Ralph - Arrested and interrogated by the Stasi (181)

In this second part of Ralph Hänel’s story of his life in East Germany.

We hear of Ralph’s arrest by the Stasi and subsequent interrogation for 10 months. 

Ralph describes in some detail the arrest and his early days of imprisonment. He also details the techniques used to try and make him break and the pressure the Stasi also put on his mother. 

It’s an incredible insight into the workings of the Stasi from someone who was there and I am honoured that Ralph shared this story with us. 

We also hear about his court case and in the following episode we hear about his time in the Stasi prison in Cottbus which with its dark red brick façade was often referred to as the ‘Red Misery’. 

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

There’s further information on this episode in our show notes which can also be found as a link in your podcast app here. Other episodes with Ralph are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode177/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode182/ You can buy Ralph's book here 

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0:00 Introduction and Ralph Hänel's encounter with the Stasi (Ministry of State Security)

2:21 Ralph's life in East Germany and his dreams of moving to the West

7:10 Ralph's arrest and interrogation process by the Ministry of State Security

17:45 The roles of the three interrogation officers and their psychological tactics

25:14 The court procedure, sentence, and Ralph's suspicions

28:10 Living conditions in prison and Ralph's relationship with his cellmate

32:11 Ralph's mother's interactions with the Stasi and her constant surveillance

43:32 Ralph's audacious move during his interrogation and the involvement of a Western lawyer

52:18 The sentencing process, the charges, and Ralph's coerced confession

57:17 The 'modern slave trade' of East Germany's political prisoners and Ralph's resilience

59:16 Encouragement to join the Cold War Conversations Facebook group and support the show

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