Ralph - DJing and Kung Fu in East Germany (177)

Cold War Conversations

Ralph Hänel tells some unique, strange and funny short stories about childhood and youth in East Germany.

We talk about the experiences of his parents in the closing stages of World War 2, his schooling, and how he became a DJ, winning a trip to the Soviet Union.

Ralph is a great raconteur with virtually endless stories about his life in East Germany. Hear how he saw Fidel Castro, met the first German astronaut in space and had a girlfriend, whose father was in the people’s police or was it the Stasi...?

Ralph had a passion for martial arts, but in East Germany that wasn’t easy to pursue. Listen as Ralph tells how he found secret clubs and smuggled books into the country.

However, his interest in martial arts brought him under suspicion and don’t miss subsequent episodes where Ralph’s life takes a turn for the worst when he is arrested by the Stasi and sentenced to 3 and half years in prison.

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I am delighted to welcome Ralph to our Cold War conversation…

There’s further information on this episode in our episode notes which can also be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode177/

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.

Radio GDR

If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.

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0:00 Introduction and Ralph Hänel's childhood in East Germany

7:01 Ralph's experiences as a DJ and trip to the Soviet Union

15:18 Life in East Germany: Dichotomy and the black market for Western records

22:56 Encounters with famous people in East Germany

27:33 Ralph's journey into martial arts and a secret judo club

35:14 Communication with the West: Pen pals and smuggling books

46:53 Living in East Berlin: Observations and encounters

1:00:26 Ralph Hänel's life in East Berlin during the Cold War

1:15:29 Challenges of East-West communication under Secret Service surveillance

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