Cold War Conversations

In this episode we hear the third and final part of Torsten Belger’s story as he tells us about his first visit to West Berlin, leaving the East German Army and life after the GDR. Before we start a quick thanks to Skjip1969, Peteyinmontreal & GDR Objectified for leaving reviews in Itunes. Do leave reviews with your favourite podcast provider. It really helps us get new guests on the show.  Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated! Just click here to help support the show  Now back to today’s episode. We start with Torsten life in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall.   Can't wait for the next episode? Visit our discussion group here Radio GDR If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwar

László Nagy was one of the early members of the Hungarian Democratic Forum in 1987. The HDF became Hungary’s largest political party following first free elections in 1990. In this episode we hear the story of his parent’s life in 1950’s Hungary and László’s early life including how he ended up at school with the son of West Germany’s President. Before we start I’d like to ask you to by leaving a review in Itunes or with your favourite podcast provider. It really helps us get new guests on the show. If you’d like to assist us further with the costs of running the show, then click here to learn more. Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated! Now back to today’s episode. We start with László describing his father’s experiences at the end of World War 2. Can't wait for the next episode? Visit our discussion group here Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.co

In 1951, a small pilot program was launched in Indiana and Utah as a civilian defense measure to aid in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. The idea was simple: If a bomb dropped, people would need medical attention. They would need a fast and accurate system to help administer blood transfusions. Blood type and Rh factor (a newly discovered slightly important detail in the world of blood transfusions) needed to be readily available to emergency personnel. You can lose a paper ID card. Dog tags can come off your neck. Limbs can easily get blown off. Blood typing needed a universal and permanent placement. They had just the ticket. A tattoo under the arm, on the rib cage, and children were the guinea pigs for this test program... Now regular listeners will know the drill, as this is the point ask you to help support us. As the podcast gets more popular our costs of hosting and running the podcast increase, so if you are enjoying what you hear a few dollars, pounds or roubles a month help keep us on the air. Cl

Audra J Wolfe is writer, editor, and historian based in Philadelphia. With a background in both science and history her work specifically focuses on the role of science during the Cold War, a period when science held a special place in maintaining and projecting state power. Now if you’d like to support us with a few dollars, pounds or roubles then click here to learn more. Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated! If that’s not your cup of tea then you can really help us by leaving reviews on Itunes or with your favourite podcast provider. This really helps raise our profile and get guests on the show. Now back to today’s episode where Audra and I met at Manchester University where she is currently on lecture tour. You can but Audra's book here. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconvers

In this episode we welcome back Nick Anderson who told us about his RAF service intercepting TU-95 Soviet Bear bombers over the North Sea.  The story continues with his accounts of how the Soviet aircrew tried to distract RAF planes and how he was almost downed by their tactics. The episode ends with Nick telling us about the final days of the Cold War.  Can't wait for the next episode? Visit our discussion group here Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we welcome back Gillian Cox who told us about her student trip to East Germany in 1989. In this episode the story continues with her trip further East into Poland. At this point Poland’s communist Polish United Workers Party had abandoned its monopoly of power in April. Elections in June 1989 resulted in the Free Trade Union Solidarity securing 35% of seats available to it with the remaining 65% was divided between the PZPR and its satellite parties  The first round of voting took place on the same day that the Chinese communist government unleashed the Tiananmen Square massacre. We join my Cold War Conversation with Gillian Cox as she crosses the East German border into Poland.   For more information visit our website and join the conversation on Facebook.  Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube h

Today we speak to John Green. John Green grew up in Coventry in a communist family. After abandoning a zoology degree course after his second year at Bristol University, he switched to Drama. In 1964 he made the adventurous move to the German Democratic Republic to study film at the National Film School in Babelsberg, near Potsdam. He was the sole British student in the country. Returning to his native Britain in 1968, he became television correspondent for the GDR and spent 22 years reporting from around the world. Because the GDR, particularly at the height of the Cold War, was not officially recognised as an independent state, he and his colleagues were obliged to work anonymously and quasi-clandestinely in order to obtain the footage they needed. We start with John telling us about this early life in Coventry. Don't forget to check out our show notes here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode47/ The second part of this interview is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode58/ Support the projec

Today we welcome author Paul Grant whose excellent Berlin trilogy is set in Berlin during World War 2 and the Cold War. Paul and I talk about the books as well as his inspiration and how he did his research to capture the atmosphere and detail of Cold War Berlin. We also discuss the GDR and visiting Berlin, so without further ado let’s join our Cold War Conversation with Paul Grant.   Don't forget to check out the show notes here. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, we welcome back Torsten Belger a former East German Officer. You can listen to other episodes with Torsten here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode39/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode53/ Torsten was part of the 40th Anniversary Parade of the GDR which unknown to him at the time would be its last. He tells of the training for the parade and his meeting with Yasser Arafat, the Head of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. Torsten also shares how he heard about the unrest sweeping the country and his introduction to anti-riot training. The episode ends with Torsten telling about his gradual realisation that the country he had known his whole life was gradually falling apart. Before we start I’d like to thank all our Patreon who donate monthly to support the podcast further and get access to some exclusive extras. Monthly donations can be as small as $1 or a quid or a rouble and every donation helps keep us broadcasting and expanding the show. Just click here f

Nick Anderson is a former RAF Phantom jet fighter pilot.  We discuss flying in the Cold War and in detail how the RAF would have responded to a nuclear attack.  We also talk about how QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) worked and hear details of a number of missions Nick flew intercepting the Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 codenamed "The Bear" by NATO.  We welcome Nick Anderson Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the Cold War Conversations History Podcast 2018 roundup and thank you to all our listeners and guests who’ve stuck with us and made the podcast what it is. If your old or new to the podcast I hope this episode will make you dip into episodes you might have missed or you thought are not your cup of tea.. I’d like to especially thanks those listeners that have left such positive reviews on Itunes and have contributed financially via Patreon or as one off donations. If you haven’t left a review yet, just head over coldwarconversations.com and click on the “support the podcast” menu option. If you’d like to support us with a few quid, dollars, or roubles click on the support the podcast menu option as well at coldwarconversations.com. It’s been quite a year for me. I started this project in March 2018 and had no idea where it would go and have been astounded by the response and range of guests we have had on.  I have been privileged to speak to the son of a former Soviet Premier, I’ve sat chattin

Gillian Cox visited the GDR as a student in October 1989 just before the Wall came down. In this episode you will hear her eyewitness of account of what she saw in East Germany on the cusp of its destruction. We start with Gillian describing her interest in the Cold War and how she ended up in the GDR. We welcome Gillian Cox Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk again with Neil Gussman who was an M60A1 tank commander in West Germany tasked with defending the Fulda Gap which was a key likely Warsaw Pact attack route. We talk about his rushed initial deployment where he faced Warsaw Pact tanks across the border, details of various exercises he was in and how the US troops interacted with the West German population. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shane Whaley from the GDR Radio Podcast and Spybrary podcast and I speak with Peter Millar. Peter is an award-winning journalist who was named Foreign Correspondent of the Year for his reporting on the dying days of the Cold War.  Peter's book "The Berlin Wall: My Part in its Downfall" is described as "a witty, wry, elegiac account of his time as a Reuters and Sunday Times correspondent in Berlin throughout most of the 1980s' " by The Spectator and the Sunday Times described it as" part autobiography, part history primer and part Fleet Street gossip column ...  Millar cast aside the old chestnuts and set about reporting on the reality of life under communism. In bare Stalinist apartments, at hollow party events and over cool glasses of Volker the gravedigger-cum-hippie, the Stasi seductress "Helga the Honeypot", Kurtl the accordion player whose father had been killed at Stalingrad, and the petty smuggler Manne who has been separated from his parents by the Wall ... Radio GDR If you are interested in East

