Childhood

Children of the Silent Revolution

What are your dreams at 18 and what happens in the next 20 years? Children of the Silent Revolution is a documentary film following a tight-knit group of classmates from Bulgaria who reveal their stories over a period of 20 years, spanning the transition from communism to democracy in their country. It’s a powerful memoir … Read more

Alexander – A Conscript in the Soviet Navy

  Alexander ‘Sasha’ Goncharov was born in Leningrad but early in this life moved to Ukraine.  After leaving school he was drafted into the Soviet Military and was based in Sevastopol where he worked in Naval Aviation servicing anti-ship weapons systems.  At the end of this period, Sasha decided to stay in the military to … Read more

The opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989

    Cold War Conversations worked with the Imperial War Museum on a project called Voices of the Wall to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Berlin Wall. We captured new  personal testimonies of people’s experiences of the Cold War which later became part of the podcast. You can enjoy all the … Read more

Dean Reed, the Red Elvis, a US music star behind the Iron Curtain – Episode 2

Ramona Reed continues the story of her father who was Dean Reed an American actor, singer and songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc. The previous episode is available here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode97/ Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts Now if you like the podcast … Read more

Life as a Soviet Child Refugee in West Germany

In this episode we continue Andrej’s story with his sometimes, harrowing memories of how he became a child refugee in West Germany. Now if you like what your hearing then for the price of a couple of coffees a month you’ll be helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, … Read more

Growing up on a Soviet base in the GDR

  Andrej’s father served with the Soviet Army in Germany.  He grew up on a military base and shares his childhood memories as East Germany began to disintegrate. So would you like one of those Cold War Conversations coasters you keep hearing me talk about? Well it’s easy, just sign up to https://www.patreon.com/coldwarpod and for … Read more

A Childhood at the Hungarian Border with Austria

  Balint grew up in Hungary right next to the border with Austria. Part of his family escaped in 1956 and went to Australia. Balint’s  grandfather survived 4 years in a Gulag camp Would you like a CWC Coaster? It’s easy, sign up to Patreon and for the price of a couple of coffees a … Read more

A Cold War UK/GDR Romance

    In 1986 GDR student Antje met a British guy who was installing sewing machines in of the hosiery companies in East Germany. Unusually he was given quite a bit of freedom to socialise locally and he eventually asked Antje to marry him. However, with her prospective husband being a citizen of the capitalist … Read more