Today we talk with Samy who as a native West Berliner describes growing up in the city during the 1970s and 80s. He describes in detail the difference between West Berlin and West Germany, including its position as a “special political entity”, how the death penalty in West Berlin was only abolished in 1989 and how as a child he was obsessed with Spy movies, spy books, and Cold War activities. Samy also talks about the battle between the East and West German Sandmännchen resulting in victory for the East. Samy joined the Red Cross post Cold War but discovered some interesting remnants of preparedness in case of another Berlin blockade including some top secret locations. There's loads of extra content available in our show notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode34/  Support the project! <a href="https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/">https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/</a>Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod">https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod</a>Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/">https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/</a>Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/">https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/</a>Youtube <a href="https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations">https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

Today we talk with Samy who as a native West Berliner describes growing up in the city during the 1970s and 80s. He describes in detail the difference between West Berlin and West Germany, including its position as a “special political entity”, how the death penalty in West Berlin was only abolished in 1989 and how as a child he was obsessed with Spy movies, spy books, and Cold War activities. Samy also talks about the battle between the East and West German Sandmännchen resulting in victory for the East. Samy joined the Red Cross post Cold War but discovered some interesting remnants of preparedness in case of another Berlin blockade including some top secret locations. There's loads of extra content available in our show notes at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode34/ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/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 podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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/&nbsp; Support the project! <a href="https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/</a>Follow us on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod</a>Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/</a>Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/</a>Youtube <a href="https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations</a> Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices" rel="noopener noreferrer">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

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

Experience the Cold War like never before  with Cold War Conversations — an award-winning podcast recommended by The New York Times.



Each week, host Ian Sanders brings you raw, firsthand accounts from the people who lived through one of history’s most tense and transformative eras — soldiers, spies, civilians, and more.



These aren’t stories from textbooks. They’re unfiltered voices from the frontlines of history — emotional, gripping, and deeply human.



This is Cold War history, told from the inside out.



We cover subjects such as spies, spying, the Iron Curtain, nuclear weapons, warfare, tanks, jet aircraft, fighters, bombers, transport aircraft, aviation, culture, and politics.



We also cover personalities such as Fidel Castro, JFK, Ronald Reagan, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Mikhail Gorbachev, Konstantin Chernenko, Margaret Thatcher, John F. Kennedy, Josef Stalin, Richard Nixon, Lech Walesa, General Jaruzelski, Nicolae Ceaușescu.



Other subjects include Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, West Berlin, East Berlin, Cuban missile Crisis, Berlin Airlift, Bay of Pigs, SALT, Perestroika, Space Race, superpower, USSR, Soviet Union, DDR, GDR, East Germany, SDI, Vietnam War, Korean War, Solidarność, Fall of the Wall, Berliner Mauer, Trabant, Communist, Capitalist, Able Archer, KGB, Stasi, STB, SB, Securitate, CIA, NSA, MI5, MI6, Berlin Wall, escape, defection, Cuba, Albania, football, sport, Bulgaria, Soviet Union, Poland, China, Taiwan, Austria, West Germany, Solidarity, espionage, HUMINT, SIGINT, OSINT, IMINT, GEOINT, RAF, USAF, British Army, US Army, Red Army, Soviet Army, Afghanistan, NVA, East German Army, KAL007, T-72, T-64, Chieftain, M60



The podcast is for military veterans, school teachers, university lecturers, students and those interested in Cold War history, museums, bunkers, weapons, AFVs, wargamers, planes, A Level, GCSE students studying Superpower Relations and the Cold War.

Society & Culture

Documentary

History

Experience the Cold War like never before with Cold War Conversations — an award-winning podcast recommended by The New York Times. Each week, host Ian Sanders brings you raw, firsthand accounts from the people who lived through one of history’s most tense and transformative eras — soldiers, spies, civilians, and more. These aren’t stories from textbooks. They’re unfiltered voices from the frontlines of history — emotional, gripping, and deeply human. This is Cold War history, told from the inside out. We cover subjects such as spies, spying, the Iron Curtain, nuclear weapons, warfare, tanks, jet aircraft, fighters, bombers, transport aircraft, aviation, culture, and politics. We also cover personalities such as Fidel Castro, JFK, Ronald Reagan, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Mikhail Gorbachev, Konstantin Chernenko, Margaret Thatcher, John F. Kennedy, Josef Stalin, Richard Nixon, Lech Walesa, General Jaruzelski, Nicolae Ceaușescu. Other subjects include Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, West Berlin, East Berlin, Cuban missile Crisis, Berlin Airlift, Bay of Pigs, SALT, Perestroika, Space Race, superpower, USSR, Soviet Union, DDR, GDR, East Germany, SDI, Vietnam War, Korean War, Solidarność, Fall of the Wall, Berliner Mauer, Trabant, Communist, Capitalist, Able Archer, KGB, Stasi, STB, SB, Securitate, CIA, NSA, MI5, MI6, Berlin Wall, escape, defection, Cuba, Albania, football, sport, Bulgaria, Soviet Union, Poland, China, Taiwan, Austria, West Germany, Solidarity, espionage, HUMINT, SIGINT, OSINT, IMINT, GEOINT, RAF, USAF, British Army, US Army, Red Army, Soviet Army, Afghanistan, NVA, East German Army, KAL007, T-72, T-64, Chieftain, M60 The podcast is for military veterans, school teachers, university lecturers, students and those interested in Cold War history, museums, bunkers, weapons, AFVs, wargamers, planes, A Level, GCSE students studying Superpower Relations and the Cold War.

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

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

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