Letters From Behind The Iron Curtain | History Stories Special

Letters Without Signatures was the name of a German BBC radio program that was aimed specifically at listeners in the GDR. For almost 25 years, from the early 1950s until 1974, it enjoyed popularity with listeners from East Germany, who could also write anonymous letters to the editors with their everyday concerns as well as their political opinions.
The program and its thousands of letters was rediscovered in a BBC archive by the German writer Schädlich. "Letters without Signatures" created a cat-and-mouse game between the British broadcaster and GDR state security over cover addresses and code words. Comprehensive postal controls throughout the GDR led to the persecution of letter writers, who were threatened with prison sentences. Thousands of GDR citizens wrote to the BBC using a cover address system in West Berlin.
The Stasi saw the British radio broadcast as a smear program by the west intended to promote the "political-ideological subversion of GDR citizens”. As many as 3,000 letters made their way to London through the Stasi's ever-increasing mail control. The writers were men, women and children from all social sectors of the GDR.
To this day, there are no exact figures on how many letter writers were arrested and convicted. One of them was Karl-Heinz Borchardt from Greifswald, who began writing to the BBC as a 16-year-old schoolboy to vent his indignation at the suppression of the Prague Spring in 1968. However, the Stasi intercepted his letters and was able to identify him with the help of blood and saliva samples and handwriting comparison. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
The radio show's host: Austin Harrison was popular, but also eccentric and enigmatic until his death. For the Stasi, the British journalist was a central figure in the fight against Western opinion-making on the radio. They saw him as an influential enemy of the state who was in fact an agent of Britain's MI6. Harrison regularly traveled to the GDR, with a keen interest in the Leipzig Spring Fair, where he was shadowed around the clock.
On this History Stories special, we trace back the story of Letters Without Signatures and the everyday whistleblowers living in the GDR.
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[@littlebadwolf8526]

I grew up in the US Sector of West-Berlin 1945 t0 1970, then left West Berlin for West Germany. As high school student in West - Berlin I nearly daily listenened to the BBC London on Ultra Short Wave ( UKW ), in the evenings the BBC would transmit a 30 mins broadcast by Radio Canada all in English .That is how I got my Canadian penfriend Christine in Willowdale / ONT /Canada. I wrote Christine many details about divided Berlin and Germany. Since then I maintained close personal and professional relations to Canada and the USA, these countries are not perfect but offer a wide array of historical and political opportunities. Thank you DW for this video !

[@DWHistoryandCulture]

Thank you very much for sharing your personal experience with us. Sending you all the best

[@notpurrfect6397]

How fun you had a Canadian pen pal! Willowdale is in Toronto,. I didn't know CBC broadcast to Germany during the cold war. Thank you.

[@NabiHamada]

Fantastic always love your documentaries

[@417Owsy]

I really loved this documentary, but I absolutely need the music used in this, it sounds phenomenal

[@Mrjacharles]

Loving these historic programs. Thanks for finding this quality stuff! :D

[@DWHistoryandCulture]

Thank you! We're glad you liked the documentary. Subscribe to our channel for the latest uploads.

[@triciac.5078]

Wow. Thank you for making and posting this story. I had never heard of it before.

[@DWHistoryandCulture]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@dirensare]

valuable valuble research and documentary. Especially finding those ``offenders`` and listening their real stories. wow.

[@DWHistoryandCulture]

Thanks a lot for watching and for your positive feedback. We appreciate you taking the time to comment and are glad you like our content!

[@TOMMY-WANT-WINGY]

Our only option to combat this is to say what you need to say when it comes up

[@mahdi5796]

I liked it. Please continue making this kind of videos. Thanks

[@DWHistoryandCulture]

We will! Thanks for watching

[@niv7111]

amazing story wow

[@Neddoest]

Really fascinating… I have a big blank spot in my knowledge of this part of history

[@luizleao]

Wow!!! Tks for sharing it.

[@DWHistoryandCulture]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@merseydave1]

A quality documentary

[@DWHistoryandCulture]

Glad you liked the film. We upload documentaries regularly so don’t forget to subscribe.

[@xmanhoe]

Fantastic video 😎 DW

[@DWHistoryandCulture]

Thank you! We're glad you liked the documentary. Subscribe to our channel for the latest uploads.

[@annehersey9895]

What I don’t understand is why Rolf Erhler’s mother didn’t take him with her when she fled to the West to his father? That’s very puzzling as you’d think a mother would want the best life for her child. There must be a reason.

[@AmandaClark-sw6ch]

They wouldn’t have let her go if she took her kid

[@user-ry7we3yx6r]

the world outside...
el mundo afuera...

[@crencottrell7849]

Happy 1st Sunday of October.

[@sstritmatter2158]

"Radio Free Europe" - REM. those were the days!

[@blueprintsymphonic]

wow

[@waynesutherland-rs6ct]

so 1984 is NOW