Witness to the Eastern Bloc revolutions of the 1980s with Professor Timothy Garton Ash (158)

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

Ian Sanders

History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.8 • 865 Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2021

⏱️ 73 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Professor Timothy Garton Ash is a British historian, author, commentator and Professor of European Studies at Oxford University. Professor Garton Ash witnessed some of the most critical moments in the Eastern Bloc during the 1980s as these populations threw off Communist rule. He provides us with vivid details of his time in East Germany, Gdansk, Poland where in 1980 the first free trade union in the Eastern Bloc was formed, and his time with then dissident Vaclav Havel when the Czechoslovak Communist government resigned in 1989. Professor Garton Ash genuinely had a front row seat to history and provides us with fascinating and profound analysis of those incredible years. I do really need your help to allow me to find the time to continue producing and preserving these Cold War stories. I’m asking is for listeners to pledge a monthly donation of at least $4, £3 or €3 per month to help keep the podcast on the air, although larger amounts are welcome too. If you donate monthly via Patreon you will get the sought after CWC 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 Professor Garton Ash to our Cold War conversation… UK listeners - Professor Garton Ash's books are available here US listeners - Professor Garton Ash's books are available here There’s further information on this episode in our show notes which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode158/ 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. Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated. Episode photo by By Daniel Vegel (www.vegeldaniel.com) - This file has been extracted from file: Timothy-Garton-Ash-Daniel-Vegel-CEU-Lecture-2017.jpg, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=59301308 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 background of Professor Timothy Garton Ash 2:02 Donations and support options 3:23 Professor Timothy Garton Ash's experiences and research in East Berlin 12:37 Discussion on the Stasi file and its contents 20:05 The eruption of the Solidarity movement in Poland and the strikes in Gdansk 33:20 Professor Garton Ash's involvement in the Solidarity movement 39:00 The political climate in Poland during the 1980s and the journey towards freedom 43:59 Hungary's role in the fall of the Soviet block 45:30 The Velvet Revolution in Prague and Vaslav Havel's leadership 54:07 Reflection on pivotal moments of the Cold War era in Eastern Europe 1:02:00 The regional collaboration of anti-communist groups during the Cold War 1:09:02 Acknowledgements and closing remarks from Ian Sanders 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.
0:05.8	And I've never forgotten the moment when both Harville and Duquechek, the era of 68, were together on stage,
0:13.6	and the news came through that the whole Politburo had resigned.
0:18.2	And everybody erupted in applause, Harville and Dukechek, you know, the man of
0:23.3	89 and the man of 68 embraced very warmly. Champagne was produced from somewhere. It was like a
0:30.3	fairy tale. This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War history accounts. Do make sure you subscribe in your podcast app so that you don't miss out on future episodes. Professor Timothy Garton-Ash is a British historian, author, commentator and professor of European studies at Oxford University.
0:59.8	Professor Gartnash witnessed some of the most critical moments in the Eastern Bloc during the 1980s as these populations threw off communist rule.
1:10.3	He provides us with vivid details of his time in
1:13.4	East Germany, Gadansk in Poland in 1980 when the first free trade union in the Eastern
1:19.5	bloc was formed, and his time with then-distant Vaxlav Havel when the Czechoslovak
1:25.4	communist government resigned in 1989.
1:28.3	Professor Gartanash genuinely had a front row seat to history
1:33.3	and provides us with fascinating and profound analysis of those incredible years.
1:38.3	Now, I know some of you think this is my full-time job.
1:42.3	Well, sadly it isn't, but I really do need your help to allow me to find the time to continue producing and preserving these Cold War stories.
1:54.8	I'm asking listeners to pledge a monthly donation of at least $4, $3 or €3 or 3 euros a month to help keep the podcast on the air, although larger amounts are welcome to.
2:08.4	You can cancel this pledge at any time. The donations would be made via Patreon and you will get the sought after Cold War Conversations drinks coaster
2:20.0	and bask in the warm glow of knowing that you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
2:26.5	Just go to cold warconversations.com slash donate.
2:31.4	If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving
2:37.4	written reviews wherever you listen to us, as well as sharing us on social media. It really
2:43.5	helps us get new guests on the show. So back to today's episode, I'm delighted to welcome
	...

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