Pete - a BRIXMIS driver behind enemy lines in East Germany (203)

Pete Curran served with BRIXMIS, the British Military Liaison Mission in East Germany. Their operation was established by a post-WWII Allied occupation forces' agreement, where British, US and French missions had relative freedom to travel and collect intelligence throughout East Germany from 1947 until 1990.  Pete’s story starts with details of his vetting interview, driver training, and his first tour in East Germany. We also hear of the intelligence scoops he was involved in and some of his close scrapes while evading both the Soviets and the Stasi including one with a Soviet helicopter. We also hear of the role of the driver in the three-man teams, the incredible camaraderie of the unit, as well as the pressure on their loved ones.  I know from my stats that a lot of you really enjoy the podcast. It is an absolute passion for me to save these stories from being forgotten and sharing them weekly for free for everyone to hear.  Whilst this is a passion, I am asking if each listener could make either a one-off or better still sign up for monthly donations to help me to find the time to produce and finance the project. If you’d like to know more 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 as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show. I am delighted to welcome Pete Curran to our Cold War conversation… UK BRIXMIS books https://amzn.to/3ljkK6I US BRIXMIS books https://amzn.to/3ae2HZs There’s further information including videos here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode203 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. Thank you very much for listening. It is really appreciated. 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 0:00 Introduction and guest introduction: Pete Curran 3:00 Pete Curran's journey into BRIXMIS and training experiences 8:40 Pete's first posting to Berlin and impressions 15:21 Role of the Mission House and Pete's first mission to East Germany 20:02 Interactions with other military liaison missions and vehicle maintenance 24:45 Driver's decision-making authority and tour operations 28:07 Memorable incidents during tours: The Halle Incident and evading a helicopter 35:40 Reflections on the Andreotti incident and sharing experiences with other drivers 41:40 Interactions with East German citizens and encounters with UK civilian vehicles 45:29 The day the Berlin Wall came down and aftermath 54:06 The camaraderie amongst the BRIXMIS and souvenirs from the time 56:14 Acknowledgment of patrons and closing remarks 57:21 Store advertisement and final goodbye Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices