Cold War Conversations Podcast

We welcome back Mark Baker from episode 9 where we spoke about his time in 1980s Czechoslovakia. Mark is a freelance journalist & travel writer living in his adopted hometown of Prague. I really recommend his blog which can be found here. Mark has lived in Central Europe for more than two decades and seeks out communist architecture in his home town and further afield. He is the ideal candidate to discuss the question “Why preserve Communist architecture?” Now back to today’s episode. Welcome back Mark Baker! Like what you're hearing? Support the podcast here. Can't wait for the next episode? Visit our discussion group here 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

Colonel Terry Chester spent a good portion of his RCAF career hunting for Soviet Submarines in both the Pacific and Atlantic area's of operation. He was instrumental in the design criteria for sub hunting capability's when Canada procured the, then new Aurora, for anti-submarine hunting in the early 1980's. Terry has great stories to tell regarding sub hunting tactics as well as Canadian participation in NATO exercises As the podcast gets more popular our costs of hosting and running the podcast increase. If you are enjoying what you hear a few dollars, pounds or roubles a month help keep us on the air. Head over to our web site to learn more. Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated! Do take a look at Vintage Wings a collection of historically significant aircraft that Terry has worked on as well as the Royal Canadian Airforce Association of which Terry was a National President. Now back to today’s episode where we start with Terry telling us about his early career. 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

In this episode we hear the third and final part of Torsten Belger’s story as he tells us about his first visit to West Berlin, leaving the East German Army and life after the GDR. Before we start a quick thanks to Skjip1969, Peteyinmontreal & GDR Objectified for leaving reviews in Itunes. Do leave reviews with your favourite podcast provider. It really helps us get new guests on the show. Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated! Just click here to help support the show Now back to today’s episode. We start with Torsten life in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Can't wait for the next episode? Visit our discussion group here Radio GDR If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR. 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

László Nagy was one of the early members of the Hungarian Democratic Forum in 1987. The HDF became Hungary’s largest political party following first free elections in 1990. In this episode we hear the story of his parent’s life in 1950’s Hungary and László’s early life including how he ended up at school with the son of West Germany’s President. Before we start I’d like to ask you to by leaving a review in Itunes or with your favourite podcast provider. It really helps us get new guests on the show. If you’d like to assist us further with the costs of running the show, then click here to learn more. Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated! Now back to today’s episode. We start with László describing his father’s experiences at the end of World War 2. Can't wait for the next episode? Visit our discussion group here 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

In 1951, a small pilot program was launched in Indiana and Utah as a civilian defense measure to aid in the aftermath of a nuclear attack. The idea was simple: If a bomb dropped, people would need medical attention. They would need a fast and accurate system to help administer blood transfusions. Blood type and Rh factor (a newly discovered slightly important detail in the world of blood transfusions) needed to be readily available to emergency personnel. You can lose a paper ID card. Dog tags can come off your neck. Limbs can easily get blown off. Blood typing needed a universal and permanent placement. They had just the ticket. A tattoo under the arm, on the rib cage, and children were the guinea pigs for this test program... Now regular listeners will know the drill, as this is the point ask you to help support us. As the podcast gets more popular our costs of hosting and running the podcast increase, so if you are enjoying what you hear a few dollars, pounds or roubles a month help keep us on the air. Click here to learn more. Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated! Now back to today’s episode where I introduce our two guests… Join our Facebook group here. Or follow us on twitter here. Visit Dia’s Blog 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

Audra J Wolfe is writer, editor, and historian based in Philadelphia. With a background in both science and history her work specifically focuses on the role of science during the Cold War, a period when science held a special place in maintaining and projecting state power. Now if you’d like to support us with a few dollars, pounds or roubles then click here to learn more. Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated! If that’s not your cup of tea then you can really help us by leaving reviews on Itunes or with your favourite podcast provider. This really helps raise our profile and get guests on the show. Now back to today’s episode where Audra and I met at Manchester University where she is currently on lecture tour. You can but Audra's book here. 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