We speak with Torsten Belger who trained as an Artillery Officer in the East German Army.   Torsten also runs Germandotmilitaria which is a web site selling various items of East German militaria and civilian items too. It's well worth a visit He tells us in fascinating detail about his early life, his schooling, and how he ended up on the NVA officer training course. You can listen to other episodes with Torsten here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode45/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode53/ Spoiler alert, this episode does end on a cliffhanger... we welcome Torsten Belger. Radio GDR If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. V

Today we’re talking to Neil Gussman who trained on the M60A1 tank in the 1970s. This was the standard main battle tank of the US Army from the 1960s through to the 1980s. If you are enjoying the podcasts you can get exclusive extras including previews of future episodes, as well as content that didn’t make the final cut. Available for as little as a monthly donation of a euro, a dollar or a quid (larger amounts and other currencies are accepted too). Just head over to coldwarconversations.com and click on the “Support the podcast” menu option. Thank you very much to those listeners who are already supporting us. Back to today’s episode , Neil shares with us some great anecdotes about his training and the gunnery competitions as well as the change in US tank tactics as a result of the 1973 Arab Israeli War. We welcome Neil Gussman. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram

Today we're talking to Antje Arnold, author of “The Girl Behind The Wall” which tells the story of a girl growing up in East Germany in the 1980s. Patreon is an easy way for you to support the podcast with a monthly donation of as little as a euro, a dollar or a quid (larger amounts and other currencies are accepted too, but no Ost Marks). I’d like to thank personally our latest supporters via Patreon. These are Dom Thorrington, Jakob Rud Bernhardt and Nick Packham who are are helping us monthly for as little as a euro, a dollar or a quid (larger amounts and other currencies are accepted too, but no Ost Marks). If you'd like to help keep us broadcasting and get some extras then just click here  Back to today's episode. Antje's book is from a child’s point-of-view, rather than the typical espionage stories or documentaries that portray people trying to escape socialism.  In our conversation you will not find historical data, but you'll travel back in time to relive the childhood memories alongside The Girl Beh

Today we visit the Totally East: Life in East Germany Photography Exhibition. Run-down façades, punks and ordinary workers: This exhibition shows the works of Harald Hauswald, who documented everyday life in the GDR. I walk through the exhibition with Dr Richard Millington who you will remember from our episode on the 1953 East German Uprising. Richard has brought the exhibition to Chester and as we walk round we discuss the photos and have a wide ranging conversation about life in East Germany. After our chat there’s some interviews with exhibition visitors who reminisce about the GDR and comment on the exhibition. We also chat with a couple of Cold War Conversations Podcast listeners who came along too. I hope you enjoy!  Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn

We talk with John Sutton who owns a Foxtrot class Soviet Submarine moored in the middle of the River Medway in Kent. This may seem an unlikely location for a Soviet submarine but John tells an interesting story of how he acquired it. Before we go further I’d like to thank all our Patreons who donate monthly to support the podcast further and get access to some exclusive extras. Now you might wonder what this Patreon stuff is I go on about - in short it's a way of you can help fund further podcasts. All I'm asking is if you enjoy the podcast to agree to pay as much as you can afford each month. You can cancel at any time and amounts as little as little as a $1 or a £1 a month really help keep us broadcasting and expanding the show. Just click here to visit our Patreon page. So back to the episode, after viewing some of the photos of the sub listing in the river, with some trepidation I boarded a fast Javelin train at London St Pancras and within 30 minutes I was in Strood and I could see across the Medway t

Today we talk with Samy who as a native West Berliner describes growing up in the city during the 1970s and 80s. He describes in detail the difference between West Berlin and West Germany, including its position as a “special political entity”, how the death penalty in West Berlin was only abolished in 1989 and how as a child he was obsessed with Spy movies, spy books, and Cold War activities. Samy also talks about the battle between the East and West German Sandmännchen resulting in victory for the East. Samy joined the Red Cross post Cold War but discovered some interesting remnants of preparedness in case of another Berlin blockade including some top secret locations. There's loads of extra content available in our show notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode34/  Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube