Mecklenburg in the 19th Century @museum.de

F: Until well into the 19th century, Mecklenburg was a backwater. The then Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck is said to have claimed (with tongue in cheek) that even the end of the world would be delayed by half a century here.

M: Since the early 18th century, the state had been divided into two principalities: the larger Mecklenburg-Schwerin and the smaller Mecklenburg-Strelitz. But in both parts of the country, people's lives were marked by stark contrasts.

Auf dem Bildschirm: Vitrine links, mit der roten Uniform

F: Both Mecklenburg principalities resembled patchworks where – setting aside the duke and the cities – the land was largely controlled by the owners of smaller estates and manors. They'd succeeded in maintaining a feudal corporate state and largely disenfranchised the rural population. The estate owners built themselves grand residences that resembled little palaces...

Auf dem Bildschirm: Vitrine rechts, mit dem Tagelöhnerhemd

M: ... while there was unimaginable poverty and lawlessness elsewhere. The rural population had no free right of settlement and needed the manor owner's permission to get married or move house.

F: It was into this situation of great social inequality and backwardness that Fritz Reuter was born. His father held the office of mayor here in Stavenhagen. And Reuter Senior made an effort to alleviate the suffering of the poor at least a little.