Editor
For over 25 years, the BBC gave voice to the silenced people of East Germany by inviting them to secretly write in to a radio programme called Letters without Signature. Broadcast on the BBC's German Service, the programme gave voice to ordinary East German citizens who wrote about life under the repressive communist regime. On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, this documentary explores an unknown story of the Cold War. It looks at the impact of the Letters without Signature series on both the letter writers in East Germany - who faced jail if discovered - and the producers of the show in London, particularly its mysterious presenter, Austin Harrison. Using never-before-seen Stasi files and recordings, London Calling: Cold War Letters documents the tit-for-tat propaganda war between the Stasi and BBC. It reveals a fascinating world of spies, secret state subterfuge and individual acts of bravery.
Editor
East Berlin, October 7, 1989: While the state elite was celebrating the GDR's 40th birthday before the eyes of the world, resistance was forming in the streets. Guests celebrated in the Palace of the Republic in Berlin. In front of it, people loudly demanded reforms. There were also demonstrations outside Berlin, for example in Plauen. The situation escalates ...
