Cold War - Stories From The Big Freeze

Series

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Omnibus

20160722

20170701 (R4)

Bridget Kendall presents a new oral history of the early turning points in the Cold War.

Omnibus 1

20160708

20170617 (R4)

Bridget Kendall presents a new oral history of the early turning points in the Cold War.

Omnibus 2

20160715

20170624 (R4)

Bridget Kendall tells the stories of four crucial episodes from the early Cold War through the memories of those who were there, in an omnibus edition of episodes from this week's programmes in Radio 4's Cold War series.

The Korean War was when the Cold War turned hot - and tore thousands of families apart. Bridget hears three such stories: of separation, regret, and a remarkable rescue.

She hears from three people whose parents were targets of the 1950s Red Scare - with tales of persecution, hearsay evidence, FBI investigation and going underground.

Bridget tells the story of the development of the hydrogen bomb.

On June 17 1953, East German workers went on strike and demanded free elections. Bridget tells the forgotten story of the first anti-communist revolt of the Cold War.

Producers: Martin Williams, Phil Tinline, Sabine Schereck.

Bridget Kendall presents stories from the Cold War, from Korea to East Germany.

The Greek Civil War

20160704

In a series tracing the decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the Greek Civil War - and hears from three people who were caught up in it.

In 1944 Greece was liberated from Nazi occupation. But the German retreat left a vacuum and instead of peace the devastated country descended into civil war.

The Greek civil war grew out of a left- right split in Greek society. But it also marked a shift - from the Allies' war against Nazi fascism to a fight to stop a Communist takeover: the prelude, in other words, to the long battle between East and West over the decades to come, about who would control Europe.

Featuring John Clarke MBE, Zozo Petropoulos and Nicholas Rizopolous.

Readings by Mia Soteriou.

Producer: Martin Williams.

The story of the Greek Civil War in the words of some of those who were there.

The Czech Coup

20160705

In a series tracing the decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948 - and hears from three people who lived through it.

At the beginning of 1948 Czechoslovakia had been the only parliamentary democracy left in East Europe. But within a couple of months it was part of the Soviet bloc. Not through the invasion of Soviet tanks -that would come later, in 1968 - but through the actions of local Communists, with the influence of the Soviet Union looming in the shadows.

Featuring Karel Janovicky, John Palka and Sylva Simsova.

Music: Variations on the Theme of Brigadier H. Smith by Karel Janovicky

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall tells the story of the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948.

The 1948 Election In Italy

20160706

Bridget Kendall tells the story of the divisive 1948 general election in Italy.

The Berlin Blockade

20160707

As part of her series tracing the crucial turning-points of the early Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the Berlin Blockade - with the help of three people who lived under the Blockade for a year.

In 1948, Stalin was alarmed and frustrated by moves by America, Britain and France to forge the Zones of Germany that they occupied into a new state - what would become West Germany.

But the Western Allies had a weak point - Berlin was surrounded by the Soviet Occupation Zone, and within the city, Britain, America and France each ran a sector. So Stalin retaliated by placing the Western sectors under Blockade in a bid to drive the Western Allies from the city.

Would the West help the stranded Berliners? How could it, without risking World War Three? Would it leave them to their fate - either starvation or Soviet occupation?

Bridget Kendall hears from three young Berliners of the time about how the hungry city held its breath. And how the West scrambled to establish what had been thought impossible: an Airlift to feed well over two million people a day.

And she explores how the eventual against-the-odds success of the Airlift had a consequence Stalin hadn't intended - driving the Western nations together into a more cohesive military bloc to oppose Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe.

With: Jürgen Blask, Gisela Bilski, Gerhard Bürger

Producers: Phil Tinline and Sabine Schereck.

In 1948 Stalin blockaded Berlin. Bridget Kendall hears from three people who were there.

The Fall Of Shanghai

20160708

In a series tracing the decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the fall of Shanghai in 1949, a pivotal event which helped pave the way for the emergence of a new Communist power in Asia - the People's Republic of China.

Featuring Eddy Hsia, Betty Barr Wang, George Barr Wang and Liliane Willens.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall tells the story of the fall of Shanghai in 1949.

The Korean War

20160711

As part of her series tracing the crucial turning-points of the early Cold War, Bridget Kendall revisits the Korean War. This was the moment the Cold War turned hot, and brought fears of a new global conflict.

But in this programme Bridget focuses on the fate of Koreans driven from their homes and divided from other family members, often permanently.

And she hears from two people who were rescued by a remarkable act of military compassion - the Heungnam Evacuation of December 1950. Tens of thousands of Korean refugees were allowed onto American, Japanese and South Korean ships and sailed to safety.

As she hears, conditions on board were grim. But as the ships landed in Busan, in the days immediately before Christmas, the evacuation came to be known as the 'Christmas Miracle'.

Nonetheless, the permanent division of families wrought by the war persists even today.

With: Lee Hoo-ja, Sohn Dong-hun, Kim Taesung, Norman Deptula

Producer: Phil Tinline.

The Korean War tore thousands of families apart. Bridget Kendall hears their stories.

Mccarthyism

20160712

As part of her series tracing the crucial turning-points of the early Cold War, Bridget Kendall explores the personal impact of the McCarthyite Red Scare in the America of the 1950s.

