Philippe - A French soldier in Cold War Berlin (189)

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

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 23 July 2021

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The French Forces in Berlin were the units of the French Armed Forces stationed from 1945 until the end of the Cold War-era in West Berlin according to the agreements of the Yalta Conference and Potsdam Conference. The troops were the French counterparts to the United States' Berlin Brigade and the United Kingdom's Berlin Infantry Brigade in the city. Philippe was stationed in Berlin from 1972 to 1973 with the French army for his military service. He did not volunteer and was not too happy at first, but started enjoying life outside of the “Quartier Napoleon” as it was called, near the Tegel airport. His role was in Signals intelligence and during the day he listened to FM radio transmissions of the East German Army as well as the Soviets (GFSA). If you are enjoying the podcast, you can help me to keep producing these episodes by a small monthly donation via Patreon, plus you will get the sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping to preserve Cold War history. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us and sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show. I am delighted to welcome Philippe to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode189/ 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 and Philippe's experience in Berlin 4:58 Philippe's training and move to Landau 13:43 Philippe's posting to Berlin and initial impressions 18:15 French counterintelligence's investigation into Philippe's relationship 22:35 The French sector in Berlin and tensions with American interests 28:42 French military lifestyle in Berlin 33:53 Attitude of Berlin locals towards foreign soldiers 38:39 Sightseeing and political discussions in East Berlin 46:30 Leaving Berlin and life after service 50:31 Communication and encryption methods during the Cold War 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.
0:05.7	But then she told me about her husband that he was a champion in karate.
0:10.9	So I said, whoa, gee, you make sure that you let me know when he's visiting Berlin.
0:19.6	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:26.1	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War
0:31.3	history accounts.
0:33.0	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so that you don't miss out on future episodes.
0:39.0	The French forces in Berlin were the units of the French armed forces stationed since
0:44.7	1945 until the end of the Cold War in West Berlin, according to the agreements of the Yalta
0:52.2	and Potsdam conferences.
0:58.8	The troops were the French counterparts to the United States Berlin Brigade and the UK's Berlin Infantry Brigade in the city.
1:04.6	Philippe was stationed in Berlin between 1972 and 1973.
1:10.6	He did not volunteer, he was conscripted and wasn't too happy at first,
1:15.6	but started enjoying life outside of the Quartier-Napolion, as it was called near Tegel Airport.
1:23.7	His role was in Signal's intelligence, and during the day he listened to FM radio transmissions of the East German Army as well as the Soviets.
1:32.7	If you're enjoying the podcast, you can help me to keep producing these episodes by a small monthly donation via Patreon.
1:41.5	You will get the sought-after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster as a thank you,
1:46.7	and you bask in the warm glow of knowing that you are helping me to preserve Cold War history.
1:52.6	But don't take my word for it. Here's Andrew Hawls, one of our listeners.
1:57.2	Hi, I'm Andrew, and I'm very proud to support Cold War conversations with a small donation each month
2:02.7	because Ian's put together such a brilliant range of interviews. If you want high power,
2:07.5	there's the son of Nikita Khrushchev, cross-border romances, old-fashioned spy stories and the bizarre world of East European football.
	...

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