431, after which the villagers were required to pay tithe
Tithe
A tithe is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques, or stocks, whereas historically tithes were required and paid in kind, such as agricultural products...
s to support the monastery. Its monastic ties were abolished in 1809.
After the end of the Second World War the village found itself just inside the Soviet occupation zone, which became the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(East Germany) in 1949. The village is situated in a salient
Salients, re-entrants and pockets
A salient is a battlefield feature that projects into enemy territory. The salient is surrounded by the enemy on three sides, making the troops occupying the salient vulnerable. The enemy's line facing a salient is referred to as a re-entrant...
of the German Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, surrounded on three sides by the border with Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
. In 1952 the inner German border was fortified by the East German government, with access to the West being cut off and Böseckendorf being added to the high-security Schutzstreifen ("protective strip") adjoining the border.
Thousands of inhabitants of the East German border region were expelled en masse in 1952 in an action, codenamed Operation Vermin, intended to rid the border villages of so-called "unreliable elements". In 1961, rumours of a new wave of mass expulsions began circulating in Böseckendorf. Many inhabitants, particularly farmers who had resisted the forced collectivization policies of the GDR regime, feared that they were on Stasi
Stasi
The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security The Ministry for State Security (German: Ministerium für Staatssicherheit (MfS), commonly known as the Stasi (abbreviation , literally State Security), was the official state security service of East Germany. The MfS was headquartered...
blacklists of those slated for expulsion.
On the night of 2 October 1961, 53 people from twelve families – 16 men, 14 women and 23 children – fled from Böseckendorf across the border without being detected by the East German border guards. Their escape was celebrated in the West. Although the border was mined to prevent further escapes, a second mass escape occurred at Böseckendorf on 22 February 1963. Twelve people from two village families crossed the border successfully, led by a GDR border guard who was engaged to one of the escapees. He was able to guide the villagers across the border at a point that he knew was free of landmines. In March 1963 the West German authorities announced that they would build a new village for the escapees, to be named Neuböseckendorf (New Böseckendorf), located about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the original village.
On 24 September 2009, the German television channel Sat.1
Sat.1
Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station in Germany, having started one day before RTL Television....
broadcast Böseckendorf - Die Nacht, in der ein Dorf verschwand ("Böseckendorf - The night on which a village vanished"), a dramatised version of the 1961 mass escape.