Cold War Conversations

Ian Sanders
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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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Nov 18, 2018 • 1h 4min

Life in Cold War East Germany Photography Exhibition (36)

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/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 10, 2018 • 42min

The man who owns a Cold War Soviet submarine (35)

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/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 3, 2018 • 50min

Samy - Life as a West Berliner in Cold War Berlin (34)

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/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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Oct 26, 2018 • 37min

Eileen - A British teacher living & working in Cold War East Berlin

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/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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Oct 20, 2018 • 41min

Eileen - A British student living in Cold War East Germany (32)

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/donateNow 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-PriceSupport 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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