Don – 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment at the Fulda Gap

  In this second episode with Don Snedeker we talk to him about his time after his tour of Vietnam when he served in West Germany. From 1974 to 1986 Don served in a number of roles but most noticeably he was assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fulda, one of the locations … Read more

My father was a Stasi spy…

Werner Stiller’s spectacular defection to the West in 1979 inflicted one of the Cold War’s most serious blows to the Stasi. At the time he was working as a case officer for the Main Directorate for Reconnaissance, the Stasi’s foreign intelligence division, where he was in charge of scientific espionage in the West. We speak … Read more

A 23 year old nuclear missile commander

  In the late 1980s Scott was a Pershing 2 nuclear missile Fire Control Officer which meant he was responsible for the launch of the missile. Aged 23 he was made platoon commander and responsible for 3 of these deadly weapons. The Pershing II was a mobile, intermediate-range ballistic missile deployed by the U.S. Army … 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

Defending the Cold War Pershing 2 nuclear missile

Phil Logan served in the US Army from 1986-1991.  He went through infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia was sent to Germany and assigned to the ground defence force for the Pershing II tactical nuclear missiles.  He describes in some detail defence tactics including against Warsaw Pact Special Forces, the West German Red Army Faction … Read more

Cold War Spy Stories from Eastern Europe

Today we’re talking to  Alison Lewis, a professor in German at the University of Melbourne. She is the author of several books, including one in German about love and gender in literature during Germany’s reunification and a book in German about the Stasi’s infiltration of the literary underground. We spoke to Alison in episode 71. … Read more

The Cold War West German Nuclear Monitoring System

  Welcome to episode 24 of Cold War Conversations. Today’s episode. We’re talking about the Cold War nuclear monitoring system in West Germany. Todays guest is Mirko Krumm who managed the preservation of a Warning Bunker in West Germany. West Germany had a number of Nuclear Warning Bunkers dotted around the country. Mirko describes the … Read more

Mark – A Cold War US Combat Engineer in West Germany

Before we start I’d like to say how humbled I am by the level of interest in the podcast and the kind comments from our many subscribers. If you’d like to support us further and get some extras then head over to Patreon. There’s also links on the home page of the website at www.coldwarconversations.com. … Read more