S8 Ep843: Ian Buruma discusses his book Stay Alive, focusing on his father Leo's 1943 decision to enter mandatory labor in a Berlin factory to protect his parents from Nazi retaliation. The narrative explores Berlin's transition from a striving capital into a city
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 8 May 2026
⏱️ 11 minutes
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Summary
1944 BERLIN
Transcript
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| 1:12.8 | For full terms, visit, 1939 to 1945. |
| 1:41.0 | It is a story that, no matter how many times I have read it, I'm always amazed at new details. |
| 1:47.9 | And the professor takes me to Berlin at the beginning of the war and right through the last moments |
| 1:53.9 | when the people of Berlin are left to the mercies or not of the Russian army. |
| 2:00.8 | However, I choose that as seen in the professor's book that takes place in |
| 2:07.0 | 1943 to begin because it's about his dad, his father, Leo, on a train platform in |
| 2:13.3 | Naimogen, which is a beautiful Dutch city that was part of Operation Market Garden. |
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