Radio GDR

Welcome to Radio GDR! We are a history podcast dedicated to preserving the life and times of East Germany. Please check out our episodes and leave us a review!

Recent Episodes

The Three Monkeys - Part 2 of my conversation with Herta Peter
2
Dec. 14, 2024

The Three Monkeys - Part 2 of my conversation with Herta Peter

Hello Radio GDR listeners! I am so pleased to bring you the second episode of two with my new friend Herta Peter. My favorite thing about doing this podcast is hearing stories from those of you who lived in the GDR. Your stories are always extremely compelling, and we welcome them with open arms. History deserves to be preserved, and Radio GDR has been here to do it. Herta was born in Halle in 1981. While she was only 8 when the wall fell, her memories of her childhood in the GDR to two parents
How the Grey Disappeared from Greyland - Part 1 of my conversation with Herta Peter
1
March 23, 2024

How the Grey Disappeared from Greyland - Part 1 of my conversation with Herta Peter

Hello Radio GDR listeners! I am so pleased to bring you the first episode of two with my new friend Herta Peter. My favorite thing about doing this podcast is hearing stories from those of you who lived in the GDR. Your stories are always extremely...
Special Announcement - new website (radiogdrpodcast.com) and season 4 is coming!
1
Oct. 14, 2023

Special Announcement - new website (radiogdrpodcast.com) and season 4 is coming!

Hello everyone! Season 4 is coming! We also have a new domain this season - . Please do visit us soon to tell us your GDR story! I'll be updating show notes across old episodes so you can the same great content at our new website. Season 4 is coming!...
Attila The Stockbroker
21
July 17, 2023

Attila The Stockbroker

In this episode John Paul Kleiner ( GDR Objectified blog ) speaks with Attila the Stockbroker , an English poet, musician and songwriter with roots in the punk movement and socialist politics. During his forty year career as independent artist, Attila has produced numerous albums and books and performed more than 3,800 shows including many in the GDR and, after unification, eastern Germany. In this conversation, Attila vividly recalls his visits to the East, the people whom he met there and aspe
Taking Stock with Victor Grossman, Part II: Why The GDR Failed
20
April 8, 2023

Taking Stock with Victor Grossman, Part II: Why The GDR Failed

In 1952, a 24-year old American soldier defected to the Eastern Bloc in order to avoid a US Army disciplinary hearing and what he feared would be draconian punishment for his involvement in socialist and communist politics in the United States. This decision put his life on an entirely new trajectory, one that left him with a new name, Victor Grossman, and left him in the then young German Democratic Republic, a country that became his home for the remaining 37+ years of his existence. A committ
Berliners: Vesper Stamper's tale of twins divided by the Berlin Wall and thoughts on viewing the Cold War through historical fiction
19
March 5, 2023

Berliners: Vesper Stamper's tale of twins divided by the Berlin Wall and thoughts on viewing the Cold War through historical fiction

I am truly honored to be joined today by author and illustrator Vesper Stamper who in 2022 published Berliners, a historical fiction about two twin brothers, Rudi and Peter, who end up divided by their views of the GDR and then, quite literally, by the Berlin Wall. This is a must read, guys. Listen as we talk to Vesper about how the theme of "history rhymes" inspired this book, how the characters reckon with Judaism, race and their Nazi pasts and how each twin develops opposing views of the GDR