Cold War Conversations

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 Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Face

Welcome to the first full episode of Cold War Conversations where we start with a fascinating eyewitness account of Berlin during the Cold War.  Michael 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 1960s and 70s as well as his time in signals intelligence in Berlin in the 1980s. We also talked about the Stasi spy in Michael’s unit, Kennedy’s visit to Berlin, Baader Meinhof attacks on US Forces, 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 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

Experience the Cold War through the voices of the people who were there.  From soldiers to spies and civilians there are hundreds of unique stories told with humour, sadness, and all the emotions in between.  Listen at coldwarconversations.com or search Cold War Conversations in your podcast app. Still not sure? Here are some excerpts from 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 Cold War Conversations is a unique award-winning project dedicated to creating an archive of first-hand accounts of the Cold War. Many of our stories have never been heard before. Visit our website here for further information. https://coldwarconversations.com/ Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/c