meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
The Audio Long Read

Nazi or KGB agent? My search for my grandfather’s hidden past

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.32.4K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2022

⏱️ 44 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

When my Latvian grandfather disappeared in 1949, my grandmother already knew he had been a member of a notorious Nazi brigade. But then a pension cheque arrived from the Soviet security agency. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is the Guardian.

0:10.8

Hi, my name is Jocelyn Thompson-Roll.

0:12.7

I'm a peloton instructor and I teach running and bootcamp classes on the peloton tread.

0:17.0

Don't get caught up in the amount of time that you have to spend doing something.

0:20.1

You don't need to do 30 minutes or 60 minutes for it to count.

0:23.1

Five minutes can make a big difference, even like a simple walk or a stretch or something

0:27.8

just to get you started. Start small and don't short-change yourself.

0:31.7

The Guardian Labs has partnered with peloton to help you find motivation that moves you.

0:36.4

To find out more, visit thegardian.com-forward-slash-motivationwith-peloton.

0:40.8

This message was paid for by peloton.

0:48.0

Welcome to the Guardian Longread, showcasing the best long-form journalism covering culture,

0:52.8

politics and new thinking. For the text version of this and all our long reads,

0:56.8

go to thegardian.com-forward-slash-long-read.

1:03.2

Nazi or KGB agent. My search for my grandfather's hidden past

1:09.2

by Linda Kinsler.

1:14.4

The photograph was probably taken not long before my grandfather disappeared.

1:19.3

The edge is uneven. Someone or something has been clipped from the picture.

1:24.5

What remains is an image barely more than an inch wide, just large enough to capture my grandfather's face and profile.

1:33.5

His hair is slicked back. His eyes squint into the sun. His lips are perched.

1:40.6

My father tells me it is one of the few images he has of his father, whose name is Boris.

1:46.8

He warns me that in it, my grandfather looks Gestapo-like.

1:53.2

Boris wears a long black leather jacket. He is seated on the grass in what looks to be someone's

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Guardian, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Guardian and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.