Drea - A Cold War Czechoslovak childhood (187)

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

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 9 July 2021

⏱️ 53 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Drea Hahn was born in Czechoslovakia in 1980 in Teplice. Her mother was a secretary and her father was an engineer but refused to join the communist party and this was a source of tension in Drea’s family. She was partly raised by her grandparents and her grandmother shared stories about growing up in “the Protectorate”, the name given to the area of Czechoslovakia occupied by the Germans in World War 2. Drea tells of a typical Czech childhood – her school friends, fond memories of school trips, and summers at their chata (country house). A more sinister side of life was getting in trouble for being a chatty kid and being cautioned with the phrase “walls have ears”. Extra info, and videos are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode187/ If you are enjoying the podcast please leave a written review in Apple podcasts or share us on social media. By telling your friends you can really help us grow the number of listeners. Now I need help to continue to track down these unknown stories of the Cold war and ensure they are preserved. If you can spare it I’m asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air (larger amounts are welcome too) plus you get a sought after CWC coaster as a monthly financial supporter of the podcast and bask in the warm glow of knowing you helping preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ I am delighted to welcome Drea Hahn to our Cold War conversation… If you can’t wait for next week’s episode, visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook. 0:00 Introduction to the episode and guest Drea Hahn 0:47 Request for listener support 2:29 Drea's fascination with everyday history and her decision to share her experiences 7:54 Drea's family background during World War 2 15:14 The presence and regulation of religion in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War 17:47 The impact of socialism and communism on daily life 21:35 Misconceptions about the isolation of the Eastern Bloc 30:56 Drea's parents' wedding and her birth 33:29 Ideological teachings in school and the fear of non-conformity 38:16 Travel restrictions and permits within Eastern Bloc countries 44:13 Membership in the Communist Party and the associated documentation 47:50 Teaser for the next episode 48:26 Acknowledging the supporters and patrons of the podcast Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ 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	If I was being a little too loud, my grandparents would say, the walls have ears.
0:10.6	Don't blab our business everywhere.
0:14.8	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:19.8	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War
0:24.9	History accounts.
0:26.6	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so that you don't miss out on future episodes.
0:33.3	Drea Hahn was born in Czechoslovakia in 1980.
0:37.3	Her mother was a secretary and her father was an engineer but refused to join the Communist Party
0:42.3	and this was a source of tension in Drea's family.
0:46.3	She was partly raised by her grandparents and her grandmother shared stories about growing up in the Protectorate,
0:53.3	the name given to the area of Czechoslovakia
0:55.6	occupied by the Germans in World War II. Drea tells of a typical Czech childhood,
1:01.8	her school friends, fond memories of school trips and summers at their country house.
1:08.3	However, a more sinister side of life was getting in trouble for being chatty and being
1:13.7	cautioned with the phrase, walls have ears. Now, I could really do with your help to continue to track down
1:22.6	these unknown stories of the Cold War and ensure that they are preserved.
1:33.1	If you can spare it, I'm asking listeners to pledge a small monthly amount per month to help keep us on the air, although larger amounts are welcome to.
1:36.4	Plus, you get the Cold War Conversations drinks coaster as a monthly supporter and you
1:42.6	bask in the warm glow of knowing that you're helping to preserve
1:46.6	Cold War history.
1:48.1	Hi, I'm Andrew and I'm very proud to support Cold War Conversations with a small donation
	...

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