Crossing the border became the test of courage

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Helmut Haselberger grew up in the immediate vicinity of the Iron Curtain. As a schoolboy, he experienced many adventures and daring undertakings with his friends. They would also set out on journeys into the forests immediately surrounding the border crossing Finsterau/Bučina. In elementary school, daring one another to cross the “Green Line” became a sort of a test of courage. However, the boys didn’t dare to travel for more than a few meters into Czechoslovak territory. Helmut recalls that the area surrounding the border “was completely depopulated.”

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Helmut Haselberger

Helmut Haselberger was born in 1942 in Finsterau where he still lives today. Helmut Haselberger’s paternal family originates in Hüttl/Chalupky on the Bohemian side of the border just a few kilometers away. His father married into a Finsterau family just before the end of the war. For Helmut, Finsterau was the end of the world in the era of the Cold War. From there you could only go in one direction - to the West.

Další informace

Border crossing Finsterau/Bučina

Dostupné v: English | Deutsch

Finsterau is a small village in the Bavarian Forest in the district of Mauth. Bučina is located five kilometers away on the Czech side of the border. Before 1946, the place was inhabited by Germans and is now deserted; the buildings were demolished because of the construction of the border zone in 1956. The border is marked by a stream at this point. The border crossing Finsterau/Bučina is a "green" border crossing which may only be crossed by pedestrians and cyclists.

Na tomto místě

Crossing the border became the test of courage

Helmut Haselberger

Border crossing Finsterau/Bučina

Na tomto místě

A beer from Bohemia

Crossing the border became the test of courage

First encounter with border officials