As she finds, the Cold War fear of 'Reds' was driven not just by the spectre of Stalin's Soviet Union but by the communist revolution to America's west, across the Pacific.

As angry voices asked 'Who Lost China?', people with strong associations with China became objects of suspicion - particularly if they were left-wing intellectuals. Investigation and long years of hearings followed.

All this had huge, lasting impact on these people - and on their children. And Bridget hears too from the daughter of a civil rights activist and communist, who went 'underground' for five years, when she was a young child, before the case against him finally fell away.

With Kathryn Jackson, David Lattimore, Sian Shaw.

Producer: Phil Tinline.

Bridget Kendall hears from three people whose parents were targets of the 50s Red Scare.

The H-bomb

20160713

Bridget Kendall tells the story of the development of the hydrogen bomb.

The East German Uprising

20160714

On June 17 1953, East German workers went on strike and demanded free elections. Within hours, Moscow ordered its tanks to crush the rebellion.

Bridget hears the story of that day, as experienced by a teenage boy, a young worker, a trainee lawyer, an English military driver - and a girl who was looking forward to her seventh birthday party.

With Hardy Firl, George Flint, Carla Ottmann, Joachim Rudolph, Alfred Wegewitz

Producers: Phil Tinline and Sabine Schereck.

Bridget Kendall tells the forgotten story of the Cold War's first anti-communist revolt.

The Iran Coup

20160715

Bridget Kendall hears from three people who witnessed the fall of Mossadegh in 1953.

Khrushchev's Thaw

20160718

In a series exploring decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall brings to life the personal recollections of those who were there when the death of Stalin in 1953 dramatically changed life in Soviet Russia and ushered in a brief political thaw in the decades long dictatorship of Soviet Communism.

Featuring Vladimir Ashkenazy, Tatiana Baeva, Sergei Khrushchev, Vladlen Loginov and Alexei Shipovalnikov.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall hears from witnesses to Khrushchev's thaw following the death of Stalin.

The Hungarian Revolution

20160719

In October 1956, Hungarians marched peacefully in support of reform. Within hours, the protests had become a revolution. Soviet tanks were sent in, but when they withdrew Hungarians appeared to have triumphed - until the tanks came back.

Bridget hears the stories of two students and a young journalist. All three were in the street outside the national radio station when the conflict with the secret police turned the protests into a revolution. And she hears what happened when one of them took up a gun.

With Peter Pallai, Matyas Sarkozi, Sandor Vaci

Producer: Phil Tinline.

Bridget Kendall follows three young men through the 1956 Hungarian uprising.

The Congo Coup

20160720

The story of the independence struggle in the Congo in the words of people who were there.

The Berlin Wall Crisis

20160721

As part of her series tracing the crucial turning-points of the early Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the crisis that led up to the building of the Berlin Wall.

By 1961, so many were fleeing communist East Germany that the country was in crisis. So the government built the Berlin Wall to stop them. Would-be escapees were regularly gunned down.

Bridget hears the stories of three people who successfully fled East Berlin - one before the Wall went up, two who pulled it off even with the Wall in place.

And she finds out why they wanted to leave East Germany in the first place.

With: Leslie Colitt, Gisela Nicolaisen, Joachim Rudolph

Producers: Phil Tinline and Sabine Schereck.

Three stories of escaping from East Berlin, before and after the Berlin Wall went up.

The Cuban Missile Crisis

20160722

In 1962 the world came closer to nuclear war than ever before or since, as the United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other over the presence of Soviet missiles on the island of Cuba.

In a series tracing decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall hears the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the words of four people who were there.

Featuring Ciro Bianchi, Frances Glasspool-Matlock, John Guerrasio and Sergei Khrushchev.

Readings by John Guerrasio

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall hears from witnesses to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

America's Vietnam War

20170706

Three US veterans recall how the Vietnam War affected their lives.

Gorbachev's Perestroika

20170718

Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War.

In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev embarked on a reform programme called Perestroika, or restructuring, intended to reorganise the moribund and corrupt Soviet economy. Within a year a second reform initiative was launched called Glasnost, or openness, which gave a green light to free expression and led to the release of political prisoners and the lifting of censorship.

Glasnost had a dramatic impact on public discourse. No longer were people afraid to speak their minds. For the first time in their lives, people began to gather in public to debate, challenge and argue. Through this grassroots engagement Gorbachev hoped to protect his reform programme from the objections of more conservative Politburo colleagues.

Bridget Kendall hears from three witnesses to Gorbachev's precarious balancing act.

With Pavel Palazhchenko, Lev Ponomarev and Vitali Tretyakov.

Readings by Samuel James and John Norton.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall on Perestroika and Glasnost in the USSR.

Omnibus 1

20170707

Bridget Kendall tells the stories of four crucial episodes from the later decades of the Cold War through the memories of those who were there, in an omnibus edition of episodes from this week's programmes in Radio 4's Cold War series.

The Chinese Cultural Revolution: the story of a UK diplomat and a Chinese teacher caught in the Cultural revolution.

The Prague Spring: Bridget Kendall hears from three people who witnessed the Soviet-led invasion which brought the Prague Spring to an end.

America's Vietnam War: Three US veterans recall how the Vietnam War affected their lives.

