Growing up on a Soviet base in East Germany (86)

Andrej's father served with the Soviet Army in Germany. He grew up on a military base and shares his childhood memories as East Germany began to disintegrate. So would you like one of those Cold War Conversations coasters you keep hearing me talk about? Well it's easy, just sign up to https://www.patreon.com/coldwarpod and for the price of a couple of coffees a month you'll be helping to cover the costs of the show and keep us on the air plus you get that sought after coaster of to you just go to Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ So back to you today's episode. Andrej's father was a lieutenant in Signals and Andrej provides a fascinating child's eye view of life on the base and in his East German kindergarten as well as insight into the changing mood of some of the East German population to the Soviets as the GDR began to disintegrate. Next week they'll be a second episode with Andrej where we hear his experiences as a child refugee in West Germany after the Wall fell. Do make you are subscribed via your favorite podcast app so you don't miss that. I'm delighted to welcome Andrej to our Cold War Conversation... I do hope you found Andrej’s story interesting. We have further photos, videos and information in our show notes which are at https://coldwarconversations.com/episode86/ or will show as a link in some podcast apps.  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

Om Podcasten

Experience the Cold War like never before through award-winning, real-life stories told by those who lived it. Each week, we bring you firsthand accounts from soldiers, spies, civilians, and more, capturing the full spectrum of Cold War experiences. Host Ian Sanders takes you beyond the history books, delivering raw, personal stories where every breath, pause, and emotion adds depth to understanding this pivotal era. This is Cold War history, told from the inside. 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, wargaming, planes, A Level, GCSE students studying Superpower Relations and the Cold War.