Radio GDR -East Germany Podcast

The Life and Times of the German Democratic Republic

radiogdr

Why East Germany is still fascinating to GDR Objectified’s John Paul Kleiner

by 1 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Radio GDR, the podcast all about East Germany caught up with the man behind the epic GDR Objectified – probably one of the best websites about East Germany in English on the net today.

On this episode of the GDR podcast John Paul Kleiner shares with us why he is still fascinated with East Germany/German Democratic Republic after all these years. He also reveals:

  • Why he and his schoolmates attracted looks of disdain from East Germans during a visit to East Berlin in 1985
  • Why he moved to Saxony ten years after the fall of the Berlin Wall
  • Why getting out of Berlin is vital if we want to learn more about the German Democratic Republic.
  • Why locals in Saxony shared their experience with him and what he learned
  • What was the mood like 10 year into reunification?
  • Why it is eerie to walk past WKs in places like Halle Neustadt
  • What motivated him to start up the GDR Objectified blog?
  • Why he took a GDR Field Trip to Montreal in Canada?
  • What is his most prized item in his GDR collection.
  • If no money was no object, what item from the GDR would he wish to own?
  • Why we should visit Eisenhüttenstadt
  • What Shane should visit on his day trip to Leipzig?
  • And Much Much More

Links and Resources mentioned on this episode of the Radio GDR Podcast

GDR Objectified Website

GDR Objectified Youtube Channel

GDR Field Trip – Montreal

John Paul Kleiner Official Music Website

Intercity – John Paul’s latest album. Check out Berlin Blue!

SUGGESTED READING on East Germany

English:
Charles Maier – Dissolution (History of the end phase of GDR in the
context of collapse of Soviet Empire)

Jeff Ladd – The Ghosts of Berlin (A guide to the history behind the
cityscape of reunified Berlin)

Jeffrey Herf – Divided Memory: The Nazi Past in Two Germanies
(A great explanation of the role antifascism played in the ideology that
framed East German life)

Jeffrey Kopstein – The Politics of Economic Decline in East
Germany, 1945 – 1989 (An important work for understanding the
implicit social contract between East German workers and the ruling
Party and the way this doomed efforts to increase efficiencies in the
economy)

Tim Mohr – Burning Down the Haus (This is a new work, an
anecdotal history of the GDR punk scene which makes an entertaining,
if not entirely convincing, case for its centrality in the GDR’s collapse)

East German Cinema Blog – Jim Morton: eastgermancinema.com

German:
Gunnar Decker – 1965: Der kurze Sommer der DDR (A wide-
ranging consideration of the social and political conflicts at play during
1965, a year considered by some to mark the beginning of the end of
the GDR)

Wolf Biermann – Warte nicht auf bessere Zeiten (Remarkable and
highly readable memoir by the dissident Communist singer/
songwriter who chose to live in “the better Germany” and whose “soft
expulsion” from the GDR in 1976 shook the relationship between the
regime and its artists)

Peter Wensierski – Die unheimliche Leichtigkeit der Revolution
(A well-researched account of how a small group of young Leipzigers
courageously and methodically challenged the Party in a bid for a
freer, fairer East German society)

Erich Honecker interview 1990 in Moscow (English subtitles)

Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!
Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!

Wende Museum – The Chief Curator talks to Radio GDR

by Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

On this episode of Radio GDR, our host Shane Whaley talks with Joes Segal, the Chief Curator of the Wende Museum in LA.  Joes shares more with us about the mission of the cold war art museum as well as how they pick which of their 100,000 items to display and much more!

Joes Segal, the Chief Curator of the Wende Museum talks to the Radio GDR Podcast
Joes Segal, the Chief Curator of the Wende Museum talks to the Radio GDR Podcast

The Mission of the Wende Museum of the Cold War.

The Mission of the Wende Museum: Preserve, Inspire, Explore

The mission of the Wende Museum is to preserve Cold War art, culture, and history from the Soviet Bloc countries, inspire a broad understanding of the period, and explore its enduring legacy.

Named for the Wende (pronounced “venda”), a German word meaning “turning point” or “change” that has come to describe the transformative period leading up to and following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the Wende Museum:

  • collects and preserves artwork, artifacts, archives, films, and personal histories from Cold War–era Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union relating to the period 1945–1991;
  • challenges and engages the public through experimental exhibitions and interdisciplinary programming inspired by the collection;
  • illuminates the past and informs the present through creative collaborations with contemporary artists and designers; and
  • promotes rigorous scholarship, educates students, and stimulates general interest through lectures, symposia, and publications.

Interview Wende Museum on the Radio GDR Podcast – the only English language podcast dedicated to East Germany.

These are some of the topics we cover:

    • Joes Segal shares more about himself and how he came to be associated with the Wende museum.
    • He shares more about the founding of the Wende Museum and its mission
    • We learn more about the materials from the GDR owned by the Wende Museum including personal papers from Erich Honecker.
    • We talk about the general reaction to the Museum from citizens of the former GDR.
    • How they decide on which items to exhibit.
    • What is Joes Segal’s favourite item in the museum.
    • Joes shares more with us about some of his favourite Wende Museum exhibitions.
    • He shares more with us about the East German Handbook


  • What exciting plans or projects are coming up for the museum.
  • When visitors leave the Wende  Museum what does Joes hope they get out of their visit.

And Much Much More!

Follow the Wende Museum

Official Wende Museum website
Twitter

Books and Movies recommended by Joes Segal, Chief Curator of the Wende Museum


The File – Tim Garton Ash
The People’s State – East German Society from Hitler to Honecker – Mary Fulbrook
The Tower – Der Turm
Goodbye Lenin
The Lives of Others
Barbara
Sonnenallee

 

Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!
Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!

Why not join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR with others who are also fascinated with its history.

 

From Us to Me – with Director Ellin Hare

by 1 Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

On this episode of the Radio GDR podcast, Ellin Hare talks to us about her documentary about everyday life in East Germany titled ‘From Us to Me.’  They become the only British film crew to make a documentary inside the German Democratic Republic. In November 1989, a year after the film’s release, the fall of the Wall signals the end of the GDR. 25 years later the British come back…..

From Us to Me 'Life in East Germany Then and now' Director Ellin Hare talks to the Radio GDR Podcast
From Us to Me ‘Life in East Germany Then and now’ Director Ellin Hare talks to the Radio GDR Podcast

Check out the trailer to From Us to Me (watch the movie and then come back to this interview with the Director Ellin Hare.)

Some of the areas of discussion in this episode of Radio GDR about ‘From Us to Me‘ include:

  • How did the idea for the movie come about?
  • How was the film funded?
  • Why Rostock?
  • How did Ellin Hare and her team go about selecting the families to profile and interview? (Were they suggested by the authorities or did you have free reign?)
  • What was the general reaction to Elli and the crew from the locals?
  • Was this Ellin’s first visit to the GDR? What were herr impressions and how did they compare to the image she had of the GDR beforehand
  • What was the reaction to the film from the families themselves.
  • What led Ellin to wanting to make essentially a second movie about the people from the first movie filmed in  1987?And Much More

Resources mentioned on this Episode of the Radio GDR Podcast

From Us to Me trailer

Watch From Us to Me 

More about the cast of From Us to Me

Ellin Hare – Amber Film Collective

From Us to Me – Q and A with Ellin Hare

Winfried Junge – prolific film and documentary maker in the GDR. Awarded the

Generation ’89 GDR documentary by Anke Ertner (english subtitles.) Highly recommended by Radio GDR Podcast co-host Shane.

Winter adé DDR 1987/1988 short film recommended by Ellin Hare -‘This groundbreaking documentary caused a sensation when it was premiered at the 1988 Leipzig International Documentary Film Festival. It undermined the official image of women in the GDR and challenged the East German claim to have achieved gender equality. At the same time, postulating a new independence, women talked about their lives more openly than had ever been filmed before. Ironically, the director was in the US touring with the film on the night when the Berlin Wall fell … exactly one year after its premiere.’

More at DEFA Film Website

You can rent and buy GDR era movies at the DEFA Store

Hansa Rostock – yes Shane had to get one football reference in.

Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!
Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!

Looking for more discussion with others who are interested in the GDR – join our listeners facebook group here

Seid Bereit! GMC latest ad using parts of East Germany’s national anthem

by Leave a Comment

A clever Radio GDR listener tweeted us to take a listen to the latest GMC Denali TV commercial. He claimed GMC were using the music from the national anthem of East Germany or the German Democratic Republic. We took a listen and he is right!

A clever Radio GDR podcast listener informs us that GMC are unknowingly using a few bars from the DDR National Anthem
A clever Radio GDR podcast listener informs us that GMC are unknowingly using a few bars from the DDR National Anthem

What do you think?

 

T

This certainly sounds like the first few bars of Auferstanden aus Ruinen ‘Risen from the Ruins.’ The catchy tune has not been heard on the airwaves since 1990 (probably.) We wonder if the folks at GMC are aware that former East Germans living in the US may be falling out of their chairs or shouting out ‘Seid Bereit’ on hearing the ad?

We also wonder who composed the music, to be fair it is only the first few bars but they are very recognizable, this is no anonymous middle 8th.

Here are some examples of the original Auferstanden aus Ruinen:

with English subtitles

Interested in the German Democratic Republic? Join others who are also fascinated by the GDR in our Radio GDR Facebook Group 

Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!
Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!

DDR Museum Director- Gordon von Godin

by Leave a Comment

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

DDR Museum Director Gordon Von Godin joins  Shane Whaley on the Radio GDR Podcast.

 

Image of Herr von Godin (Copyright DDR Museum.)

On this episode of Radio GDR (the only Podcast about East Germany in English) Gordon shares with us:

  • the mission of the DDR Museum
  • some of the exhibits that are available for viewing at the DDR Museum
  • how the DDR Museum aims to achieve a balance by showing the daily life of East Germany whilst acknowledging the sensitivity of the issues around the Stasi and the dictatorship of the German Democratic Republic.
  • the reaction of former GDR citizens to the DDR Museum
  • what hurts former GDR citizens when it comes to identity
  • how much time you should spend in the DDR Museum to get the most out of it. (If you are a GDR history nerd like Shane you may need more time.)
  • his favorite items in the DDR Museum
  • what DDR music you may hear in the restrooms at the museum.
  • more about temporary exhibitions
    Love, Sex and Socialism at the DDR Museum from summer 2019
    Love, Sex and Socialism at the DDR Museum from summer 2018

     

  • what was it like growing up in East Germany?
  • how is Prenzlauer Berg now compared with life there before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
  • where he was when the Berlin Wall fell
  • music that Gordon enjoyed in the GDR.
  • what did Gordon spend his 100 DM on?
  • which nationalities visit the DDR Museum

And Much More!

Some of the photos Shane took at the DDR Museum.

Shane's favourite item in the DDR Museum - the GDR world cup team table football game!
Shane’s favourite item in the DDR Museum – the GDR world cup team table football game!

Resources mentioned on this episode of Radio GDR.

DDR Museum (includes ticket purchase options.)

Follow the DDR Museum on Twitter

DDR Museum on Instagram

DDR Museum Tripadvisor Reviews
DDR Museum Tripadvisor Reviews

Tripdvisor reviews of the DDR Museum

Atlas Obscura review of the DDR Museum


Karat
You might recognise this tune from the Radio GDR Podcast intro.

The 1970s were the golden years of rock in East Germany and Karat, founded in autumn 1974, have been at the forefront of that genre ever since they played their first-ever concert in February 1975. They soon became popular, cementing their growing fame with their breakthrough hit ‘Über sieben Brücken musst du gehn’. In 1979, they were even granted permission to perform in West Berlin. Karat are still touring; their most recent studio album was released in 2015.

 

Silly
‘Another of the GDR’s major rock acts, Silly was founded in East Berlin in 1978 under the moniker ‘Familie Silly’ – ‘Silly’ alone being too much of an Anglicism for the purists in the licensing office. Four years later, the band was granted official approval to rename itself. Silly survived the fall of the Berlin Wall, but suffered a painful loss in 1996, when their charismatic singer Tamara Danz died of cancer at the age of 43. The band is still touring with a new line-up and released a double album of live tracks in 2017. ‘Bataillon d’Amour’ is among their most enduringly famous tracks.”

 

Nina Hagen

Holger Bieger

 

Information on Silly and Karat from the article titled ‘East German Rock Legends Everyone Should Know.’

GDR Objectified with John Paul Kleiner and his episode on Montreal.


 

Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!
Join our East Germany Facebook group to talk more about the GDR!

As mentioned on this episode of Radio GDR, our listeners facebook group is gaining momentum. If you are are interested in chatting to others about GDR history and sharing photos from trips and/or your collection then this is the place for you!