The girl at the edge of the World - an East German childhood at the West German Border (248)

Cold War Conversations

Ian Sanders

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.8 • 758 Ratings

🗓️ 12 August 2022

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

A young Claudia Bierschenk lived in a village surrounded by hills, valleys and thick forests at the edge of a world called the GDR. It could be beautiful, but the Iron Curtain runs through it, like a tectonic plate separating East and West and Claudia from her West German relatives. She tells of her life in this isolated area, of village life, far away from the socialist showpiece of East Berlin, where there are only two types of yoghurt in the village store. In a series of snapshots, we re-live her childhood of secretly watching West German TV, learning “Marxism-Leninism for kids” at school, and the rare joy of a phone call from the West. We also hear of her parents’ challenges. For her father, it’s his home village, but he is criticised for his liberal views and for wearing Western braces to school. Locals see her mother as an outsider, and she yearns for a life in the West with her sister in West Berlin. Claudia has distilled these stories into a book, Never Mind, Comrade, published by Tangerine Press. Buy the book here https://uk.bookshop.org/a/1549/9781910691700 0:00 Introduction and Claudia Bierschenk's early life in the GDR 6:50 Claudia's family occupations and life in a small town 14:08 Education and the system of punishment and reward in East German schools 24:06 Viewing Western television and maintaining contact with relatives in West Germany 33:07 Claudia's family experiences with the Berlin Wall and escape attempts 38:42 School experiences and navigating discussions in East Germany 44:13 Tightening of border controls and holidays in Hungary 49:56 After school activities and sports under the ideology ofEast Germany 51:30 "Nevermind Comrade" book by Claudia Bierschenk 52:00 Acknowledgement of financial supporters and call to action 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 bask in the warm glow of knowing you are helping 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 and sharing them on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show. I am delighted to welcome Claudia Bierschenk to our Cold War conversation… Listen to the 2nd part of this interview here. https://pod.fo/e/1395f8 Extra episode info here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode248 All photos are © Claudia Bierschenk. 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

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Welcome to Cold War Conversations, the home of real stories of the Cold War.
0:05.7	I can't even begin to describe to you the excitement when, oh my God, it's a phone call from West Berlin.
0:13.4	My mother, I mean, she was always in tears afterwards because she always wanted out.
0:19.7	She always wanted out. She always wanted out.
0:22.9	This is Cold War Conversations. If you're new here, you've come to the right place to listen
0:30.6	to first-hand Cold War history accounts. Do make sure you follow us in your podcast app so
0:37.0	that you don't miss a single episode.
0:41.8	A young Claudia Beershink lived in a village surrounded by hills, valleys and thick forests
0:48.1	at the edge of a world called the GDR.
0:51.7	It could be beautiful, but the iron curtain runs through it like a tectonic plate
0:56.6	separating eastern west and Claudia from her West German relatives. She tells Verl life in this
1:04.7	isolated area, a village life far away from the socialist showpiece of East Berlin, where there's only two types
1:12.9	of yoghurt in the village store. In a series of snapshots, we relive her childhood of secretly
1:19.7	watching West German TV, learning Marxism-Leninism for kids at school, and the rare joy of a
1:27.3	phone call from the West.
1:29.5	We also hear of her parents' challenges.
1:32.4	For her father, it's his home village, but he's criticised for his liberal views
1:36.8	and for wearing Western braces to school.
1:40.9	Her mother is seen by locals as an outsider, and she yearns for a life in the West with her sister in West Berlin.
1:49.0	Claudia has distilled these stories into a book called Never Mind Comray, published by Tangerine Press.
1:57.0	There's links in the episode notes where you can purchase the book and support the podcast.
2:04.7	Cold War history is disappearing, but a simple monthly donation will keep this project going
	...

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