Cold War Conversations: Recent Episodes
Ian Sanders
You are listening to part 2 of my chat with Joe who joined the USAF in 1981 and was trained to fly the A10 Warthog a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft designed to provide close air support to ground forces by attacking tanks, armoured vehicles, and other ground targets. Part 1 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode305/ In 1985 Joe is sent to 92nd Tactical Fighter Squadron at RAF Bentwaters in the UK, just over 50 miles from where his father served in World War 2. His role was to fly the A10 over West Germany and attack Warsaw Pact ground forces should the Cold War turn hot. We hear about the perils of flying the A10 at only 100 feet in mist and rain, whilst navigating with a map on your knee in the days before GPS was available. Joe also recounts visiting the Inner German border and driving to his wartime target sectors to see what they looked like from the ground. He describes how they trained for landing on West German autobahns as well as their tactics against enemy aircraft. Joe also flew the Royal Air Force’s VTOL fighter, the Harrier, and tells of the challenge of managing the controls and his respect for the Royal Air Force. Visit the RAF Bentwaters Museum here https://www.bcwm.org.uk/ Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode306 The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, 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. Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 Love history? Join Intohistory on this link https://intohistory.com/coldwarpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Joe’s father served in World War 2 in the USAF. His service inspired Joe to try and join the USAF or the Naval Air Force despite having no flying experience. It’s the aftermath of the Vietnam War so forces are being reduced, however with the arrival of a new President, Ronald Reagan, defence spending grows and provides Joe with an opportunity to start pilot training with the USAF. He eventually ends up flying the A10. The A-10 was first in service in 1976 and was designed to provide close air support to ground troops by attacking armoured vehicles, tanks, and other enemy ground forces. Joe describes what makes the A10 special as well as his training and initial deployment in the A10 in Alaska. You get a real pilot’s eye view of flying the plane including navigation techniques and the challenges of flying low level. Don’t miss Part 2 next week where Joe is sent to 92nd Fighter Squadron at RAF Bentwaters in the UK, just over 50 miles from where his father served in World War 2. Visit the RAF Bentwaters Museum here https://www.bcwm.org.uk/ Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode305 Rick Shreve's F111 episode https://coldwarconversations.com/episode193/ The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, 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.
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 Love history? Join Intohistory on this link Cold War Conversations – Into History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tom lived in western Poland in an area that had been part of Germany until the end of World War 2. He describes how his grandmother settled in this area and the strangeness of taking over formerly German houses and apartments. Tom’s grandfather on his mother’s side was a Communist activist who worked for the Polish security services which created some tension as Tom’s father dodged the draft into the Polish Army. Tom describes his childhood in some detail, highlighting the contrasts of life in Cold War Poland versus some of the Warsaw Pact countries such as how the Boy Scouts and the Catholic Church managed to co-exist with the Communist government. He is 11 years old when the free trade union Solidarity is made illegal and martial law is declared by the Polish Communist authorities. Tom describes how life changes under martial law and the suppression of Solidarity demonstrations. We end with the poignant story of his Grandmother’s experiences as a forced labourer in Germany during World War 2. Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode304 The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, 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.
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 Love history? Join Intohistory https://intohistory.supercast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
On 1 July 1960, a United States RB-47H reconnaissance plane was shot down by the Soviet Air Defence Forces while performing signals intelligence in the Barents Sea, near the Kola Peninsula, off the Arctic coast of the Soviet Union. Four of the six crew members died. The shootdown occurred exactly two months after the far better-known U-2 shootdown involving Francis Gary Powers and added to the tensions created by that incident. Gary Power and the U2 incident https://coldwarconversations.com/episode23/ I speak with John Mollison, an aviation artist, writer, and award-winning filmmaker. Do check out his website at https://www.johnmollison.com/ John interviewed Captain "Bruce" Olmstead who was co-pilot of the RB47. As a result of his involvement in the incident, Olmstead received the POW medal in 1996 and Silver Star medals in 2004, as well as the Distinguished Flying Cross. His Silver Star Citation reads “For 208 days, Colonel Olmstead was interrogated and harassed at length on a continuous basis by numerous top Soviet Secret Police interrogating teams. Although greatly weakened physically by the lack of food, denial of sleep, and the mental rigors of constant interrogation, Colonel Olmstead steadfastly refused all attempts to give sensitive defense information or be exploited for propaganda purposes. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Colonel Olmstead has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.” Bruce died in October 2016. Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode303 The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, 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.
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 Love history? Join Intohistory https://intohistory.supercast.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Honecker emerged as an ambitious political player and became the shadowy mastermind behind the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, a crucial moment in twentieth-century history. Author Nathan Morley brings to life the story of the longtime leader of the German Democratic Republic. Drawing from a wealth of untapped archival sources – and firsthand interviews with Honecker’s lawyers, journalists, and contemporary witnesses – Morley paints a vivid portrait of how an uneducated miner’s son from the Saarland rose to the highest ranks of the German Communist Party. Having survived a decade of brutality in Nazi prisons, and frequently on the verge of being relegated to obscurity, he managed to overthrow strongman Walter Ulbricht at the height of the Cold War and reigned supreme over the GDR between 1971-1989. However, by 1980, the Honecker honeymoon was on the wane as a decade of economic and social difficulties blighted the GDR. Then, as tumultuous changes swept through the Soviet bloc, everything in and around him collapsed in 1989. His health, his certainties, his ideology, his apparatus of power, and his beloved SED party. Buy the book here https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9781399088824 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. Episodes mentioned: History of East Germany https://coldwarconversations.com/episode284/ Doping of East German athletes https://coldwarconversations.com/episode264/ Polish strikes in 1980 https://coldwarconversations.com/episode152/ Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode302/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 Radio GDR If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Tom Sullivan was a tank platoon commander in Korea in the early 1980s responsible for six tanks and their crew We hear why he joined the US Army, his training, and his first impressions of Korea in the Winter of 1982. He is assigned to Second Platoon, C Company, 1-72 Armor under the toughest Company Commander in the Brigade who had very high standards, no humour, and was a rigid disciplinarian with an uncompromising approach. Tom shares details of his fellow soldiers, including Vietnam veterans, the living conditions He explains the challenges of operating armour where the winter weather is brutal, and the majority of the terrain is hills, mountains, rice paddies, and dirt roads We discuss the threat the North Koreans posed and the scarce hope that reinforcements would arrive in sufficient time should the North Koreans decide to attack.
The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, 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.
Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode301/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
In February 1983 US soldier Manuel Alzager was sent to a mysterious posting to the British Zone in the north of West Germany a long way from the main US forces in southern Germany. After a lengthy journey, he is picked up by a West German private and eventually arrives at the 81st USAFAD (US Army Field Artillery Detachment), where his mission is to guard, assemble, and deliver low-yield nuclear artillery rounds to the 7th West German Army Artillery Regiment. He describes how the rounds were assembled as well as their orders in the event of unauthorised intruders. Being stationed in the British Zone of West Germany Manuel also tells us about the love/hate relationship with the Brits where they would fight, make up, drink, and fight again. Manuel's other episodes are here: A 17-year-old in the Cold War US Army https://coldwarconversations.com/episode57/ Experiences of the Cold War Reforger 82 NATO Exercise https://coldwarconversations.com/episode100/
The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. You’ll become part of our community, get ad-free episodes, 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.
Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode300/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
Now have you ever heard of Dickey Chapelle? No, I hadn’t either, but I’m delighted to bring you the unknown story of this trailblazing female war correspondent. Dickey’s career started in World War 2 where she reported from some of the Pacific wars’ toughest battlefields of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. During the Cold War, she reported from Hungary during the 1956 Uprising and was held in the infamous Fő Prison and interrogated by the Hungarian security forces. Dickey went on to report from the struggle of the Algerian Liberation Front covering their campaign against French colonial rule as well as becoming the first Western female reporter to march with Castro’s Cuban Revolutionary Army. She was the first woman to be given permission to para drop with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions' first correspondent to live with anti-communist guerrilla forces in the Mekong Delta. Later, she would become the first female reporter to go on patrol with the First and Third Battalions of the Seventh Marines Regiment which were among the initial US combat troops sent to Vietnam. Buy the book here and support the podcast https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9781250276575 Book giveaway entry info here https://coldwarconversations.com/giveaway/
The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. 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.
Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode299/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
I speak with author Ethan Scheiner whose book “Freedom to Win” describes the gripping story of a group of small-town young men who would lead their underdog hockey team from Czechoslovakia against the Soviet Union, the juggernaut in their sport. In 1968 Czechoslovakia is experiencing the Prague Spring, an attempt to moderate and soften communism. However, a sudden invasion by 500,000 Warsaw Pact soldiers halts the reforms. We hear the inspiring story of how the young players of the national hockey team battle the Soviets on the ice to keep their people’s quest for freedom alive and forge a way to fight back against the authoritarian forces that sought to crush them. Buy the book here and support the podcast https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9781639363513 Book giveaway entry info here https://coldwarconversations.com/giveaway/
The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. 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.
Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode298/
Prague Spring and Cold War Czechoslovakia episodes https://coldwarconversations.com/tag/czechoslovakia/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
The BBC Wartime Broadcasting Service (WTBS) is a little-known piece of Cold War history that would have been for many the last human voice they heard after a nuclear attack on the UK. Iain started work for the BBC in 1988 and due to the pressure on training space, was trained in the nuclear bunker at BBC Wood Norton. After training he went to Broadcasting House in London where he first encountered some of the technical infrastructure the WTBS would use. Iain did a spell in the main control room and recalls the red phone which was the link from Whitehall to initiate the BBC War Book. Over time Iain has collected knowledge on all aspects of the WTBS and he shares details of where it would have been broadcast from, what would have been heard, and who, in the event of an attack, would have descended into the bunkers to broadcast it. Iain also delivers a talk on the subject. There are more details on this link. https://speakernet.co.uk/talk/4000/the-bbc-the-bomb-cold-war-broadcasting-from-the-bunkers Hack Green Nuclear bunker that has a preserved BBC studio (as seen in our episode cover) https://www.hackgreen.co.uk/
The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. 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. Extra videos and photos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode297/
Previous UK Civil Defence episodes How Cold War Britain Prepared for Nuclear War https://coldwarconversations.com/episode285/ Cold War leaflets and documents https://coldwarconversations.com/episode112/ Assigned to a government bunker https://coldwarconversations.com/episode107/ Visit to a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post and interview with the Chief Observer who served in the post https://coldwarconversations.com/episode30/ Alistair McCann has preserved a Royal Observer Corps monitoring post as a museum in Northern Ireland. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode11/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jonny Whitlam has been a Berlin tour guide since 2010, and since then he’s been showing travellers from across the world the fascinating history of Berlin. We met via social media after I noticed his great videos describing well-known and lesser know 20th-century historical locations in Berlin. We discussed doing an episode to help you see Cold War Berlin sites without needing a tour guide and this episode is the result. However, if you would like a personal tour check out Jonny’s tours on this link. Book your Berlin private tour experience now (whitlams-berlin-tours.com) Jonny is keen to share Berlin’s amazing history with everyone and he has put together The Ultimate Guide to Cold War Berlin which includes an amazing Google map of Cold War sites in Berlin. Despite the name, this list is not exhaustive and we’d welcome suggestions for anything you think we have missed!
The fight to preserve Cold War history continues and via a simple monthly donation, you will give me the ammunition to continue to preserve Cold War history. 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.
Extra episode information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode296/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/ 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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
South Africa in the 1980s is a brutal, racist Apartheid regime. Those who oppose it risk their lives. Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s Sue Dobson is moving easily through the echelons of the racist government in her work as a journalist, whilst concealing her espionage and military training in the Soviet Union, and her intelligence work for the banned African National Congress. She interviewed Apartheid ministers and had a honey trap affair with a police chief involved with the Namibian independence process. However, Sue's cover is blown leading to her desperate flight across Southern Africa with the Apartheid security police snapping at her heels. We hear in detail about her tense three day car journey to the Soviet Embassy in Botswana and how her KGB training saved her life…
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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. Listeners can find details of our book giveaway here https://coldwarconversations.com/giveaway/
Episode extras including videos and photos https://coldwarconversations.com/episode295/
Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
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South Africa in the 1980s is a brutal, racist regime. Those who oppose it risk their lives. Sue Dobson, was a young white South African woman who was also a spy for the banned African National Congress. The ANC was a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid In the 1980s she built a legend, a fake persona where she pretends to conform, moving easily through the echelons of the racist government in her work as a journalist, whilst concealing her espionage and military training in the Soviet Union, and her intelligence work. We begin with her childhood and what life was like under apartheid. Sue then describes her journey to joining the African National Congress, her recruitment into the armed wing, and her training in the Soviet Union. Buy the book here and support Cold War Conversations Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
Enter our book giveaway here https://coldwarconversations.com/giveaway/
Episode extras including videos and photos https://coldwarconversations.com/episode294/
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 megaphone.fm/adchoices
In November of 1982, at the height of the Cold War, Samantha Smith, a 10-year-old girl from Manchester, Maine, wrote to the Soviet leader Yuri Andropov and asked him if he was going to wage a nuclear war against the U.S.
When an unprecedented response from Andropov arrived, and Samantha received an invitation to visit the USSR, she and her family embarked on a journey that brought the two warring nations closer together.
We speak with author Lena Nelson who was born in the Soviet Union and has spent the past 15 years researching and documenting the story of Samantha Smith and creating an archive at https://www.samanthasmith.info/.
Lena reveals how Samantha Smith's journey in the summer of 1983 helped melt the hearts of the Soviets and thaw the ice of the Cold War. We talk about the interviews she conducted in both the US and Russia with key players in the events of those days and tell the story of this unprecedented moment in history.
Lena’s book America's Youngest Ambassador: The Cold War Story of Samantha Smith's Lasting Message of Peace is available via this link https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9781684750207
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
US Listeners can find details of our book giveaway here https://coldwarconversations.com/giveaway/
Episode extras including videos and photos https://coldwarconversations.com/episode293/
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Richard was 6 years old when he was uprooted from a school in the United States to a Soviet school 700 miles East of Moscow.
In 1988 the Soviet Union was opening up following Michael Gorbachev’s policy of Perestroika and American firms began looking at the possibility of trading with the Soviet Union. It was politically and economically sensitive and his family was chosen to be sent to the USSR to open a factory in the industrial town of Nizhnekamsk in Tartarstan.
They lived in a special apartment building designated for foreigners and Richard attended the local school. Being thrown in the deep end of a Soviet school was a shock to him and he had to adapt fast, not least by learning Russian.
He describes his school experiences and the stark contrasts with his previous life. Despite the difference, he found being six years old in the Soviet Union in all, rather fun. There was a Lunar Park for us to go on rides, war-themed toys like tanks and soldiers even at school, and all sorts of mischief were had.
Life in Nizhnekamsk was hard on his mother who had to stay at home a lot and found the whole experience painfully boring.
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.
***Meet me at the Hack Green Nuclear Bunker Living History event April 8-9th 2023.
Details here https://www.hackgreen.co.uk/events***
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Brian Regal entered the US Army in 1977 and served on the M60A1 tank initially as a driver. The M60A1 was America's primary main battle tank during the Cold War, with initial deployment in 1960 and combat service through to 1991.
After tank school, Brian was sent to West Germany where he was assigned to the 3/35 Armor in the Bamberg Garrison as part of the 1st Armored Division US Army, where the 3/35 was tasked to fight a Warsaw Pact attack across the Czechoslovak and East German borders. Brian was also his company’s nuclear, biological and chemical warfare specialist.
He describes in detail his training, how patrols were conducted along the borders, an incident with a Soviet Military Liaison mission car, the war games amongst the West German civilians, as well as practice alerts.
It’s a great chat and Brian is frank about his role and the scant expectations for survival if war did come.
He is now Dr. Brian Regal, Professor for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine at Kean University, New Jersey
web page: https://sites.google.com/a/kean.edu/brian-regal-phd/
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.
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/
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In 1987 Martin received a letter informing him of his conscription into the Dutch Army. A number of European NATO countries had conscription during the Cold War. Holland’s applied to men over the age of 18 and included service for about a year, after which you were placed on the reserve.
Martin objected to military service as a conscientious objector on religious grounds. Conscientious objectors could perform alternative civilian service instead of military service. However to get to be an official “conscientious objector” you had to pass multiple military courts and military procedures which was especially challenging for someone aged 17 years old.
Martin is very honest about his beliefs and his experiences. It was tough for him during the Cold War and he was seen by some as an enemy because he refused to bear arms to protect his country.
You may disagree with his views, but it’s a Cold War topic that is little covered elsewhere and I’m sure you will find my conversation with Martin as fascinating and powerful as I did.
.Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/281
The foundation Martin work for as a volunteer is: https://www.emmy.foundation/
Batting the Breeze
Batting the Breeze - stories for the infinitely curious. Light, informative, amusing.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
The Cellar Door Podcast
Join wine explorer, Tom Massey, in the Cellar Door to hear the stories of the people...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Epic Adventure
Are you ready for an epic adventure? Welcome to the Epic Adventure Podcast! Host Steve...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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Mark Baker was featured in episode 9 where he told us about working in Czechoslovakia in the 1980s as a journalist for a small publishing company called Business International (BI). He was the company’s Czechoslovakia expert and with his Czech minder Arnold he travelled to Prague and other cities to report on significant economic and political developments.
In 2021, he published “Čas Proměn” (“Time of Changes”), written in Czech, it is a collection of stories about Central and Eastern Europe in the 1980s and early ‘90s.
Over the Christmas 2021 holidays, as he was visiting family in Ohio, he received a surprise email from a Czech academic. He was writing to Mark that he had finished reading the book and that he liked it. But then he added, cryptically, that Mark might want to revise part of it for future editions as he had found Mark’s Czechoslovak secret police surveillance file…
We hear about the plans the Czechoslovak secret police had for Mark and the secret of Operation Oheň, aka Operation Fire.
Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.
If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/for more details.Listen to mark's previous episode here https://pod.fo/e/f83f
Mark's blog is available here. https://markbakerprague.com/part-1-introducing-our-man-inter
Batting the Breeze
Batting the Breeze - stories for the infinitely curious. Light, informative, amusing.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
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We return to Dirk’s story from episode 278 with a move to East Berlin following his mother’s divorce from his father.
Dirk finds school life more relaxed where pupils are allowed to wear Western clothing and to speak more openly, even questioning their teachers about the existence of the Berlin Wall.
After leaving school, Dirk starts work in a factory from which he can see into West Berlin and he longs for a life away from the restrictions of East Germany.
His mother’s new partner is a conscripted border guard who advises him not to attempt an escape over the Wall.
However, as East Germany starts to implode in November 1989 Dirks sees a chance to escape…
We also hear of his and his family’s life in the new Germany where at school reunions the children of Stasi families reveal their secrets and his mother sees the contents of her Stasi file.
Dirk's previous episode https://coldwarconversations.com/episode278/
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode279
Batting the Breeze
Batting the Breeze - stories for the infinitely curious. Light, informative, amusing.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
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Dirk lived in the town of Bernau about 15 miles from East Berlin. Just outside Bernau was Wandlitz the residential estate of the East German leadership. As a result, Bernau had one of the highest densities of Stasi facilities in East Germany.
Dirk shares details of his childhood growing up in a Plattenbau block of flats where his school friends were children of NVA officers, Stasi officers, and Soviet Army officers.
He shares some fascinating details of school life and visits the homes of his school friends in Bernau. However, his parents clashed with his school teachers as they bullied Dirk for wearing western clothing.
We also hear how his parent's anti-soviet view originated with his grandparents fleeing the World War 2 Soviet invasion of East Prussia and an Uncle who was arrested and disappeared in Berlin in 1945.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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Videos and extra episode info here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode278
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Ana Montes was the most damaging female spy in US history.
For nearly 17 years, Montes was one of the government's top Cuba experts, with easy access to classified documents. By night, she was working for Fidel Castro's Cuba, listening to coded messages over shortwave radio, passing US secrets to handlers in local restaurants, and slipping into Havana wearing a wig.
Her only sister, Lucy, worked for the FBI helping the FBI flush Cuban spies out of the United States. Little did Lucy or her family know that the greatest Cuban spy of all was sitting right next to them at Thanksgivings, baptisms, and weddings.
I speak with investigative journalist Jim Popkin whose book Code Name Blue Wren, weaves the tale of two sisters who chose two very different paths and reveals the making of a traitor- a woman labelled "one of the most damaging spies in U.S. history" by America's top counter-intelligence official.
After more than two decades in federal prison, Montes was freed in January 2023.
Buy the book here https://amzn.to/3l9s47k
Episodes mentioned
Number stations https://coldwarconversations.com/episode239/
Photos and videos relating to this episode https://coldwarconversations.com/episode277/
The battle to preserve Cold War history is ongoing and your support can provide me with the ammunition to continue to keep this podcast on the air. Via a simple monthly donation, 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Support the show
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Every weekday on the History Daily podcast, Lindsay Graham takes you back in time to explore a momentous moment that happened ‘on this day’ in history.
1989 was a pivotal year for the Cold War. The fall of the Berlin Wall, free elections in Poland, and the almost bloodless revolutions in the other Warsaw Pact countries apart from Romania.
However, two other important events occurred in 1989 and this bonus episode will cover those events.
So here is the 1989 US Invasion of Panama and the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre courtesy of our friends at History Daily. Just search History Daily in your podcast app for further episodes. https://www.historydaily.com/
We have two full episodes for you.
1989 US Invasion of Panama
December 20, 1989. President George H.W. Bush launches a US invasion of Panama to depose the country's dictator, and former CIA informant, Manuel Noriega.
The Tiananmen Square Massacre
June 3, 1989. In a bloody government crackdown on dissent, Chinese troops storm Beijing's Tiananmen Square and open fire on a pro-democracy demonstration, killing hundreds of unarmed civilians.
Related videos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode276/
History Analyzed
History Analyzed is a podcast which investigates both history's biggest moments and...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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Tim Lyon was an officer assigned to the 400th Strategic Missile Squadron located in Cheyenne Wyoming. The Squadron was maintained 50 Peacekeeper ICBM missiles based in underground silos in farmers’ fields in remote areas of Wyoming.
Tim was one of two launch officers who were responsible for 10 of these missiles. He and his colleague would descend forty to sixty feet below ground to a concrete capsule that housed the Launch Control Centre. There he would spend 24-hour alerts ready to launch 100 nuclear warheads — each with twenty times the explosive force of the Hiroshima bomb at speeds of 15,000 mph.
We hear in detail about his training, the testing procedures, security, and how he handled such a huge responsibility. Tim also describes launching one of these missiles from a test site in the US.
Episodes mentioned:
Commanding a Royal Navy Polaris Nuclear Missile Submarine https://coldwarconversations.com/episode168/
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode275/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/
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Warning: This episode does cover the subject of suicide. If you need help please use these links:
- UK https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/
- Rest of the World https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp
Dean Reed was an American actor, singer and songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc.
Neil Jacobs is a guitarist who first met Dean Reed briefly while renting accommodation from Will Roberts, who directed the documentary of Dean Reed called “American Rebel”.
Neil served on the US Cultural Delegation to the Moscow World Youth Festival in 1985 and unlike most of the participants, he was assigned by the Soviets. I did not go through any of the screening processes that the American Delegation had undergone, and therefore has a unique perspective on the event. It was at this event he began his friendship with Dean Reed.
Additionally, he traveled with Dean Reed extensively both in the US and in the Eastern Bloc from 1985 -1986 and was one of the last people to see him before his death.
Listen to our other Dean Reed episodes here
https://coldwarconversations.com/episode97/
https://coldwarconversations.com/episode98/
The battle to preserve Cold War history is ongoing and your support can provide me with the ammunition to continue to keep this podcast on the air. Via a simple monthly donation, 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Photos and videos relating to this episode https://coldwarconversations.com/episode274/ Neil Jacobs web site https://www.neiljacobs.com/
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On 10 February 1962, Gary Powers, the American pilot whose U2 spy plane was shot down in Soviet airspace, was released on “The Bridge in Spies” in Berlin by his captors in exchange for one Colonel Rudolf Abel, aka Vilyam Fisher - one of the most extraordinary characters in the history of the Cold War.
Born plain William Fisher in Newcastle upon Tyne, in the UK this British grammar schoolboy was the child of revolutionary parents who had fled tsarist oppression in Russia. Their son returned to his spiritual homeland, the newly formed Soviet Union, and became a spy, embarking on a mission to New York, where he ran the network that stole America's atomic secrets.
In 1957, Willie's luck ran out and he was arrested and sentenced to thirty years in prison. Five years later, the USSR's regard for his talents was proven when they insisted on swapping him for Gary Powers.
I speak with Vin Arthey, the author of “Abel. The true story of the spy they traded for Gary Powers” Vin Arthey has traced Willie's tale from the most unlikely of beginnings in Newcastle, to Moscow, the streets of New York, and back again, a story of Cold War espionage to rival anything in fiction.
Buy the book here https://amzn.to/3D9di6B
Episodes mentioned
The Rosenberg’s https://coldwarconversations.com/episode184/
Portland Spy Ring https://coldwarconversations.com/episode138/ https://coldwarconversations.com/episode139/
The battle to preserve Cold War history is ongoing and your support can provide me with the ammunition to continue to keep this podcast on the air. Via a simple monthly donation, 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/
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Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/
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Marie-Claude Hawkes continues her story with her return to Berlin in 1985 as a French teaching assistant at the Havel School RAF Gatow, teaching French and taking part in school activities in West and East Berlin.
Between September 86 and August 87 Marie-Claude was employed as a cartoonist for the Berlin Bulletin, the weekly magazine for the British Forces in Berlin.
Marie Claude describes her experiences as a French citizen working for the British Army as well as the challenges of being a French civilian in Berlin marrying a British citizen.
In February 1988 Marie-Claude started work as the Director of Extra-Mural Studies at 46 AEC (Army Education Corps), Smuts Barracks in Spandau.
While organising various classes for service men/women and their ‘dependents’, she also provided interpreting and trips to East Berlin for various purposes, one illegal…
It’s a fascinating view of Cold War Berlin from a perspective not heard before.
Episodes mentioned:
The Defence of RAF Gatow https://coldwarconversations.com/episode257/
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Extra info including photos, and videos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode272/
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In 1981 Marie-Claude Hawkes was an 18-year-old living in Amiens, France when she embarked on a trip to East Germany looking for adventure…
Among her experiences was working in a lignite coal mine. Lignite is considered the lowest rank of coal and the most harmful coal to human health but was a major fuel source for East German power stations.
Marie-Claude travelled from Paris to Leipzig on an overnight train, staying at the International Youth Camp in Borna. From there she travelled every day to work in the open lignite mine at Espenhain, about 16 miles from Leipzig.
She describes working at the mine, weekends off, visits to Leipzig, Magdeburg, Weimar and a potato peeling factory...!
It’s a fascinating view of East Germany away from the capital Berlin.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Check out the episode related photos and videos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode271/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Part 2, of a two part recording.
Part 1 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode268
In October of 2022, I was asked by the West Pennines Military Vehicle Trust to moderate a Q&A session with a number of BRIXMIS veterans.
Attending were Drivers Neil Walton, Pete Curran, Dave Collins and Kev Smith, plus Sandy Saxton-Warne (Joint operations & weapons) , Mike Hill (Tour officer), Mike Corcoran (Weapons), and Dave Butler (Senior Non Commissioned Officer, Tourer).
It was an amazing afternoon of reminiscing about their experiences and viewing the amazing collections they had from that time.
My good friend Colin Dyter was a massive help with the recording, but a quick note that the audio is not up to the usual quality of Cold War Conversations, due to background noise, but I think the events and activities described definitely make it worth listening to.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode270
Support the show
Archive Unknown
Secrets, crimes, and unbelievable true stories from U.S. archives.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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In 1986 Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev said “Never perhaps, in the post-war decades has the situation in the world been explosive and hence more difficult and unfavourable as in the first half of the 1980s. “
He was referring to a period of immense tension between the Soviet Union and NATO when in 1983 a NATO exercise called Able Archer was believed to have almost accidentally started World War 3.
We delve into the Able Archer archives to talk about the most recent documents with Francesca Akhtar, a researcher whose 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.
Regular listeners will remember that Francesca talked about Able Archer 83 previously in Episode 19.
The battle to preserve Cold War history is ongoing and your support can provide me with the ammunition to continue to keep this podcast on the air. Via a simple monthly donation, 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.
View the actual Able Archer intelligence briefing documents here as well as videos, and extra information https://coldwarconversations.com/episode269/
Archive Unknown
Secrets, crimes, and unbelievable true stories from U.S. archives.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/
Support the show
Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Follow us on Twitter here https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations
In October of 2022, I was asked by the West Pennines Military Vehicle Trust to moderate a Q&A session with a number of BRIXMIS veterans.
Part 2 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode270
Attending were Drivers Neil Walton, Pete Curran, Dave Collins and Kev Smith, plus Sandy Saxton-Warne (Joint operations & weapons) , Mike Hill (Tour officer), Mike Corcoran (Weapons), and Dave Butler (Senior Non Commissioned Officer, Tourer).
It was an amazing afternoon of reminiscing about their experiences and viewing the amazing collections they had from that time. Don’t miss part 2 which follows next week.
My good friend Colin Dyter was a massive help with the recording, but a quick note that the audio is not up to the usual quality of Cold War Conversations, due to background noise, but I think the events and activities described definitely make it worth listening to.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
Episode notes herehttps://coldwarconversations.com/episode268
Archive Unknown
Secrets, crimes, and unbelievable true stories from U.S. archives.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/
Support the show
Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
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Sean Kelly is the author of Home Bases: Memories & Stories of US Military Bases Around London which for the first time, puts the spotlight on the history of many of the US Military’s lesser-known command and support bases that were located either in or close to London.
The bases (often known as ‘Little Americas’) are furthermore brought to life in a series of ‘snapshot’ memories. We hear about the heroism of US personnel who were awarded the George Medal for bravery in rescuing people caught in the great floods of 1953 as well as including actor Larry Hagman who played JR Ewing in the TV series Dallas.
We talk about the memories of bases further afield such as Upper Heyford, Greenham Common, Sculthorpe, and Burtonwood.
Buy the book here https://amzn.to/3V8959o
The battle to preserve Cold War history is ongoing and your support can provide me with the ammunition to continue to keep this podcast on the air. Via a simple monthly donation, 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.
I am delighted to welcome Sean Kelly to our Cold War conversation…
Sean's websites
Home Bases https://www.facebook.com/ushomebases
7 North Audley https://www.facebook.com/7NorthAudley
Episodes referred to:
Greenham Common https://coldwarconversations.com/episode18/
Burtonwood https://coldwarconversations.com/episode74/
Upper Heyford https://coldwarconversations.com/episode65/
Further episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode267/
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We’re back with Alan Hodges, a Royal Tank Regiment Chieftain tank commander, and Mick Hadfield who was his 17-year-old gunner.
In this episode we talk in detail about their deployment within a kilometer of the East German border and their tasks should H Hour have come as well as emergency deployment from barracks.
There is no affection for their main training area at Soltau described as “the moon with a few trees and also in less polite terms. However, these training periods are made better by the regular appearance of Wolfgang, a German entrepreneur and British Army legend who was uncannily able to place his snack vans whenever the British Army deployed.
We also hear how the crew was also trained on how to evacuate the tank if it was hit as well as how to evade capture and resist interrogation.
It’s anecdotes galore again including a visit from a Swedish Major who unwisely was given the chance to drive Chieftain.
There’s also sadness as we remember those that never came back from exercises due to accidents. It’s the continuing story of the close bond that soldiers forge that still lasts to this day.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a monthly contribution is not your cup of tea, We also welcome one-off donations via the same link.
Extra videos and photos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode266/
Find the ideal gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/store/
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Alan Hodges was a Royal Tank Regiment Chieftain tank commander and troop SGT in West Germany. Mick Hadfield was his 17-year-old gunner. The affection between the two is still apparent even today and Mick still calls Al his army Dad.
Mick met Al in 1987 straight out of his armoured corp gunnery training at Catterick. They served for 3 years together in 1st Royal Tank Regiment in Hildesheim from August 87 to December 90.
They share detailed insights into the operations of the Chieftain, the training, the camaraderie of a crew as well as important details like how you go the loo in a tank..
As part of 1st Royal Tank Regiment they were at the time (the most forward-facing Tank unit in BAOR and given a 2-hour life expectancy. They were told that if the Soviet 3rd Shock army crossed the border, each Chieftain would have to knock out a minimum of 10 Soviet tanks before they got overrun.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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Extra videos and photos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode265/
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In the early 1970s, the athletes of East Germany started to achieve incredible sports results, winning medals and setting new world records with astonishing frequency. For many years, their sporting supremacy was hailed as a triumph of the socialist government's commitment to scientific research and innovative training methods.
However, after the Cold War ended, the Stasi archives revealed a sinister secret behind the successes: a perverse doping system imposed by the government itself. Drugs were administered to young athletes, often without their consent, and the price their bodies are now paying is very high, both physically and mentally.
I talk with Joseph Tudor, whose new book Synthetic Medals reveals the events that led to the discovery of the state-doping system and the subsequent trial. It also explores the state's motives for this crime against its own people.
BOOK GIVEAWAY detail here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode264/
Buy the book here https://amzn.to/3gVZbtI and support the podcast.
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**Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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Buy a gift for the Cold War enthusiast in your life https://coldwarconversations.com/store/
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From the moment East Germany was formed in 1949, many of its citizens chose to leave to start a new life in the West. By the mid-1950s, the trickle had turned into a flood as large numbers rejected Walter Ulbricht’s Communist paradise. His ‘Workers’ & Peasants’ State’ could not afford to lose the skills and productivity of these key workers, so he proposed a radical solution - to physically fence in the whole population.
I speak with Andrew Long, the author of a series of books about Cold War Berlin as we explore the background and build-up to the building of the Berlin Wall, from the closing of the Inner German border to the momentous events of August 1961.
We examine in detail how Operation Rose, the operation to close the border between East and West Berlin, was planned and executed and look at how the West reacted.
BOOK GIVEAWAY detail here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode263/
Buy Andrew's books here https://amzn.to/3hI6N2Y and support the podcast.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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Photos and video extra here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode263/
Get a 15% discount off all of Helion's Europe@War titles between Saturday 26th-30th Nov 2022 using promo code COLDWAR15.Visit Helion.co.uk here.
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Dave Phillips is a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London. The Yeoman Warders have been guarding the Tower since Tudor times.
Dave joined the British Army aged 16 into the Royal Irish Rangers. We hear of his early years in the Army in Northern Ireland and his posting to West Berlin.
In West Berlin Dave is part of the force that guarded Rudolf Hess, a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany and appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933.
On 10 May 1941, Hess made a solo flight to Scotland, where he hoped to arrange peace talks with the British. He was arrested and stood trial at the 1946 Nuremberg trials of major war criminals. The court convicted him of crimes against peace and of conspiracy with other German leaders to commit crimes and was given a life sentence in Berlin’s Spandau Prison.
Dave describes interactions with Hess, as well as the guard duties and operation of the prison.
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Episode videos and photos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode262/**
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We continue the story of Richard Stachurski from the previous episode. Part 1 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode260
In 1971 Richard left NASA and was assigned to the Drone/Remotely Piloted Vehicle Systems Program Office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
From 1975-1978 Richard did a tour of duty with the Air Staff at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. and between 1978-1981: he was Deputy Program Manager, Ground Launched Cruise Missile Program (GLCM) System Program Office-engaged in the adaptation of the Navy’s SLCM for use by the Air Force.
In 1981 he was assigned to the staff at USAFE Headquarters (Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany) responsible for the deployment of the GLCM to five European countries (England, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, and Italy).
Richard was then promoted in 1984 to Vice Commander, Commander, 487th Tactical Missile Wing, Comiso Air Station, Sicily where he was responsible for the missile wing's operational readiness, and his troops' welfare.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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 bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping preserve Cold War history.
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Episode notes and videos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode261
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Richard Stachurski joined the US Air Force in 1962, on the cusp of the Cuban Missile Crisis as a security police officer guarding nuclear-armed B-58 Hustler bombers.
Within two years he volunteered for the Minuteman nuclear missile program where he served as a Deputy Missile Combat Crew Commander with the 68th Strategic Missile Squadron at Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. Richard was the junior officer on a two-man crew in a launch control capsule buried beneath the South Dakota prairie who was charged with monitoring the status and launching if necessary ten Minuteman ICBMs.
In 1965 he was selected as one of 128 Air Force officers to be loaned to NASA to support the activation and operation of the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas. He worked his way up to being a Network Controller, who sat two consoles to the right of the Flight Director in the Mission Operations Control Room. He was responsible for all the ground systems that supported an Apollo mission and was selected as the lead Network Controller on Apollo 11 working on both the launch from Earth and the first-ever launch from the lunar surface.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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. One-off donations are also welcome.
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Episode notes , inc photos and video here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode260/
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The Home Service Force or HSF was UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's Cold War version of the World War 2 Home Guard.
An almost forgotten unit, the HSF was established in 1982 and recruited from ex-regular Army, ex-territorial and ex-uniformed service personnel aged up to 60 years old. It’s mission was to guard key points in the UK as the perceived threat from Warsaw Pact special forces increased towards the end of the Cold War.
I speak with Richard Coles, who served as an officer in the HSF Company of The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC). He tells of the setup of the unit, the incredible characters he served with and details some of the exercises that he participated in.
The Cold War Conversation continues in our Facebook discussion group and on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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 bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping preserve Cold War history.
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I am delighted to welcome Richard Coles to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode259
A Question of StandingThe history of the first 75 years of the CIA. Buy the book here https://bit.ly/OUPCWC22
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Back in the 1970s, migrating from the Soviet Union was an unattainable dream for many, particularly Jews wanting to leave for Israel. To leave the Soviet Union for another country, it was necessary to obtain exit visas. In practice, many people found them impossible to get.
On the morning of June 15, 1970, 16 Soviet Jews who had been refused exit visas appeared at Smolny Airport near Leningrad to hijack a plane. They posed as a group going to a wedding — hence the name of the operation.
The plan devised a year before the attempted hijacking, was quite straightforward. The hijackers would target a small aeroplane and book all the seats on it. They would commandeer the aircraft and leave the pilots unharmed on the landing strip, while one of the conspirators would take control of the aeroplane and fly it to Sweden.
I speak with filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov whose film “Operation Wedding” reveals the compelling story of her parents, the leaders of the group.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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. One-off donations are also welcome.
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I am delighted to welcome Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes and full film here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode258/
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Back in the 1970s, migrating from the Soviet Union was an unattainable dream for many, particularly Jews wanting to leave for Israel. To leave the Soviet Union for another country, it was necessary to obtain exit visas. In practice, many people found them impossible to get.
On the morning of June 15, 1970, 16 Soviet Jews who had been refused exit visas appeared at Smolny Airport near Leningrad to hijack a plane. They posed as a group going to a wedding — hence the name of the operation.
The plan devised a year before the attempted hijacking, was quite straightforward. The hijackers would target a small aeroplane and book all the seats on it. They would commandeer the aircraft and leave the pilots unharmed on the landing strip, while one of the conspirators would take control of the aeroplane and fly it to Sweden.
I speak with filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov whose film “Operation Wedding” reveals the compelling story of her parents, the leaders of the group.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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. One-off donations are also welcome.
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.
I am delighted to welcome Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes and full film here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode258/
A Question of StandingThe history of the first 75 years of the CIA. Buy the book here https://bit.ly/OUPCWC22
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Trevor Howie’s role at RAF Gatow was advising the Station Commander on Station defence during times of war, tension or terrorist threat as well as the defence of 26 Signals Unit at the Teufelsberg listening post.
RAF Gatow’s western side was located right against the Berlin Wall which was clearly visible from the control tower. Beyond the Wall was the Döberitz training area for the Soviet and East German Army.
Soviet jets regularly overflew West Berlin emitting sonic booms to underline the immediate threat from their forces.
To gain intelligence about the opposition Trevor used the resident De Havilland Chipmunk aircraft to see across the Wall and observe the neighbouring Soviet and East German forces. He describes the defence plans and exercises such as Exercise Grizzly Bear where every member of the air station would have played a part in its defence.
Trevor vividly describes how he heard that the Wall had opened on 9th November 1989.
It’s a fascinating view of British forces in Berlin and their plans should the Cold War have turned hot.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode257/
Don't Change Much
The Don't Change Much Podcast is about men's mental and physical health
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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Following his RAF Regiment officer training Trevor Howie was posted to 34 Sqn at Raf Akrotiri in Cyprus, commanding C Flight. The RAF regiment was effectively the Royal Air Force’s infantry, providing ground defence for air operations.
34 Sqn had a dual role of providing defence at Akrotiri and in the event of war at RAF Wildenrath in Germany.
Trevor vividly describes his time at Akrotiri, including terrorist threats and realistic anti-riot training exercises the enthusiasm of the Argyle and Sutherland Highlanders required a hospital ward to be kept available for casualties.
In 1986 Trevor became involved in Nuclear Weapon Security training, where the training techniques he introduced were the subject of complaints. His service also includes stints at RAF Greenham Common where he describes providing support to the US nuclear-armed cruise missile deployment there.
Don’t miss next week’s episode where Trevor is posted to RAF Gatow in West Berlin as the Station Regiment Officer, responsible for advising the Station Commander on how to defend the Station during times of war, tension or terrorist threat.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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I am delighted to welcome Trevor Howie to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode256/
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The 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis is reckoned to be one of the most perilous events in history, when the World faced a looming nuclear collision between the United States and Soviet Union. During those weeks, the world gazed into the abyss of potential annihilation.
I speak with Sir Max Hastings whose new history Abyss: The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 tells the story from the viewpoints of national leaders, Russian officers, Cuban peasants, American pilots and British disarmers. The period is brought to life with eye-witness interviews, archive documents and diaries, White House tape recordings, and top-down analysis. More than purely a focus on the 13 days of the crisis, the book provides context through the Cold War experiences of Fidel Castro’s Cuba, Nikita Khrushchev’s Russia, and Kennedy’s America.
Among the areas we discuss are how Cuba became a crisis, the failure of intelligence on both sides, and those nail-biting Thirteen Days in which Armageddon beckoned.
Buy the book an support the podcast https://amzn.to/3rlPLsM
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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I am delighted to welcome Sir Max Hastings to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode255/
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This episode features the chance to win Sir Max Hasting’s latest book Abyss: The Cuban Missile Crisis 1962.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/giveaway to see how you enter.
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The words you heard at the start of this episode are the actual dramatic report from Apollo 13 to Mission Control alerting them to the life-threatening explosion that occurred on April 13th, 1970.
Fred Haise was one of the three astronauts on the ill-fated Moon mission when a design fault caused an oxygen tank to explode mid-mission putting the Apollo 13 crew in mortal danger. This was the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program and the third meant to land on the Moon.
Now as you can imagine I’m genuinely excited to be speaking with one of the Apollo astronauts. Fred and I talk about his life and his almost accidental entry into flying. We cover his admission into the astronaut programme, the family impact, and as you can imagine go into some detail about his experiences on the Apollo 13 mission.
Many of you will know of this mission via the Film “Apollo 13” starring Tom Hanks, and Fred shares his views on the film and corrects some of the inaccuracies.
Buy Fred's new book Never Panic Early: An Apollo 13 Astronaut's Journey and support the podcast here https://amzn.to/3DvCRzN
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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I am delighted to welcome Fred Haise to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode254
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All audio/video/photos courtesy of NASA.
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Richard Blevins enlisted aged 18 in the US Army in March of 1987. He completed Basic Training & Military Police School training in July of 1987 and was posted to West Berlin as a United States Military Policeman.
He describes his selection for Berlin duty while at Rhine-Main AFB in Frankfurt and his first journey across East Germany on the US Duty train to West Berlin.
Richard’s first year consisted of patrol duties and combat training as well as serving at Checkpoints Bravo and Charlie as the assistant to the Non-commissioned Officer in Charge.
He also got selected as a traffic accident investigator in 1988 where he would patrol with the West Berlin Police and respond to all car accidents involving US military, dependents, and civilian workers as well as West German nationals.
Richard also describes how he heard the news on November 8th, 1989, that Erich Honecker had lifted all travel restrictions on East Germans starting at midnight.
He is a close friend of Michael Rafferty who appeared in episode 13 with his account of the last days of Checkpoint Charlie. Don’t miss Michael’s video of 1980s Berlin in the episode notes.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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I am delighted to welcome Richard Blevins to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode253
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La Fayette, We Are Here!
French history podcast for Americans, by a Frenchman. Learn all about France's history.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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MZ was an East German motorcycle manufacturer located in Zschopau, Saxony. The acronym MZ stands for Motorenwerke Zschopau GmbH (German for Zschopau engine factory).
In the 1980s MZ was regarded by the British motorcycle press as producing ugly and old-fashioned (if worthy) motorcycles however, there was a hard-core set of UK fans who loved this relatively, cheap and easy-to-repair bike.
Julian Howe was a big fan of the MZ bike. He tells of a bizarre honeymoon of fellow MZ club members which involved MZ bike fans from across the UK touring Western Europe and the Warsaw Pact Countries.
From sharing drinks with border guards to being on the receiving end of CS gas in Krakow it’s a tour through late 1980s Europe on the back of a two-stroke MZ motorbike.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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I am delighted to welcome Julian Howe to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode246/
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This is the 2nd part of my interview with Lt Col. Stephen Harrison, MBE who served for two years as a full-time Touring Officer with BRIXMIS. The tours were hazardous three-man, vehicle-borne patrols collecting intelligence on the Warsaw Pact forces in East Germany for up to five days and nights over a series of four-month patrolling periods.
In this episode, we hear of Stephen’s imprisonment in a Soviet Army gaol, following detention in a Soviet Army garrison town as well as East German and Soviet Army press coverage about his activities.
Stephen’s speciality was using his language skills to engage and befriend opposition troops and thereby gaining valuable intelligence. He used to go into bars frequented by Soviet officers and recalls one particular drunken night in Potsdam..
We also hear about his visit to the infamous World War 2 prison camp of Colditz castle where he befriends the staff enabling other BRIXMIS tours to visit regularly.
Stephen also shares details of the top-secret Operation Tomahawk, a particularly unpleasant mission which may not be for those of a sensitive disposition.
In later years Stephen obtained his Stasi file which reveals that the surveillance on him was far closer than he’d ever believed.
Don’t miss part 1 of this fascinating interview here.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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I am delighted to welcome Stephen to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode251/
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There is nothing like hearing history from those that were there...
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Lt Col. Stephen Harrison, MBE served for two years as a full-time Touring Officer with BRIXMIS. These Tours were hazardous three man, vehicle-borne patrols collecting intelligence on the Warsaw Pact forces in East Germany for up to five days and nights over a series of four-month patrolling periods.
They lived in the field and did not carry weapons while Soviet and East German troops were nearly always armed, and their ever-present sentries carried live ammunition. The Tours operated in the closest proximity to these hostile and aggressive Warsaw Pact troops whose orders permitted them to use whatever force necessary, including opening fire, to protect the property they are guarding.
We hear in detail about Stephen’s experiences in these demanding and frequently dangerous situations, as well as how he used his language skills to engage and befriend opposition troops gaining valuable intelligence which made him a particular threat to the Soviets.
Don’t miss part2 of this fascinating interview next week.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Stephen to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode250/
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A young Claudia Bierschenk lived at the edge of a world called the GDR, in a village surrounded by hills, valleys and thick forests.
Her great uncle lives in the Forbidden Zone, the area where the East German border is a few metres away from West Germany. This is where the villages are like ghosts towns and inhabitants need special permits to enter.
Claudia provides a vivid and unique description of entering the Forbidden Zone for the first time after being granted special permits to visit her Great Uncle on his 80th birthday. His house is the last house before the final border fences and Claudia describes up close to the fences, while her grandfather tells her about “rabbit discos”…
We also hear more of her life in this isolated area, including strange sports activities and Claudia’s experience of being trained as a 12-year-old Para medic.
We end the episode talking about how she and her family experienced the momentous events of 1989 when the border opens, and East Germans are free to cross into West Germany.
Claudia has distilled these stories into a book, Never Mind, Comrade, published by Tangerine Press
Don’t miss our previous episode with Claudia here https://pod.fo/e/137f1e
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will 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.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Claudia to our Cold War conversation…
Enter the draw to win a copy of the book here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode249/
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Details here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode248/
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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A young Claudia Bierschenk lived in a village surrounded by hills, valleys and thick forests at the edge of a world called the GDR. It could be beautiful, but the Iron Curtain runs through it, like a tectonic plate separating East and West and Claudia from her West German relatives.
She tells of her life in this isolated area, of village life, far away from the socialist showpiece of East Berlin, where there are only two types of yoghurt in the village store.
In a series of snapshots, we re-live her childhood of secretly watching West German TV, learning “Marxism-Leninism for kids” at school, and the rare joy of a phone call from the West.
We also hear of her parents’ challenges. For her father, it’s his home village, but he is criticised for his liberal views and for wearing Western braces to school. Locals see her mother as an outsider, and she yearns for a life in the West with her sister in West Berlin.
Claudia has distilled these stories into a book, Never Mind, Comrade, published by Tangerine Press. Buy the book here https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9781910691700
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing them on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Claudia Bierschenk to our Cold War conversation…
Don't miss your chance to win a copy of Claudia's book here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode248
All photos are © Claudia Bierschenk.
