A Cold War US Soldier defects to East Germany (61)

A Cold War US Soldier defects to East Germany (61)

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

Jaksot(449)

The Cold War Origins of the War in Ukraine (410)

The Cold War Origins of the War in Ukraine (410)

The legacy of the Cold War in Europe continues to impact present day events, most notably in Ukraine. In this episode I speak with author Stephan Kieninger about his new book Securing Peace in Euro...

4 Heinä 202555min

The End of  East Germany: A Communist Family’s Journey Through Change (409)

The End of East Germany: A Communist Family’s Journey Through Change (409)

This is the story of a Communist family in East Germany whose world was turned upside down by the implosion of the GDR. The story is told by Katja Hesse, whose father was a Vice Admiral in the Volk...

27 Kesä 20251h 4min

The Spy in the KGB  Archive (408)

The Spy in the KGB Archive (408)

The story of how one man—a librarian for the KGB—became a traitor to the intelligence agency, stealing the most prized Soviet-era archives and smuggling them to the West. Historian and journalist Gor...

20 Kesä 202557min

Memories of an East German Naval Officer's Family (407)

Memories of an East German Naval Officer's Family (407)

Katja Hesse, daughter of Vice Admiral Gustav Hesse of the East German Navy, shares her deeply personal story of growing up behind the Iron Curtain. In this fascinating conversation, Katja provides...

13 Kesä 20251h 13min

Gorbachev - The Man Who Ended An Empire (406)

Gorbachev - The Man Who Ended An Empire (406)

In the annals of history, few leaders have faced the monumental challenges that Mikhail Gorbachev encountered when he rose to power in the Soviet Union in 1985. His ascent came at a time when the na...

6 Kesä 20251h 8min

Policing the Berlin Wall with the Royal Military Police (405)

Policing the Berlin Wall with the Royal Military Police (405)

Simon Wood served in the British Army’s Royal Military Police in Berlin during the1980s. He describes the unique challenges he faced patrolling the Berlin Wall and policing British troops in the divid...

30 Touko 20251h 22min

"The aircraft exploded and the cockpit filled with fire" - Korean skies to the brutal Vietnam War (404)

"The aircraft exploded and the cockpit filled with fire" - Korean skies to the brutal Vietnam War (404)

Colonel Robert J. Graham, USAF (Ret.), was more than a fighter pilot—he was a leader, a warrior, and a witness to one of the most complex conflicts in modern history. From the chaotic early days of gu...

23 Touko 20251h 26min

Childhood Memories of the 1989 Romanian Revolution (403)

Childhood Memories of the 1989 Romanian Revolution (403)

Traian grew up in Romania during the tumultuous 1980s under the shadow of the communist regime of Nicolae Ceaușescu. We learn about the harsh realities of life under communism, where shortages of ba...

16 Touko 20251h 1min

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