The West Berlin village surrounded by the Berlin Wall (220)

When the Cold War split Berlin in half, between East and West, one neighbourhood was trapped in the middle and became a symbol of Cold War tensions.  For more than twenty years, the hamlet of Steinstücken was caught in a tug-of-war between the Americans, the Soviets and the East Germans.  Steinstücken officially belonged to the U.S. Occupation Sector of Berlin. But, it was located outside the city boundaries, completely surrounded by East German territory. No West Berlin-owned roads or trails connected it to the city. It was a de facto Western island in a Communist sea. We speak with Cold War veteran Don Smith the author of Steinstuecken: A Little Pocket of Freedom, a photo and fact-packed book which describes the challenges America faced in occupied Berlin and the personal stories of the citizens of Steinstücken who faced East German soldiers on a daily basis.  Buy the book here and support the podcast UK listeners https://amzn.to/3Aux9dW US listeners https://amzn.to/3r47PZi Don’s web site http://steinpocket.com/ Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.  If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations. Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.  Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook. I am delighted to welcome Don Smith to our Cold War conversation… There’s further information including videos here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode220/ 0:00 Introduction and background of Steinstücken 5:21 History and life in Steinstücken during the Cold War 14:03 The unique nature of German farming and how Steinstücken got its name 16:10 East Germany's attempt to annex Steinstücken and America's response 20:47 The political dynamics in Steinstücken during the Cold War 30:25 Impact of the Berlin Wall on Steinstücken 38:17 The refugee situation and U.S. military operations in Steinstücken 45:37 Economic and societal implications in Steinstücken and the 4 power agreement 1:01:15 Post Cold War integration of Steinstücken into West Berlin 1:07:04 Podcast patrons and invitation to join the Facebook group Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨ 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices