Growing up in the Stasi town (278)

Dirk lived in the town of Bernau about 15 miles from East Berlin. Just outside Bernau was Wandlitz the residential estate of the East German leadership. As a result, Bernau had one of the highest densities of Stasi facilities in East Germany.

Dirk shares details of his childhood growing up in a Plattenbau block of flats where his school friends were children of NVA officers, Stasi officers, and Soviet Army officers.

He shares some fascinating details of school life and visits the homes of his school friends in Bernau. However, his parents clashed with his school teachers as they bullied Dirk for wearing western clothing.

We also hear how his parent's anti-soviet view originated with his grandparents fleeing the World War 2 Soviet invasion of East Prussia and an Uncle who was arrested and disappeared in Berlin in 1945. 

0:00 Introduction and Dirk's early life in East Germany

8:45 Impact of the Berlin Wall on Dirk's family and visits from West German relatives

16:22 Confrontations with teachers over Western influences and passive resistance to East German authorities

22:36 Discretion about Western influences and maintaining friendships with children of East German and Soviet army officers

27:38 Visiting the homes of Russian friends and experiences with Russian conscripts

35:21 Treatment of Soviet conscripts as observed by British troops and daily life amidst the Soviet and East German armies

41:09 Hidden bunkers, bases in East Germany, and Stasi surveillance of Dirk's family

45:01 Discussion about escaping East Germany and family visits to West Germany

47:06 Preview of Dirk's story in the next episode and acknowledgments

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