History Flakes - The Berlin History Podcast

How to build a new country Step 1: No, not like that! Step 2: Stalin, do you like your birthday present? Step 3: We must make Stalin a nice birthday present, this time while singing a catchy song. Step 4: Oh, Stalin, are you dead? This episode Pip & Jonny explore how the grand buildings on Karl-Marx-Allee, formerly Stalinallee, came to be. The story of these momentous buildings is filled with...

What happened when civil rights activist, one-time FBI’s most wanted, scourge of J Edgar Hoover, Angela Davis met the GDR? A lot actually. Want to find out? Join us as we dive into Angela’s early years and into her eventful 20s, growing up surrounded by threats of death and violence in the southern US to studying in Paris, Frankfurt and Berlin. And discover why she holds cult status for an entire...

And what a special it is! We're joined by the Berlin Companion herself, Beata Gontarczyk-Krampe, author of the wonderful  Berlin Companion blog . Beata's deep dives into Berlin history most people have never heard of are consitently fascinating and delightful. If you like this show, you'll love her blog! Beata blessed us with surprising stories of Berlin Christmases past over wine a...

What makes a king “Great”? In this episode, we follow up on our exploration of Frederick’s intense and domineering father, the Soldier King, to uncover what shaped Frederick into a true Renaissance man. With secret lessons in music and literature, famously philosphers, the flute, and an incredible instinct for survival, Frederick became one of history’s most intriguing monarchs. Sure, he invaded a...

THIS guy...This. Guy. Meet Friedrich Wilhelm II. The Soldier King. Father of Friedrich the Great, second ever King of Prussia. He's a fighter not a lover, unless you're over 6 foot, in which case watch out, he might love you so hard you'll be taken away to join his battalion of giant human toy soldiers. In what was a surprisingly fulfilling fall down a Prussian rabbit hole, we discu...

Wanna have a coffee? Well, I hope you're not an East German in the '70s & '80s, 'cos it's gonna be tough (and taste like wood). On this episode of History Flakes Pip & Jonny dive deep into the lukewarm cup of coffee that is East Germany's struggle to procure the brown stuff for its people. To do that we've enlisted the help of TikTok's own Call Me St...

Come enjoy an atmospheric walk around a cemetery bursting with history! Let's explore the Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde in this beautiful, golden Autumn together. Listen at home, or follow along with a blog post, map, and photos - you could even follow the route as you walk through the cemetery! How do you do that? Check out this link to find a map, exact locations of all the graves, photos...

Dear Listener,  Come closer to the fire, pull your shawl a little tighter about your shoulders...pay no attention to the pale looking figure staring longingly at your neck from the shadows.  It is our great pleasure to kick off History Flakes Season 2 with a celebration of Halloween and the story of film maker F. W. Murnau and his most infamous film NOSFERATU. We've missed you most cruelly, b...

Let's dive into the wild and bruising life of Germany’s best-known pugilist, Max Schmeling—the man who went from Weimar wonder to darling of Nazi propaganda, and somehow managed to emerge in post-WWII West Germany with an intact reputation. Schmeling’s life reads like a script from the golden age of cinema—coming of age in the chaos of Weimar Germany, he punched his way to the top, becoming a...

Anita Berber, pioneering dance performer extraordinaire, or violent thieving drug-addled lunatic? Why not both!? Join us during our first live recording as we talk about the life and times of Anita Berber, the ultimate performance wunderkind of Weimar Berlin. There’s quite a bit bubbling up under the surface, and the inter-war peace feels pretty tenuous. Much like the era itself, her nihilist self...

Finally, the most important part of any super spy’s career… Le Sex. Markus Wolf continues to prove himself second to none in spy mastery. We hear about his highs and lows…but mostly highs because he wrote the book on himself which we’re using and he’s both humble but amazing actually (and epic in bed). Join us as we try to remain un-seduced by Markus Wolf’s account of his own life. Infiltrating th...

Who’s the greatest spy that ever spied and love machine spreading Communism throughout the world? WOLF! Markus Wolf that is. Join us as we discuss the early days of the elusive and seductive spy master of East Germany. Born in Germany, raised partially in the Soviet Union during WWII to committed communist parents, Wolf is perfectly placed to establish one of the most nebulous and far reaching int...

Where can you find a former air field, military parading ground, amusement park, Turkish cemetery, concentration camp and kite surfer’s paradise?! Not all at the same time, it’s Tempelhofer Feld of course!!! We’re going through the history of this one incredible site which dates back over 800 years, starting on the fringes of what will become the metropolis of Berlin. Those lads coming back from t...

Are you enjoying the Football? Or do you feel like it’s very much happening at you?! Either way, enjoy the latest episode of History Flakes! How else would you know that there was an English Football league in Berlin during WWI? Crazy! Find about Derby Legend Steve Bloomer and what the hell Bumberino is, I think you’re gonna like it! ++++++ You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of...

This episode is a 3 in 1! We talk about 3 distinct characters broadcasting to enemy soldiers during WW2. William Joyce, aka Lord Haw Haw, a seemingly confused Irishman with a pretty serious alcohol problem. Mildred Gillers, aka Axis Sally, a failing, racist actress, who would be labelled as particularly stupid by the FBI, and Iva Toguri D'Aquino aka Tokyo Rose, someone who found herself in th...

Ok, let’s see how this guy ends. In part 2 of our episode on Law and Justice in Nazi Germany we talk about some of the big legal events which make life increasingly difficult for those categorised 'undesirable' by the Nazi regime and sees Roland  progress in his attempt to gain full control of the Nazi legal system, right the way up to this sudden and the visually appealing way he (proba...

Strap in nerds. In the first episode of our first two-parter, we use the career of Roland Freisler to track some of the huge legal changes that would secure the dictatorship of the Third Reich. We get up to 1934 here, where the Nazis are on the cusp of becoming the one and only political force in the country, having outlawed all other parties. Watch out for the next episode to hear about how Freis...

This episode we'll be talking about Jazz's reception in Berlin and Germany more broadly, from its early arrival in the 20s to the Third Reich's attempts to stamp it out. Minister for Propaganada and Enlightenment Joseph Goebbels has a plan to make really cool and great white supremacist music actually… but the results are as one might expect. We also take a look at the rebellious te...

Just weeks before the beginning of the Second World War, a dark spectre begins to stalk a particular section of the S-Bahn train line in Berlin. The press under Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is loathe to publish news of anything but glorious German victory and the crimes of their supposed enemies within and without. As more and more women are violently attacked and eventually murdered,...

You know how it is, you want Greta Garbo in your next Hollywood Talkie, but she's awkward and weird and won't get on the phone, you need Salka Viertel. Weimar Theatre Actress, Consummate Hostess, tireless anti-fascist, Garbo whisperer. You might not have heard of Salka Viertel but some of the greatest connections and collaborations made in the early years of Hollywood happened in Salka V...

It’s November in Germany, so you know that there's History afoot. Join Jonny Whitlam and Pip Roper as we discuss some of the context leading up to the November Revolution, (29th October-9th November) and try to detangle the confusion of those in the thick of it. Kaiser Wilhelm II doesn’t know when to leave the party, Rosa Luxemburg’s fresh out of prison and she told you this war was a bad ide...