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.   

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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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0:00 Introduction and toast anecdote

0:50 Interview with Chris Summers about his work with Detexamat in East Germany

15:39 Experiencing nightlife in East Germany

20:26 Independent tourism during the Cold War

26:31 Installing equipment and training locals in East Germany

38:59 Chris Summers' work experiences in Poland and Russia

45:57 Experiences in Soviet factories and Georgian culture

49:09 Unique experiences and restrictions in the Soviet Union

54:45 Chris Summers' work in Czechoslovakia

56:33 Tim's wedding and Ancher's arrival in the UK

59:36 Wrap up and donation information

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