The Coup in Chile: Bridget Kendall hears from three people who were close to the Presidential Palace during the coup that brought down Allende's government in Chile.

Producers: Phil Tinline and Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall presents stories from the Cold War, from China to Chile.

Omnibus 2

20170714

Bridget Kendall hears Cold War stories from East Germany, Angola, Afghanistan and Poland.

Omnibus 3

20170721

The New Cold War: Bridget Kendall hears how, in the 1980s, US nuclear weapons came to English villages - and how this shaped the lives of a local farmer, a peaceful protestor and a US pilot.

Gorbachev's Perestroika: The memories of three witnesses to Mikhail Gorbachev's precarious balancing act.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall and German Reunification: Bridget Kendall hears how the lives of three East Germans took an unexpected turn when their country dissolved. While a journalist and a manager of a theatregoer club from West Berlin tell us about strange encounters and the joy of embracing the whole city again.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union: Bridget Kendall hears from three people who remember the events of 1991 that led to the fall of the USSR.

Readings by Samuel James and John Norton.

Producers: Phil Tinline and Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall presents stories from the final years of the Cold War.

Ostpolitik

20170711

Bridget Kendall explores how 'Ostpolitik', the 1970s thaw in relations between West and East Germany, allowed family members separated by the Cold War division of their country to see each other - even as the East German secret police, the Stasi, kept watch. And she hears too how the relaxation of the border allowed a West German journalist new access to life in the East.

With: Annemarie Knecht, Lorenz Knecht, Ingrid Bartel, Eva Eberbeck, Peter Pragal

Producers: Sabine Schereck and Phil Tinline.

How a thaw in relations between West and East Germany shaped five people's lives.

The Angolan Civil War

20170712

The Cold War was cold if you were in Europe, living under the shadow of the superpowers' nuclear stand-off. But in other parts of the world, the Cold War turned decidedly hot.

When Angola became independent in 1975, rival guerrilla movements were backed by different sides in the Cold War, anxious to maximise their influence in this strategic part of south west Africa.

Bridget Kendall hears three veterans of the Cold War proxy conflict in Angola - one Angolan, one Cuban and one South African. They recount a series of bloody battles - sometimes the same ones - from their different perspectives.

With Rene Gatorno, Osvaldo Leitao Willem van der Waals

Producer: Michael Rossi.

Bridget Kendall hears three veterans of the Cold War proxy conflict in Angola.

The Baltic Singing Revolution

20170720

Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War.

When Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms of the 1980s signalled that Soviet repression was being relaxed, the Baltic countries seized the chance to push for independence.

In the Baltic republics, glasnost was seen most of all as a chance to start talking about national identity and the explosive issue of a nation's right to self-determination.

This campaign for independence was not just political, but born from a desire to protect and promote nationhood through language and culture. And particularly music.

Bridget Kendall hears from three participants in the Singing Revolution in Estonia.

With Marju Lauristin, Andrus Oovel and Artur Talvik.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall on the Baltic Singing Revolution.

The Birth Of Solidarity In Poland

20170714

Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War.

In August 1980 an out of work shipyard worker from Gdansk turned a local strike into a nationwide campaign. Lech Walesa, as leader of the strike in Gdansk, has earned his place in the history books. It began with the sacking of a crane driver called Anna Walentynowicz and would end up toppling Communism in Poland. But the very first day of the strike was more haphazard.

With Jerzy Borowczak, Bogdan Borousewicz and Jacqueline Hayden.

Readings by Philip Fox and John Norton.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall on the strike in Gdansk that began the Solidarity movement in Poland.

The Chinese Cultural Revolution

20170704

Bridget Kendall explores what happened when China broke with the USSR and, in 1966, launched a Cultural Revolution aimed in part at laying claim to pure communism in the face of Moscow's more revisionist approach.

She hears the stories of Sir John Weston, then a young British diplomat, recalls what happened when Red Guards stormed the British Embassy.

And brothers Chen Zhang Gong and Chen Zhang Rang remember the very painful story of how they watched helplessly as their teacher father was hounded to death by their fellow pupils.

Producer: Phil Tinline.

Bridget Kendall on a UK diplomat and a Chinese teacher caught in the Cultural Revolution.

The Collapse Of The Soviet Union

20170721

Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War.

By the beginning of 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev was in trouble. The Communist old guard wanted to thwart his reform agenda and prevent any more power from slipping out of central control. But, following the momentum of Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost initiatives, radical reformers wanted less control from Moscow and an end to Communist party rule altogether. At the forefront was the largest of the fifteen Soviet republics, the Russian Federation, led by its new President, Boris Yeltsin, who had established a massive popular following among many Russians.

Backed into a corner Gorbachev surrounded himself with hardliners, bringing many of them into his government and desperately tried to zig zag between the two camps.

But the zig-zagging couldn't last.

In August 1991, under the direction of Communist hardliners, Gorbachev was placed under house arrest and a state of emergency was imposed. Suddenly, it looked as though all Gorbachev's reforms were about to unravel and the clock would be turned back. The Berlin Wall might have come down and reformist governments might have taken over in Eastern Europe, but now it seemed that the era of Cold War hostility could come back.

Bridget Kendall hears from three people who remember the events of 1991 in the USSR.

With David Remnick, Sergey Aleksashenko and Sergei Yevdokimov.

Readings by John Norton.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall on the final days of the Soviet Union.

The Coup In Chile

20170707

Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War.

Throughout the Cold War, one of the key concerns of the United States was to keep countries in Latin America and the Caribbean from moving into the Soviet camp.

Whether a government declared itself to be Communist, like Castro's Cuba, or was merely a left-wing administration, the assumption was that it represented a potential threat.

So when, in 1970, Salvador Allende was elected President of Chile, representing a left-wing coalition, the US was not slow to react. After sponsoring a coup attempt in 1970, the US would - throughout the years of Allende's presidency - attempt to undermine his socialist government from within.

Although the violent military coup that would eventually take place on September 11th 1973, which installed the leadership of Augusto Pinochet, was not directly orchestrated by the CIA, it arguably could not have come about without its destabilising influence over the preceding years.

The coup involved the bombing of the Chilean presidential palace, known as the Moneda. Bridget Kendall hears from three people who were close to the Moneda that day.

With Jack Devine, Osvaldo Puccio and Steven Volk.

Readings by John Norton.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall on the coup that brought down Allende's government in Chile.

The Fall Of Khrushchev

20170703

Bridget Kendall continues her series tracing the crucial moments in the Cold War.

Today: the fall of Khrushchev and the rise of Brezhnevism.

In 1964 the Soviet premiere Nikita Khrushchev was deposed, to be replaced by the more conservative Leonid Brezhnev. Thus the zig-zagging and inconsistent liberalisation associated with Khrushchev's Thaw gradually made way for the stagnation of the Brezhnev period.

Bridget hears from two people reflecting on life in the Soviet Union during those years.

With Pavel Litvinov and Zinovy Zinik

Producer: Martin Williams.

The Fall Of Saigon

20170710

Bridget Kendall hears how the end of the Vietnam War coloured the lives of two young Vietnamese people.

Nguyen Huu Thai was a student activist, working for the pro-North Vietnam liberation movement. On the day Saigon fell to the National Liberation Front and the North Vietnamese forces, he played a key role in two of the day's signature events - one at the radio station, one at the Presidential Palace.

Across town, meanwhile, Minh-hoa Ta was a schoolgirl growing up in her ethnic Chinese upper-middle-class family. She witnessed the North's final victory in the Vietnam War when troops marched, waving, down her street. But she also saw horrors.

And before long, the oppression of the new unified communist state, exacerbated by hostility towards ethnic Chinese people, led her mother to decide they should flee. And so Minh-hoa Ta became one of the Vietnamese 'Boat People' - trying desperately to escape their country across the ocean.

With: Nguyen Huu Thai, Dr Minh-hoa Ta

Producer: Phil Tinline.

Bridget Kendall hears how a student and a schoolgirl witnessed the end of the Vietnam War.

The Fall Of The Berlin Wall And German Reunification

20170719

When the Berlin Wall tumbled on 9 November 1989, joy spread through the city.

Change had been in the air but when it actually happened it took many by surprise - and not everybody welcomed it, let alone could foresee the dramatic chain of events that followed.

Governed by two different kinds of regime - communist in the East and democratic in the West - Berlin and Germany were divided for over 40 years. Two different societies had developed and when they were to be reunited, it was not always an easy process.

Bridget Kendall hears how the lives of three East Germans - an English teacher, a radio music producer and a university graduate - took an unexpected turn when their country dissolved. While for some opportunities opened up, others had to face personal crisis.

West Germans, too, found themselves in situations that had previously been unimaginable. A journalist and a manager of a theatregoer club from West Berlin tell us about strange encounters and the joy of embracing the whole city again.

With: Elisabeth Heller, Katharina Herrmann, Gisela Hoffmann, Andreas Austilat and Otfried Laur

Producers: Sabine Schereck and Phil Tinline.

Bridget Kendall hears how East and West Germans experienced their country's reunification.

The New Cold War

20170717

Bridget Kendall hears stories of the time US nuclear weapons came to English villages.

The Prague Spring

20170705

Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War.

In August 1968 a Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia brought the period of liberalisation known as the Prague Spring to an end. The social and cultural reforms aimed at achieving 'socialism with a human face' came to an abrupt halt. It was justified under the principles of what became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine, whereby the Soviet Union had the right to intervene anywhere in the Eastern Bloc where socialism was under threat. Czechoslovakia entered a period of repression

Bridget Kendall hears the stories of three people caught up in the invasion and active on the streets of Prague.

With Hana Laing, Julius Tomin and Zdena Tomin.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall on the Soviet-led invasion that brought the Prague Spring to an end.

The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan

20170713

Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War.

The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979 was the start of one of the Cold War's most far-reaching proxy wars, whose consequences are still reverberating nearly 40 years later.

Bridget Kendall hears the stories of three people who served in Afghanistan.

With Dmitri Fyodorov, Aleksandr Gergel and Vladimir Snegirev.

Readings by Philip Fox, Samuel James and John Norton.

Producer: Martin Williams.

Bridget Kendall on the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.

