A Mormon missionary in Cold War East Germany (244)

Cold War Conversations

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 14 July 2022

⏱️ 83 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the early 1980s East Germany had just 5000 members of the Church of Latter-day Saints, many of which had been members since before World War 2. In 1982 East German leader Erich Honecker historically allowed the church to build a temple in Freiberg and in 1988 Mormon missionaries were allowed into East Germany. Ken Brady describes his experiences as a Mormon missionary in East Germany as the country gradually disappeared and was absorbed into West Germany. Ken also gives us a valuable view of life away from Berlin in cities such as Cottbus, Gorlitz, Schwerin, Frankfurt an der Oder and Eisenhüttenstadt. It’s a fascinating story told with humour and candour as Ken grapples with local dialects, the local food and tricks with East German currency. 0:00 Introduction and Ken Brady's early interest in East Germany 7:16 The Church's operations in East Germany before the fall of the Berlin Wall 12:24 First impressions of East Germany 21:17 Fear of the Stasi after the fall of the Berlin Wall 28:18 Encounters with locals suspecting them to be CIA agents 34:19 Sightseeing and exploring local culture on days off 42:19 Guidance on political party selection and introduction of West German products 46:17 Teaching religion to those with no prior experience 56:22 Currency Unification and its impact on East Germany 1:09:00 Ken Brady's service in West Berlin 1:18:18 The stark contrast of Soviet architecture 1:21:00 Thanking the Patrons and final remarks Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Cold War history is disappearing; however, a simple monthly donation will keep this podcast on the air. You’ll get a sought after CWC coaster as a thank you and you’ll 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 Ken to our Cold War conversation… Episode notes here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode244/ Follow us on Twitter here https://twitter.com/ColdWarPod Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/ Radio GDR If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR. 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 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	Eight months later, when I was in Spickal, there was someone there that I could not understand him at all.
0:11.7	I had no idea what he was saying. He could understand me, but then he looks over at my companion, he says, is he brand new?
0:21.2	This is Cold War Conversations.
0:26.0	If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen to first-hand Cold War
0:30.7	history accounts.
0:32.3	Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so you don't miss out on any of the episodes.
0:39.3	In the early 1980s, East Germany had 5,000 members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
0:48.0	Most of them had been members since World War II.
0:51.6	In 1982, East German leader Eric Honica historically allowed the church to build a temple
0:57.7	in Freiburg, and in 1988, Mormon missionaries were allowed into East Germany. Ken Brady describes
1:06.2	his experiences as a Mormon missionary in East Germany as the country gradually disappeared and was absorbed into West Germany.
1:15.5	Ken also gives us a valuable view of life away from Berlin in cities such as Koppoch,
1:21.8	Gaulitz, Schwerin, Frankfurt and Eöötenstadt.
1:28.2	It's a fascinating story told with humour and candour as Ken grapples with local dialects,
1:35.5	the local food and tricks with East German currency.
1:40.2	Now, Cold War history is disappearing, but a simple monthly donation will help keep this podcast on the air and preserve Cold War history.
1:51.0	You'll get the sought-after Cold War Conversations coaster as a thank you, and you'll bask in the warm glow of knowing that you are helping to preserve Cold War history.
2:00.9	Hi, I'm Andrew, and I'm very proud to support Cold War Conversations with a small donation
2:05.6	each month, because Ian's put together such a brilliant range of interviews.
2:10.0	If you do support the podcast, your wallet will be a tiny bit lighter, but your brain
2:14.1	will be very, very thankful.
	...

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