Ralph - Arrested and interrogated by the Stasi (181)

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

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 863 Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2021

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this second part of Ralph Hänel’s story of his life in East Germany. We hear of Ralph’s arrest by the Stasi and subsequent interrogation for 10 months. Ralph describes in some detail the arrest and his early days of imprisonment. He also details the techniques used to try and make him break and the pressure the Stasi also put on his mother. It’s an incredible insight into the workings of the Stasi from someone who was there and I am honoured that Ralph shared this story with us. We also hear about his court case and in the following episode we hear about his time in the Stasi prison in Cottbus which with its dark red brick façade was often referred to as the ‘Red Misery’. I could really use your support to continue the podcast. A simple monthly donation via Patreon, plus as a monthly supporter 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, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show. I am delighted to welcome Ralph 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. Other episodes with Ralph are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode177/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode182/ You can buy Ralph's book here 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 or click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ 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 and Ralph Hänel's encounter with the Stasi (Ministry of State Security) 2:21 Ralph's life in East Germany and his dreams of moving to the West 7:10 Ralph's arrest and interrogation process by the Ministry of State Security 17:45 The roles of the three interrogation officers and their psychological tactics 25:14 The court procedure, sentence, and Ralph's suspicions 28:10 Living conditions in prison and Ralph's relationship with his cellmate 32:11 Ralph's mother's interactions with the Stasi and her constant surveillance 43:32 Ralph's audacious move during his interrogation and the involvement of a Western lawyer 52:18 The sentencing process, the charges, and Ralph's coerced confession 57:17 The 'modern slave trade' of East Germany's political prisoners and Ralph's resilience 59:16 Encouragement to join the Cold War Conversations Facebook group and support the show 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	Doorbell rang, and then we're three young men on the outside, flipped their IDs, the Ministry of State Security.
0:13.0	And we would like you to get rest and come with us just to clarify a few questions.
0:23.2	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:27.6	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts.
0:34.6	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so that you don't miss out on future
0:38.9	episodes. This is the second part of Ralph Hainel's story of his life in East Germany. In this
0:47.8	episode, we hear of Ralph's arrest by the Starzy and subsequent interrogation for 10 months.
0:55.0	Ralph describes in some detail the arrest in his early days of imprisonment
1:00.0	and he also details the techniques used to try to make him break
1:05.0	and the pressure the Starzi put on his mother.
1:08.0	It's an incredible insight into the workings of the Starzy from somebody who was there.
1:15.1	And I'm honoured and humbled that Ralph has shared this story with us.
1:20.9	We also hear about his court case and in the following episode we hear about his time in the
1:26.6	Starzy prison in Cotbus,
1:29.2	which with its dark red brick facade was often referred to as the Red of Misery.
1:36.2	Now, I could really use your support to help me to continue to produce the podcast.
1:43.2	A simple monthly donation via Patreon will really help
1:48.4	and you will get the sought after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster as a thank you
1:53.5	and bask in the warm glow of knowing that you're helping to preserve Cold War history.
2:00.4	Still not sure? Listen to one of our
2:02.6	patrons tell you why they donated to the podcast. Hi, I'm Sue Norton and I live in Dublin, Ireland.
	...

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