Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

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 episo...

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 (...

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 Pat...

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 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 wonde...

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. Sam...

Eileen shares some great information with us of working & living in East Berlin, with some surprising details.  She also generously reveals details about the contents of her Stasi file. It’s a fascinating story that includes Eileen's escape from the Volkspolizei following a Billy Bragg gig in East Berlin. We welcome again Eileen Ford-Price.  Further show notes are available at https://coldwarconve...

Today we speak with Eileen Ford-Price who was British student in the GDR in the 1980s in Rostock. 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 and every donation helps keep us broadcasting and expending the show. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.c...

We speak with Doctor Grace Huxford, author of the Korean War in Britain – Citizenship, Selfhood and Forgetting.  The Korean War was known as the “forgotten war”, but it is key in understanding the early Cold War tensions and later repercussions that continue through to today. The equipment used in today’s episode has kindly been provided by our supporters who make monthly donations via Patreon – a...

Dave Arnold was the Chief Observer at a Royal Observer Corps nuclear monitoring post. I made a fascinating visit with Dave to the Rushton Spencer Royal Observer Corps nuclear monitoring post in Staffordshire in the UK. My instructions were to meet in the Royal Oak pub car park where I would be escorted to the post…right on 11am David appeared and guided me up various little used country lanes into...

This episode takes place at a Living History event in and around the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker museum in deepest Cheshire in the UK. I can heartily recommend visiting the Hack Green Bunker and we are planning an audio tour of the bunker as a future episode. The event was patrolled by various re-enactors and checkpointshad to be passed as visitors are invited to venture between the two sides...

USAF pilot Buz Carpenter talks about about flying reconnaissance over Vietnam, the Skunkworks where secret USAF projects were developed, his time commanding Ramstein airbase at the end of the Cold War and more. 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....

Today we are talking about the SR71 Blackbird spy plane. Only 32 Blackbirds were ever made, and they were in service from 1964-1998. The great defensive ability of the plane was its high speed and altitude. Standard evasive action was just to accelerate, which made it almost invulnerable to the attack technologies of the time.  The top speed of the plane was mach 3.3 (2,200 miles/hour that’s 36 mi...

This is part 2 of my conversation with Professor Sergei Khrushchev the son of Nikita Khrushchev who led the Soviet Union 1953 to 1964. Before we start I would again like to thank all those who are supporting the podcast with monthly pledges and donations.  If you would like to support the podcast further and get access to some exclusive extras go to our website at coldwarconversations.com/donate I...

In part 1 of this interview we talk about Professor Khrushchev’s early years, his relationship with his father, his father’s rise to power, the 1956 Hungarian Uprising as well the first international visits accompanying his father to the UK, East Germany and the USA.   Part 2 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode26/ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us...

West Germany had a number of Nuclear Warning Bunkers dotted around the country similar to the Royal Observer Corps in the UK. Mirko Krumm describes the organisation West German Civil Defence and the preservation of his bunker near Bremen. Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwa...

Powers' U-2 was shot down on May 1, 1960, as he flew over Soviet airspace, and after parachuting out of the plane he was captured and convicted of espionage. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was freed on Feb. 10, 1962, in exchange for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel. The incident and exchange was detailed on the Steven Spielberg film “Bridge of Spies”. Support the project! https://coldwarconversa...

We’re talking about East German cars with Alex Goffe and Mark Mullarkey of the UK-based Wartburg Trabant IFA Club. Now I don’t think Top Gear or Jeremy Clarkson, etc. have anything to worry about, but I hope you enjoy our chat and ride through the Staffordshire countryside in Alex’s Trabi… Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWa...

Welcome to Episode 21 of Cold War Conversations. Now I am very excited by today’s guest and we have a packed episode for you. Nigel Dunkley MBE is a former Royal Scots Dragoon Guard who served in Berlin with a squadron of Chieftain tanks tasked with defending the British Sector including the Brandenburg Gate should the Cold War have turned hot. Nigel also performed intelligence gathering duties in...

Today we're talking to Anke Holst was born in the GDR during the 1970s in Rostock. Anke has returned to Rostock after many years abroad and now provides tours of GDR sites in Rostock. Our conversation highlights how different life was in the provinces of the GDR as opposed to Berlin. In a wide ranging, frank and honest discussion we talk about her family life with her mother who was a stalwart Par...

Today we're talking to Francesca Akhtar who holds a BA Hons in American Studies with 1st class honours from Canterbury Christ Christ Church University in Kent, and a Masters degree in US history & Politics from the Institute of the Americas, University College London. Her main research interests are US Cold War foreign policy, intelligence history and defence. Francesca has written a dissertation...

The airfield is probably best known, certainly in the UK, for the controversial deployment of Ground Launched Cruise Missiles in the 1980s and the resulting Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp outside its gates. Today’s guest is is a graduate in international relations, the author of “In Defence of Freedom; a History of RAF Greenham Common” and is also a Director of Greenham Control Tower Ltd. I am...

In 1968 today’s guest was 15 year old at the same school in Prague as Czech communist leader Alexander Dubček’s son. Jan Čulík provides a valuable eyewitness account of the heady days of the Prague Spring and the subsequent Warsaw Pact invasion. He provides some insightful views that I found challenged my understanding of the Prague Spring. He details the situation in Czechoslovakia in the late 19...

Today we’re talking to Mark Valley, host of the Livedrop espionage podcast.   Mark served with the US army as a combat engineer in West Germany and later with the Berlin Brigade.   His story gives you an eyewitness account of service in both locations, but also gives some insight into the training, tactics and dilemmas of service in the army.  I am delighted and honoured to welcome Mark Valley.  S...

Today we speak to Sabine who was 13 when the Wall opened.   We hear about her childhood in East Germany and gain great insight into life at the time, the pressures on her family and her first steps into West Berlin.   I found Sabine’s story very personal and moving detailing her experiences as her country disappeared almost overnight casting her family into an uncertain future as the safety net th...