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Radio GDR
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In 1961, members of the Alabama Air National Guard secretly took part in the failed invasion of Cuba by U.S.-backed Cuban exiles known as the Bay of Pigs. This was a covert attempt by the United States to overthrow the Soviet-allied Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
Pete Ray was one of eight Alabama guardsmen who flew combat missions on April 19th 1961, which resulted in the deaths of Pete and three members of the Alabama unit. U.S. President John F. Kennedy later acknowledged America's involvement but denied that American military personnel had entered Cuban territory. It was not until 1987 did the U.S. revealed that eight ANG members had indeed flown into Cuban airspace.
We hear from Pete Ray’s daughter Janet, who tirelessly worked to find out the truth of what happened that day despite the best efforts of the CIA, the Cubans, and the US government to obstruct her investigations.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping preserve Cold War history.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Janet Ray to our Cold War conversation…
Photos and videos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode247/
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Paul continues his story with his recruitment into the Army Air Corps. It’s initially delayed with a tour providing airfield repair in West Germany and then the Falklands, but finally, he’s at training at Middle Wallop, the home of the Army Air Corps.
He describes the training including underwater escapes, flying and navigation. As a Gazelle crewman, his role was navigator, observer and co-pilot. We hear of exercises including the lesser-known Railex/Probex, a US, French and British exercise to re-open a land corridor to West Berlin should the links be closed by Warsaw Pact forces and the British Frontier Service.
Paul’s story is again full of great anecdotes and the dangerous reality of flying low-level missions in a single-engine aircraft including a forced landing with a General on board.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll get a sought-after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Paul to our Cold War conversation…
Photos and videos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode246/
Don’t miss our previous episode where Paul joins the Army as a boy soldier in the Royal Engineers here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode245/
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The Greg Krino Show
Veteran, pilot, and attorney - Greg Krino - takes you on a deep-dive with experts to...
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Paul joined the Royal Engineers in 1977, aged 16 as an apprentice. We hear of his experience of joining the army at such a young age and being away from home for the first time.
After initial training his first posting was to Osnabruck in 1979. Shortly after his arrival Paul is appointed to the challenging role of driver to the Squadron Sergeant Major
With participation in exercises such as Crusader 80 and Active Edge Paul describes in detail the role of Royal Engineers in Cold War Germany, including mine laying, bridge demolition and fixed defence construction.
Paul’s story is full of great anecdotes and tales of the reality of life in the British Army of the Rhine.
Don’t miss our next episode where Paul joins the Army Air Corps and becomes an Aircrewman Observer on Gazelle helicopters along the Inner German Border.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Paul to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode245/
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In the early 1980s East Germany had just 5000 members of the Church of Latter-day Saints, many of which had been members since before World War 2.
In 1982 East German leader Erich Honecker historically allowed the church to build a temple in Freiberg and in 1988 Mormon missionaries were allowed into East Germany. Ken Brady describes his experiences as a Mormon missionary in East Germany as the country gradually disappeared and was absorbed into West Germany.
Ken also gives us a valuable view of life away from Berlin in cities such as Cottbus, Gorlitz, Schwerin, Frankfurt an der Oder and Eisenhüttenstadt. It’s a fascinating story told with humour and candour as Ken grapples with local dialects, the local food and tricks with East German currency.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Ken to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode244/
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Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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KC flew the US Navy’s airborne Electronic Reconnaissance during the 1980s in the Lockheed EP-3 which is an electronic signals reconnaissance version of the P-3 Orion.
He flew as a Navigator, Senior Electronic Warfare Evaluator and Mission Commander.
We hear about several missions he was involved in including his first detachment to Athens the then main USN operating base for missions in the Mediterranean and the Adriatic.
We also hear about flying in the Baltic from bases in the UK (Mildenhall/Wyton) or FRG (Schleswig-Jagel). Flying from Keflavik in Iceland KC monitored a huge Soviet Navy exercise in the Norwegian Sea involving the Kiev, Kirov, and numerous cruisers, destroyers, and frigates.
In the 1980s Libya was claiming the Gulf of Sidra as its territorial waters and KC flew in support of “freedom of navigation” operations involving USN ships.
It’s a great insight into a relatively unknown part of Cold War air operations.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome KC to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode243/
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If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
The Greg Krino Show
Veteran, pilot, and attorney - Greg Krino - takes you on a deep-dive with experts to...
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What is it like to be under secret police surveillance? On 10 March 1983, 12-year-old Carmen Bugan returned from school to find Romanian secret police in her living room. Her father’s protest against the regime had changed her life forever.
In recent years Carmen gained access to the files of the Romanian secret police. She herself is surprised by the intimacy of the surveillance. Forgotten conversations, love letters, and arguments are all laid bare via the detailed notes taken by the Securitate. We hear the sadness of discovering friends and family members were involved in informing on them too.
Carmen and I discuss the “language of oppression”, the subtle and not-so-subtle methods used to try and ensure a compliant population but still thwarted by humanity even in the darkest recesses of the Romanian prison system.
It’s a warning from history and the meaning of freedom in current times.
Buy the book here Carmen Bugan Books UK Listeners
Carmen Bugan books US listeners
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation me will keep this project going and allow me to continue preserving these incredible stories. You’ll join our community, get a sought-after CWC drinks 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome back Carmen Bugan to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode242/
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Don't miss Carmen's previous episode " A Childhood under the eye of the Secret Police" here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode147/
The Greg Krino Show
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Keith Bailey Joined British Army at 16 in 1973. He was recruited into the Blues and Royals, (Household Cavalry) and served in West Germany as a gunner in Chieftain tanks.
However, he was keen to serve in the Royal Military Police and particularly 19 (Support) Platoon known as "The White Mice". Their role was to track the SOXMIS (Soviet Military Mission) in West Germany.
SOXMIS operated under a 1946 agreement where the Soviets, British, US and French agreed to exchange mission groups to patrol the opposing side’s then zones of occupation.
The agreement continued to 1990 and needless to say both sides bent the rules somewhat…
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Keith Bailey to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes & photos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode241/
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Graham Bate was 30-year-old Civil Servant when he built his own nuclear bunker in the garden of his rural home 20 miles outside Hull in the UK.
It was here that the Bate family expected to survive for at least 3 weeks after a nuclear attack.
We speak with Graham Bate and his son Conrad who was 5 years old when the bunker was built and has vivid memories of the period.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will help preserve these accounts and keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Graham and Conrad Bate to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode240/
Special thanks to Al McCann who helped facilitate this episode. Please visit his website Northern Ireland's Secret Bunker. A Cold War 'Living' Museum situated in County Armagh https://www.facebook.com/nibunker/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation.
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You might remember listening to short wave radio during the Cold War and coming across weird transmissions of metallic voices reciting random groups of numbers through the ether. These are number stations, shortwave radio stations characterised by broadcasts of formatted numbers, which were being sent to spies operating in foreign countries.
Number stations were used widely during the Cold War and we speak with Jo Reggelt of ShortwaveNumbers.com. Jo has been working with Simon Mason who was a founding member of ENIGMA, launched in the 80s after identifying several of these stations.
We discuss in detail the operations behind the transmissions and the stations themselves. You will hear some sample transmissions, including one drunken Stasi officers serenading their agents after the opening of the Wall.
We also detail a UK spy case that centred on capturing an agent red-handed listening to a numbers station.
There’s further information including links, audio samples and books here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode239/
Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.
If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Jo Reggelt to our Cold War conversation…
Jo's website is here https://www.shortwavenumbers.com/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
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The Cold War years were a period of unprecedented peace in Europe, yet they also saw a number of localised but nonetheless very intense wars throughout the wider world in which air power played a vital role.
I speak with former Cold War Tornado pilot and acclaimed aviation historian Michael Napier who has written Flashpoints: Air Warfare in the Cold War published by Osprey which describes eight of these Cold War conflicts.
We discuss the wide range of aircraft types used and the development of tactics over a period of revolution in aviation technology and design which saw some of the most modern technology that the NATO and Warsaw Pact forces deployed.
UK listeners buy the book here
US listeners buy the book here
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Michael Napier to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode236/
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Marti Peterson was the first female CIA operative to be assigned to Moscow, probably the most challenging posting during the Cold War.
Don't miss the previous episode here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode236/
This second episode turns to TRIGON, the code name for Alexandr Ogorodnik. He was an official in the Soviet Embassy in Bogota, Columbia recruited by the CIA in 1973. Marti and TRIGON never met in person, but they shared information through dead drops and intelligence. We hear about the tradecraft involved.
Marti is arrested by KGB agents and taken to Moscow's Lubyanka Prison for questioning and talks in detail about that experience.
UK listeners buy Marti's the book here and support the podcast
US listeners buy Marti's the book here and support the podcast
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Marti Peterson to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode237/ Episode one is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode236/
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Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
The Jordan Harbinger Show
Apple Best of 2018-Learn the stories, secrets & skills of the world’s most fascinating ppl
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Marti Peterson was the first female CIA operative to be assigned to Moscow, probably the most challenging posting during the Cold War. Her story begins in Laos during the Vietnam War where she accompanied her husband John, a CIA officer. She describes their life in a small city in Laos, and the devastating news she received on October 19, 1972.
Marti returned to the United States and one night at dinner a good friend suggested she look into working for the CIA.
After making it clear to CIA recruiters that she didn’t want to be a secretary or an admin assistant they trained her to become an operative, effectively a spy. When Marti was posted to Moscow during the day, she worked as a diplomat at the U.S. Embassy. At night, on weekends and during her lunch breaks, she would report to the CIA station in the same building to do her work as an operative.
UK listeners buy Marti's the book here and support the podcast
US listeners buy Marti's the book here and support the podcast
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Marti Peterson to our Cold War conversation…
Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode236/ Listen to episode 2 here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode237/
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Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
The Jordan Harbinger Show
Apple Best of 2018-Learn the stories, secrets & skills of the world’s most fascinating ppl
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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The 13th World Festival of Youth and Students was held from 1–8 July 1989 in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. It was the largest international event staged in North Korea up until then.
The event took four years of preparation by the North Korean government, which effectively spent a quarter of the country's yearly budget (US$4.5 billion) on it. Ultimately declared as the largest ever World Festival of Youth and Student with about 22,000 people from 177 countries attending.
This event was the last festival held during the Cold War era as waves of unrest began to occur throughout Central and Eastern Europe later on in the year.
Greg Elmer has directed the film “The Canadian Delegation” which features long time activist Chris Frazer who was handed the task of assembling a Canadian delegation to North Korea. The film follows Frazer and a number of other delegates as they recount their participation in the Festival as world events continued to unfold around them.
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
Today’s episode is hosted by co-host Peter Ryan. I am delighted to welcome Greg Elmer to our Cold War conversation…
Watch the film here
There’s further information and videos here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode235/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
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Ian Foulkes was exposed to the deadly nerve agent Sarin in 1983 at the Porton Down Chemical & Biological Defence Establishment., one of the UK's most secretive and controversial military research facilities.
Ian describes in detail the process and the ill effects this caused him and shares details of a little-known fatality where 20-year-old Ronald Maddison died 45 minutes after what scientists thought was 200mg of liquid Sarin dripped onto his arm.
We also talk about the development of chemical weapons during the Cold War and the history of the Porton Down Chemical & Biological Defence Establishment.
Up to 20,000 people took part in various trials at Porton Down from 1949 up to 1989. In 2004 Maddison’s death was ruled to have been Corporate Manslaughter. The MoD withdrew a challenge to this ruling minutes before the hearing. In 2008 the MoD paid 600 veterans of the tests £8k each without admitting liability.
Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.
If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Ian Foulkes 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.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show
In 1964, pilot Captain Hansen found himself unemployed. He began to send out feelers to several companies including one that had placed an ad in the Washington Post called Air America. When he was called in for an interview which primarily consisted of two questions - can you fly good and do you drink a lot.
Air America was the airline owned by the CIA. Its operations were unknown. Its schedules were irregular. Its pilots were shadow people. Its world was the world of spooks, covert air ops, adventure, and danger. Hansen would be flying in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and other locations in Southeast Asia. It could not have been a better fit for Hansen, an addicted adrenaline junkie. He would end up staying in Asia for over a decade and was fortunate enough to live to tell us about it in his book “Flight”
Buy Neil's book here
Cold War history is disappearing; however a simple monthly donation will help preserve it and keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Neil Hansen to our Cold War conversation…
Further information is here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode233/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
During the 1970s and 1980s, Arthur Grace travelled extensively behind the Iron Curtain, working primarily for news magazines. One of only a small corps of Western photographers with ongoing access, he was able to delve into the most ordinary corners of people's daily lives, while also covering significant events. His remarkable book Communism(s) A Cold War Album is effectively psychological portraits that leave the viewer with a sense of the gamut of emotions in that era.
Illustrated with over 120 black-and-white images-nearly all previously unpublished- Communism(s) gives an unprecedented glimpse behind the veil of a not-so-distant time filled with harsh realities unseen by nearly all but those that lived through it. Shot in the USSR, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia and the German Democratic Republic, here are portraits of factory workers, farmers, churchgoers, holidaymakers and loitering teens juxtaposed with Social Realist-designed apartment blocks, annual May Day Parades, Poland's Solidarity movement (and the subsequent imposition of martial law) and the vastness of Moscow's Red Square.
Buy the book here https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9788862087674
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews here. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
We welcome Arthur Grace to our Cold War conversation…
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
More episode info here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode232/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Zsolt Akos Pall was 17 when he decided to flee Cold War Romania for a better life in the West.
It’s a heart-warming story of the generosity of strangers. Young Zsolt finds compassionate border guards, gets lost in Vienna and has incredible luck wherever he turns as he negotiates the iron curtain as well as many other international borders to reach his brother in Sweden
However, his escape is bittersweet as we hear of his emotional farewell to his parents, not knowing if he’d ever see them again.
Cold War history is disappearing; however a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Zsolt to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode231/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated .
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Zsolt Akos Pall was born in a small town in the Hungarian speaking part of Romania.
For ordinary people, life in Romania in the 1980s was very hard and it could be even worse if you were a part of the Hungarian Szekler minority since the Communist government persecuted the Hungarian minority. They even made them change their Hungarian names into Romanian. Zsolt's brother was renamed Istvan to Stefan. However, Zsolt was baptised Zsolt, since there was no Romanian equivalent to it.
Zsolt describes the shortages, his schooling and many other stories of life in Romania during this period.
We end the episode with Zsolt’s plans to escape to Sweden. Don’t miss Part 2!
Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Zsolt Akos Pall to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode230/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
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The year 1983 was one of the most dangerous in human history. While the Cuban crisis was exceptionally dangerous and both the United States and the Soviet Union had significant nuclear arsenals in 1962, a war in 1983 would have likely ended the human race.
Brian Morra was Chief of Intelligence Analysis for US Forces Japan at Yakota airbase when on 1st September 1983 an unarmed Korean airliner was shot down by a Soviet fighter causing the deaths of 269 people. He describes the less well known subsequent incidents between Soviet and US military aircraft which almost resulted in a shooting war between the two superpowers.
During this period the Soviet leadership believed the US was going to launch a nuclear attack on their country. Their paranoia was heightened by several incidents during 1983 which are dramatized in Brian’s new novel “The Able Archers”, which is based on his experiences during that period.
UK listeners buy the Able Archers book here
US listeners buy the Able Archers book here
Robert M. Gates, former CIA Director and Secretary of Defence describes “The Able Archers” as “a powerful reminder of the value of human judgment—and the continuing peril posed by nuclear-armed powers.”
I could really use your support to continue the podcast. A simple monthly donation will get you the 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/
I am delighted to welcome Brian Morra to our Cold War conversation…
Brian's Web site https://brianjmorra.com/
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/episode229
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook or click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
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In June 1934, Kim Philby met his Soviet handler, the spy Arnold Deutsch. Kim Philby was a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. In 1963 he was revealed to be a member of the Cambridge Five, a spy ring that had divulged British secrets to the Soviets during World War II and in the early stages of the Cold War.
The woman who introduced Philby to Deutsch was Edith Tudor-Hart and her story has never been told.
Edith Tudor Hart changed the course of 20th-century history. Then she was written out of it.
I speak with Charlotte Philby, granddaughter of Kim Philby. Charlotte has written "Edith and Kim" which draws on the Secret Intelligence Files on Edith Tudor Hart, along with the private archive letters of Kim Philby. This finely worked, evocative and beautifully tense novel tells, for the first time, the story of the woman behind the Third Man.
We also hear from Charlotte what it was like having Kim Philby as her grandfather, including details of visits to see him in Moscow during the Cold War. It’s a fascinating insight into one of the most notorious spies of the Cold War.
Now, this podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to you.
If you’d like to continue to hear the podcast and help preserve Cold War history, you can support me via one off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Charlotte Philby to our Cold War conversation…
Book giveaway details further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode228/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Maura McCormick was posted to Berlin as a Signals Intelligence voice interceptor (Russian). Her workplace was the Teufelsberg U.S. listening station, aka Field Station Berlin.
Maura shares her early impressions of Berlin and working at the Tberg. She talks about her impressions of the infamous James Hall, a United States Army warrant officer and signals intelligence analyst who sold eavesdropping and code secrets to East Germany and the Soviet Union from 1983 to 1988.
Maura also recounts a close call with Hüseyin Yıldırım, a Turkish-American auto mechanic who was a Stasi courier for the espionage activities of James Hall.
Maura often visited East Berlin where she tells of an unusually close encounter with a chimney sweep that almost resulted in an international incident.
In West Berlin, Maura became the first woman to graduate from French Commando school. The commandant had a nightly call to Paris to confirm that she had survived the day's training…
Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.
If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Maura McCormick to our Cold War conversation…
More info and videos related to this episode here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode227/
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Liz Kohn has been researching Alice Glasnerová, who was imprisoned as part of the early Cold War Czechoslovak show trials known as the Slansky trials.
These were among the most notorious show trials of the 20th century, with the prosecution and sentencing to death of Rudolf Slánský, general secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist party, and 10 other defendants, who had been arrested in a brutal purge ordered by Stalin.
Alice Glasnerová was Liz’s father’s first wife. When Liz started researching Alice’s life she had never seen a picture of her and had never read a word she had written. All I knew was that she had been married to her father and had been a member of the communist party. Liz has pieced together a tragic story of a couple although deeply in love, who were separated by the difference in their political views which ultimately resulted in pain, disillusion and betrayal.
Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.
If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Liz Kohn to our Cold War conversation…
You can read more about Liz’s research on her blog https://lookingforalice.com/
There are further videos, photos and information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode226/
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In 1978, Ieva Lesinska was a university student in Soviet Latvia with dreams of becoming a writer. She had just spent a heady month in New York visiting her father, Imants Lesinskis, a Soviet translator working at the United Nations. However, he was an employee of the KGB and a member of the Communist Party.
During her trip to the US, Ieva’s father informed her that he and his wife Rasma were about to defect. He offered her a blunt choice: take a taxi to the Soviet Embassy and denounce him as a traitor, or stay with him and never see her mother or her homeland of Latvia again. She chose to stay.
The new family officially became East German immigrants with new identities: Peter and Linda Dorn, and their daughter Evelyn. They were citizens of nowhere who possessed re-entry permits but no passports. In 1985, soon after Mr Lesinskis publicly disclosed confidential items on various KGB operations in Latvia, he died under mysterious circumstances.
Watch the film about Ieva story here:
UK https://amzn.to/3In12Ra US https://amzn.to/3xRZsBX
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one-off or monthly donations
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Ieva Lesinska to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode225/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
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The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA) is the Charity for UK Nuclear Veterans and last year they very kindly invited me to the annual conference. I met many veterans including Peter Lambourne and this is his story.
Peter joined the Royal Navy aged 15. He describes those early days including serving on HMS Wizard during the Cod War with Iceland in 1961.
In 1962 Peter was then posted to HMS Resolution which was the codename for the nuclear bomb testing base on Christmas Island.
Peter’s base was less than 20 miles away from where hydrogen bombs were being detonated and he shares his experiences of those detonations.
Many servicemen and islanders who were present at Christmas Island from 1957 to 1962 later reported severe health problems, which they attributed to the nuclear bomb tests – from cancers to organ failure. Whilst Peter’s health has appeared unaffected, his children and grandchildren have suffered from cancers.
The UK is the only atomic test nation with no official recognition or compensation to nuclear test veterans.
Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.
If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
I am honoured and delighted to welcome Peter Lambourne to our Cold War conversation…
The British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNTVA) is the Charity for UK Nuclear Veterans https://www.bntva.com/
There’s further information including videos and photos on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode224
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
In 1982 the East German Ministry for State Security is hunting for creative new weapons in the war against the class enemy – and their solution is stranger than fiction. Rather than guns, tanks, or bombs, the Stasi develop a programme to fight capitalism through rhyme and verse, winning the culture war through poetry – and the result is the most bizarre book club in history.
I speak with Philip Oltermann the author of The Stasi Poetry Circle. Philip has used unseen archival material and exclusive interviews with surviving members to tell the incredible hidden story of a unique experiment: weaponising poetry for politics.
Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.
If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Philip Oltermann to our Cold War conversation…
Book giveaway and further information here.https://coldwarconversations.com/episode223/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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The phrase “history is human” was coined by two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian David McCullough. He says “History is about life. It isn't just about dates and quotations from obscure treaties and the like; it's about people", which is exactly what Cold War Conversations is about.
I discovered this phrase listening to the History Daily podcast presented and narrated by Lindsay Graham. This podcast takes you back in time to explore a momentous moment that happened "on this day" in history using fully immersive, sound design, original music and a compelling narrative style.
I really enjoy it and I'm sure you will too. I am sharing two short Cold War episodes on this bonus episode. If think you'd enjoy the History Daily podcast follow or subscribe by searching “History Daily Podcast”. or click on this link https://pod.link/1591095413
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Frank Baldwin was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1979 and served for ten years, rising to the rank of Major. The first battlefield study he planned was in 1989 for HQ 4th Armoured Division. Since then, he has been a guide or historian for over 200 realities of war tours, battlefield studies and staff rides.
Frank reels off lots of great anecdotes as he takes us through the initial years of the BAOR and the British Army’s plans for the defence of West Germany.
He talks about the evolution of doctrines, on both the Soviet and NATO sides including their nuclear war-fighting techniques.
Frank also describes working with Warsaw Pact observers of NATO military exercises and the British view of the effectiveness of other NATO armies as well as the armies of the Warsaw Pact.
Maps and material to accompany this episode are here https://www.staffrideservices.com/?p=461
Now if you are enjoying these podcasts I’m asking for you to support my work with a small monthly donation. Your donations enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free to others.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Frank Baldwin to our Cold War conversation…
Battlefield tour website
Story of a BAOR Cold war tour
Maps and material on BAOR and the Cold war. Cold war background material
Frank Baldwin's blog The Observation Post
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
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When the Cold War split Berlin in half, between East and West, one neighbourhood was trapped in the middle and became a symbol of Cold War tensions.
For more than twenty years, the hamlet of Steinstücken was caught in a tug-of-war between the Americans, the Soviets and the East Germans.
Steinstücken officially belonged to the U.S. Occupation Sector of Berlin. But, it was located outside the city boundaries, completely surrounded by East German territory. No West Berlin-owned roads or trails connected it to the city. It was a de facto Western island in a Communist sea.
We speak with Cold War veteran Don Smith the author of Steinstuecken: A Little Pocket of Freedom, a photo and fact-packed book which describes the challenges America faced in occupied Berlin and the personal stories of the citizens of Steinstücken who faced East German soldiers on a daily basis.
Buy the book here and support the podcast
UK listeners https://amzn.to/3Aux9dW
US listeners https://amzn.to/3r47PZi
Don’s web site http://steinpocket.com/
Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.
If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Don Smith to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information including videos here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode220/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
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You will remember Karl-Heinz from our episode 218 where he talked about being a signaller on the West German destroyer "Hamburg" in the late 70s.
Today we follow his post navy life as a travelling supporter of football club HSV Hamburg where he followed them all over the Soviet bloc talks about watching them play Dynamo Berlin the Stasi side and drinking with Liverpool, Newcastle and Hamburg legend Kevin Keegan in a hotel bar in Tiblisi.
And his Cold War encounters don’t stop there. While working in Chile he met General Pinochet, the military dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990 and living across the street from Margot Honecker the wife of East German leader Erich Honecker who was also an influential member of that country's Communist regime until 1989.
If you have listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for one-off or monthly donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you, audio and other extras as well as basking in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Karl-Heinz to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode here including videos here . https://coldwarconversations.com/episode219/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Karl-Heinz served in the Bundesmarine as a Signalman on the West German destroyer "Hamburg" in the late 70s.
He talks of his training, his role and shares details of manoeuvres in the North Sea and Baltics involving East German and Soviet ships.
He also speaks about a cruise to West Africa where the sailors were briefed to stay away from any East German merchant marine sailors and not to engage with them in any form – he and his mates didn’t keep to the rules…
If you have listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for one-off or monthly donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you, audio and other extras as well as basking in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Karl-Heinz to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode218/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
After service in the US Army during the Vietnam War Bob Wallace was recruited into the CIA.
In the CIA his initial assignments were as a field case officer. He rose through the ranks at the agency and was Chief of Station in three locations where he directed the full range of CIA activities.
In 1995 Bob became deputy director of the Office of Technical Service and in 1998 was appointed its director responsible for creating spy devices and capabilities necessary to conduct clandestine operations with safety and security. In other words, Bob was the "Q" of the CIA.
Buy Bob's book here
UK listeners https://amzn.to/3pBDrF4 US listeners https://amzn.to/3qvX0xD
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one-off or monthly donations
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/for for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Bob Wallace to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode217/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
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Bob Wallace joined the US Army in 1968 as a reluctant conscript. He describes the draft process, and his attempts to avoid conscription.
After basic training, Bob is assigned to a long range reconnaissance unit and ambush unit in five or six man teams in the Mekong delta.
We hear of the reconnaissance and ambush tactics as well as some poignant memories of those that didn’t make it back.
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one off or monthly donations
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Bob Wallace to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode216/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Refusenik was an unofficial term for individuals—typically, but not exclusively, Soviet Jews—who were denied permission to emigrate, primarily to Israel, by the authorities of the Soviet Union and other countries of the Eastern bloc. The term refusenik is derived from the "refusal" handed down to a prospective emigrant from the Soviet authorities.
Eric Hochstein was a staff member for Senator Carl Levin of Michigan working on human rights. Human rights were a big issue for Senator Levin.
Eric went as part of a standard commercial tour of the SU for two weeks from Sep 28th,1980, where he visited Moscow, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odessa, and Leningrad. Eric and his colleagues used this trip to peel off and visit various Refusenik families to bring them news, messages and supplies.
Only protected by a US passport and a tourist visa Eric travelled by public transport under surveillance from the KGB carrying supplies for the families included Levi jeans which were better than money in the Soviet Union of the 1980s.
I could really use your support to help me to capture and preserve these amazing stories of the Cold War.
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If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Peter Ryan is your host today and I am delighted to welcome Eric Hochstein to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode215
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Today’s episode is different. Brett Elliott died earlier this year and I was contacted by his ex-wife Polly who offered me a cassette tape.
Polly and Brett had met in college and got to know each other in Russian Club at Oklahoma State. In the summer of 1991, they went to Moscow to pursue Polly’s goal of being a reporter in Russia and Brett’s goal of further studying Russia.
They both worked together covering the Bush Gorbachev summit, with Polly as a reporter and Brett as an interpreter. Polly left Russia early, but Brett stayed a few weeks more and witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union, August 19-21, 1991. During a rare phone call, Polly begged him to be careful, and he famously said she was worse than the coup leaders if she wanted to deny him getting out to witness history…
Polly's book is available on the links below
US Listeners https://amzn.to/3mEuPMa UK listeners https://amzn.to/3CLuHjy
We have photos here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode214/
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one-off or monthly donations
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
This episode is the audio from the cassette of Brett describing his experiences just two weeks after the coup. Being on cassette the sound quality is not great, but I am delighted and honoured to welcome Brett Elliott to our Cold War conversation…
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John Andrews joined the Royal Navy in 1981 and went on to serve aboard the HMS Repulse, one of the UK’s Polaris nuclear missile submarines from 1982.
His role was Missile Compartment Control Patrol which included security of the nuclear missile compartment as well as assisting in the maintenance of the missile tubes and the nuclear missiles themselves.
John shares details of life aboard the ship including missile launch tests, alcohol, practical jokes, escape procedures from a submerged submarine and many more.
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one-off or monthly donations
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Now, this episode was recorded at the Hack Green Nuclear Bunker Soviet Threat event so you will hear some background noise, but I am delighted to welcome John Andrews 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.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
I speak with Colin Ferguson a veteran from the British Army‘s covert Special Observation Post Troop which was founded in 1982.
The "stay behind" Special OP Troop consisted of selected soldiers in 6 man patrols whose task was to dig in large underground hides known as "mexe" shelters along the inner German border. They would then allow the main Soviet forces to pass over them before deploying to two smaller observation posts (Ops) where they would engage the enemy with the long-range guns and rockets of the British Army.
Colin, covers in detail, selection, training and deployment as well as how the mexes were constructed. Do check out Colin’s podcast, “The Unconventional Soldier” which offers first-hand accounts of past conflicts, military history, book and film reviews, plus guests, dits and digression
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one off or monthly donations
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes.
This episode is dedicated to remembering two members of the Special Op Troop. Lance Bombardier Steve Cummins, who is pictured on the episode cover and Gunner Miles Amos who lost their lives in 1989 when their vehicle struck a mine near Londonderry. We thank them for their service.
I am delighted and honoured to welcome Colin Ferguson to our Cold War conversation…
There are photos and further info here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode212/
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Lea Ypi grew up in one of the most isolated countries on earth, a place where communist ideals had officially replaced religion. Albania, the last Stalinist outpost in Europe, was almost impossible to visit, almost impossible to leave. It was a place of queuing and scarcity, of political executions and secret police. To Lea, it was home. People were equal, neighbours helped each other, and children were expected to build a better world. There was community and hope.
Then, in December 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, everything changed. The statues of Stalin and Hoxha were toppled. Almost overnight, people could vote freely, wear what they liked and worship as they wished. There was no longer anything to fear from prying ears. But factories shut, jobs disappeared and thousands fled to Italy on crowded ships, only to be sent back. Predatory pyramid schemes eventually bankrupted the country, leading to violent conflict. As one generation's aspirations became another's disillusionment, and as her own family's secrets were revealed, Lea found herself questioning what freedom really meant.
Free is an engrossing memoir of coming of age amid political upheaval. With acute insight and wit, Lea Ypi traces the limits of progress and the burden of the past, illuminating the spaces between ideals and reality, and the hopes and fears of people pulled up by the sweep of history.
Buy the book and support the podcast
- UK buyers https://amzn.to/2ZVgRx4
- US buyers https://amzn.to/3psOkr8
Now time doesn’t come free and I’m asking listeners to support my work recording these incredible stories via a small (or large)l donation. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook. Schattenberg
I am delighted to welcome Lea Ypi to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode210/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
On 17 July 1975 the first manned international space mission, carried out jointly by the United States and the Soviet Union. Millions of people around the world watched on television as a United States Apollo module docked with a Soviet Union Soyuz capsule.
The project, and its memorable handshake in the heavens, was a symbol of détente between the two superpowers during the Cold War, and it is generally considered to mark the end of the Space Race.
Unthinkable only years earlier the Apollo–Soyuz mission was made possible by the thaw Soviet-US relations. According to Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, "The Soviet and American spacemen will go up into outer space for the first major joint scientific experiment in the history of mankind. They know that from outer space our planet looks even more beautiful. It is big enough for us to live peacefully on it, but it is too small to be threatened by nuclear war.”
Our guest is Cold War Conversations favourite, author Stephen Walker, the author of Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space.
Buy the book here and support CWC
UK https://amzn.to/3wOBZRI US https://amzn.to/30vgsld
Do check out our two previous episodes with Stephen. Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode172/ and the Forgotten Cosmonaut here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode192/
I’m asking listeners to support my work and enable me to continue recording these incredible stories. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Stephen Walker back to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode210/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Now, what do you think of when you hear the name Leonid Brezhnev who ruled the Soviet Union for 18 years from the 1960s to the 1980s?
An old guy waving weakly from the Lenin mausoleum?
Well, think again! We speak with Susanne Schattenberg, the author of a new biography that systematically dismantles the stereotypical and one-dimensional view of Brezhnev as the stagnating Stalinist by drawing on a wealth of archival research and documents not previously studied in English.
The Brezhnev that emerges is a complex one, from his early apolitical years, as an aspiring actor and poetry fan, through his swift and surprising rise through the Party ranks.
We talk about his hitherto misunderstood role in Khrushchev's ousting and appointment as his successor, to his somewhat pro-Western foreign policy aims, deft consolidation and management of power, and ultimate descent into addiction and untimely death.
For Schattenberg, this is the story of a flawed and ineffectual idealist - for the West, this biography makes a convincing case that Brezhnev should be reappraised as one of the most interesting and important political figures of the twentieth century.
Buy the book here and support CWC
UK https://amzn.to/3kCUaVn
US https://amzn.to/3c9fOvZ
Now time doesn’t come free and I’m asking listeners to support my work recording these incredible stories via a small (or large)l donation. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Susanne Schattenberg to our Cold War conversation…
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Fred Weir was a third-generation red diaper baby from Toronto and a long-time member of the Communist Party. His uncle, trained at the Lenin School in Moscow in the 1920s as an agent of the Communist International, the Comintern and spent many years in the USSR.
Fred had visited a few times, had studied Russian history up to the graduate level, but never wanted to live there until Gorbachev came to power in 1985. The new general secretary, the party’s first to be born after the revolution, talked, unlike any Communist leader since the original Bolsheviks. Suddenly, there was the electrifying prospect of socialism powered from below, a system focused on creative human potential rather than crop statistics.
Now I know some of you skip this bit, but if you want to continue hearing these Cold War stories I’m asking listeners to pledge a monthly donation of at least $4, £3 or €3 per month to help keep the podcast on the air, although larger amounts are welcome too.
If you donate monthly via Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee you will get the sought after CWC coaster and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Fred Weir to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode208/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
For almost half a century, the hottest front in the Cold War was right across Berlin. From summer 1945 until 1990, spying was part of everyday life in both East and West Berlin.
I speak with historian Bernd von Kostka of the Allied Museum in Berlin-Dahlem who has co-authored with Sven Felix Kellerhoff the book Capital of Spies: Intelligence agencies in Berlin during the Cold War recently published by Casemate.
The book describes the spectacular successes and failures of the various secret services based in the city and in this episode we will concentrate on one of the chapters detailing the work of the various Allied listening stations.
Buy "Capital of Spies" and support the podcast here
- UK Listeners https://amzn.to/3mFb3jK
- US Listeners https://amzn.to/3waLwSL
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one off or monthly donations
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/for more details.
Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
I am delighted and honoured to welcome back Bernd von Kostka to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode207/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
In 1985, an eighteen-year-old named Riho Terras arrived at the Soviet armed forces’ large conscript assessment facility in Tallinn obeying his conscription orders.
Little did he know that 26 years later he would be a NATO General.
Riho shares his experiences in the Soviet Navy with us in some detail. We hear about his service on the Soviet frigate Zadornyy including trips to the Mediterranean and Cuba as well as monitoring NATO warships.
Riho also shares his experiences of Estonian independence and the challenges of converting the country into an independent nation.
I’m extremely grateful to Elisabeth Braw, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who facilitated this interview via her Englebert Ideas essay.
Thanks to all of you for listening to the podcast. It is an absolute passion for me to save these stories from being forgotten and sharing them weekly for free for everyone to hear.
Whilst this is a passion, I am asking if each listener could make either a one-off or better still sign up for monthly donations to help me to find the time to produce and finance the project.
If you’d like to know more just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Riho Terras to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information about this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode206/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
I talk with the writers and editors of Terrorism in the Cold War a new two volume book that uses a wide range of case studies including Polish Military Intelligence and Its Secret Relationship with the Abu Nidal Organization and Gladio – Myth and Reality: The Origins and Function of Stay Behind in the Case of Post-war Austria.
The book sheds new light on the relations between state and terrorist actors, allowing for a fresh and much more insightful assessment of the contacts, dealings, agreements and collusion with terrorist organizations undertaken by state actors on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
You will learn that these state-terrorism relationships were not only much more ambiguous than much of the older literature had suggested but are, in fact, crucial for the understanding of global political history in the Cold War era.
If you are enjoying the podcast I could use some support to enable me to continue recording these incredible stories. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
There's more in the episode notes here coldwarconversations.com/episode205/
I am delighted to welcome Thomas Riegler, Przemyslaw Gasztold and Adrian Hänni to our Cold War conversation…
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Emanuela Grama was born in the mid-1970s’ in a small provincial town in Eastern Romania. She provides us with a great insight into life in the Romanian provinces during the 1980s.
Emanuela lived in a small two-bedroom flat and tells of her parents working in a factory while her grandparents looked after her.
Her father listened secretly to Radio Free Europe and collected stamps so he could legitimately write to people in the West.
Her parents told her not to talk at school about what was said at home and to be very careful what she said to friends.
Emanuela vividly recalls the day the revolution started in 1989, Emanuela was at home alone and she described the instant atmosphere of change and the weeks and months after.
We also hear about Emanuela’s book, Socialist Heritage: The Politics of Past and Place in Romania which traces the transformation of Bucharest’s Old Town district where under socialism, politicians and professionals used the district’s historic buildings to emphasize the city’s Romanian past and erase its ethnically diverse history.
I’m asking listeners to support my work and enable me to continue recording these incredible stories. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Further details , including photos are in our episode notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode204/
James Chilcott is our host and I am delighted to welcome James and Emanuela to our Cold War conversation…
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Pete Curran served with BRIXMIS, the British Military Liaison Mission in East Germany. Their operation was established by a post-WWII Allied occupation forces' agreement, where British, US and French missions had relative freedom to travel and collect intelligence throughout East Germany from 1947 until 1990.
Pete’s story starts with details of his vetting interview, driver training, and his first tour in East Germany. We also hear of the intelligence scoops he was involved in and some of his close scrapes while evading both the Soviets and the Stasi including one with a Soviet helicopter.
We also hear of the role of the driver in the three-man teams, the incredible camaraderie of the unit, as well as the pressure on their loved ones.
I know from my stats that a lot of you really enjoy the podcast. It is an absolute passion for me to save these stories from being forgotten and sharing them weekly for free for everyone to hear.
Whilst this is a passion, I am asking if each listener could make either a one-off or better still sign up for monthly donations to help me to find the time to produce and finance the project.
If you’d like to know more just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Pete Curran to our Cold War conversation…
UK BRIXMIS books https://amzn.to/3ljkK6I US BRIXMIS books https://amzn.to/3ae2HZs
There’s further information including videos here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode203
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Frank Olson was an American bacteriologist, biological warfare scientist, and employee of the United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories. In 1953 at a meeting in rural Maryland, he was covertly dosed with LSD by his boss Sidney Gottlieb, who was the head of the CIA's MKUltra mind control program.
Nine days later, Olson plunged to his death from the window of the Hotel Statler. The U.S. government first described his death as a suicide, and then as misadventure, while others allege murder. The story was made into the Netflix film "Wormwood".
I speak with Paul Vidich, the acclaimed author of The Coldest Warrior, An Honorable Man, The Good Assassin and The Mercenary. He is also the nephew of Frank Olson.
UK link to Paul Vidich BooksUS link to Paul Vidich Books
This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one-off or monthly donations
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Paul Vidich to our Cold War conversation…
Further information on this episode https://coldwarconversations.com/episode202/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Squadron Leader John Robinson AFC (ret’d) was an RAF pilot who was tasked to fly into the mushroom clouds of nuclear bomb tests to capture samples at Operation Buffalo at Maralinga in 1956, and Operation Grapple, at Christmas Island in 1957.
He tells of his recruitment into RAF, initial training and his cloud sampling missions as well his experiences of watching the tests from as little as five miles away.
It is reckoned that over 22,000 British servicemen participated in the British and American nuclear tests and clean-ups between 1952-1965, along with scientists from the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment and civilians. The majority of men have passed away, and around a tenth of the men remain.
I was honoured that the British Nuclear Test Veterans Association (BNVTA) invited me to their annual reunion and enabled me to capture some of their veterans’ stories.
I could really use your help to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome John Robinson to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information including videos on this link https://coldwarconversations.com/episode201/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
We hear of Joanna's heartbreak when her visa is refused, preventing her from marrying Yuri. However, using an ingenious method she manages an emotional reunion and eventual marriage as the Soviet Union begins to dissolve.
Details of the book giveaway are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode200/
Part one is here and part 2 here
Joanna’s book, Red Wave written with her singer/songwriter daughter, Madison, includes Stingray’s extensive collection of photographs, artworks, and interviews with the musicians.
Buy the book and support the podcast hereUK listeners https://amzn.to/3rwItSz
US listeners https://amzn.to/3zyvbHX
If you are enjoying the podcasts I’m asking for donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Joanna Stingray to our Cold War conversation
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Joanna is questioned by the KGB and the FBI, falls in love with Yuri and starts to smuggle the bands' music out of the Soviet Union to produce the album.
Details of the book giveaway are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode199/
Part one is here and part 3 here
Joanna’s book, Red Wave written with her singer/songwriter daughter, Madison, includes Stingray’s extensive collection of photographs, artworks, and interviews with the musicians.
Buy the book and support the podcast hereUK listeners https://amzn.to/3rwItSz
US listeners https://amzn.to/3zyvbHX
If you are enjoying the podcasts I’m asking for donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Joanna Stingray to our Cold War conversation…
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Joanna Stingray was only 23 years old when she first set foot in the USSR and started meeting now-legendary musicians and artists of the Soviet underground. By 1985, she was writing and recording with them, and smuggling their music to the West in order to produce the groundbreaking album Red Wave: 4 Underground Bands from the USSR.
This is her testimony of youthful fortitude and rebellion, her love story, and proof of the power of music and youth culture over stagnancy and oppression.
Details of the book giveaway are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode198/
Part 2 is here and part 3 here
Joanna’s book, Red Wave written with her singer/songwriter daughter, Madison, includes Stingray’s extensive collection of photographs, artworks, and interviews with the musicians.
Buy the book and support the podcast hereUK listeners https://amzn.to/3rwItSz
US listeners https://amzn.to/3zyvbHX
If you are enjoying the podcasts I’m asking for donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Joanna Stingray to our Cold War conversation…
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Over the past, nearly two decades, the Stuck in the 80s podcast has emerged as the go-to for all aspects of 1980s nostalgia from a North American point of view. And, much like Cold War Conversations, Stuck in the 80s is an award-winning podcast.
Recognizing that decade’s popular culture was heavily influenced by the Cold War, co-host Peter Ryan organized a discussion with its curators, Steve Spears and Brad Williams.
Key topics that are covered include some of the most important songs, films, television programs of the 80s that were Cold War oriented, some of which may surprise listeners. Also discussed are the key personalities of the 1980s Cold War period, from both sides of the Iron Curtain.
This special edition of Cold War Conversations will also features a playlist on Spotify, featuring many of the songs discussed during this lively episode. We thank Brad and Steve for the chance to organize a cross-podcast discussion today and encourage listeners to visit their website sit80s.com to learn more about their dedication to keeping the nostalgia of the 1980s alive.
Help me to continue producing the podcast. Single or monthly donations really helps keep the podcast on the air.Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Peter Ryan, Steve Spears and Brad Williams to our Cold War conversation…
Videos relating to this episode are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode197/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
I speak with Aden Magee who operated as the commander of a highly specialized Counterintelligence (CI) unit in West Germany during the last decade of the Cold War.
We talk about his book The Cold War Wilderness of Mirrors - Counterintelligence and the U.S. and Soviet Military Liaison Missions 1947–1990. This is a rare book that details some never-before documented accounts of the Soviet Military Liaison Mission (SMLM) in West Germany and the U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) in East Germany and shows how they were microcosms of the Cold War strategic intelligence and counterintelligence landscape.
I also discuss with Aden how the book shows the impact of CIA Director James Angleton’s legacy which restricted counterintelligence operations long after his departure.
Buy the book and help support the podcast.UK listeners buy hereUS listeners buy here
***What do you think the podcast is worth to you?
Single or monthly donations really help keep the podcast on the air.***
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation.
I am delighted to welcome Aden Magee to our Cold War conversation…
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Ron Knight served in the Royal Marines on HMS Belfast during the Korean War of 1950-53. He was a gunner and describes the shore bombardments and how his gun was used in anti-aircraft defence. We also hear Ron describe life aboard the Belfast during this period
Ron also served with the Royal Marine Commando during the Malayan Emergency which was a guerrilla war fought in the Federation of Malaya between Communist pro-independence fighters against the armed forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth between 1948 and 1960.
He shares details of the dangers of jungle warfare including from their own air force!
I’m asking listeners to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Ron Knight to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode195/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Please leave a review.
If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a written review.
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Igor Gouzenko exposed Soviet intelligence's efforts to steal nuclear secrets as well as the technique of planting sleeper agents. The "Gouzenko Affair" is often credited as a triggering event of the Cold War, with historian Jack Granatstein stating it was "the beginning of the Cold War for public opinion" and journalist Robert Fulford writing he was "absolutely certain the Cold War began in Ottawa".
I talk with Andrew Kavchak the author of Remembering Gouzenko: The Struggle to Honour a Cold War Hero and Evy Wilson, the daughter of Igor and Svetlana Gouzenko.
If you are enjoying the podcast, you can show your support via a monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Andrew and Evy to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode can be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode194/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Rick Shreve was a USAF F111 pilot based at RAF Lakenheath in the UK. We hear about his early USAF career as a fighter pilot, then we move onto his transfer to the F111 and how he was trained to carry out nuclear as well as conventional missions against the Warsaw Pact forces in Europe. He describes his low-level training missions to attack targets in the Soviet Union and East Germany and recalls a near-fatal incident amongst the Scottish lochs.
Rick was also part of one of the crews that flew on Operation El Dorado Canyon, the operation to bomb Libya in April 1986 in retaliation for the West Berlin discotheque bombing ten days earlier.
Rick gives you a frank view of his role in the USAF and his approach to the huge responsibilities he carried.
In his later career, he flew civil airliners with Pan-Am and recalls how he was astonished to fly over the Warsaw Pact airfield he had been tasked to attack in the event of war…
If you have listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Rick to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information including photos and videos here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode193/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
This week it's the 60th anniversary of the flight of Gherman Titov on Vostok 2. The forgotten 2nd cosmonaut overshadowed by the exploits of his friend Yuri Gagarin.
Titov’s 25.3 hours and 17 orbits flight was much more ambitious than Gagarin’s and more dangerous. It was also a very political flight, intending to distract the world from the building of the Berlin Wall a number of days later.
However, there’s more to Titov than his flight, he was different character to most of the Soviet cosmonauts with a love of pre-Soviet literary classics and enjoying his own company.
He was also one of the most colourful characters of the Soviet space program leading a wild life back on Earth with various car crashes and scrapes.
I’m sure regular listeners will be pleased to hear we have Stephen Walker back, the author of Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space.
Do check out our previous episode on Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode172/
I’m asking listeners to support my work and enable me to continue recording these incredible stories. If you become a monthly supporter via Patreon, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
I am delighted to welcome Stephen Walker back 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/episode192
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Evan McGilvray has written a number of books on Poland as well as biographies. He is well versed in Poland and Polish society and away from the usual locations of Krakow and Warsaw.
Evan first visited Poland in 1986, 5 years after the declaration of martial law which triggered the suppression of the free trade union Solidarity in December 1981. He visited some friends he had made via correspondence, who lived in the city of Łódź. He provides us with a great insight away from the intelligentsia as his friends were workers. We hear in some detail how the communist party was perceived, life as a worker, as well as views on Lech Walesa and Solidarity.
In the 1990s Evan interviewed General Jaruzelski, who as First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party (aka the communist party) gave the martial law order in 1981 and remained head of state until 1989.
Extra info, and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode191/
If you are enjoying the podcast please tell your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved before they are lost. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Peter Ryan is our host today and I am delighted to welcome Evan McGilvray to our Cold War conversation…
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
On November 18, 1965, U.S. Navy pilot Willie Sharp ejected from his F-8 fighter after being hit while positioned over a target in North Vietnam. With a cloud layer beneath him, he did not know if he was over land-where he would most certainly be captured or killed by the North Vietnamese or over the Gulf of Tonkin. As he ejected, both navy and air force aircraft were already heading toward him to help.
Thanks to Dennis DeFreitas and his Youtube video of Willie’s shootdown available here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md9oNlLYEr8
Co-host James Chilcott speaks with former military flight test engineer Eileen A. Bjorkman, who has written “Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin A Story of the U.S. Military's Commitment to Leave No One Behind” The book includes nail-biting descriptions of air combat, flight, and rescue as Bjorkman places Willie Sharp's story in the larger context of the U.S. military's bedrock credo-No Man Left Behind-and calls attention to the more than eighty thousand Americans still missing from conflicts since World War I. She also explores the devastating aftershocks of the Vietnam War as Willie Sharp struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Buy the book and support the Podcast
UK listeners buy the book here https://amzn.to/3rtpJDe
US Listeners buy the book here https://amzn.to/3zwLVPA
If you have listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Eileen Bjorkman to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information and details of our book giveaway here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode190/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
The French Forces in Berlin were the units of the French Armed Forces stationed from 1945 until the end of the Cold War-era in West Berlin according to the agreements of the Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference.
The troops were the French counterparts to the United States' Berlin Brigade and the United Kingdom's Berlin Infantry Brigade in the city.
Philippe was stationed in Berlin from 1972 to 1973 with the French army for his military service. He did not volunteer and was not too happy at first, but started enjoying life outside of the “Quartier Napoleon” as it was called, near the Tegel airport.
His role was in Signals intelligence and during the day he listened to FM radio transmissions of the East German Army as well as the Soviets (GFSA).
If you are enjoying the podcast, you can help me to keep producing these episodes by a small monthly donation via Patreon, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Philippe to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode189/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
We continue Drea Hahn’s story with her family’s escape to Austria and the realities of being a refugee.
In 1986, under the pretext of a “ski trip” to Yugoslavia Drea’s family escaped to Austria. We hear about the sadness of being unable to tell anyone they were leaving and how her relatives were summoned to the police station to be detained for questioning. They didn’t communicate with anyone at “home” until 1989 or 1990 because it was too dangerous.
Once, in Austria, there was no certainty that that Drea’s family wouldn’t be handed back to Czechoslovakia as Austria was neutral and the government was keen to stay on good terms with their neighbours.
Drea’s family were in Austria for about 2 years living in a single room with a shared bathroom. We hear from her about the challenges of life as a child refugee in rural Austria.
In 1988 permission was granted to emigrate to the US and we hear of their elation when they arrive.
Extra info, photos and videos are herehttps://coldwarconversations.com/episode188
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ I am delighted to welcome Drea Hahn back to our Cold War conversation…
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Drea Hahn was born in Czechoslovakia in 1980 in Teplice. Her mother was a secretary and her father was an engineer but refused to join the communist party and this was a source of tension in Drea’s family.
She was partly raised by her grandparents and her grandmother shared stories about growing up in “the Protectorate”, the name given to the area of Czechoslovakia occupied by the Germans in World War 2.
Drea tells of a typical Czech childhood – her school friends, fond memories of school trips, and summers at their chata (country house).
A more sinister side of life was getting in trouble for being a chatty kid and being cautioned with the phrase “walls have ears”.
Extra info, and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode187/
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
I am delighted to welcome Drea Hahn to our Cold War conversation…
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Ben Brown is the writer of A Splinter of Ice, a play that portrays the meeting in Moscow in 1987 of one of the greatest novelists of the 20th century, Graham Greene and his old MI6 boss, Kim Philby, one of Britain's most notorious spies... and a traitor.
Graham Greene never divulged any details of the meeting and Ben’s play imagines what might have been. We discuss the play, as well as how Philby and Greene’s lives intertwined.
It’s a story of two men catching up on old times, but with a new world order breaking around them how much did the writer of The Third Man know about Philby's secret life as a spy? Did Philby betray his friend as well as his country..?
A trailer and other videos are available in our episode notes here www.coldwarconversations.com/episode186/
If you have listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for one-off or monthly donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Ben Brown to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode186/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
We return to the 2nd part of Tom Favia’s story with the US Military Liaison Mission which the Soviet Union permitted to operate in East Germany, ostensibly for monitoring and furthering better relationships between the Soviet and Western occupation forces. The British & French also had missions as did the Soviets in West Germany.
Part 1 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode183/
As you would expect there are some incredible incidents that Tom shares with us including one with a drunk Soviet Major who tries to defect. Tom was with USMLM when the Wall opened in Nov 1989 and describes the uncertainty of the time with Soviet soldiers selling parts of tanks and munitions.
If you have listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for donations to support my work and enable me to continue producing the podcast. If you become a monthly supporter, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome back Tom Favia to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode can be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode185
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
Please leave a review.
If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a written review.
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Ethel Rosenberg is a controversial figure and generates polarising views varying from an innocent mother caught up in Cold War hysteria to a willing and ruthless accomplice to her husband’s Cold War espionage betraying secrets to the Soviets.
Anne Sebba’s new book “Ethel Rosenberg – A Cold War tragedy” (“An American tragedy” in the US) provides a more nuanced view of Ethel that is not just about innocence and guilt but of a talented singer and mother of two children, betrayed by her family and the American judicial system. Aged 37, in 1953 she becomes the first woman in American history to be executed for a crime other than murder.
Whatever your views about Ethel Rosenberg this episode will detail more of who Ethel was and how the American judicial system was manipulated to ensure her conviction.
Anne’s book is available on these links.
UK listeners https://amzn.to/3wGZD1z
US listeners https://amzn.to/2TObJra
If you’ve listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for a small monthly donation to support my work and allow me to continue producing the podcast. As a monthly supporter, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Anne Sebba to our Cold War conversations...
There's more information as well as a book giveaway in the episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode184/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Tom Favia served with the USMLM, The US Military Liaison Mission which the Soviet Union permitted to operate in East Germany at the end of World War 2 for monitoring and furthering better relationships between the Soviet and Western occupation forces. The British & French also had missions in East Germany and the Soviets has theirs in West Germany.
Tom tells the amazing story of his recruitment from being an art student to being deployed “behind enemy lines” in East Germany. He also describes his earlier career on the Inner German border and then we move to his USMLM career. We hear about his driver training, planning procedures and the process for exiting West Berlin as well as details of the vehicles including the “James Bond switches”.
If you’ve listened this far, I know you are enjoying the podcasts so I’m asking for a small monthly donation to support my work and allow me to continue producing the podcast. As a monthly supporter, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Tom Favia to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode can be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode183/
Part 2 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode185
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
This is the third and final part of Ralph Hänel’s story of his life in East Germany.
In this episode, we hear his time in the Stasi prison in Cottbus which with its dark red brick façade was often referred to as the ‘Red Misery’.
It’s a chilling insight into Stasi prison conditions and the brutality that the political prisoners endured from the other inmates and the guards.
We also hear about Ralph’s eventual release and of some strange experiences he has in reunited Germany
Again I am honoured and humbled that Ralph shared this story with us.
I could really use your support to help me to continue the produce the podcast. A small monthly donation entitles you to the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Ralph back to our Cold War conversation…
Further information on this episode can also be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode182/
Other episodes with Ralph are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode177/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode181/ You can buy Ralph's book here
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook or click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
In this second part of Ralph Hänel’s story of his life in East Germany.
We hear of Ralph’s arrest by the Stasi and subsequent interrogation for 10 months.
Ralph describes in some detail the arrest and his early days of imprisonment. He also details the techniques used to try and make him break and the pressure the Stasi also put on his mother.
It’s an incredible insight into the workings of the Stasi from someone who was there and I am honoured that Ralph shared this story with us.
We also hear about his court case and in the following episode we hear about his time in the Stasi prison in Cottbus which with its dark red brick façade was often referred to as the ‘Red Misery’.
I could really use your support to continue the podcast. A simple monthly donation via Patreon, plus as a monthly supporter you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Ralph 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. Other episodes with Ralph are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode177/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode182/ You can buy Ralph's book here
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook or click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
We speak with author Giles Milton about his new book Checkmate in Berlin: The Cold War Showdown that Shaped the Modern World.
In 1945 at the end of World War 2 the Soviet Red Army captured Berlin. For the next four years, a handful of charismatic but flawed individuals – British, American and Soviet – fought an intensely personal battle over the future of Germany, Europe and the entire free world.
Checkmate in Berlin tells this exhilarating, high-stakes tale of grit, skullduggery, and raw power. From the high politics of Yalta to the desperate scramble to break the Soviet stranglehold of Berlin with the greatest aerial operation in history, this is the epic story of the first battle of the Cold War and how it shaped the modern world.
Now, I could really use your support to continue the podcast. A simple monthly donation via Patreon, will get you the 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 financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Giles Milton to our Cold War conversation…
There’s a book giveaway and 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/episode180/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
This episode is sponsored by MUBI, a curated streaming service with an ever-changing collection of hand-picked cinema. From new directors to award-winners. From everywhere on earth. Beautiful, interesting, incredible films — with a new one added every single day.
Right now on MUBI, you can watch STATE FUNERAL, an astonishing archival vision of the Soviet Union in the days after Joseph Stalin’s death. The film is followed by a Q&A with director Sergei Loznitsa in conversation with Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden). Our listeners can stream this (and much more) with thirty days free at mubi.com/coldwar.
James Chilcott, Peter Ryan and I had exclusive access to a preview version and in today’s episode we discuss our thoughts on the film.
State funeral is streaming exclusively on MUBI from May 21 and on MUBI, the film is followed by an exclusive Q&A with director Sergei Loznitsa in conversation with Pietro Marcello (director of Martin Eden)
Our listeners can watch this film (and much more) with thirty days free at mubi.com/coldwar.
Note that STATE FUNERAL won't be showing on the platform everywhere (release areas include the UK & Ireland, North America, Latin America, Turkey, India, Australia & NZ, Asia, and the Middle East). The trial link will work for anyone worldwide.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
We speak with author Tim Tate about his new book the Spy who was left out in the Cold: The Secret History of Agent Goleniewski
Michal Goleniewski remains one of the most important, yet least known and most misunderstood spies of the Cold War. Even his death is shrouded in mystery and he has been written out of the history of Cold War espionage - until now.
Tim Tate draws on a wealth of previously unpublished primary source documents to tell the dramatic true story of the best spy the west ever lost - of how Goleniewski exposed hundreds of KGB agents operating undercover in the West; from George Blake and the 'Portland Spy Ring', to a senior Swedish Air Force and NATO officer and a traitor inside the Israeli government. The information he produced devastated intelligence services on both sides of the Iron Curtain.
I could really use your support to continue the podcast. A simple monthly donation via Patreon, will as a monthly supporter get you the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Tim Tate to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our episode notes which can also be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode178
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Ralph Hänel tells some unique, strange and funny short stories about childhood and youth in East Germany.
We talk about the experiences of his parents in the closing stages of World War 2, his schooling, and how he became a DJ, winning a trip to the Soviet Union.
Ralph is a great raconteur with virtually endless stories about his life in East Germany. Hear how he saw Fidel Castro, met the first German astronaut in space and had a girlfriend, whose father was in the people’s police or was it the Stasi...?
Ralph had a passion for martial arts, but in East Germany that wasn’t easy to pursue. Listen as Ralph tells how he found secret clubs and smuggled books into the country.
However, his interest in martial arts brought him under suspicion and don’t miss subsequent episodes where Ralph’s life takes a turn for the worst when he is arrested by the Stasi and sentenced to 3 and half years in prison.
I could really use your support to continue the podcast. A small monthly donation via Patreon is ideal, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Ralph to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our episode notes which can also be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode177/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Adrian Jones was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Irish Army in 1983. As a 23 year old officer he served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Force UNIFIL in Southern Lebanon from 1987 to 1988.
The Irish battalion consisted of 580 personnel which were rotated every six months, plus almost 100 others in UNIFIL headquarters and the Force Mobile Reserve. In all, 30,000 Irish soldiers served in Lebanon over 23 years.
The Irish troops in Lebanon were initially intended to supervise the withdrawal of the Israel Defense Forces from the area after an invasion in 1978 and to prevent fighting between the Palestine Liberation Organization forces and Israel, however beginning in 1985, the Israeli army scaled back its numbers, remaining only in support of the South Lebanon Army in Southern Lebanon which was fighting the newly established Iranian proxy spinoff of the Amal movement – the Arab Shia Hezbollah.
We hear about Irish officer training, the position of Irish neutrality during the Cold War. Among many subjects Adrian also talks about the challenges of his peacekeeping mission, rules of engagement and the deaths of Irish peacekeepers.
Extra info, book details and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode176/
Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved before they are lost. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
James Chilcott is your host today and I am delighted to welcome Adrian Jones to our Cold War conversation…
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
In August 1960, a Soviet colonel called Oleg Penkovsky contacted the West to offer to work as a 'soldier warrior for the free world. MI6 and the CIA ran Penkovsky jointly, in an operation that ran through the showdown over Berlin and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
He provided crucial intelligence, including photographs of rocket manuals that helped Kennedy end the Cuba crisis and avert a war. Codenamed HERO, Penkovsky is widely seen as the most important spy of the Cold War, and the CIA-MI6 operation, run as the world stood on the brink of nuclear destruction.
We speak with Jeremy Duns, the author of Dead Drop also called Codename Hero in the US which investigates exactly how did the Russians detect Penkovsky, and why did they let him continue his contact with his handlers for months afterwards? Described as thrilling, evocative and hugely controversial, the book blows apart the myths surrounding one of the Cold War's greatest spy operations.
Extra info, book details and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode175/
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved before they are lost. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
I am delighted to welcome Jeremy Duns to our Cold War conversation…
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
70 years ago today would have been the middle of a desperate battle by outnumbered British forces at the battle of the Imjin River in Korea. The Korean War was among the most destructive conflicts of the modern era, and one of the few times when the Cold War turned hot. There were approximately 3 million war fatalities and a larger proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the Vietnam War.
Tommy Clough is one of the last survivors of the battle of the Imjin River and was just 19 when the Gloucestershire Regiment were cut off from their brigade by more than 10,000 Chinese troops in 1951. Outnumbered and surrounded, they dug in on a hilltop for three days, repelling attack after attack until their ammunition ran out. The battle of the Imjin River was one of the most famous of the Korean War.
We hear in detail Tommy’s experiences in the days up to the battle, as well as the desperate fighting to hold off the Chinese army as food, water and ammunition ran out.
Inevitably the Gloucestershire Regiment was forced to surrender and Tommy's story continues, with the hardship and privation of the 500 miles march to their prisoner of war camp. Following an escape attempt, Tommy is held and handcuffed for 6 weeks in solitary confinement including a lengthy period held in a small cage.
It’s an incredible story of fortitude and resilience under the most extreme circumstances and I am so humbled and honoured to be able to share this story with you. I’d like to thank The History of War magazine for putting me in contact with the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum and subsequently Tommy.
Extra info and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode174/
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved before they are lost. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
I am delighted to welcome Tommy Clough to our Cold War conversation…
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John Matisonn is a South African journalist who grew up in the suburbs in Johannesburg. In 1979 he was sentenced to jail for refusing to reveal his news sources.
Matisonn describes life as a journalist in apartheid South Africa as well as his meetings with some of the key South African personalities of that period. He met with several South African Prime leaders including John Vorster, PW Botha and FW de Klerk who eventually oversaw the end of white majority rule. Also included are details of several meetings Matisonn had with Nelson Mandela the first black President of South Africa.
We also hear about Soviet training for African National Congress leaders and the South African nuclear weapons programme.
Now I could really use your support to help me to continue to produce these podcasts. A monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon will really and you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
Special thanks to several listeners who left 5 star reviews including Louth23, monster ceilidh band and Mortificating.
Peter Ryan is our interviewer today and I am delighted to welcome John Matisonn to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our episode notes which can be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode173/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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9.07 a.m., April 12, 1961. A top-secret rocket site in the USSR. A young Russian sits inside a tiny capsule on top of the Soviet Union’s most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile and blasts into the skies. His name is Yuri Gagarin. And he is about to make history.
We speak with Stephen Walker author of “Beyond” a new book that tells the thrilling story behind that epic flight on its sixtieth anniversary.
Drawing on extensive original research and the vivid testimonies of eyewitnesses, many of whom have never spoken before, Stephen unpacks secrets that were hidden for decades and takes you into the drama of one of humanity's greatest adventures. Now I thought I knew Gagarins’s story, but discovered so much more after reading this book. The episode just scratches the surface and there is so much more in the book itself, Stephen and I could have talked for hours.
This podcast wouldn’t exist without the generous support of our Patreons If you are enjoying the podcast, and want to continue to hear it please support me via a small (or large) monthly donation. Plus, you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Stephen Walker to our Cold War conversation…
There are a book giveaway and further information on this episode in our episode notes here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode172/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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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.
This podcast wouldn’t exist without the generous support of our Patreons so if you are enjoying the podcast, you can show your support via a small (or large) monthly donation. Plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I’d like to thanks Beam2, Woodhead4780 and Tree Fella. for their 5-star reviews on Apple Podcasts
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
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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We speak with Chris Summers who as a 22 year old was sent by his employers to East Germany in a Ford Escort to install British factory machinery. He provides us with interesting insights into life in the provinces of the GDR.
Long term listeners of the podcast will recognise one of Chris’s colleagues was Tim, husband of Antje who was our guest in episode 82 “A Cold War Romance” available here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode82/
Chris was also sent to Poland, the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia where he tells what he saw and experienced in the latter half of the 1980s.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
I am delighted to welcome Chris Summers 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/episode170/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Soviet Tours is a Berlin-based tour operator focussed on off-the-beaten-path destinations across the globe.
Their core area, as the name suggests, lies mainly in and around the former USSR. From the mystic forests of Central Siberia to the austere peaks of the High Caucasus, from the scorching deserts of the Soviet Stans to the windswept steppes of Southern Russia.
We talk with the founder of Soviet Tours Gianluca Pardelli. He is a Berlin-based photojournalist, adventurer and travel author who is fascinated by that enigmatic country that was once known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
If you are enjoying the podcast, you can show your support via a monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Gianluca to our Cold War conversation…
Image by Arsenyi Kotov https://www.instagram.com/northern.friend/
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Our conversation with Rob Forsyth continues when he became Executive Officer - and in command on occasions - of HMS Repulse, a Polaris nuclear missile submarine.
We hear in detail the challenges of command on these boats, their launch procedures and the conversations Rob had with his captain about the circumstances when they might refuse to launch the missiles.
Rob tells of many fascinating incidents including a very close encounter with the Malin Head AGI, a notorious Soviet Spy trawler.
We also hear about his promotion to “Teacher” or instructor for the Submarine Commanding Officers’ Qualifying Course aka “The Perisher” and his command of HMS Sceptre, a nuclear powered "hunter-killer" submarine.
In the last section of our conversations, Rob tells us why his views on the British nuclear deterrent have changed. You can read more here http://www.whytrident.uk/
I could really use your support to help me to continue to produce these podcasts. A monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon will really help, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Rob Forsyth 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/episode168/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening.
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Commander Rob Forsyth joined submarines in1961. By March 1962 as a young officer, he joined HMS Auriga a 1945 vintage diesel submarine. Within 7 months the 22-year-old was loading live torpedoes and preparing for a war mission during the tense days of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Robs tell of many fascinating incidents in his career including under-ice operations and an incident where Rob's captain made an error that almost resulted in the total loss of submarine and crew.
He also details what it was like to take the Submarine Commanding Officers’ Qualifying Course aka “The Perisher”. This six-month course is a prerequisite for the command of a submarine. Failure means your submarine career “perishes”.
I could really use your support to help me to continue to produce these podcasts. A monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon will really help, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Rob Forsyth 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/episode167/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening.
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Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was a protest camp established in 1981 to protest against the deployment of USAF controlled Ground Launched nuclear armed Cruise Missiles at RAF Greenham Common in Berkshire, England.
On the eve of International Women’s’ Day 2021 I talk with Jan Castro-Fraser who chose to challenge the existence of nuclear weapons during the Cold War.
We talk about her experiences at Greenham Common Peace Camp and other demonstrations in the 1980s as well as how her experiences in the peace movement changed her, empowered her and made her who she is today.
If you are enjoying the podcast, you can show your support via a monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Jan to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes which can also be found as a link here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode166/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening.
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The events of 1949 in China reverberated across the world and throughout the rest of the century. That tumultuous year saw the dramatic collapse of Chiang Kai-shek's 'pro-Western' Nationalist government, overthrown by Mao Zedong and his communist armies, and the foundation of the People's Republic of China.
I talk with author Graham Hutchings who has written a vivid, gripping account of China in 1949. We discuss, the politics, the military campaigns, and the legendary Amethyst Incident where a British warship became embroiled in the Chinese Civil War.
If you are enjoying the podcast, you can show your support via a monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Graham Hutchings to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode and a book giveaway in our episode notes which can also be found on this link. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode165
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
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Acclaimed author and journalist Simon Kuper, has written The Happy Traitor, the story of British spy and Soviet Union double agent George Blake, the last major British traitor of the Cold War.
In 1961, Blake was sentenced to forty-two years imprisonment – at the time, the longest sentence in modern British history. He had betrayed all the western spying operations that he knew about to the KGB. This included the names of hundreds of British agents working around the world. About forty of them are believed to have been executed. Blake is reckoned to have done as much damage to British interests as did his Moscow companions Kim Philby and Donald Maclean – perhaps more.
Today, his story is known only to a few experts, and only insofar as anything can be known for certain in the world of deceit that is spying. MI6 has never made its files on him public. Now that the master spy has died, Simon Kuper finally sets the story straight. He unravels who Blake truly was through a combination of personal interviews, research in many languages, and use of almost unseen Stasi archives. His illuminating biography tracks Blake from his beginnings as a teenage courier for the Dutch underground during the Second World War, to his sensational prison-break from Wormwood Scrubs, to his tranquil old age in a dacha outside Moscow, where Kuper caught up with and interviewed him.
There is more information and details of a book giveaway in our episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode164/
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Germany has been at the heart of the British Army's story since 1945. After the Second World War, the Army helped rebuild a devastated and divided nation. It provided protection during the Cold War, and later used Germany as a base from which to deploy troops across the world.
Foe to Friend is a major exhibition at The National Army Museum in London that follows the lives of British soldiers in Germany over the past 75 years.
Enjoy an expert visit as Cold War Conversations co-host James takes you on a tour with the lead curator, Dr Peter Johnston
If you are enjoying the podcast, you can show your support via a monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome James and Dr Peter Johnston 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/episode163/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Commodore Eric Thompson MBE is the author of the book “On Her Majesty’s Nuclear Service. He is a career nuclear submarine officer who served from the first days of the Polaris missile boats until after the end of the Cold War. He joined the Navy in the last days of Empire, made his first sorties in World War II type submarines, and went on to become the top Engineer in charge of the Royal Navy’s operational nuclear submarine force based at Faslane.
In this vivid personal account of his submarine operations, he reveals top-secret submarine patrols, hush-hush scientific trials, and a chat with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
It is essentially a human story, rich in both drama and comedy, like the Russian spy trawler that played dance music at passing submarines. There was never a dull moment. Behind the lighter moments was a deadly serious game. Eric’s chat reveals some the secretive life of submarines and the men who served on them.
If you donate monthly via Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee you will get the sought after CWC coaster and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
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If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I’d like to thank some of our recent reviewers incldung Faye Dingaway, Syb 1, Cold War Gav and Romford Stu.
I am delighted to welcome Eric Thompson 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/episode162/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Vadim was at school in Moscow during the 1970s and 80s. He attended an Advanced English Studies School where all subjects were taught, however the focus was on English.
He provides us with insights into the setup of Soviet education as well as the school life, teaching methods and pop culture.
We hear how the British newspaper “Morning Star” was a key teaching aid for Soviet English students.
Now I know some of you skip this bit, but if you want to continue hearing these Cold War stories I’m asking listeners to pledge a monthly donation of at least $4, £3 or €3 per month to help keep the podcast on the air, although larger amounts are welcome too.
If you donate monthly via Patreon you will get the sought after CWC and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
Peter Ryan conducts the interview for us and I am delighted to welcome Vadim 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/episode161/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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We continue the story of Bill, a US Army Intelligence Analyst with Combined Analysis Detachment-Berlin (CAD-B) from episode 127. Germany has now been re-unified and Russian troops have withdrawn from East Germany. Bill tells us of the little known story of continued US Army involvement in intelligence gathering alongside the German security services, the BND.
We hear about "Operation Giraffe", described as the largest intelligence service procurement campaign of the West since the end of World War II, how Russian sources recruited during the Cold War were managed and, how Britain’s MI6 was cut out of receiving the information they had received freely during the Cold War.
Bill tells us of a joint BND/CIA mission to monitor the disposal of Russian nuclear weapons.
It’s a fascinating look into the murky world of human intelligence gathering, corruption, and rivalry in the immediate post Cold War period.
I could really use your support to help me to continue to produce these podcasts. A monthly donation of $4, £3 or €3 via Patreon will really help and you will get the sought after Cold War Conversations coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Thanks to all our latest supporters including Tim Simmons, Fredrik Lundberg, Mary J O’Grady, Robert Ritchie, and Katie Brown.
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Bill 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.
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Charlie was 19 in 1956. A trip home from work by tram ended up with him being thrust into the heart of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a nationwide revolution against the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956.
I’m in conversation with Charlie and his daughter Angela as Charlie describes how he and his friends attacked the Communist held Budapest radio station and graphically details his experiences and what he saw during those momentous days.
He also recalls his escape from Hungary and his later life in Wales and return visit to the country of his birth while it was still within the orbit of the Soviet Union.
I do really need your help to allow me to find the time to continue producing and preserving these Cold War stories.
I’m asking listeners to pledge a monthly donation of at least $4, £3 or €3 per month to help keep the podcast on the air, although larger amounts are welcome too.
As a thank you you will get the sought after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Charlie and Angela to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode including photos and videos in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode159/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Professor Timothy Garton Ash is a British historian, author, commentator and Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. Professor Garton Ash witnessed some of the most critical moments in the Eastern Bloc during the 1980s as these populations threw off Communist rule.
He provides us with vivid details of his time in East Germany, Gdansk, Poland where in 1980 the first free trade union in the Eastern Bloc was formed, and his time with then dissident Vaclav Havel when the Czechoslovak Communist government resigned in 1989.
Professor Garton Ash genuinely had a front row seat to history and provides us with fascinating and profound analysis of those incredible years.
I do really need your help to allow me to find the time to continue producing and preserving these Cold War stories.
I’m asking is for listeners to pledge a monthly donation of at least $4, £3 or €3 per month to help keep the podcast on the air, although larger amounts are welcome too.
If you donate monthly via Patreon you will get the sought after CWC and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Professor Garton Ash to our Cold War conversation…
UK listeners - Professor Garton Ash's books are available here
US listeners - Professor Garton Ash's books are available here
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/episode158/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Episode photo by By Daniel Vegel (www.vegeldaniel.com) - This file has been extracted from file: Timothy-Garton-Ash-Daniel-Vegel-CEU-Lecture-2017.jpg, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59301308
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Ian Black is a former RAF Fighter Pilot with a passion for photography and motorcycles. He began his flying career with the legendary McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom in RAF Germany at the height of the Cold War.
After three years flying as a navigator Ian underwent Pilot Training in 1984-1986 during which time he was awarded prizes for flying ability , aerobatics and unsurprisingly navigation skills.
On completion of his flying training Ian was selected to fly the English electric Lightning in the Air Defence Role. Twenty five years earlier, Ian’s father had been one of the RAF’s first Lightning Pilots and his son was set to become the last. Serving on 11(F) Squadron.
Now I really need your help to allow me the time to continue producing and preserving these Cold War stories.
A monthly donation to help keep us on the air is only about $3, £3 or €3 per month (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Ian Black to our Cold War conversation…
Check our Ian's great photography books here https://www.firestreakbooks.com/
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes,plus a book giveaway which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode157/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Michael Zdanowski was born and raised in the UK, but his interest with the Cold War goes back generations. His grandfather having emigrated from Poland to the United Kingdom during the second world war and was a distinguished member of the RAF in the battle against Germany.
Michael’s interest in the Cold War prompted him to pursue a doctorate focused around the Sovietisation of Estonia post-WW2, which he researched over a number of years.
His findings indicated a wholesale imperialistic strategy that centered around language, culture and moving large numbers of Russians into Estonia.
However, his findings also demonstrate a great deal of Estonian resistance to these efforts, with the local population finding ways of celebrating their local culture and heritage through covert means.
It is a story of attempted social engineering that underestimated the desire of a people to be conquered.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Co-host Peter Ryan conducts our chat and I am delighted to welcome Michael Zdanowski 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/episode156/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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This is Part 2 of our conversation with Colin Munro who was the British Deputy Head of Mission in East Berlin from 1987 to 1990.
In this episode we move to the monumental events of 1989 as the GDR was wrought by internal protest prior to the opening of the Wall in Berlin. It’s a fascinating account of Colin’s contacts who were giving him insights into the eventual fall of the GDR.
Do you know how much $3 USD is in Pounds? It’s 76 pence which equals about 20p or 75c per episode if you sign up as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast.
Higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too!
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Thank you so much to our generous supporters who help keep us on the air.
If that’s not your cup of tea then leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow.
In today’s episode, Colin tells of translating for Margaret Thatcher during a phone call with Helmut Kohl, UK imports from the GDR and of a drunken Harry Tisch, the East German Trade Union leader.
We welcome Colin 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/episode155/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thankyou very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Colin Munro was the British Deputy Head of Mission in East Berlin from 1987 to 1990. Although the UK did not recognise East Berlin as part of the GDR in 1973 it established an Embassy “to” the GDR (not in the GDR) in East Berlin to provide a diplomatic presence.
As Deputy Head of Mission Colin was effectively the Deputy Ambassador and was responsible for improving trade, ensuring correct dealings on status of Berlin and try to promote peaceful change.
Do you know how much $3 USD is in Pounds? It’s 76 pence which equals about 20p or 75c per episode if you sign up as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast.
Higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too!
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If that’s not your cup of tea then leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow.
Back to today’s episode, Colin tells of life in the Embassy with some fascinating insights into the unique difficulties of being a diplomat in a capital city that the UK did not recognise..
We welcome Colin 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/episode154/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thankyou very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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In this episode we talk with Col. Keith Nightingale who served in the US military from 1965 to 1993. He completed two tours of Vietnam; the first as a Senior Advisor to a Vietnamese Ranger unit and the second as a rifle company commander in the 101st Airborne.
Keith used the experience of his first tour to write ‘Just another day in Vietnam’ which gives a vivid first-hand account of a jungle operation with the South Vietnamese Rangers against the Viet Cong.
UK listeners can buy Keith's book here https://amzn.to/3lWljkbUS listeners can buy Keith's book here https://amzn.to/33VRcTD
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $4 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Co-host James conducts our chat and I am delighted to welcome Keith Nightingale 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/episode153/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
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During her first visit to Poland in 1980, Dr Jacqueline Hayden met the leading members of the free trade union ‘Solidarność’, including the future president Lech Wałęsa. As a freelance journalist at that time, she reported the events in Gdańsk in August 1980, when the shipyard workers went on strike to demand the creation of Free Trade Unions.
Our chat includes some vivid descriptions of what she saw and heard at the time, it explains the problems facing the nascent free trade union as well as details of the interviews she carried out with General Jaruselski and Cardinal Joseph Glemp among others.
Now, I really do need your help to support my work preserving Cold War history. I deliver 4 episodes a month and all I’m asking for is about $3, £3 or €3 per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Jacqueline Hayden 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/episode152/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
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Sue Boyd has been the head of Australian diplomatic missions in Fiji, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Bangladesh. She also had postings at the United Nations in New York and in the former East Germany.
Sue was posted to East Germany in 1976 and tells of her work, friendships, and life as a single woman in the diplomatic community of 1970s East Berlin. She reveals the fascinating contents of her Stasi file, detailing the intense surveillance she was under as well as confirmation of some of her suspicions, but also there are some surprising revelations too.
Buy Sue's book and support the podcast here https://amzn.to/2JfHiEU
Now it does take a lot of effort and expense to produce the podcast and I could really do with some help to support my work. So if you want to really help preserve Cold War history then for only about $3, £3 or €3 per month you can help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Sue Boyd 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/episode151/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Today we speak with Ian Ballantyne, the author of “Hunter Killers”, also known as “Undersea Warriors” in the United States.
Hunter Killers’ tells the incredible, true inside story of the Royal Navy’s Cold War beneath the waves.
Buy the book and support the podcast here https://amzn.to/3jalire
We talk about the forgotten role Royal Navy submarines played in the Cuban Missile Crisis while also learning the truth behind what official statements called collisions with ‘icebergs’.
In addition, we cover the processes and procedures of the Polaris submarine nuclear missile launch as well as the “Letters of Last Resort”.
Now I really need your help to allow me the time to continue producing and preserving these Cold War stories.
A monthly donation to help keep us on the air is only about $3, £3 or €3 per month (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Iain Ballantyne 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/episode150
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
Photo: FOSNI PHOTS/MOD
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Today we speak with Richard Crowder, the author of “Détente – the chance to end the Cold War”.
Help support the podcast buy the book here
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US listeners https://amzn.to/3kHU3pO
Between 1968 and 1975, there was a subtle thawing of relations between East and West, for which Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev coined the name Détente.
The leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union, Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev, hoped to forge a new relationship between East and West.
We talk about some of the key moments such as where Henry Kissinger, Nixon’s Secretary of State agreed the end to the war in Vietnam, the 1973 Arab Israeli war where the world stood on the brink of armed conflict between the Soviet Union and the United States and the Helsinki Accords where the agreement to uphold human rights unleashed dissident movements against the Communist Parties of Eastern Europe.
Now I really need your help to allow me the time to continue producing and preserving these Cold War stories.
A monthly donation to help keep us on the air is only about $3, £3 or €3 per month (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Richard Crowder to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes, plus a book giveaway which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode149/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Guy Burgess was the most important, complex, and fascinating of The Cambridge Spies, brilliant young men recruited in the 1930s to betray their country to the Soviet Union. An engaging and charming companion to many, an unappealing, utterly ruthless manipulator to others, Burgess rose through academia, the BBC, the Foreign Office, MI5 and MI6, gaining access to thousands of highly sensitive secret documents which he passed to his Russian handlers.
In his book “Stalin’s Englishman”, Andrew Lownie tells us how even Burgess's chaotic personal life of drunken philandering did nothing to stop his penetration and betrayal of the British Intelligence Service. Even when he was under suspicion, the fabled charm which had enabled many close personal relationships with influential Establishment figures (including Winston Churchill) prevented his exposure as a spy for many years.
UK fans can buy the book and support the podcast here https://amzn.to/3jyvcTH US fans can buy the book and support the podcast here https://amzn.to/35LDAdR
Now I really need your help to allow me the time to continue producing and preserving these Cold War stories.
A monthly donation to help keep us on the air is only about $3, £3 or €3 per month (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Andrew Lownie to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes,plus a book giveaway which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. http://coldwarconversations.com/episode148/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
At 2 a.m. on 10 March 1983, 12-year-old Carmen Bugan was home alone after her father had left for Bucharest. That afternoon, Carmen returned from school to find secret police in her living room. Her father’s protest against the regime had changed her life forever. This is her story.
This is one of the most powerful stories I have recorded so far. What you will hear in Carmen’s own words is an incredibly emotional story about childhood, family, spirit and humanity – do stay and listen to the end. It's safe to say it's a hell of a story and an emotional one too...
Buy the book and support the podcast
If you want to support our work preserving Cold War history then only about $3, £3 or €3 per month really helps keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Carmen Bugan to our Cold War conversation…
Carmen has also written Poetry and the Language of Oppression - Essays on Politics and Poetics, available here
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/episode147/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
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In this second episode with Don Snedeker we talk to him about his time after his tour of Vietnam when he served in West Germany.
From 1974 to 1986 Don served in a number of roles but most noticeably he was assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fulda, one of the locations where it was assumed that Warsaw Pact units would attack through.
He also trained as a Foreign Area Officer specialising in Western Europe and studied at the German Armed Forces Staff College in Hamburg.
From 1991 to 1992, Don headed the Inspectors and Escorts branch conducting conventional arms control inspections and confidence-building visits in the former Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Co-host James conducts our chat and I am delighted to welcome Don Snedeker 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/episode146/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Today we’re speaking with Barry Mullen who was a Navigator on the legendary Royal Air Force bomber, the Vulcan.
Barry served during the 1970s and candidly shares his experiences. He tells us about his time at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus during the Turkish invasion as well as detail of his mission scenarios, both conventional and nuclear, escape and evasion training as well as much more
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute about $3, £3 or €3 per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
Back to today’s episode, we had a little bit of a problem with the audio, but I do think what Barry shares is worth hearing and I hope that doesn’t affect your listening too much.
I am delighted to welcome Barry Mullen 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/episode145/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
In this bonus episode, we talk again with Paul Grant, author of "Coercion" the fourth book about the Schultz family who live in Berlin. His books are set at the end of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War.
Coercion is set in 1962 against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall while it is still barbed wire and a fragile wall. Escape attempts are frequent and these attempts are the major theme of Paul’s latest book.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Co-host James conducts our chat and I am delighted to welcome Paul Grant 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/episode144/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Help Support the podcast by shopping at Amazon.
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Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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This is the first of two episodes we have following Don Snedeker’s experiences through the Cold War. In this episode, we hear about his time in Vietnam and the book he has written entitled "The Blackhorse in Vietnam: The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam and Cambodia, 1966–1972”.
Don was born in Brooklyn New York but followed his Father’s postings around the globe as an ‘Army brat’. Don was commissioned into the Armour branch of the US Army in February 1969 and by December he had been posted to Vietnam initially assigned to the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment (Blackhorse) but later joining the 1st Armoured Cavalry Regiment (Blackhawks) serving as an armoured cavalry platoon leader and as a Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol platoon leader. He was awarded a Bronze Star with ‘V’ for Valour, a Purple Heart, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
Buy Don's book and support the podcast here https://amzn.to/3nAj7Ra
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Co-host James conducts our chat and I am delighted to welcome Don Snedeker to our Cold War conversation…
There is further information and a book giveaway in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode143/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Today’s episode is brought to you by Osprey publishing and we’re speaking with Michael Napier, the author of “In Cold War Skies – NATO and Soviet airpower 1949-89”.
Michael also flew the Tornado during the Cold War and served during the 1980s at 14 Sqn and 31 Sqn at RAF Brüggen in West Germany where he talks about nuclear QRA, low-level training in Germany, Canada and Exercise Red Flag in the US plus lots more.
His book is packed with first-hand accounts of operational flying during the Cold War as well as stunning photos.
You can buy the book and support the podcast on this link https://amzn.to/3bELNDa
If you want to support our work in preserving Cold War history then only about $3, £3 or €3 per month helps keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.
I am delighted to welcome Michael Napier to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes,plus a book giveaway which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode142/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
This is part 2 of our chat with Jack Barsky who spent ten years as an undercover KGB agent in the United States.
He is the longest surviving known member of the KGB illegals programme that operated during the Cold War.
In this episode we talk about his first days in the US, his mission and how he managed build his cover enabling him to live and work as a US citizen. He honestly and candidly talks about the impact his secret life had on those closest to him and the moment of his arrest by the FBI.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
I am delighted to welcome Jack Barsky 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/episode141/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
If you’ve seen the TV drama series, “The Americans” you’ll be fascinated by this episode. Albrecht Dittrich was an East German graduate student and a true believer in the Communist cause when he was recruited by the KGB in 1970. He spent ten years as an undercover KGB agent in the United States.
He is the longest surviving known member of the KGB illegals programme that operated during the Cold War.
In this episode we talk about his first days his early life in East Germany as well as his recruitment and training in Berlin & Moscow.
It’s an amazing insight into the mind and personality of a secret agent and the immense pressures he was under in the 10 years he served his KGB masters.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
I am delighted to welcome Jack Barsky to our Cold War conversation…
UK Fans can buy Jack's book here & support the podcast https://amzn.to/2FKAbmj
US Fans can buy Jack's book here & support the podcast https://amzn.to/3hLQoVs
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/episode140/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook or click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
This is the 2nd episode with Trevor Barnes, the author of “Dead Doubles, a new book on the Portland Spy Ring, one of the most infamous espionage cases of the Cold War.
The story continues with the dramatic arrest of three of the KGB spies outside the Old Vic theatre in London and the discovery of the amazing espionage career of the Krogers, the innocent-looking couple in suburbia…
We also talk about the revelation that the Portland spy ring was larger than thought and that at least two members escaped capture.
UK Fans can buy the book here & support the podcast https://amzn.to/2Gp50gD
US Fans can buy the book here & support the podcast https://amzn.to/3jHRpiy
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
I am delighted to welcome Trevor Barnes to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes,plus a book giveaway which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode139/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook or click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
In this episode we talk with Trevor Barnes, the author of “Dead Doubles, a new book on the Portland Spy Ring, one of the most infamous espionage cases of the Cold War.
In 1960 it was discovered that crucial secrets from the world-leading submarine research base at Portland in Dorset were being stolen by a British man and his mistress. The couple were tailed by MI5 'watchers' to a covert meeting with a Canadian businessman, Gordon Lonsdale. The unsuspecting Lonsdale in turn led MI5's spycatchers to an innocent-looking couple in suburban Ruislip called the Krogers…
UK Fans can buy the book here & support the podcast https://amzn.to/2Gp50gD
US Fans can buy the book here & support the podcast https://amzn.to/3jHRpiy
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
I am delighted to welcome Trevor Barnes to our Cold War conversation…
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes,plus a book giveaway which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode138/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
This is the 2nd part of our conversation with Major General Sir Robert Corbett, KCVO, CB who was the last Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin.
We join as I ask what were the British Army’s plans in the event of a Warsaw Pact invasion of West Berlin.
We also talk about the momentous night of 9th November 1989 and a fascinating tale of a situation, which if handled differently could have sent the history of that night in a very different direction...
Sir Robert also recollects his experiences at the Checkpoint Charlie closure ceremony and at the Tag der Deutschen Einheit when on 3 October 1990 the two Germanies were officially reunified.
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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I am delighted to welcome back Major General Sir Robert Corbett 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/episode137/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated
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Major General Sir Robert Corbett, KCVO, CB was the last Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin.
We start his story with the description of his first experience of Berlin as a young Army officer commanding a military train across East Germany into West Berlin just weeks after the Berlin Wall had been built.
We also talk about his subsequent Army career including his interview with British Foreign Secretary Geoffrey Howe and his early days as the Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin.
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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I am delighted to welcome Major General Sir Robert Corbett 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/episode136/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Born in Communist Czechoslovakia, Eva Caletkova has written an honest and unflinching account of her childhood in Bratislava.
Eva’s parents were Catholics, and the communist regime began to persecute the Catholic Church right from the start in 1948. They had to hide their faith from anyone outside of their home.
Eva provides us with an insightful and emotional conversation that captures her experiences of life in Communist Czechoslovakia and the resulting trauma.
Do check out her book “Forgiveness & Violets” available on this link. https://amzn.to/2CwB0NX
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
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I am delighted to welcome Eva Caletkova to our Cold War conversation…
If you are affected by mental health issues we describe in this episode and want assistance you can visit The Samaritans in the UK https://www.samaritans.org/ or Befrienders Worldwide https://www.befrienders.org/ websites.
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/episode135/
You can also visit Eva's web site here https://evacaletkova.com/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Werner Stiller’s spectacular defection to the West in 1979 inflicted one of the Cold War’s most serious blows to the Stasi.
At the time he was working as a case officer for the Main Directorate for Reconnaissance, the Stasi’s foreign intelligence division, where he was in charge of scientific espionage in the West.
We speak with Stiller’s son Andy, who although he was 11 months old at the time of his father’s defection met his father in later life.
Also included is Scott Calonico, who is producing a documentary film with Andy, covering his father’s abandonment of his family and his country, as well as the story of a young man and his journey to discover the man who was his father, the spy…
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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We welcome filmmaker Scott Calonico and Andy 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/episode134/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Tim Phillips travelled the route of the former Iron Curtain from deep inside the arctic circle to the meeting point in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. On his journey, he explored both the surviving traces of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall.
The people he meets bear vivid witness to a time of change. There are some who now look on the Cold War with nostalgia and affection, but many more who still despise it unable to forgive the hard and sometimes lost decades that their families, friends, and nations had to endure.
Strikingly a large and increasing proportion of these populations no longer has any personal recollection of this defining 20th Century conflict.They were still too young or not even born when the curtain and the wall came down.
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Back to today’s episode, we welcome Tim 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode133/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Vashi Nedomanský is the son of Czechoslovak former legendary ice hockey forward Václav Nedomanský aka “Big Ned” who is best known as the first ice hockey player to defect to North America to play.
We hear a dramatic true story that combines sports, politics, espionage, corruption, and life-changing events that played out on a global stage.
Among the stories we hear are the vivid descriptions of the 1969 Ice Hockey World Championships where the Czechoslovak National Team faced the Soviet national team for the first time since the 1968 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Vashi is currently finishing a film that will reveal his father’s incredible story for the first time in his own words. Visit the show notes here to see the trailer and the 1969 Ice Hockey World Championships. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode132/
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us get new guests.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
Back to today’s episode, we welcome Vashi 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/episode132/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Robert Perschmann describes himself as an anti-Cold War activist.
His political views started to form while serving in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War period where he saw first hand the toll on the US military and the racism prevalent in the American South.
An interview with a Soviet journalist which was broadcast on PBS radio (the US equivalent of the BBC) was the catalyst for an almost one-man campaign to reduce tensions between the two superpowers.
At this point, Robert was working as a US Mailman where he financed numerous visits to the Soviet Union to foster a better understanding between the two systems and became friends with many Soviet personalities including Dean Reed and legendary Soviet journalist Vladimir Posner.
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If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Thanks to our latest supporters including Greg Collins, Derek Worthington, Craig Donald, Janet Kelley, David O’Leary, STepwolf, Paul Hatzer, Chris Cock, Jon Forsyth, & James Roberts
Back to today's episode, we welcome Robert Perschmann 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/episode131/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Susan Morrison is Professor of English at Texas State University. In the late 1980’s she taught in Rostock in the former GDR and then lived in West Berlin but frequently crossed back into the East to teach and meet friends. In this episode we talk to her about her experiences and her impression of the two Germanys in 1989.
During her time in Rostock, Susan got in trouble with the authorities over bulletin board known as ‘The Wall’; the way she was censured by senior academics in the GDR sheds a valuable light on how people lived within the strict system of control by using humour and compromise.
Susan talks about finding the humanity in the GDR and how, as she watched the wall fall in 1989, that she wondered if unification would truly benefit all Germans.
Susan also retrieved her personal Stasi File and talks about how they tracked and monitored her during her time in the GDR and the assumptions that they made (not always successfully!).
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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James our co-host is the interviewer as we welcome Susan 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/episode130/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Hans de Vreij is a Dutch journalist who has worked in Berlin , Brussels, Geneva and Prague.
Whilst working at the United Nations in Geneva Hans was the subject of attempted recruitment by the KGB to develop an ‘agent of influence’ to disseminate Soviet points of view.
In addition, they analysed the ‘targeted journalist’ in terms of possible blackmail: ‘kompromat‘ (compromising material). This especially held true for journalists who later might find themselves in an important position, such as press spokesman at a ministry.
We later talk about Hans’ visit to a Soviet chemical weapons facility and testing ground on the Volga, some 750 kms southeast of Moscow as well as his service in the Dutch Army.
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Back to today’s episode, we welcome Hans 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode129/
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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How can we go beyond the films, books, and photos to learn more about the Cold War? Films are certainly evocative and certainly inform but how can we go beyond that and immerse ourselves to see what it felt like to be there. The two technologies of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality may allow us to do this.
Robin Hardenberg is a Berlin-based filmmaker who has developed ’The Berlin Wall App’ which uses Augmented Reality to bring the drama of the division of Berlin to those who are able to walk around the City.
Patrick Furlong is Head of Factual at Remarkable TV and has produced VR content for YouTube’s Virtually History series about the Berlin Wall. These programs allow you to immerse yourself in key episodes in Berlin’s Cold War history from your own home.
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Back to today’s episode, we welcome James, Robin & Patrick to our Cold War conversation…
There’s VR videos and further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app.https://coldwarconversations.com/episode128/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Bill was a US Army Intelligence Analyst. In 1986 he was assigned to Order of Battle Branch, Soviet Section where for three years he studied the Warsaw Pact armies working closely with the US Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) in Berlin which led to a transfer there in November 1989
Stationed in Potsdam he became an Order of Battle Analyst and participated in a handful of collection tours with the USMLM as the “back seater”.
He tells of the little know history of USMLM during this period and the continued monitoring of Soviet Forces in Germany post the opening of the Berlin Wall and even post reunification to the Soviet’s eventual withdrawal in 1994.
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If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Back to today’s episode, we welcome Bill 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode127/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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We talk again to Mark Brayne who worked as a Reuters & BBC journalist during the Cold War. This time we are in Romania in December 1989 where riots, street violence and murder in several cities over the course of roughly a week led the Romanian leader Nicolae Ceaușescu to flee the capital city on 22 December with his wife.
We hear the challenges of being a journalist in what was effectively a war zone without the risk assessments and protective gear of the present day.
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Thanks to latest Patreons
Back to today’s episode, part 3 of three episodes with Mark and it’s been an honour for Mark to share his stories with us in such an honest and revealing fashion…
We welcome Mark Brayne back 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode126
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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We talk to Mark Brayne again in a wide ranging chat about his career as a Reuters & BBC journalist including details of his Stasi file, his time in the Soviet Union, Hungary & Poland as well as the perils of editing analogue tape in a non-digital age.
Among his interviewees we talk about the Dalai Lama, Lech Walesa as well the ordinary people of the Warsaw Pact countries.
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If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Thanks to latest Patreons
Back to today’s episode, part 2 of three episodes with Mark and as you will hear we have a lot of fun recording this...
We welcome Mark Brayne 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode125/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook.
Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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In Britain and the Bomb Bill Nuttall considers Britain's national journey from Empire to Europe and the transition of British nuclear weapons from the Royal Air Force to the Royal Navy.
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Thanks to latest Patreons including Chris Pearson, Dave Parry, John Rafferty, This is Rammy, John Helsinki Scott G, Graham Horlock and Mister Giles.
Back to today’s episode, the story pivots around a single day in April 1965. The recently-established Labour government very publicly cancelled the much-vaunted TSR2 nuclear strike bomber, causing dismay among aviation enthusiasts. The passing decades have done little to diminish the controversy and a pervasive sense of nostalgic melancholy about a lost Britain.
We welcome Bill Nuttall 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.https://coldwarconversations.com/episode124/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Mark Brayne studied in Moscow 71-72, travelling the country with fellow UK students and spending silly amounts of time in the bathhouses with salted fish and very poor quality beer. He returned in 1974-75 as Reuters trainee journalist where he became very close to Andrei Sakharov, the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb and Soviet-era dissident.
East Berlin was his first solo posting for Reuters, where he and his wife Jutta both sang in the East Berlin Cathedral choir for four years, including two as BBC Berlin, with the honorary status of Lieut Col.
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If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Many thanks to our latest Patreons!
Back to today’s episode, part 1 of three episodes with Mark and I’m sure you will find his story as equally interesting as I did...
We welcome Mark 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode123/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Scott was a Pershing 2 nuclear missile Fire Control Officer which meant he was responsible for the launch of the missile. Aged 23 he was made platoon commander and responsible for 3 of these deadly weapons.
The Pershing II was a mobile, intermediate-range ballistic missile deployed by the U.S. Army at American bases in West Germany beginning in 1983. It was aimed at targets in the western Soviet Union. Each Pershing II carried a single, variable-yield thermonuclear warhead with an explosive force equivalent to 5-50 kilotons of TNT. Under the terms of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, all Pershing IIs and their support equipment were removed from the inventory and rendered inoperable
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Back to today’s episode, guest host Peter Ryan chatted with Scott and you will remember from Peter episode 101 where he interviewed me about the podcast.
We welcome Scott & Peter 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode122/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Michael Paterson first visited East Germany just after the fall of the Berlin Wall and provides a vivid account of its subsequent decline and fall during the move to reunification with West Germany. Michael is a military historian, author, researcher and illustrator. He began his career with the military magazine 'Battlefields Review' as a writer and illustrator, before working in the printed books department at the Imperial War Museum, London. Michael has lectured frequently on military history and related subjects.
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Back to today’s episode, Michael has a beautifully illustrated notebook from his time in East Germany and he has kindly allowed us to show some of the illustrations.
Don’t miss those in the show notes which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode121/
We welcome Michael Paterson to our Cold War conversation…
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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James Stejskal served for 23 years with US Special Forces, including two tours in Berlin. Special Forces Berlin was a small detachment of 100 highly trained soldiers who, should hostilities break out, were to wreak havoc behind Warsaw Pact lines.
The US government only acknowledged its existence in 2014 and John has written an incredible story of how these unsung heroes would have fought and died on what was effectively a one way mission.
If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Thanks to latest Patreons Ian Crangle, Steve Minegar, Ryan King, Claudia Morgenstern, Mike Cser, Graham Randall, Iain Mckay Dall, Mike Chapman, Michael ODonnell, Robert Krom, & Jeffrey Jones.
Don’t forget we have a book giveaway of Special Forces Berlin, so make sure you listen through to the end for details of how to enter.
Back to today’s episode, the story starts with James’ initial recruitment into the US Army.
We welcome James 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode120/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Alan Baker worked and studied in the GDR and the USSR from the 1970s through to the end of the Soviet Union and the emergence of the Russian Federation as we know it today.
In Moscow, Alan had the opportunity to live and study in the well-known Moscow State University as well as the opportunity to attend the 54th anniversary of the Russian Revolution Parade in 1971 in Moscow.
In addition, Alan was awarded a Peace Scholarship to study in Leipzig at the Karl-Marx-Universität and worked for the Novosti News Agency in London which meant travelling extensively in the USSR visiting Star City and the construction of Trans-Siberian pipeline
Our reviews help the podcast grow, so if you are enjoying our content please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after Cold War Conversations coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping preserve Cold War history.
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Thanks to latest Patreons
Back to today’s episode, our co-host James interviews Alan as he talks of his experiences in the USSR and the GDR as well as his efforts to promote trade between the UK and the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation.
We welcome Alan 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode119/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.
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Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Richard Hornik was the Warsaw Bureau Chief for Time Magazine from 1981-1983. He carried out numerous interviews with Solidarity Free Trade Union leader Lech Wałęsa including his last interview before martial law was declared in December 1981.
He shares the stories of 1980s Poland as well as the interviews he carried out with the Solidarity leadership and the leaders of Communist Poland.
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Thank you so much to our 89 generous supporters who help keep the podcast available for you all to listen to.
In today’s episode, Richard and I talk about his interview with General Jaruselski and his meeting with Father Jerzy Popieluszko as well as his challenges with the SB Polish Security Service.
We welcome Richard 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.
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Thankyou very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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The Cold War got colder in the early 1980s and the relationship between the two military superpowers, the USA and the Soviet Union, each of whom had the capacity to annihilate the other, was tense. By the end of the decade, East-West relations had been utterly transformed, with most of the dividing lines -including the division of Europe- removed.
We are here with Archie Brown, Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of Oxford, a Fellow of the British Academy, and an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
He is the author of numerous books including his latest work , The Human Factor, Gorbachev, Reagan, and Thatcher, and the End of the Cold War arguing the engagement between Gorbachev and Reagan was a crucial part of that process of change. More surprising was Margaret Thatcher's role.
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Back to today’s episode, we start by talking about Archie’s’ time as a British Council exchange scholar at Moscow State University for a year between 1967 and 1968. We welcome Archie Brown 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode117/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Lieutenant Commander Jørgen Brandsborg joined the Danish Navy in the 1980s. He met the Soviets up close and personal while serving in the North Atlantic where the Danish Navy acted as a coast guard when on patrol around the Faroe Islands, which meant boarding Soviet vessels for inspection.
He also tells of Danish Navy training, Denmark’s position within NATO, as well as their defence plans, should the Cold War have turned hot.
If you’re new here, you’ve come the right place to listen to first hand Cold War history accounts. Do make you subscribe in your podcast app so you don’t miss out on future episodes.
Our reviews help the podcast grow, so if you are enjoying our content please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media.
If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after Cold War Conversations coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping preserve Cold War history.
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Thanks to latest Patreons
Back to today’s episode, Jørgen tells of the close encounters with Volksmarine, The East German Navy including attempting rammings of Danish Naval vessels by the Soviet and East German Navy.
We welcome Jørgen 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode116/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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In early 1989 attention being paid to Albania in England by the English media because the England football team had recently travelled to Tirana for a World Cup qualifying game.
Looking for somewhere unusual to holiday Mike Innes went on 10 day tour to Albania. Arriving by air he travelled by coach, staying in the hotels which catered to foreigners and favoured party members.
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Mike provides us with a view of a little known country which although outside the Warsaw Pact adhered to a strict version of Communism and whose Marxist-Leninist government ruled Albania from 1946 to 1992.
We welcome Mike to our Cold War conversation…
** Correction Albania was a founder member of the Warsaw Pact and left in 1968.
There’s further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode115/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Anthony enlisted in the British Army in 1987 and after 9 months he was posted to West Berlin.
He tells the story of life as a Private in Berlin from the drinking (and the fighting) to the urban warfare training in Ruhleben & Dough Boy City. We also hear of the reality of knowing that should the Cold War have turned hot his life expectancy would have been in hours.
It’s also a tale of tragedy and the forgotten casualties of the Cold War where injury and death could come even in peacetime. Two of Anthony’s fellow soldiers died during his two-year tour of Berlin and we’d like to dedicate this episode to remembering Lance-Corporal Ian Fleming and Lance-Corporal Mick Quayle. We thank them for their service.
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If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history.
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Special thanks to all our Patreons
Back to today’s episode, we start with Anthony’s schooldays and end with his experiences in Berlin the night the Wall opened. I found this really entertaining story and I’m sure you will too.
We welcome Anthony 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode114/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
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Charlie Flowers was 18 in 1988. He travelled by train across a divided Eastern Europe that was starting to show signs of the changes that manifested themselves in 1989.
He shares stories of the interesting encounters he had along the way.
Now I’d like to thank some of our recent 5 star reviewers in Apple podcasts. Qwertykevboy, Fizzlepop202, simmovic, Dais28, Tim of Townsville and especially Marrdave who said “This is easily the best historical podcast out there…” I’m not sure I agree, but I’m very flattered.
If you are enjoying the show please leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow.
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Thank you so much to our 89 generous supporters who help keep the podcast available for you all to listen to.
In today’s episode, I have a lively conversation with Charlie and don’t miss the show notes where we share many of his photos of Eastern Europe on the cusp of major changes in Europe’s political landscape.
We welcome Charlie 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/episode113/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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For almost five decades, the United Kingdom made plans for a nuclear attack that never came. To help their citizens, civil servants and armed forces prepared those in power a variety of booklets, posters, and how-to guides.
Taras Young is a researcher & writer who has produced a book Nuclear War in the UK detailing much of this Cold War ephemera such as the infamous Protect and Survive guide, as well as fascinating lesser-known materials prepared for the United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation and the Royal Observer Corps.
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In today’s episode, we delve into Taras Young’s collection in an eye-opening look at the way Britain's authorities reacted to the Soviet nuclear threat...
We welcome Taras 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/episode112/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Harry served as a soldier in the Intelligence Corps in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s.
His role was that of an Intelligence and Security Operator, focused on the identification of foreign and other malign activities which might undermine the effectiveness of the UK's military presence in the country. Accordingly, he had the experience of a range of security investigations and close liaison with the West German civil and military security authorities.
Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.
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Back to today’s episode, Harry and I talk in detail about his service using the new wireless microphones kindly paid for by our financial supporters.…
We welcome Harry 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 here your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode111/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Today is a short bonus episode I recorded at the weekend while at a film showing of Dr Strangelove in a former UK Regional Seat of Government Bunker in Cheshire...
The Hack Green Bunker is my local Cold War museum and a kind financial supporter of the podcast too so if you are ever in the Cheshire area of the UK I highly recommend a visit.
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In today’s episode, I interview Lucy Siebert the Museum Director and well as some of the audience for the film showing.
We welcome the Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker 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.
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.
Hack Green Bunker web site https://hackgreen.co.uk/
Hack Green Bunker Facebook page where you can book future film showings https://www.facebook.com/HackGreenSecretNuclearBunker/
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When the Berlin Wall came down, the files of the East German secret police, the much-dreaded Stasi, were opened and read. And among the shocking stories revealed was that of the Stasi's infiltration of the Church.
The Lutheran Church was the only semi-free space in East Germany, where those who rebelled against the regime could find a way of living at least a little out of the government's grip.
Do you know how much $3 USD is in Pounds? It’s 76 pence which equals about 20p per episode if you sign up as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast.
Higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too!
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Recent supporters include David Banvery, Daisy Birkenhead, Steve Kerins, Tim Marks and Holly Meade.
If that’s not your cup of tea then leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow.
Back to today’s episode, author of the book "God's Spies" Elisabeth Braw tells the real-life cloak-and-dagger story of how the Stasi infiltrated churches in East Germany.
We welcome Elizabeth to our Cold War conversation…
UK Fans can buy the book here & support the podcast https://amzn.to/2t2EZxk
US Fans can buy the book here & support the podcast https://amzn.to/38Ks2HH
There’s further information on this episode & the opportunity to win a free copy of the book (ends 23rd Feb 2020) in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode109/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Thankyou very much for listening.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Our guest today is Marc Voss the Founder and Executive Director of The Regimes Museum which is the culmination of an effort to collect, preserve, and archive material and artifacts from some of the most notorious regimes of the 20th century. It is both a museum and an educational institution that offers resources to scholars and students while applying lessons of the past to the present.
Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.
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Back to today’s episode, Marc & I have a varied chat about the nature of regimes, East German recycling, Romanian tech, Stasi coercion techniques amongst many others.
We welcome Marc Voss 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode108
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Regional seats of government or RSGs were a UK solution to disperse the machinery of government into the provinces, where there would be a greater chance of survival after a nuclear attack.
Today we speak to Andrew who was assigned a role in an RSG and details his experiences on a week long training course at the Civil Defence college at Easingwold in Yorkshire during the 1980s. There’s some chilling details of the scenarios they had to prepare for…
Now if you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War Conversations I’m asking if you could support us for $3 USD a month to help keep us on the air. That’s about 60 pence or 75 US cents per episode or perhaps a coffee or two a month – now that’s what I call good value. Plus, you become the envy of your friends with that sought after CWC coaster too.
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So back to today’s episode, Andrew starts with the surprising circumstances of his first notification of his RSG role.
We welcome Andrew 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 .https://coldwarconversations.com/episode107
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What was it like to be the first western pilot to fly the most advanced Soviet fighter aircraft? At the 1989 Abbotsford Air Show, during the dying days of the Cold War, Canadian CF-18 pilot Major Bob Wade became the first Western pilot to fly a Soviet MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter aircraft. This episode tells you how he did it.
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Back to today’s episode, Bob and I talk in detail on the circumstances of the flight as well as what it was actually like to fly an aircraft you’ve never flown before with instruments in a language you don’t understand and only 10 minutes of briefing…
We welcome Major Bob Wade 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/episode106/
Bob is RCAF Association Honorary President for the Province of Alberta. He is also on the Board of Directors at the Military Museums RCAF Museum Society of Alberta. Their web site is at: www.rcaf.museum and they have an excellent Cold War Exhibit currently featuring an F86 Sabre, CF104 Starfighter and CF 18 Hornet.
Bob is leading an effort to more than double the size of the display area to include NORAD assigned fighters including the CF100 Cannuck, CF101 Voodoo and a T-33 aircraft. They are in the fundraising phase at the moment and the web site has an option where interested viewers can contribute if they feel inclined. https://www.rcaf.museum/visit/coldwar-museum
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What are your dreams at 18 and what happens in the next 20 years? Children of the Silent Revolution is a documentary film following a tight-knit group of classmates from Bulgaria who reveal their stories over a period of 20 years, spanning the transition from communism to democracy in their country.
It’s a powerful memoir and love letter to the filmmaker’s classmates, as well as a compelling historical document about Bulgaria’s recent history.
Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.
So I’m asking if you wouldn’t mind supporting us by paying at least $3 USD a month – higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too!
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Back to today’s episode, we speak with Viktoria Ershova who was born and raised in Kazanlak, Bulgaria until she went to the United States at age 18. Children of the Silent Revolution is her debut feature film.
We welcome Viktoria Ershova 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode105
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Steve Vogel is a veteran journalist who reported for the Washington Post for more than two decades. He is also the author of Betrayal in Berlin a new book that tells the story of one of the West’s greatest espionage operations of the Cold War.
Now I’m sure you are enjoying your weekly dose of Cold War history, and you’d like to continue to do so.
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Back to today’s episode, Steve’s dogged research unearthed recently declassified documents in U.S., British and German archives, many of them secret for half a century. He interviewed dozens of key participants many of whom had never spoken before about their roles.
We welcome Steve Vogel 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/episode103/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Thank you very much for listening.
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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John Tarver was born into a middle-class family. He joined the British Communist Party on his 18th birthday in 1948 because he felt the Soviet Union had made the most effective resistance to fascism.
He worked as a party activist in Britain and made several trips to the GDR where he would get a job at Potsdam as head of the final year of studies in the English language.
His 18 years’ work as a Communist party organizer set him apart from other Britons in the GDR and he became an informer for the Stasi.
Now if this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month. In the last few weeks John Newlove and Mike Hart have joined in helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus they’ve got the sought after CWC coaster too.
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Special thanks to Ian Hawkins who allowed me to use these audio files from his excellent documentary “My DDR T-Shirt” which will feature in the show notes.
John Tarver talks openly about his personal, political and professional life in Britain and East Germany/GDR. He also talks about his commitment to Communism, the work he did as a Stasi agent, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the GDR and his return in recent years to the Catholic faith.
We welcome John Tarver to our Cold War conversation…
There’s the full version of the "My DDR T-Shirt" documentary, further information and links on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode104/
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
Support the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Jay Lieberman talks about his early childhood memories of the Cold War as well as his long career in the US Navy.
He tells a fascinating story of how he obtained high security clearance in the US Navy and served at a number of classified command facilities including the 2nd Pentagon and the Fleet Ocean Surveillance Information Facility, at Rota, Spain.
Now if this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month. In the last few weeks John Newlove and Mike Hart have joined in helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus they’ve got the sought after CWC coaster too.
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This conversation was recorded as part of the Imperial War Museum North, Voices of the Wall event commemorating 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Make sure you stay subscribed for future conversations.
Jay talks about his various postings, his security clearance and what it was like to have such a ringside view of the Cold War.
We welcome Jay Lieberman 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/episode102/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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And now for something completely different... today I’m chatting with listener Peter Ryan who will be turning the tables and questioning me about my Cold War story!
Now, listeners, I can see you are enjoying the podcast by the increasing listener numbers so if you’d like the podcast to continue all I’m asking for a few quid or dollars a month to help keep us on the air plus you become the envy of your friends with that sought after CWC coaster too.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If you can’t donate financially then you can also help us by leaving a written review on Apple podcasts or wherever you consume this podcast.
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This conversation was recorded at the Barbican Centre in London, so excuse some random noises in the background.
Peter asks me about how the podcast started, what motivates me alongside my recommended Cold War movies.
We welcome Peter Ryan 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/episode101/
If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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Manuel Alzaga returns to the podcast after his debut in episode 57 with his experiences as US Army 18-year-old assistant artillery gunner in West Germany. He tells of his first impressions of West Germany, details of the 1982 Reforger exercise (return of forces to Germany) Exercise, as well as the life expectancy of a front line soldier on the East German border, should the Cold War had turned hot.
Now if this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month.
You join a select band who help cover the show’s increasing costs, keep us on the air and bask in the warm glow of being official supporters of the podcast – they also receive the sought after CWC coaster too.
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So to today’s episode, Manuel's story starts as he steps off the plane at the Rhein-Main Air Base which was the primary airlift and passenger hub for United States forces in Europe.
We welcome Manuel Alzaga back to our Cold War Conversation...
Don't miss extra videos on our show notes page at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode100
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There’s an area near Bergen, Norway known as Isdalen (“Ice Valley”), but also nicknamed "Death Valley", due to the area's history of suicides in the Middle Ages, and more recent hiking accidents. In November 1970 a man and his two young daughters noting an unusual burning smell and to their horror discovered the charred body of a woman, located among some scree.
Now if this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month. In the last few weeks Pete Hobson, Richard Goyette, Hamish Macintyre, Alastair Bassett, David Roberts, James Marks and Richard Harvey have joined in helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus they’ve got the sought after CWC coaster too.
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So back to today’s episode – We speak with Marit Higraff, an investigative reporter for the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, who has investigated this case and is the co-presenter of the Death in Ice Valley podcast.
Welcome Marit to our Cold War conversation
Well I hope that’s whetted your appetite to explore the Death in Ice Valley podcast.
There’s further information and links on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode99/
If you like what you are hearing please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search "Cold War Conversations" in facebook.
Thank you very much for listening, it is really appreciated – goodbye.
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We return to Ramona Reed’s account of her father, Dean Reed who was an American actor, singer, songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc.
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If that’s not your cup of tea, you can also help us by placing a written review on Itunes. This helps to raise our profile and get new guests on the show.
So back to today’s episode – Ramona continues the story with details of the latter years of her father’s life as well her theories about his death.
We welcome Ramona back to our Cold War conversation…
If you like what you are hearing sign up to our email list at coldwarconversations.com.
We have further photos and information on this episode in our show notes which will show as a link in your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode98
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Ramona Reed’s father was Dean Reed an American actor, singer, songwriter, director, and Socialist who became a huge star in Latin America and the Eastern Bloc.
Now if you like the podcast you can help to support us for the price of a couple of coffees a month. You’ll be helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus you get the sought after CWC coaster too.
Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/
If that’s not your cup of tea, you can also help us by placing a written review on Itunes. This helps to raise our profile and get new guests on the show.
So back to today’s episode – Ramona was born in 1968 and gives insight into his life via private correspondence, but also what it was like to be the daughter of such a huge Eastern Bloc star.
We welcome Ramona to our Cold War conversation…
Episode 2 of this interview is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode98/
We have further photos and information on this episode in our episode notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode97/
Radio GDR
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Today has been a difficult day. My Dad has just died. It was expected, but these things hit you nonetheless.
He was a good father, a good man with many varied interests including art, photography, and history. All of which he passed onto me. In particular, it was history, which has ultimately resulted in this podcast.
I hope my listeners will indulge me today as this episode is not about the Cold War but is a recording I made of a chat I had with my Dad way before I had any thought of Cold War Conversations, or maybe this chat was the genesis – who knows?
It would be nice if it was and a fitting tribute, but anyway here’s me and my Dad chatting about his experiences during World War 2.
We welcome Graham Sanders to our Cold War Conversation…
More photos are on this link https://coldwarconversations.com/episode96/
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Alexander ‘Sasha’ Goncharov was born in Leningrad but early in this life moved to Ukraine. After leaving school he was drafted into the Soviet Military and was based in Sevastopol where he worked in Naval Aviation servicing anti-ship weapons systems. At the end of this period, Sasha decided to stay in the military to make it a full-time career. He was sent to Moscow where he trained as a full-time linguist. He was posted to Syria and Libya facilitating interactions between local forces and their Soviet advisors.
Now if this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month. In the last few weeks John Newlove and Mike Hart have joined in helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus they’ve got the sought after CWC coaster too.
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So back to today’s episode – Alexander left the Russian military as a Lt Colonel and is the Co-Organiser of an Anglo-Russian charity which looks to bring Russians who fought in World War II to the UK to visit.
We welcome Lt Colonel Alexander Goncharov 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. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode95/
If you like what you are hearing please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media.
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In this episode, we hear from Craig McCracken who spoke to us in episode 3. This time he tells us about the strange world of football in Cold War Romania and even if you are not interested in football it’s a fascinating chat about Cold War Romania.
Craig runs the website, Beyond the Last Man, described as 20th century football writing and nostalgia in a skilled and cultured groove. He really knows his stuff.
Are you liking the podcast and want to help? Well, for the price of a couple of coffees a month you can help cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus you get the sought after CWC coaster too.
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So back to today’s episode, we talk of the early Cold War years where pre-war clubs were dissolved in favour of the big two (Steaua & Dinamo) through to the societal breakdown of the 1980s with defections, corruption, zombie clubs and an unlikely European Cup success.
I’m delighted to welcome back Craig McCracken to our Cold War Conversation…
As you can hear Craig really knows his stuff and I highly recommend a visit to his web site, Beyond The Last Man for numerous Cold War Football stories. We have a link to his site and various Romanian football videos in our show notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode94/ which will show in your podcast app.
If you can’t wait for the next episode do visit our facebook discussion group where our guests and listeners like yourselves continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations.https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/
Thank you very much listening, it is really appreciated – goodbye!
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Our interview today is with Frederick Taylor, the author of one of my favourite books on the Berlin Wall. Using official history, archive research and personal stories he has produced one of the definitive books on the Berlin Wall.
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So back to today’s episode - James speaks with Fred who provides some great accounts of his personal experiences in Berlin as well as the story of the Berlin Wall and its eventual destruction.
We welcome Fred Taylor 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 here your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode93/
If you like what you are hearing sign up to our email list at https://coldwarconversations.com/
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We speak again with Gillian, who was our guest in episodes 42 & 48. Gillian was in Berlin the night of 9th November 1989 and describes what she saw.
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So back to today’s episode – Gillian gives us the viewpoint of a US student in Berlin on that pivotal night on 20th Century history. She tell us of her first discovery that this was going to be a night to remember and the sights and sounds of that night.
We welcome Gillian back to our Cold War conversation…
We have further photos and information on this episode in our show notes which will show as a link in your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode92/
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Alastair took up a teaching post in Halle, East Germany in August 1989 and continued to work in Halle for the next 9 years, seeing the unraveling of the GDR first hand.
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So back to today’s episode – Alastair arrived just in time to see the early protests and the opening of the border with West Germany. He recounts the Wende with some great stories detailing the impact of the Wende and the effects of reunification.
We welcome Alastair to our Cold War conversation…
If you like what you are hearing sign up to our email list at coldwarconversations.com.
We have further photos and information on this episode in our show notes which will show as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode91
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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Our interview today is in a different format. Cold war Conversations is working with the Imperial War Museum on a project called Voices of the Wall. We will be capturing personal testimonies of people’s experiences of the Cold War which will later become part of the podcast.
Therefore, this episode is a composite of previous and unheard interviews of how people heard about the momentous opening of the Berlin Wall 30 year to the date this podcast is published.
Now I can see a large increase in listeners of late with some of you binge listening the entire back catalogue. If this podcast was a magazine you wouldn’t mind paying a few quid or dollars a week so I’m asking you to support us for the bargain price of $3 a month. In the last few weeks Anders Ollson, Gregory Morrow, Michael Noble, Bernd Wagegg Mark Wiegers, Brian Carroll, and Scott Gregory have joined in helping to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus they’ve got the sought after CWC coaster too.
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So back to today’s episode – We have some great some stories from that momentous day in 1989
Welcome to our Cold War conversation
There’s further information on this episode and other other Berlin Wall episodes in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode90/
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Our interview today is with Iain MacGregor, the author of a new book on Checkpoint Charlie. Weaving together personal testimonies, this book is described as a gripping narrative with vivid interviews with those on all sides whose lives were directly affected by that grim symbol of the East-West divide that poisoned Europe for almost half a century.
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So back to today’s episode – Iain MacGregor tells us about some great stories from the history of Checkpoint Charlie featuring a number of guests from the podcast as well as a number of stories unknown to me.
We welcome Iain Macgregor 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/episode89
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In this episode, we continue Andrej’s story with his sometimes, harrowing memories of how he became a child refugee in West Germany.
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So back to today’s episode – Andrej starts with the gradual building of unrest in East Germany and his family’s dramatic move to West Germany. It’s a sad story in parts, but ultimately you hear of Andrej’s triumph over adversity working for the US Forces in Germany.
We welcome back Andrej to our Cold War conversation…
I do hope you found Andrej’s story interesting. We have further photos and information in our show notes which are at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode88/ or will show as a link in some podcast apps.
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Dr Peter Johnston is the Head of Collections Research and Academic Access at the National Army Museum in London and the author of a lavishly illustrated military and social history of the British forces in Germany during the Cold War.
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So back to today’s episode - James speaks with Peter who provides some great accounts of the experiences of British soldiers Germany.
We welcome Peter to our Cold War conversation…
We have further photos, videos and information on this episode in our show notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode87/
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Andrej's father served with the Soviet Army in Germany. He grew up on a military base and shares his childhood memories as East Germany began to disintegrate.
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So back to you today's episode. Andrej's father was a lieutenant in Signals and Andrej provides a fascinating child's eye view of life on the base and in his East German kindergarten as well as insight into the changing mood of some of the East German population to the Soviets as the GDR began to disintegrate.
Next week they'll be a second episode with Andrej where we hear his experiences as a child refugee in West Germany after the Wall fell. Do make you are subscribed via your favorite podcast app so you don't miss that.
I'm delighted to welcome Andrej to our Cold War Conversation...
I do hope you found Andrej’s story interesting. We have further photos, videos and information in our show notes which are at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode86/ or will show as a link in some podcast apps.
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Balint grew up in Hungary right next to the border with Austria. Part of his family escaped in 1956 and went to Australia. Balint’s grandfather survived 4 years in a Gulag camp.
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Back to today episode, Balint’s home village was a hot spot for escapes being so close to the border. The locals knew the area well and helped many people across for money. He tells that his Dad used to play right next to the fence with his friends often messing with the border guards. They could see tractors in the Austrian side working the fields. One quick note before we start, Balint now lives in Ireland, hence the Irish accent you will hear in the recording.
We welcome Balint to our Cold War conversation…
We have further photos and information in our show notes which are at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode85 or will show as a link in some podcast apps.
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As a restless and adventurous 18-year-old, Richard Humphreys joined the submarine service in 1985 and went on to serve aboard the nuclear deterrent for five years at the end of the Cold War.
Now before we start his story as I’d like to tell you about some of our fans who are helping the podcast financially such as Liam Doyle, Sarah Ampolsk, Philippe Branco, Victor Osprey and Richard Orman. So how do you join this select band? Then sign up to Patreon. For the price of a couple of coffees a month you help to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus you get the sought after CWC coaster too.
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Back to today episode, Richard has just published his book called “Under Pressure” described by historian James Holland as “'An utterly fascinating and wonderfully detailed insight into the hidden - and frequently disorientating and claustrophobic - world of the modern submariner, this richly compelling and hugely entertaining memoir brilliantly conveys the tension, huge responsibility, culture and, of course, humour, of being a crewman on the nuclear deterrent.”
You can have the chance to win a free copy via the information in our show notes here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode84/ The show notes also contains a documentary film of life aboard one of these boats.
We welcome Richard Humphreys to our Cold War conversation.
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Mark Baker was a journalist in Vienna who covered Czechoslovakia during the 1980s. In a wide ranging conversations we discuss the events of 1989 with Mark providing some vivid accounts of his experiences and how events were viewed at the time.
Now as I’m sure you know some of our fans who are helping the podcast financially, so if you’d like to join this select band? Then sign up to Patreon. For the price of a couple of coffees a month you help to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus you get the sought after CWC coaster too.
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Mark is now an independent journalist and travel writer who’s lived in Central Europe for more than two decades. He loves the history, literature, culture, and mystery of this often-overlooked corner of Europe, and makes his living writing articles and guidebooks about the region. Do visit his excellent Eastern Europe Blog which contains a number of Cold War stories here
Visit the show notes here
https://coldwarconversations.com/episode83/
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In 1986 GDR student Antje met a British guy who was installing sewing machines in the hosiery companies in East Germany. Unusually he was given quite a bit of freedom to socialise locally and he eventually asked Antje to marry him. However, with her prospective husband being a citizen of the capitalist West the process was far from simple…
Now talking of the Capitalist West I’m sure you know some of our fans who are helping the podcast monthly via Patreon, so if you’d like to join this select band? Then head over to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ plus you get the sought after CWC coaster too.
Back to today’s episode, Antje describes her early life in the GDR and how romance blossomed between East & West, despite the best efforts of East German bureaucracy to thwart the union. Now the story does have somewhat of a twist towards the end so make sure you keep listening.
If you enjoyed this episode here is the other side of the coin. Genuine laugh out loud moments. "A 22 year old Briton working in East Germany (170)"
We recorded our chat at The Barbican Centre in London, so excuse any background noise, I’m delighted to welcome Antje to Cold War Conversations
Radio GDR
If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.
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As a 24-year-old Kieran Williams was in Moscow staying with Soviet friends when the 1991 Moscow Coup occurred.
He is a Professor at Drake University in the United States and previously he taught for nine years at University College London's School of Slavonic and East European Studies, where he was an associate professor in politics as well as a frequent consultant to the UK Foreign Office. He is a specialist in the politics of Central and Eastern Europe, he has authored or co-authored four books, including a prize-winning account of the 1968 events in Czechoslovakia and a biography of the writer-statesman Václav Havel.
Now as I’m sure you know some of our fans who are helping the podcast financially, so if you’d like to join this select band? Then sign up to Patreon. For the price of a couple of coffees a month you help to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air, plus you get the sought after CWC coaster too.
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Back to today’s episode, Kieran gives a rich eyewitness account of those edgy days with vivid descriptions of what he saw and felt during those tumultuous days.
I’m delighted to welcome Kieran Williams to Cold War Conversations
Do visit our show notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode81 These include Kieran's photos of the Coup and some amazing audio he recorded in the streets of Moscow at the time - well worth a look!
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Col. William "Greg" Gregory served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and saw extensive combat over North Africa and Europe during World War 2.
When the Air Force was created he continued his role as a pilot and eventually became part of the clandestine U-2 spy plane program, rising to the position of squadron commander. It was his squadron that flew many of the spy missions over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
He was later awarded a medal by the CIA for his service, as well as a letter of appreciation by President Kennedy.
However…before we start I have to thank our fans who are helping the podcast financially.
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Today’s episode is brought in conjunction with The Cold War Museum and I’m delighted to welcome Col William Gregory to Cold War Conversations.
It was such an honour to speak to Greg and hear first-hand from someone so deeply involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Thanks again to the Cold War Museum for arranging the conversation.
If you’d like to learn more then head over to our show notes which are at coldwarconversations.com/episode80 or will show as a link in some podcast apps. The show notes also have some videos relating to this
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Today we have James taking the helm again with a fascinating chat with Bridget Kendall, the BBC's Moscow correspondent from 1989 to 1995 when she was witness to the power struggles in the Soviet Communist party as Mikhail Gorbachev tried to introduce reform.
However…before we start I have to thank our fans who are helping the podcast financially.
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So back to today’s episode. I’m delighted to welcome back James and his Cold War Conversation with Bridget Kendall.
If you’d like to learn more and maybe didn’t get a chance to write down those book recommendations then head over to our show notes which are at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode79 or will show as a link in some podcast apps.
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Today we’re at the Wende Museum in Los Angeles at their Watching Socialism exhibition. Organized in collaboration with British-Slovenian media historian Sabina Mihelj and British cultural historian Susan Reid, this exhibition focuses on the impact of Cold War-era television programming in Eastern and Western Europe on private lives.
Now many of our fans are the proud owners of a Cold War Conversations Coaster, a gift from me to thank them for helping the podcast financially.
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So back to today’s episode. I’m delighted to welcome Anna Rose Canzano of the Wende Museum to Cold War Conversations.
If you’d like to learn more and see photos of the Wende museum and exhibition then head over to our show notes which are at coldwarconversations.com/episode78 or will show as a link in some podcast apps. The show notes also have some videos relating to this episode.
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Phil Logan served in the US Army from 1986-1991. He went through infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia was sent to Germany and assigned to the ground defence force for the Pershing II tactical nuclear missiles. He describes in some detail defence tactics including against Special Forces, the Red Army Faction and anti-nuclear demonstrators.
Phil was also there when the INF disarmament treaty was signed and recalls the Soviet inspectors visiting to verify the treaty obligations.
Now many of our fans are the proud owners of a Cold War Conversations Coaster, a gift from me to thank them for helping the podcast financially.
So how do you join this select band? Well for the price of a couple of coffees a month to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air you can get a coaster too.
Just go to Patreon.com/coldwarpod
So back to today’s episode. I’m delighted to welcome Phil Logan to Cold War Conversations.
Check out the videos relating to this episodein our show notes which are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode77/
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Richard Easton is the co-author of GPS Declassified which examines the development of GPS or Sat Nav as some of us call it now, from its secret, Cold War military roots.
Roger Easton, Richard's father, assisted in laying the foundations for the GPS system. However, Roger Easton worked also on the early US space program and Richard vividly describes his childhood when his father was working on the early US satellites.
Visit the show notes here for videos and more information.
Now before we start a special thanks to our select band of supporters who are helping us financially for the price of a cup of coffee a month to cover our increasing costs and keep us on the air. They are the proud owners of a CWC coaster- this years must have household accessory! Click here for more information.
We welcome Richard Easton to Cold War Conversations.
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Today we’re talking to Alison Lewis, a professor in German at the University of Melbourne.
She is the author of several books, including one in German about love and gender in literature during Germany's reunification and a book in German about the Stasi's infiltration of the literary underground. We spoke to Alison in episode 71.
In this episode we talk about her latest collaboration a new book called "Cold War Spy Stories from Eastern Europe."
The book brings together a wide range of accounts compiled from the East German Stasi, the Romanian Securitate, and the Ukrainian KGB files.
Now many of our fans are the proud owners of a Cold War Conversations Coaster, a gift from me to thank them for helping the podcast financially. In July Peter Lawaetz Winkler, Simon Curtis, Remy Louviere, Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker and Thomas Pohlentz joined this select band.
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So back to today’s episode. We recorded in Manchester Central Library so do forgive us for any weird background noises. I’m delighted to welcome Prof Alison Lewis to Cold War Conversations.
Show notes available here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode75/
Buy the book on this link and help support the podcast.
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I’m here today at the RAF Burtonwood Heritage Centre, near Warrington in the UK. Based on what was once the largest and longest-running military airbase in Britain. The Heritage Centre was established to preserve and uphold the history of the men, women and activities that occurred here.
Now many of our fans are the proud owners of a Cold War Conversations Coaster, a gift from me to thank them for helping the podcast financially.
For the price of a cup of coffee a month to cover the show’s increasing costs and keep us on the air you can get a coaster too?
Just go to Patreon.com/coldwarpod
Over 8,500 Americans were based at RAF Burtonwood during WW2 and over 70,000 service personnel served here during its 54-year history until closure in 1993. The heritage centre packs a lot of history in and make sure your listen to my visit to the cockpit of an actual C54 Skymaster as used in the Berlin Airlift – an unforgettable experience.
Back to today’s episode, we welcome John Coterill, the Heritage Centre Manager at RAF Burtonwood to our Cold War Conversation
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Visit the show notes here.
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We speak today with Alistair Coleman who joined BBC Monitoring as a technician in 1989, just in time for the Berlin Wall.
He was on a console night shift at Caversham, on the night of the coup against Soviet Leader Gorbachev in 1991 and describes that night as the highlight of his career at the time.
Thanks to Andrew Adolfson, Rick Mason, Mike Smith, Ade Bryant and Ole Bjørsvik, the latest members of our select band of supporters who are helping us financially for the price of a cup of coffee a month to help keep us on the air. They will shortly be the proud owners of a CWC coaster- don’t you want one too?
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Back to today’s episode, Alistair spent 15 years in short wave radio, radio telegraphy and satellite reception and research, providing the signals for monitors and editors to see foreign media. He tells a fascinating story of how the BBC obtained information about activity behind the Iron Curtain.
We welcome Alistair Coleman to our Cold War Conversation.
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In a world divided by the ideological struggles of the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, more than one-fifth of the people on the planet paused to watch the live transmission of the Apollo 11 mission. To watch as humanity took a giant leap forward exactly 50 years ago.
Now before we start a special thanks to our select band of supporters who are helping us financially for the price of a cup of coffee a month to cover our increasing costs and keep us on the air. They are the proud owners of a CWC coaster- this years must have household accessory! Click here for more information.
Today we speak with Robert Stone an Oscar- and Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and Alan Andres co-authors of the book “Chasing the Moon” companion book to the landmark documentary series on BBC TV, PBS and other channels around the world.
We Welcome Robert Stone and Alan Andres to Cold War Conversations
There’s loads more content including videos, audio and links to the book and documentary in the show notes - just click here.
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In this episode we speak with Dr Alison Lewis is Professor of German in the School of Languages and Linguistics, The University of Melbourne, Australia. She is the a co-author of Cold War Spy Stories from Eastern Europe which is published in August 2019.
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Back to today’s episode Dr Lewis is also author of The Art of Betrayal: Prenzlauer Berg and State Security published in 2003 which is the subject of this episode.
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During the Cold War, six Dutch submarines secretly gathered intelligence about the Soviet Navy. Only a handful of people outside the Royal Netherlands Navy were aware of these operations, as they were not NATO operations.
Thanks to our latest financial supporters Victor Osprey, Joe Collins, Eric Telander and Andrew Tyler who are helping us financially for the price of a cup of coffee or two a month to cover our increasing costs and keep us on the air. They will shortly be the proud owners of a CWC coaster- don’t you want one too? Click here
For the first time, In Deepest Secrecy describes these top-secret deployments in detail. On the basis of interviews and archival research, Jaime Karremann reveals how the Dutch submarines followed, photographed and listened to Soviet ships unnoticed, from the freezing Arctic Ocean to shallow waters near Egypt.
Welcome to Cold War Conversations Jaime Karreman
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We continue the story of Victor Grossman the US Army soldier who defected to East Germany. He tells us of his life in the GDR, his close friendship with Dean Reed “The Red Elvis”, of shortages, his views on Egon Krenz and his first trip back to the US in the 1990s.
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Visit the show notes here.
We welcome Victor Grossman back to Cold War Conversations
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We talk with Vince Houghton – Curator of the International Spy Museum who has just written a new book called “Nuking the Moon & Other Intelligence Schemes & Military Plots left on the Drawing Board"
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Leaving reviews on Itunes also helps so thanks to our latest reviewers Cheeses Word 101, Martini Glass Bob, Zach 1998!, GM0WDD, Balint Kaman, Trilbyhat, Skjip1969, Peteyinmontreal, GDR Objectified
So back to today’s episode, do listen to the end as we talk Cold War Espionage whilst Vince answers my “Quick Fire” questions.
We welcome Vince Houghton to our Cold War Conversation
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Todays episode is different, the interviewer is not me, but one of our listeners who contacted me to help produce content for the podcast. This gave me the idea for a new area of the podcast called “Cold War Contributions” where listeners can send in audio interviews for broadcast on the show. Email me at Ian@coldwarpod.com if you are interested.
If you’d to send us a few quid to help me run the podcast click here. Thank you so much to our latest Supporters
Leaving reviews on Itunes also helps so thanks to our latest reviewers Cheeses Word 101, Martini Glass Bob, Zach 1998!, GM0WDD, Balint Kaman, Trilbyhat, Skjip1969, Peteyinmontreal, GDR Objectified
So back to today's episode. James has been a fan of the show from the start and in this episode he speaks with a work colleague who lived in East Germany. We give a warm welcome to James our latest Cold War Conversations Host….
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Gareth Rubin is an author and journalist and today we’re talking to him about his latest novel, Liberation Square set in a Soviet occupied UK in the 1950s.
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Three lucky listeners will win a copy of Liberation Square. Just join our mailing list here and email me at ian "at" coldwarpod.com with the email title "Liberation Square" and you will go into the draw that will be made at the end of June 2019.
I will email the winner directly for delivery details.
So back to Gareth’s novel, After the disastrous failure of D-Day, Britain is occupied by Nazi Germany, and only rescued by Russian soldiers arriving from the east and Americans from the west. The two superpowers divide the nation between them, a wall running through London like a scar.
We welcome Gareth Rubin to our Cold War Conversation.
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In this episode we visit RAF Upper Heyford for a photography tour for Cold War enthusiasts …
The episode is in three parts, the first is some audio from the tour, followed by an interview with Ric Batson a former member of the USAF 20th Security Police Squadron and tour guide as well as an interview with his wife who is also a tour guide covering some aspects of the challenges of being the British wife of USAF service personnel.
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Todd Anton was arrested by the Stasi while on a day trip to East Berlin and gives a raw and powerful account of his arrest, interrogation and eventual release.
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We welcome Todd Anton to our Cold War Conversation.
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Laurie Hawn is a retired Canadian Member of Parliament and former career fighter pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Laurie tells the story of low level delivery of nuclear weapons via the Starfighter as well as conventional missions. Also we get insight into the escape, evasion and interrogation training given to NATO pilots.
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 our web site 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 you won't want to miss the story of how Laurie got his nickname of "Hawnski".
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In this episode we speak with Dr Becky-Alexis Martin who is a lecturer in Cultural and Political Geography at Manchester Metropolitan University and author of Disarming Doomsday – The Human Impact of Nuclear Weapons since Hiroshima.
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We welcome Dr Becky Alexis-Martin to our Cold War Conversation.
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What could make a privileged 24-year-old American serving in the US Army in Germany in 1952 to swim across the Danube River to what was then referred to as the Soviet Zone?
Victor Grossman who was born Stephen Wechsler but changed his name after defecting to the GDR. A child of the Depression, Grossman grew up in an environment that nurtured a commitment to left-wing causes. He continued his involvement with Communist activities as a student at Harvard in the late 1940s and after graduation, when he took jobs in factories in Buffalo, New York and tried to organize their workers.
After being drafted into the US Army and fearful of his discovery as a communist Grossman ended up in GDR with other Western defectors, He was able to establish himself as a freelance journalist, lecturer and author. Travelling through East Germany he saw the failures as well as the successes of the GDR's "socialist experiment".
While some of you will disagree with Victor's views, his first hand account of his experiences is an important part of Cold War history.
We start my Cold War Conversation with Victor telling us about this early life in the United States.
Episode 2 is here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode69/
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In this episode we speak with Colin Munro who has had an extensive career with the British Diplomatic Service.
Today we speak about his time as Head of Chancery in Bucharest, Romania between 1981 to 1982. He provides a vivid view of a country initiating a policy of total repayment of the foreign debt by imposing austerity that impoverished the population and exhausted the economy.
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Now back to today’s episode where we start with Colin describing his role within the embassy.
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In this episode we speak with Mark Wiegers who travelled on the Trans-Siberian Railway in the late 1980s. His story tells of trouble with officialdom, the unexpected kindness of strangers and the beauty of a Soviet Union on the cusp of major change. Mark has taken a stunning set of photos on his journey which you can view below. I really recommend you take a look via our show notes here.
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Now back to today’s episode where we start with Mark and his friend in East Berlin.
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In this episode we welcome back John Green to talk further about his covert journalism for East Germany.
His story continues with his account of the Portuguese Carnation Revolution and a dangerous assignment to Pinochet’s Chile where he comes face to face with the infamous Dictator.
We join my Cold War Conversation with John Green in Portugal.
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Today we speak to Manuel Alzaga who as a 17 year old joined the US Army in 1981.
Manuel signed up to the artillery and tells his story from life of poverty in Los Angeles through to deployment in West Germany for a Reforger exercise.
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Now back to today’s episode. We start by talking about Manuel’s early life. !
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We speak to 98 year old Gail Halvorsen aka "The Candy Bomber" who flew in the Berlin Airlift in 1948.
The Soviets had started a 11-month land blockade against West Berlin. The blockade was broken by a massive U.S.-British airlift of vital supplies to West Berlin. Gail tells an incredible story of an iconic humanitarian mission at the dawn of the Cold War.
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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. The line wasn’t great, but I felt so honoured to be able to speak with Gail.
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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!
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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
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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.
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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.
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Thank you so much to all our fans that are supporting us – it is really appreciated!
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Now back to today’s episode. We start with Torsten life in the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
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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.
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Now back to today’s episode. We start with László describing his father’s experiences at the end of World War 2.
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No one in 1951 had a business that specialized in or allowed the tattooing of, American children, except for the school systems in Lake County, Indiana and Cache and Rich Counties in Utah...
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…
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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.
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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.
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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.
Please join my Cold War Conversation with Nick Anderson Chasing bears…
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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.
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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/
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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.
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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
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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
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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!
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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
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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.
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Myself and Shane Whaley from the GDR Radio Podcast and Spybrary podcast 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 ...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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/
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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/
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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
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We speak with Doctor Grace Huxford, author of the Korean War in Britain – Citizenship, Selfhood and Forgetting. Grace’s book is available on this link with a 50% discount using discount code PODCAST before 16th Nov 2018.
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.
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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…
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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…
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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 show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
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 donation. 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 web site 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 CarpenterSupport the show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
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/
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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/
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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.
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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”.
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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…
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Now most of you will know my good friend Shane Whaley over at the highly recommended Spybrary podcast who we interviewed in episode 4.
Shane and I have always been intrigued by a video posted in Youtube filmed in the 1980s by a then 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 has 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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!
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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.
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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 show (https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/)
Welcome to episode 5 which is part 2 of our Cold War Conversation with Shane Whaley of Spybrary .
Show notes at coldwarconversations.com/episode5/
We talked for some time ,so I have split this interview into two parts.
I hope you find this second half as interesting as I did – settle in for a wide ranging and hopefully interesting conversation with my good friend Shane Whaley.
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Welcome to episode 4 (part 1) of Cold War Conversations. Today we’re talking about Cold War espionage, East Germany and Berlin with Spybrary host, Shane Whaley.
Shane runs the Spybrary podcast at spybrary.com. Their goal is to encourage people to read new spy novels, revisit an old espionage classic and discuss them with our community of like minded spy fans. It’s great fun if you like spy books I highly recommend his podcast.
Settle in for a wide ranging and hopefully interesting conversation with my good friend Shane Whaley.
We could have gone on for hours and indeed we did, so I have split this interview into two parts
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Welcome to Episode 3 of Cold War Conversations where we hear about the strange world of football in East Germany and even if you are not interested in football it’s a fascinating chat.
Craig McCracken runs the website, Beyondthelastman.com, described as 20th century football writing and nostalgia in a skilled and cultured groove.
One of his areas of interest is football in the GDR and from our conversation you’ll realise he is a fount of knowledge from BSG Rotation Babelsberg to FC Hansa Rostock and all stops between.
We talk about the nefarious activities of Stasi Chief Erich Mielke and his favourite team, and we cover the only competitive game where the GDR played West Germany in the 1974 World Cup. Craig also describes a Stasi chase through the bazaars of Istanbul to stop player defections and a suspicious death of a former GDR player in West Germany.
Show notes are on this link
I’m delighted to welcome Craig McCracken.
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Welcome to Episode 2 of Cold War Conversations where we start with a fascinating eyewitness account of Berlin during the Cold War.
Michael K Ferris lived in Berlin as a child of US Airforce personnel in the 1960s and 70s and then subsequently joined the US Airforce himself and worked in Signals Intelligence during the 1980s.
In a wide ranging chat, we talked about life for American families and their kids in Berlin during the Cold War and also about the challenges of signals intelligence in the heart of East Germany at tail end of the Cold War. We also talked about the Stasi spy in Michael’s unit, Kennedy’s visit to Berlin, Baader Meinhof attacks on US Forces, Soxmis and much more.
Our guest’s unit was described by the Commander in Chief US Airforce Europe as “his eyes and ears to the East.”
See the show notes with lots of extra information at coldwarconversations.com
We welcome Michael K Ferris
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Thank you for downloading this introduction to Cold War Conversations.
The podcast is about recording the personal stories and lesser known aspects of the Cold War.
Many of our stories have never been heard before.
Still not sure? Here are some samples of our previous episodes:
- Episode 136, The Last British Commandant in West Berlin Part 1
- Episode 99, A Cold War Mystery - Death in Ice Valley
- Episode 104, A British Communist Living in East Germany
- Episode 147, A Childhood under the eye of the Secret Police
- Episode 193, Flying the F111 from RAF Lakenheath
Visit our website here for further information. https://coldwarconversations.com/
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