logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2023
1h 6m

322: East Germany: Life Behind the Iron ...

Goalhanger
About this episode
The German Democratic Republic was born in the ashes of the Second World War, and described itself as a socialist “workers’ and peasants’ state”. The country struggled for much of the latter half of the 20th century, relying on economic support and political backing from the USSR, until its dissolution in 1990. But what was life like for the average East Ger ... Show More
Up next
Yesterday
692. Elizabeth I vs The Catholics: A Massacre in Paris (Part 2)
What inspired the deadliest bloodbath of the Tudor age: the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of 1572, in which protestants were slaughtered en masse? How did it drive Elizabeth I’s spy master, Francis Walsingham, to repress all treasonous activity in her realm? And, what terrible tr ... Show More
1h 11m
Jul 26
691. Elizabeth I vs The Catholics: The Queen’s Spymaster (Part 1)
How did Elizabeth I rule England? Why was she constantly in mortal peril in 1569? Who was Sir William Cecil, and why was he so crucial to her reign? And, how did his network of spies keep her alive, and England uninvaded…? Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the secret war ragin ... Show More
1h 12m
Jul 22
690. A Murderous Affair: Death at Mayerling (Part 2)
What really happened at the Habsburgian hunting lodge, Mayerling? Did Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress, Baroness Mary Vetsera, really commit a romantic murder suicide, or did the heir cold-heartedly murder the 17 year old girl? And, why did the Austrian royal family try to er ... Show More
1h 19m
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Beyond the Wall: What Life Was Really Like in East Germany
When the Iron Curtain fell in 1990, East Germany ceased to be. For over forty years, from the ruin of the Second World War to the cusp of a new millennium, the German Democratic Republic presented a radically different Germany than what had come before and what exists today. Soci ... Show More
43m 10s
May 2023
Living Behind the Iron Curtain
This week David talks to Katja Hoyer and Lea Ypi about life under communism. East Germany was the most successful of the communist states of Eastern Europe, measured by economic prosperity and sporting success. Did the GDR ever really offer a model of how Soviet-style communism c ... Show More
56m 31s
Aug 2023
East Germany Re-Examined: Why Its Legacy of Socialism & Anti-Imperialism Still Matters
tail spinning
29m 36s
Feb 2024
#62 The Stasi in East Germany
📖 Episode Transcripts in Link Below ⬇️ Today, we delve into the history of the Stasi, the Ministry for State Security of the GDR, which from 1950 to 1990 stood as one of the most effective and repressive secret police forces in history. https://patreon.com/HistoryinSlowGerman?ut ... Show More
4m 48s
Nov 2023
Post-War Germany
Re-invention and moral struggles are at the heart of the story of post-war Germany traced by Frank Trentmann in his new book Out of the Darkness. Anne McElvoy talks to him, to Thomas Meaney the new editor of Granta who is bringing out an edition called Deutschland, to journalist ... Show More
44m 58s
Jun 2025
261. Race To Berlin 1945: A Devastated City Divided (Ep 1)
What was life like in Berlin in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War? Why did the Red Army steal taps from Berlin houses when they reached the city? Was the famous photo of the red flag on the Reichstag staged or authentic? Anita and William are joined by Giles Milton, ... Show More
58m 23s
Aug 2021
365. Potsdam and the looting of Berlin
In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War as the situation in Germany deteriorated dangerously the Allies faced off in their attempt to divide up Europe. Author Giles Milton joins Al Murray and James Holland to discuss Potsdam and the personalities who oversaw the new Be ... Show More
48m 41s
Nov 2014
The Fall of the Berlin Wall
It had been one of the enduring icons of the Cold War. It had divided East Berlin from West Berlin; and socialism from capitalism. But on 9 November, 1989, after weeks of anti-Communist protests across East Germany, that all changed. Hear from two East Germans - Aram Radomski and ... Show More
9m 1s
Nov 2021
Living through the fall of communism
Professor Lea Ypi reflects on her childhood years, which witnessed the final years of communism in Albania and the fraught transition to capitalist democracy. In conversation with Rob Attar, she also considers what these experiences have taught her about the true nature of freedo ... Show More
49m 36s
Oct 2022
Berlin’s turbulent 20th century
Sinclair McKay traces the history of the German city through the lives of its inhabitants, and how they weathered the tumult of the 20th century – from the wild hedonism of the Weimar years cut short by Nazism, to the fall of the famed wall that divided East and West. (Ad) Sin ... Show More
51m 10s