Confrontation at the Stößensee (171)

Apr 2, 2021

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In April 1966, a state-of-the-art Soviet aircraft, the Yak-28P crashed into the British Sector of West Berlin. This intelligence gift to the Allied forces resulted in a tense confrontation with the Soviet forces

We speak with historian Bernd von Kostka of the Allied Museum in Berlin-Dahlem who has researched this story for his upcoming book Capital of Spies: Intelligence agencies in Berlin during the Cold War which he co-authors with Sven Felix Kellerhoff.

The book will be published in October in the US and in December 2021 in GB.

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I am delighted to welcome Bernd to our Cold War conversation…

There’s further information on this episode in our show notes which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode171

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Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.

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0:00 Introduction and crash of Soviet interceptor in British sector of Berlin

0:49 Interview with historian Bernd von Kostka and discussion on his upcoming book

2:34 Overview of Cold War Berlin in 1966 and frequent overflights by Soviet aircraft

7:06 Examination of the Yak 28p crash site and its significance

14:44 Analysis of the Soviet Union's limited control in West Berlin and the tense standoff at the crash site

18:06 Debunking of common rumors surrounding the crash and discussion on the aftermath

20:23 British attempts to extract secrets from the crashed aircraft and discovery of the radar equipment

23:22 Negotiations and handover of the wreckage to the Soviets

30:19 Exploring the impact and memory of the incident in Germany and the Soviet Union

37:20 Posthumous honors for the pilots and introduction to the book "Capital of Spies"

41:06 Acknowledgement of the patrons and invitation to join the Facebook discussion group

41:50 Closing remarks

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