Deputy Head of UK Mission in East Berlin - Part 2 (155)

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

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 26 December 2020

⏱️ 45 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Colin Munro who was the British Deputy Head of Mission in East Berlin from 1987 to 1990. In this episode we move to the monumental events of 1989 as the GDR was wrought by internal protest prior to the opening of the Wall in Berlin. It’s a fascinating account of Colin’s contacts who were giving him insights into the eventual fall of the GDR. 0:00 Introduction and Colin Munro's views on Brezhnev 1:50 Sponsor: Listener Donations Appeal 2:28 Political situation in East Germany in 1989 10:01 Soviet embassy's uncertainty about orders to Soviet forces in East Germany 19:12 Colin Munro's personal experience during the opening of the Berlin Wall 22:30 UK government's position on German unification 30:02 The economic collapse of East Germany and the decision for a currency union 32:37 The 2+4 negotiations for German unification 35:20 The end of the Cold War and Thatcher's political career 40:27 Closing remarks and acknowledgments Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Do you know how much $3 USD is in Pounds? It’s 76 pence which equals about 20p or 75c per episode if you sign up as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast. Higher amounts are welcome too. It’s very straightforward and you can stop whenever you want. Plus monthly supporters get the sought after CWC coaster too! Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ Thank you so much to our generous supporters who help keep us on the air. If that’s not your cup of tea then leave a written reviews in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help the podcast grow. In today’s episode, Colin tells of translating for Margaret Thatcher during a phone call with Helmut Kohl, UK imports from the GDR and of a drunken Harry Tisch, the East German Trade Union leader. We welcome Colin 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/episode155/ If you like what you are hearing, please leave reviews in Apple podcasts and share us on social media. 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. Thankyou very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye. 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

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.8	He thought that Brezhnev had been a dangerous liberal.
0:08.9	He was a tough guy, was Kochamassov, although personally he was quite pleasant.
0:15.7	Welcome to Cold War Conversations.
0:21.4	Mr Gorbachev tear down this wall.
0:29.9	Phyllis,
0:30.6	two, seven,
0:32.6	one,
0:33.4	six,
0:35.3	six,
0:35.7	nine,
0:36.5	eight, eight, three.6.6.O.E. 8. 8.3.
0:40.3	This is Radio Star Czechoslovakia.
0:46.3	The legitimate choice of occupied Czechoslovakia.
0:51.3	And I'm here to host this final program from the German Democratic Republic for you.
1:00.0	This is part two of our conversation with Colin Monroe, who was the British deputy head of mission in East Berlin from 1987 to 1990. In this episode we moved to the monumental events of
1:15.0	1989 as the GDR was wrought by internal protest prior to the opening of the wall in Berlin.
1:22.6	It's a fascinating account of Colin's contacts who were giving him insights into the eventual fall of the GDR.
1:30.7	Now, I could really use your support to help me to continue to produce these podcasts.
1:36.7	A monthly donation of $4, $3 or 3 euros via Patreon will really help.
1:43.8	And you will get the sought- after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster
1:47.9	as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing that you are helping to preserve
	...

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