Episodes

Series	Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01		Omnibus	20160722	20170701 (R4)	Bridget Kendall presents a new oral history of the early turning points in the Cold War.
01		Omnibus 1	20160708	20170617 (R4)	Bridget Kendall presents a new oral history of the early turning points in the Cold War.
01		Omnibus 2	20160715	20170624 (R4)	Bridget Kendall tells the stories of four crucial episodes from the early Cold War through the memories of those who were there, in an omnibus edition of episodes from this week's programmes in Radio 4's Cold War series. The Korean War was when the Cold War turned hot - and tore thousands of families apart. Bridget hears three such stories: of separation, regret, and a remarkable rescue. She hears from three people whose parents were targets of the 1950s Red Scare - with tales of persecution, hearsay evidence, FBI investigation and going underground. Bridget tells the story of the development of the hydrogen bomb. On June 17 1953, East German workers went on strike and demanded free elections. Bridget tells the forgotten story of the first anti-communist revolt of the Cold War. Producers: Martin Williams, Phil Tinline, Sabine Schereck. Bridget Kendall presents stories from the Cold War, from Korea to East Germany.
01	01	The Greek Civil War	20160704		In a series tracing the decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the Greek Civil War - and hears from three people who were caught up in it. In 1944 Greece was liberated from Nazi occupation. But the German retreat left a vacuum and instead of peace the devastated country descended into civil war. The Greek civil war grew out of a left- right split in Greek society. But it also marked a shift - from the Allies' war against Nazi fascism to a fight to stop a Communist takeover: the prelude, in other words, to the long battle between East and West over the decades to come, about who would control Europe. Featuring John Clarke MBE, Zozo Petropoulos and Nicholas Rizopolous. Readings by Mia Soteriou. Producer: Martin Williams. The story of the Greek Civil War in the words of some of those who were there.
01	02	The Czech Coup	20160705		In a series tracing the decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948 - and hears from three people who lived through it. At the beginning of 1948 Czechoslovakia had been the only parliamentary democracy left in East Europe. But within a couple of months it was part of the Soviet bloc. Not through the invasion of Soviet tanks -that would come later, in 1968 - but through the actions of local Communists, with the influence of the Soviet Union looming in the shadows. Featuring Karel Janovicky, John Palka and Sylva Simsova. Music: Variations on the Theme of Brigadier H. Smith by Karel Janovicky Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall tells the story of the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948.
01	03	The 1948 Election In Italy	20160706		Bridget Kendall tells the story of the divisive 1948 general election in Italy.
01	04	The Berlin Blockade	20160707		As part of her series tracing the crucial turning-points of the early Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the Berlin Blockade - with the help of three people who lived under the Blockade for a year. In 1948, Stalin was alarmed and frustrated by moves by America, Britain and France to forge the Zones of Germany that they occupied into a new state - what would become West Germany. But the Western Allies had a weak point - Berlin was surrounded by the Soviet Occupation Zone, and within the city, Britain, America and France each ran a sector. So Stalin retaliated by placing the Western sectors under Blockade in a bid to drive the Western Allies from the city. Would the West help the stranded Berliners? How could it, without risking World War Three? Would it leave them to their fate - either starvation or Soviet occupation? Bridget Kendall hears from three young Berliners of the time about how the hungry city held its breath. And how the West scrambled to establish what had been thought impossible: an Airlift to feed well over two million people a day. And she explores how the eventual against-the-odds success of the Airlift had a consequence Stalin hadn't intended - driving the Western nations together into a more cohesive military bloc to oppose Soviet-dominated Eastern Europe. With: Jürgen Blask, Gisela Bilski, Gerhard Bürger Producers: Phil Tinline and Sabine Schereck. In 1948 Stalin blockaded Berlin. Bridget Kendall hears from three people who were there.
01	05	The Fall Of Shanghai	20160708		In a series tracing the decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the fall of Shanghai in 1949, a pivotal event which helped pave the way for the emergence of a new Communist power in Asia - the People's Republic of China. Featuring Eddy Hsia, Betty Barr Wang, George Barr Wang and Liliane Willens. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall tells the story of the fall of Shanghai in 1949.
01	06	The Korean War	20160711		As part of her series tracing the crucial turning-points of the early Cold War, Bridget Kendall revisits the Korean War. This was the moment the Cold War turned hot, and brought fears of a new global conflict. But in this programme Bridget focuses on the fate of Koreans driven from their homes and divided from other family members, often permanently. And she hears from two people who were rescued by a remarkable act of military compassion - the Heungnam Evacuation of December 1950. Tens of thousands of Korean refugees were allowed onto American, Japanese and South Korean ships and sailed to safety. As she hears, conditions on board were grim. But as the ships landed in Busan, in the days immediately before Christmas, the evacuation came to be known as the 'Christmas Miracle'. Nonetheless, the permanent division of families wrought by the war persists even today. With: Lee Hoo-ja, Sohn Dong-hun, Kim Taesung, Norman Deptula Producer: Phil Tinline. The Korean War tore thousands of families apart. Bridget Kendall hears their stories.
01	07	Mccarthyism	20160712		As part of her series tracing the crucial turning-points of the early Cold War, Bridget Kendall explores the personal impact of the McCarthyite Red Scare in the America of the 1950s. As she finds, the Cold War fear of 'Reds' was driven not just by the spectre of Stalin's Soviet Union but by the communist revolution to America's west, across the Pacific. As angry voices asked 'Who Lost China?', people with strong associations with China became objects of suspicion - particularly if they were left-wing intellectuals. Investigation and long years of hearings followed. All this had huge, lasting impact on these people - and on their children. And Bridget hears too from the daughter of a civil rights activist and communist, who went 'underground' for five years, when she was a young child, before the case against him finally fell away. With Kathryn Jackson, David Lattimore, Sian Shaw. Producer: Phil Tinline. Bridget Kendall hears from three people whose parents were targets of the 50s Red Scare.
01	08	The H-bomb	20160713		Bridget Kendall tells the story of the development of the hydrogen bomb.
01	09	The East German Uprising	20160714		On June 17 1953, East German workers went on strike and demanded free elections. Within hours, Moscow ordered its tanks to crush the rebellion. Bridget hears the story of that day, as experienced by a teenage boy, a young worker, a trainee lawyer, an English military driver - and a girl who was looking forward to her seventh birthday party. With Hardy Firl, George Flint, Carla Ottmann, Joachim Rudolph, Alfred Wegewitz Producers: Phil Tinline and Sabine Schereck. Bridget Kendall tells the forgotten story of the Cold War's first anti-communist revolt.
01	10	The Iran Coup	20160715		Bridget Kendall hears from three people who witnessed the fall of Mossadegh in 1953.
01	11	Khrushchev's Thaw	20160718		In a series exploring decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall brings to life the personal recollections of those who were there when the death of Stalin in 1953 dramatically changed life in Soviet Russia and ushered in a brief political thaw in the decades long dictatorship of Soviet Communism. Featuring Vladimir Ashkenazy, Tatiana Baeva, Sergei Khrushchev, Vladlen Loginov and Alexei Shipovalnikov. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall hears from witnesses to Khrushchev's thaw following the death of Stalin.
01	12	The Hungarian Revolution	20160719		In October 1956, Hungarians marched peacefully in support of reform. Within hours, the protests had become a revolution. Soviet tanks were sent in, but when they withdrew Hungarians appeared to have triumphed - until the tanks came back. Bridget hears the stories of two students and a young journalist. All three were in the street outside the national radio station when the conflict with the secret police turned the protests into a revolution. And she hears what happened when one of them took up a gun. With Peter Pallai, Matyas Sarkozi, Sandor Vaci Producer: Phil Tinline. Bridget Kendall follows three young men through the 1956 Hungarian uprising.
01	13	The Congo Coup	20160720		The story of the independence struggle in the Congo in the words of people who were there.
01	14	The Berlin Wall Crisis	20160721		As part of her series tracing the crucial turning-points of the early Cold War, Bridget Kendall tells the story of the crisis that led up to the building of the Berlin Wall. By 1961, so many were fleeing communist East Germany that the country was in crisis. So the government built the Berlin Wall to stop them. Would-be escapees were regularly gunned down. Bridget hears the stories of three people who successfully fled East Berlin - one before the Wall went up, two who pulled it off even with the Wall in place. And she finds out why they wanted to leave East Germany in the first place. With: Leslie Colitt, Gisela Nicolaisen, Joachim Rudolph Producers: Phil Tinline and Sabine Schereck. Three stories of escaping from East Berlin, before and after the Berlin Wall went up.
01	15	The Cuban Missile Crisis	20160722		In 1962 the world came closer to nuclear war than ever before or since, as the United States and the Soviet Union confronted each other over the presence of Soviet missiles on the island of Cuba. In a series tracing decisive moments in the early years of the Cold War, Bridget Kendall hears the story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in the words of four people who were there. Featuring Ciro Bianchi, Frances Glasspool-Matlock, John Guerrasio and Sergei Khrushchev. Readings by John Guerrasio Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall hears from witnesses to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
02		America's Vietnam War	20170706		Three US veterans recall how the Vietnam War affected their lives.
02		Gorbachev's Perestroika	20170718		Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War. In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev embarked on a reform programme called Perestroika, or restructuring, intended to reorganise the moribund and corrupt Soviet economy. Within a year a second reform initiative was launched called Glasnost, or openness, which gave a green light to free expression and led to the release of political prisoners and the lifting of censorship. Glasnost had a dramatic impact on public discourse. No longer were people afraid to speak their minds. For the first time in their lives, people began to gather in public to debate, challenge and argue. Through this grassroots engagement Gorbachev hoped to protect his reform programme from the objections of more conservative Politburo colleagues. Bridget Kendall hears from three witnesses to Gorbachev's precarious balancing act. With Pavel Palazhchenko, Lev Ponomarev and Vitali Tretyakov. Readings by Samuel James and John Norton. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall on Perestroika and Glasnost in the USSR.
02		Omnibus 1	20170707		Bridget Kendall tells the stories of four crucial episodes from the later decades of the Cold War through the memories of those who were there, in an omnibus edition of episodes from this week's programmes in Radio 4's Cold War series. The Chinese Cultural Revolution: the story of a UK diplomat and a Chinese teacher caught in the Cultural revolution. The Prague Spring: Bridget Kendall hears from three people who witnessed the Soviet-led invasion which brought the Prague Spring to an end. America's Vietnam War: Three US veterans recall how the Vietnam War affected their lives. The Coup in Chile: Bridget Kendall hears from three people who were close to the Presidential Palace during the coup that brought down Allende's government in Chile. Producers: Phil Tinline and Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall presents stories from the Cold War, from China to Chile.
02		Omnibus 2	20170714		Bridget Kendall hears Cold War stories from East Germany, Angola, Afghanistan and Poland.
02		Omnibus 3	20170721		Bridget Kendall tells the stories of four crucial episodes from the later decades of the Cold War through the memories of those who were there, in an omnibus edition of episodes from this week's programmes in Radio 4's Cold War series. The New Cold War: Bridget Kendall hears how, in the 1980s, US nuclear weapons came to English villages - and how this shaped the lives of a local farmer, a peaceful protestor and a US pilot. Gorbachev's Perestroika: The memories of three witnesses to Mikhail Gorbachev's precarious balancing act. The Fall of the Berlin Wall and German Reunification: Bridget Kendall hears how the lives of three East Germans took an unexpected turn when their country dissolved. While a journalist and a manager of a theatregoer club from West Berlin tell us about strange encounters and the joy of embracing the whole city again. The Collapse of the Soviet Union: Bridget Kendall hears from three people who remember the events of 1991 that led to the fall of the USSR. Readings by Samuel James and John Norton. Producers: Phil Tinline and Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall presents stories from the final years of the Cold War.
02		Ostpolitik	20170711		Bridget Kendall explores how 'Ostpolitik', the 1970s thaw in relations between West and East Germany, allowed family members separated by the Cold War division of their country to see each other - even as the East German secret police, the Stasi, kept watch. And she hears too how the relaxation of the border allowed a West German journalist new access to life in the East. With: Annemarie Knecht, Lorenz Knecht, Ingrid Bartel, Eva Eberbeck, Peter Pragal Producers: Sabine Schereck and Phil Tinline. How a thaw in relations between West and East Germany shaped five people's lives.
02		The Angolan Civil War	20170712		The Cold War was cold if you were in Europe, living under the shadow of the superpowers' nuclear stand-off. But in other parts of the world, the Cold War turned decidedly hot. When Angola became independent in 1975, rival guerrilla movements were backed by different sides in the Cold War, anxious to maximise their influence in this strategic part of south west Africa. Bridget Kendall hears three veterans of the Cold War proxy conflict in Angola - one Angolan, one Cuban and one South African. They recount a series of bloody battles - sometimes the same ones - from their different perspectives. With Rene Gatorno, Osvaldo Leitao Willem van der Waals Producer: Michael Rossi. Bridget Kendall hears three veterans of the Cold War proxy conflict in Angola.
02		The Baltic Singing Revolution	20170720		Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War. When Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms of the 1980s signalled that Soviet repression was being relaxed, the Baltic countries seized the chance to push for independence. In the Baltic republics, glasnost was seen most of all as a chance to start talking about national identity and the explosive issue of a nation's right to self-determination. This campaign for independence was not just political, but born from a desire to protect and promote nationhood through language and culture. And particularly music. Bridget Kendall hears from three participants in the Singing Revolution in Estonia. With Marju Lauristin, Andrus Oovel and Artur Talvik. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall on the Baltic Singing Revolution.
02		The Birth Of Solidarity In Poland	20170714		Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War. In August 1980 an out of work shipyard worker from Gdansk turned a local strike into a nationwide campaign. Lech Walesa, as leader of the strike in Gdansk, has earned his place in the history books. It began with the sacking of a crane driver called Anna Walentynowicz and would end up toppling Communism in Poland. But the very first day of the strike was more haphazard. With Jerzy Borowczak, Bogdan Borousewicz and Jacqueline Hayden. Readings by Philip Fox and John Norton. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall on the strike in Gdansk that began the Solidarity movement in Poland.
02		The Chinese Cultural Revolution	20170704		Bridget Kendall explores what happened when China broke with the USSR and, in 1966, launched a Cultural Revolution aimed in part at laying claim to pure communism in the face of Moscow's more revisionist approach. She hears the stories of Sir John Weston, then a young British diplomat, recalls what happened when Red Guards stormed the British Embassy. And brothers Chen Zhang Gong and Chen Zhang Rang remember the very painful story of how they watched helplessly as their teacher father was hounded to death by their fellow pupils. Producer: Phil Tinline. Bridget Kendall on a UK diplomat and a Chinese teacher caught in the Cultural Revolution.
02		The Collapse Of The Soviet Union	20170721		Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War. By the beginning of 1991 Mikhail Gorbachev was in trouble. The Communist old guard wanted to thwart his reform agenda and prevent any more power from slipping out of central control. But, following the momentum of Gorbachev's perestroika and glasnost initiatives, radical reformers wanted less control from Moscow and an end to Communist party rule altogether. At the forefront was the largest of the fifteen Soviet republics, the Russian Federation, led by its new President, Boris Yeltsin, who had established a massive popular following among many Russians. Backed into a corner Gorbachev surrounded himself with hardliners, bringing many of them into his government and desperately tried to zig zag between the two camps. But the zig-zagging couldn't last. In August 1991, under the direction of Communist hardliners, Gorbachev was placed under house arrest and a state of emergency was imposed. Suddenly, it looked as though all Gorbachev's reforms were about to unravel and the clock would be turned back. The Berlin Wall might have come down and reformist governments might have taken over in Eastern Europe, but now it seemed that the era of Cold War hostility could come back. Bridget Kendall hears from three people who remember the events of 1991 in the USSR. With David Remnick, Sergey Aleksashenko and Sergei Yevdokimov. Readings by John Norton. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall on the final days of the Soviet Union.
02		The Coup In Chile	20170707		Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War. Throughout the Cold War, one of the key concerns of the United States was to keep countries in Latin America and the Caribbean from moving into the Soviet camp. Whether a government declared itself to be Communist, like Castro's Cuba, or was merely a left-wing administration, the assumption was that it represented a potential threat. So when, in 1970, Salvador Allende was elected President of Chile, representing a left-wing coalition, the US was not slow to react. After sponsoring a coup attempt in 1970, the US would - throughout the years of Allende's presidency - attempt to undermine his socialist government from within. Although the violent military coup that would eventually take place on September 11th 1973, which installed the leadership of Augusto Pinochet, was not directly orchestrated by the CIA, it arguably could not have come about without its destabilising influence over the preceding years. The coup involved the bombing of the Chilean presidential palace, known as the Moneda. Bridget Kendall hears from three people who were close to the Moneda that day. With Jack Devine, Osvaldo Puccio and Steven Volk. Readings by John Norton. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall on the coup that brought down Allende's government in Chile.
02		The Fall Of Khrushchev	20170703		Bridget Kendall continues her series tracing the crucial moments in the Cold War. Today: the fall of Khrushchev and the rise of Brezhnevism. In 1964 the Soviet premiere Nikita Khrushchev was deposed, to be replaced by the more conservative Leonid Brezhnev. Thus the zig-zagging and inconsistent liberalisation associated with Khrushchev's Thaw gradually made way for the stagnation of the Brezhnev period. Bridget hears from two people reflecting on life in the Soviet Union during those years. With Pavel Litvinov and Zinovy Zinik Producer: Martin Williams.
02		The Fall Of Saigon	20170710		Bridget Kendall hears how the end of the Vietnam War coloured the lives of two young Vietnamese people. Nguyen Huu Thai was a student activist, working for the pro-North Vietnam liberation movement. On the day Saigon fell to the National Liberation Front and the North Vietnamese forces, he played a key role in two of the day's signature events - one at the radio station, one at the Presidential Palace. Across town, meanwhile, Minh-hoa Ta was a schoolgirl growing up in her ethnic Chinese upper-middle-class family. She witnessed the North's final victory in the Vietnam War when troops marched, waving, down her street. But she also saw horrors. And before long, the oppression of the new unified communist state, exacerbated by hostility towards ethnic Chinese people, led her mother to decide they should flee. And so Minh-hoa Ta became one of the Vietnamese 'Boat People' - trying desperately to escape their country across the ocean. With: Nguyen Huu Thai, Dr Minh-hoa Ta Producer: Phil Tinline. Bridget Kendall hears how a student and a schoolgirl witnessed the end of the Vietnam War.
02		The Fall Of The Berlin Wall And German Reunification	20170719		When the Berlin Wall tumbled on 9 November 1989, joy spread through the city. Change had been in the air but when it actually happened it took many by surprise - and not everybody welcomed it, let alone could foresee the dramatic chain of events that followed. Governed by two different kinds of regime - communist in the East and democratic in the West - Berlin and Germany were divided for over 40 years. Two different societies had developed and when they were to be reunited, it was not always an easy process. Bridget Kendall hears how the lives of three East Germans - an English teacher, a radio music producer and a university graduate - took an unexpected turn when their country dissolved. While for some opportunities opened up, others had to face personal crisis. West Germans, too, found themselves in situations that had previously been unimaginable. A journalist and a manager of a theatregoer club from West Berlin tell us about strange encounters and the joy of embracing the whole city again. With: Elisabeth Heller, Katharina Herrmann, Gisela Hoffmann, Andreas Austilat and Otfried Laur Producers: Sabine Schereck and Phil Tinline. Bridget Kendall hears how East and West Germans experienced their country's reunification.
02		The New Cold War	20170717		Bridget Kendall hears stories of the time US nuclear weapons came to English villages.
02		The Prague Spring	20170705		Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War. In August 1968 a Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia brought the period of liberalisation known as the Prague Spring to an end. The social and cultural reforms aimed at achieving 'socialism with a human face' came to an abrupt halt. It was justified under the principles of what became known as the Brezhnev Doctrine, whereby the Soviet Union had the right to intervene anywhere in the Eastern Bloc where socialism was under threat. Czechoslovakia entered a period of repression Bridget Kendall hears the stories of three people caught up in the invasion and active on the streets of Prague. With Hana Laing, Julius Tomin and Zdena Tomin. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall on the Soviet-led invasion that brought the Prague Spring to an end.
02		The Soviet Invasion Of Afghanistan	20170713		Bridget Kendall explores the major turning points in the later decades of the Cold War. The Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979 was the start of one of the Cold War's most far-reaching proxy wars, whose consequences are still reverberating nearly 40 years later. Bridget Kendall hears the stories of three people who served in Afghanistan. With Dmitri Fyodorov, Aleksandr Gergel and Vladimir Snegirev. Readings by Philip Fox, Samuel James and John Norton. Producer: Martin Williams. Bridget Kendall on the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan.