Cold War Conversations

Ian Sanders
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Jan 26, 2019 • 58min

The Berlin Trilogy - Author Interview (46)

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/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Jan 19, 2019 • 42min

Cold War East German Army Officer at the 40th Anniversary Parade of East Germany (45)

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 BelgerSupport the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Jan 12, 2019 • 45min

Cold War intercepts of Soviet Aircraft with the RAF (44)

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 AndersonSupport the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Jan 5, 2019 • 40min

Cold War Conversations highlights of 2018 - a whistle stop tour (43)

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/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Dec 29, 2018 • 52min

Gillian - A US Student visiting Cold War East Germany (42)

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 CoxSupport the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Dec 22, 2018 • 46min

Defending the Cold War Fulda Gap (41)

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/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Dec 15, 2018 • 1h 13min

A British Journalist in Cold War East Berlin (40)

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 GDRIf 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/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Dec 8, 2018 • 44min

Cold War East German Army Officer Training (39)

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 visitHe 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 GDRIf 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/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Dec 1, 2018 • 37min

Training to be a Cold War US Army Tank Commander (38)

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/ColdWarPodFacebook 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
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Nov 24, 2018 • 58min

Antje - The Girl Behind The Berlin Wall (37)

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/ColdWarPodFacebook 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

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