In this episode we welcome back Nick Anderson who told us about his RAF service intercepting TU-95 Soviet Bear bombers over the North Sea. The story continues with his accounts of how the Soviet aircrew tried to distract RAF planes and how he was almost downed by their tactics. The episode ends with Nick telling us about the final days of the Cold War. Can't wait for the next episode? Visit our discussion group here 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

In this episode we welcome back Gillian Cox who told us about her student trip to East Germany in 1989. In this episode the story continues with her trip further East into Poland. At this point Poland’s communist Polish United Workers Party had abandoned its monopoly of power in April. Elections in June 1989 resulted in the Free Trade Union Solidarity securing 35% of seats available to it with the remaining 65% was divided between the PZPR and its satellite parties The first round of voting took place on the same day that the Chinese communist government unleashed the Tiananmen Square massacre. We join my Cold War Conversation with Gillian Cox as she crosses the East German border into Poland. For more information visit our website and join the conversation on Facebook. 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

Today we speak to John Green. John Green grew up in Coventry in a communist family. After abandoning a zoology degree course after his second year at Bristol University, he switched to Drama. In 1964 he made the adventurous move to the German Democratic Republic to study film at the National Film School in Babelsberg, near Potsdam. He was the sole British student in the country. Returning to his native Britain in 1968, he became television correspondent for the GDR and spent 22 years reporting from around the world. Because the GDR, particularly at the height of the Cold War, was not officially recognised as an independent state, he and his colleagues were obliged to work anonymously and quasi-clandestinely in order to obtain the footage they needed. We start with John telling us about this early life in Coventry. Don't forget to check out our show notes here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode47/ The second part of this interview is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode58/ 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

Today we welcome author Paul Grant whose excellent Berlin trilogy is set in Berlin during World War 2 and the Cold War. Paul and I talk about the books as well as his inspiration and how he did his research to capture the atmosphere and detail of Cold War Berlin. We also discuss the GDR and visiting Berlin, so without further ado let’s join our Cold War Conversation with Paul Grant. Don't forget to check out the show notes here. 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

In this episode, we welcome back Torsten Belger a former East German Officer. You can listen to other episodes with Torsten here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode39/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode53/ Torsten was part of the 40th Anniversary Parade of the GDR which unknown to him at the time would be its last. He tells of the training for the parade and his meeting with Yasser Arafat, the Head of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. Torsten also shares how he heard about the unrest sweeping the country and his introduction to anti-riot training. The episode ends with Torsten telling about his gradual realisation that the country he had known his whole life was gradually falling apart. 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 or a rouble and every donation helps keep us broadcasting and expanding the show. Just click here for more information. Now back to today’s episode. We start with Torsten telling us about the month leading up to the parade. We welcome back Torsten Belger 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

Nick Anderson is a former RAF Phantom jet fighter pilot. We discuss flying in the Cold War and in detail how the RAF would have responded to a nuclear attack. We also talk about how QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) worked and hear details of a number of missions Nick flew intercepting the Soviet Tupolev Tu-95 codenamed "The Bear" by NATO. We welcome Nick Anderson 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

Welcome to the Cold War Conversations History Podcast 2018 roundup and thank you to all our listeners and guests who’ve stuck with us and made the podcast what it is. If your old or new to the podcast I hope this episode will make you dip into episodes you might have missed or you thought are not your cup of tea.. I’d like to especially thanks those listeners that have left such positive reviews on Itunes and have contributed financially via Patreon or as one off donations. If you haven’t left a review yet, just head over coldwarconversations.com and click on the “support the podcast” menu option. If you’d like to support us with a few quid, dollars, or roubles click on the support the podcast menu option as well at coldwarconversations.com. It’s been quite a year for me. I started this project in March 2018 and had no idea where it would go and have been astounded by the response and range of guests we have had on. I have been privileged to speak to the son of a former Soviet Premier, I’ve sat chatting over coffee in the kitchen of a former NVA officer in Liverpool, and boarded a Soviet submarine in Kent. Now that would make quite a bucket list on its own! Anyway you don’t want to listen to my ramblings, here’s the whistle stop tour of Cold War Conversations 2018 – enjoy! 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

