Teaching English in East Germany

Bärbel was born in a village near Magdeburg in 1962, She explores her personal and professional life growing up in East Germany. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Amazon MusicListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! We delve into her family’s views on the East German government, her journey to becoming a teacher, and her … Read more

Mutiny in the East German Army

In this riveting account Tilo recounts his experiences as an East German soldier during the final months of East Germany. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Amazon MusicListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! He details the rising political awareness among soldiers, and his fear that his unit will be asked to shoot on demonstrators … Read more

East German Army Bullying, Serving in a Brigade HQ and Military Exercises

Warning: This episode does cover the subject of suicide. If you need help please use these links: UK https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/ Rest of the World  https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp Tilo shares his raw and powerful testimony of a young man conscripted into the East German military at the height of Cold War tensions. He recounts the daunting prospect of being drafted into … Read more

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix

  Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War, a nine-part documentary series from director Brian Knappenberger, provides a comprehensive appraisal of the events that led to the Cold War and traces the conflict around the world and through the decades. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Amazon MusicListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! … Read more

The Challenges of a Christian East German Childhood

Tilo offers an engaging and personal account of growing up in East Berlin before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He begins by describing his early childhood in a rundown building in Prenzlauer Berg before moving to a new prefab neighbourhood in Lichtenberg. Tilo’s grandfather on his mother’s side was a  pastor in the Lutheran … Read more

Gymnastics and Pills: An East German Childhood

Sirka offers a comprehensive exploration of life in East Germany, detailing the experiences of growing up in Neubrandenburg, the influence of the East German state and the Stasi, and the societal impacts of Mikhail Gorbachev’s policies leading up to the fall of the Berlin Wall. She also talks of her intensive gymnastics training and being … Read more

Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War on Netflix Podcast

  Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War, a nine-part documentary series from director Brian Knappenberger, provides a comprehensive appraisal of the events that led to the Cold War and traces the conflict around the world and through the decades. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Amazon MusicListen on Podcast AddictBecome a Patron! … Read more

The Picnic That Ripped Open The Iron Curtain

  In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists did the unthinkable: they entered the forbidden militarised zone of the Iron Curtain – and held a picnic. Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! Word had spread of what was going to happen. On wisps of rumour, thousands of East German … Read more

The East German Tank Commander

  In the mid-1980s Dag was a T72 tank commander in the NVA, the East German Army and is now a volunteer at the Tank Museum at Bovington in the UK.   Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google Podcasts He describes his initial tank commander training, the battle readiness of the NVA, and … Read more

Cold War, Warm Hearts – Hitchhiking behind the 1960s Iron Curtain

  In 1966 most of Bridget’s friends, in their early twenties, were settling down with jobs and/or husbands… Listen on Apple PodcastsListen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsBecome a Patron! She, on the other hand, set off alone to travel across Poland relying on the kindness of strangers.  Fascinated by what she experienced she continued to … Read more