Ralph - A prisoner in an East German jail (182)

This is the third and final part of Ralph Hänel’s story of his life in East Germany.

In this episode, we hear his time in the Stasi prison in Cottbus which with its dark red brick façade was often referred to as the ‘Red Misery’.

It’s a chilling insight into Stasi prison conditions and the brutality that the political prisoners endured from the other inmates and the guards.

We also hear about Ralph’s eventual release and of some strange experiences he has in reunited Germany

Again I am honoured and humbled that Ralph shared this story with us. 

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

Further information on this episode can also be found here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode182/

Other episodes with Ralph are here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode177/ and here https://coldwarconversations.com/episode181/ You can buy Ralph's book here 

If you can’t wait for next week’s episode do visit our Facebook discussion group where guests and listeners continue the Cold War Conversation. Just search Cold War Conversations in Facebook or click here https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/

Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated – goodbye.

Radio GDR

If you are interested in East Germany we can highly recommend our friends over at Radio GDR.

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0:00 Introduction and podcast award announcement

1:07 Life in the Stasi Prison: Conditions and Dangers

3:08 Transfer to Caughtpus Starzy prison and initial experiences

13:15 Treatment by guards and fear of a massacre

18:38 Experience of the open border and release from prison

27:25 First impressions of the West and arrival in West Berlin

34:13 Relocation to West Germany and reunion with former workmates

38:06 Moving to Switzerland, opening Kung Fu schools, and mysterious bank account

46:21 Mysterious illness and suspicion towards a woman from work

54:01 Decision to leave Germany and move to Canada

59:23 Ralph's theory about the doppelganger and the secret service

1:01:19 Acknowledgement of the podcast patrons

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