Gillian Cox visited the GDR as a student in October 1989 just before the Wall came down. In this episode you will hear her eyewitness of account of what she saw in East Germany on the cusp of its destruction. We start with Gillian describing her interest in the Cold War and how she ended up in the GDR. We welcome Gillian Cox 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

Today we talk again with Neil Gussman who was an M60A1 tank commander in West Germany tasked with defending the Fulda Gap which was a key likely Warsaw Pact attack route. We talk about his rushed initial deployment where he faced Warsaw Pact tanks across the border, details of various exercises he was in and how the US troops interacted with the West German population. 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

Shane Whaley from the GDR Radio Podcast and Spybrary podcast and I speak with Peter Millar. Peter is an award-winning journalist who was named Foreign Correspondent of the Year for his reporting on the dying days of the Cold War. Peter's book "The Berlin Wall: My Part in its Downfall" is described as "a witty, wry, elegiac account of his time as a Reuters and Sunday Times correspondent in Berlin throughout most of the 1980s' " by The Spectator and the Sunday Times described it as" part autobiography, part history primer and part Fleet Street gossip column ... Millar cast aside the old chestnuts and set about reporting on the reality of life under communism. In bare Stalinist apartments, at hollow party events and over cool glasses of Volker the gravedigger-cum-hippie, the Stasi seductress "Helga the Honeypot", Kurtl the accordion player whose father had been killed at Stalingrad, and the petty smuggler Manne who has been separated from his parents by the Wall ... Radio GDR If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR. 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

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 episodes with Torsten here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode45/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode53/ Spoiler alert, this episode does end on a cliffhanger... we welcome Torsten Belger. Radio GDR If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR. 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

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 (larger amounts and other currencies are accepted too). Just head over to coldwarconversations.com and click on the “Support the podcast” menu option. Thank you very much to those listeners who are already supporting us. Back to today’s episode , Neil shares with us some great anecdotes about his training and the gunnery competitions as well as the change in US tank tactics as a result of the 1973 Arab Israeli War. We welcome Neil Gussman. 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

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 Patreon. These are Dom Thorrington, Jakob Rud Bernhardt and Nick Packham who are are helping us monthly for as little as a euro, a dollar or a quid (larger amounts and other currencies are accepted too, but no Ost Marks). If you'd like to help keep us broadcasting and get some extras then just click here Back to today's episode. Antje's book is from a child’s point-of-view, rather than the typical espionage stories or documentaries that portray people trying to escape socialism. In our conversation you will not find historical data, but you'll travel back in time to relive the childhood memories alongside The Girl Behind the Wall. 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

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 walk round we discuss the photos and have a wide ranging conversation about life in East Germany. After our chat there’s some interviews with exhibition visitors who reminisce about the GDR and comment on the exhibition. We also chat with a couple of Cold War Conversations Podcast listeners who came along too. I hope you enjoy! 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

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 wonder what this Patreon stuff is I go on about - in short it's a way of you can help fund further podcasts. All I'm asking is if you enjoy the podcast to agree to pay as much as you can afford each month. You can cancel at any time and amounts as little as little as a $1 or a £1 a month really help keep us broadcasting and expanding the show. Just click here to visit our Patreon page. So back to the episode, after viewing some of the photos of the sub listing in the river, with some trepidation I boarded a fast Javelin train at London St Pancras and within 30 minutes I was in Strood and I could see across the Medway the low silhouette of the Foxtrot. We join the interview with John and I aboard his small launch in the middle of the River Medway. 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

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. Samy also talks about the battle between the East and West German Sandmännchen resulting in victory for the East. Samy joined the Red Cross post Cold War but discovered some interesting remnants of preparedness in case of another Berlin blockade including some top secret locations. There's loads of extra content available in our show notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode34/ 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

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://coldwarconversations.com/episode33/ 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

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.com/donate Now back to today’s episode. Eileen shares some great details with us including her reasons for being a student in the GDR. Her first journey across the border and what life was like in 1980s Rostock as a foreign student. It’s a fascinating story that includes the Stasis’s attempt to recruit her as an informer on her fellow students. We welcome Eileen Ford-Price 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

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 special thanks to all of them. If you would like to support the podcast further and get access to some exclusive extras click here. Now back to today’s episode. The subjects we cover include the social impact of the Korean War within Britain, the UK view of the war, prisoners of war and brainwashing as well as protests against the war. We welcome Dr Grace Huxford. 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

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 the hills above Rushton Spencer and onto a rutted track. We climbed further until a small well kept compound appeared over a ridge. Welcome to the Rushton Spencer Royal Observer Corps post… 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

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 of the Cold War. A large contingent from the South Staff Living History Group were there, mainly DDR themed., however, many areas were covered including RAF Moleworth Cruise Missile base, French Foreign Legion, The Royal Observer Corps, US Army Europe, 1st Gulf War, Soviet, Bundeswehr, BAOR, Polish, Czech and the Malayan Emergency. What particularly delighted me was the number of younger people who have gained an interest in the Cold War and are part of the re-enactment community. We join the episode shortly after I have passed the DDR checkpoint and I chat with the two DDR border guards who are now in a more amiable mood… 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

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.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 miles/minute). Thanks to all those who are supporting the podcast with monthly pledges and donations. It is much appreciated and will allow us to expand the scope of the podcast. If you would like to support the podcast further and get access to some exclusive extras go to our website at coldwarconversations.com and click on the “support the Podcast” menu option. Back to todays episode…our guest knows a bit about the SR71…Buz Carpenter accrued 777 hours flying SR-71 planes. He flew Blackbirds as an aircraft commander and later as an instructor pilot, with over 60 operational missions. He also flew in the C-141, RF-4C, and T-38 planes, flying 150 combat hours in Vietnam. He worked in the Pentagon and served as Wing commander at Ramstein Air Base in German during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He retired as a Colonel after serving as the 2nd Air Force Vice Commander, responsible for all the USAF Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance flying assets. He is currently a docent for the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, Udvar Hazy Center. We welcome Buz Carpenter 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

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 In part 2 of this interview, we gain insight into Soviet thinking around the Cuban Missile Crisis, we hear about the Soviet view of the building of the Berlin Wall along with the 1961 Berlin Crisis and his father’s fall from power. If you missed part 1 you can find it here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode25/ 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

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 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

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/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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://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

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/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

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 the former East Germany with BRIXMIS which was an intelligence organisation worked throughout the Cold War years from 1946 to 1990 gathering intelligence in the former Soviet Occupation Zone of East Germany on the threat posed to the West and NATO by the 20 Soviet and 6 East German Army Divisions and their Air Forces deployed there. In the 1980s Nigel also interpreted for Hitler’s Deputy Rudolf Hess in Spandau Prison, Berlin and provided some fascinating insight into the character of Hess. Later in his military career he was awarded the MBE and Bronze Star Medal for his services with the US 1st Cavalry Division during Operation Desert Storm. Nigel was also Chief of Staff at the Royal Armoured Corp Centre at Bovington, ending his army career as Defence Attache at the British Embassy in Berlin. I am delighted and honoured to welcome Nigel Dunkley. 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

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 Party member, Anke's school class role as "Agitator", her training in Marxist-Leninism, and her weapons training in the Ernst Thälmann Pioneer Organisation in Rostock. 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

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 entitled “The most dangerous Soviet-American confrontation since the Cuban Missile Crisis?” An analysis of the origins, nature and impact of the Able Archer 83 incident . I am delighted to welcome Francesca Akhtar to Cold War Conversations. 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

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 delighted to welcome Jonathan Sayers. 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

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 1960s, the Prague Spring, his experiences as the reformers were suppressed to the late 1970s and his arrest by the STB, the Czech secret police. The interview starts as we talk about the level of censorship in Czechoslovakia before the Prague Spring. 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

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. 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

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 they were used too disappeared with it. I am delighted to welcome Sabine to Cold War Conversations. 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

In today’s episode we return to Czechoslovakia and one of the most iconic moments of the Cold War – The Prague Spring of 1968. We have with us Lani Seelinger of Socialism Realised which an excellent website and learning environment that uses multimedia content as teaching aids about the communist regimes in Europe. I do recommend you check them out at Socialismrealised.eu Some of you will have seen the film of Alexander Dubcek and the adoring crowds as well as the powerful images of the Warsaw Pact invasion. Our chat shows that beneath those images there’s more nuances and I hope you find the episode insightful and entertaining. I am delighted to welcome Lani Seelinger. 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

Michael Rafferty was posted to Berlin in 1988. He served in the 287th Military Police Company at Checkpoint Charlie and was there through to the historic opening of the Berlin Wall and the removal of the checkpoint in 1990. I have always been intrigued by a video posted on YouTube filmed in the 1980s by a young US Army soldier documenting his first days in Berlin for his family back at home. Now I never dreamed that I would find, let alone talk to that soldier, but through the magic of the internet, we got in contact, and Michael Rafferty agreed to give his first interview in 24 years to Cold War Conversations. His story spans the last days of Checkpoint Charlie, from when the border was the heavily fortified barrier familiar to us from those spy films to the opening of the wall and the unification of Germany. I am delighted and honoured to welcome Michael Rafferty. Episode notes & extras here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode13/ 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

We’re chatting with Mark Reeder a musician and music producer who has been involved in the Berlin and international music scene since 1978, starting as Factory Records German representative from 1978-1983. Through contacts in the GDR he put on several secret punk gigs behind the Iron Curtain and his Stasi file is described as “as thick as a phone book”. He is however, denied access to the full file as it remains in the possession of the German Federal Intelligence Service... He is also the founder and owner of the first East German electronic dance music label Masterminded For Success “MFS” which he started in 1990, after being the only and last Westerner to make an album in communist East Germany which was “Torture” by Die Vision in 1989. His is a very interesting and unusual account with some great stories including how he smuggled a Volksarmee uniform across the Berlin Wall and the unusual currency needed to get your phone fixed. 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

Today we’re covering a British Cold War civil defence unit called the Royal Observer Corps. We’re talking to Alistair McCann who has preserved a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post as a museum in Northern Ireland. We talk about the museum, the difficulties of the Northern Ireland Royal Observer Corps during “The Troubles” and what the reality would have been for these men and women should the Cold War have turned hot. I hope you find our conversation as interesting as I did. We welcome Alistair McCann. 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

Jeremy Poynton was a 16 year old school boy in 1968 when he embarked on a memorable trip by road from Leningrad to Odessa. He vividly describes a Soviet Union still struggling with poverty and a diverse range of peoples from city dwellers to remote Chechen villagers. It’s a unique story as Jeremy details his experiences and the sights of a 1960s Soviet Union just as the Prague Spring was being suppressed. I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did, we welcome Jeremy Poynton. 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

Mark Baker is an independent journalist and travel writer who’s lived in Central Europe for more than two decades. I heartily recommend his travel website www.markbakerprague.com which is an eclectic mix of stories about his adopted hometown of Prague and stories from when Central Europe was the “Eastern bloc” and he was a full-time journalist trying his best to cover it. Mark tells an intriguing and compelling story and I urge you to listen right to the end. I hope you enjoy our chat and I welcome Mark Baker. (the drawing is by Stewart K Moore and is a representation of Mark’s Czechoslovak fixer during the 1980s) 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

Welcome to Episode 8 of Cold War Conversations where we talk about the armoured fighting vehicles of the Warsaw Pact. Russell Phillips has written several books on Warsaw Pact military equipment and our conversation is an interesting exchange covering the evolution in design, tactics and the deployment of Warsaw Pact armoured forces should the Cold War have turned hot. It also covers a slightly off topic conversation about saunas and swimming pools in Soviet submarines and Frankie Goes to Hollywood! 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

We speak with David Young who has written the Stasi Child - Karin Müller series of crime thrillers set in East Germany in the mid 1970s. 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

We talk about the relatively little known Uprising of 1953 in East Germany. A lot of focus justifiably is on the fall of the Berlin Wall, but it can be argued that the Uprising of 1953 sowed the seeds for the eventual demise of the GDR.We chat with Dr Richard Millington who has studied the Uprising and shares with us some fascinating research including eyewitness accounts and details from the Stasi files of the period. 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