Cold War Conversations

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.

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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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Shane Whaley from the GDR Radio Podcast and Spybrary podcast and I speak with Peter Millar. Peter is an award-winning journalist who was named Foreign Correspondent of the Year for his reporting on the dying days of the Cold War. 

Peter's book "The Berlin Wall: My Part in its Downfall" is described as "a witty, wry, elegiac account of his time as a Reuters and Sunday Times correspondent in Berlin throughout most of the 1980s' " by The Spectator and the Sunday Times described it as" part autobiography, part history primer and part Fleet Street gossip column ... 

Millar cast aside the old chestnuts and set about reporting on the reality of life under communism. In bare Stalinist apartments, at hollow party events and over cool glasses of Volker the gravedigger-cum-hippie, the Stasi seductress "Helga the Honeypot", Kurtl the accordion player whose father had been killed at Stalingrad, and the petty smuggler Manne who has been separated from his parents by the Wall ...

Radio GDR

If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.

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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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