1962 Berlin fiction - author interview (144)

Cold War Conversations - "vivid & compelling" The NY Times

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2020

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this bonus episode, we talk again with Paul Grant, author of "Coercion" the fourth book about the Schultz family who live in Berlin. His books are set at the end of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War. Coercion is set in 1962 against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall while it is still barbed wire and a fragile wall. Escape attempts are frequent and these attempts are the major theme of Paul’s latest book. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to contribute at least $3 USD per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you can get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and you bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Co-host James conducts our chat and I am delighted to welcome Paul Grant to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information on this episode in our show notes, which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode144/ If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook. Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye. Help Support the podcast by shopping at Amazon. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bestsellers/books/12447630031/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_books&tag=cwcp-21 Help support the podcast with a CWC mug or maybe a t-shirt? https://www.redbubble.com/people/Coldwarpod/shop?asc=u 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 0:00 Introduction of guest, Paul Grant, and his book "Coercion" 2:06 Sponsor: Call for financial support and podcast merchandise promotion 6:44 The state of Berlin in 1962 as a book setting and the Berlin Wall 15:02 The role of West Berlin Police and the American Allies 18:50 Real-life stories from the Cold War period 21:23 Introduction to the characters and plot of "Coercion" 28:12 Research methods and the importance of historical accuracy in historical fiction 34:54 Exploration of the legitimacy of the DDR in the early 1960s 40:16 Germany's approach to dealing with its Cold War past 48:22 Upcoming projects from Paul Grant 52:28 Acknowledgement of the podcast's financial supporters Chapters powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.9	Timothy Shalame is Bob Dylan and a complete unknown.
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0:19.1	Shalemay is a revelation.
0:21.7	What do you want to be? Whatever it it is they don't want me to be
0:23.4	now nominated for the golden globes for best picture
0:26.1	best actor and best supporting actor Edward Norton
0:28.6	a complete unknown
0:30.4	ladies and gentlemen
0:31.2	bob bill
0:32.2	in cinemas january 17
0:34.0	rated 15
0:35.3	you may have a diversionary tactic of 20 youth on the other side of the wall, throwing stones
0:40.3	over while somebody throws a ladder against the wall and jumps it.
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0:55.1	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app or join our emailing list at Cold Warconversations.com.
1:03.8	In this episode, we talk again with Paul Grant, the author of Coercion, the fourth book about the Schultz family who live in Berlin.
1:16.4	His books are set at the end of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War.
1:21.4	Coercion is set in 1962 against the backdrop of the Berlin Wall, and while it is still barbed wire and a fragile wall, escape attempts are frequent, and these attempts are the major theme of Paul's latest book.
1:38.0	If you can spare it, I'm asking you to contribute at least three US dollars per month to help keep us on the air.
	...

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