Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990 (284)
I talk with acclaimed historian Katja Hoyer Whose new book Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990 offers a kaleidoscopic new vision of this vanished country.
Cold War Conversations Podcast
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (traffic.megaphone.fm) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
In 1990, a country disappeared. When the Iron Curtain fell, East Germany simply ceased to be. For over forty years, from the ruin of the Second World War to the cusp of a new millennium, the GDR presented a radically different German identity to anything that had come before, and anything that exists today. Socialist solidarity, secret police, central planning, barbed wire: this was a Germany forged on the fault lines of ideology and geopolitics.
I talk with acclaimed historian Katja Hoyer Whose new book Beyond the Wall: East Germany, 1949-1990 offers a kaleidoscopic new vision of this vanished country. Beginning with the bitter experience of German Marxists exiled by Hitler, to the creaking foundations of socialism in the mid-1980s, we discuss that amid oppression and frequent hardship, East Germany was yet home to a rich political, social, and cultural landscape, a place far more dynamic than the Cold War caricature often painted in the West.
Powerfully told, and drawing on a vast array of never-before-seen interviews, letters, and records, this is the definitive history of the other Germany, the one beyond the Wall.
0:00 Introduction to the episode and Katya Hoya
2:37 Katya Hoya's approach to researching and writing about East Germany
7:35 Arrival of Gruppe Ulbricht in Soviet occupied zone of Germany
15:19 Public sentiment towards the formation of East Germany
21:24 The 1953 uprising in East Germany
24:19 The economic disparity between East and West Germany
33:10 Evidence of Honecker's collaboration with Nazi authorities
45:17 Car ownership in East Germany: perceptions and realities
1:00:14 The unique relationship between Helmut Kohl and Honecker
1:10:16 The impact of reunification on East Germany's economy and workforce
1:21:43 Ending notes, book promotion, and thanks to supporters
UK listeners can support CWC by buying the book here https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9780241553787
US listeners can support CWC by buying the book here https://bookshop.org/a/92195/9781541602571
The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to keep this podcast on the air. You’ll become part of our community and get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Details and extra video content on this link https://coldwarconversations.com/episode284/
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.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/
Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices