After spending time as a tour guide, I became frustrated by only being able to discuss Berlin and German history. I wanted to explore stories from around the world—because history everywhere is fascinating! This led me to launch the podcast, originally called “The History Buff,” now rebranded as the Ministry of History Podcast.
The Ministry of History is very excited to launch a new series about the Berlin Wall! As a Berlin tour guide, it is obviously a big part of my work as the Berlin Wall is a very prominent (and recent!) part of Berlin's history and is very popular with visitors to the city. Over five episodes we will talk about various aspects of its existence including the events leading up to its construction, the actual building of the Wall, escapes and deaths, life in East and West Berlin and also how the Wall fell and it consequences.
In this first episode, I will explain to you the events that led to the Berlin Wall's construction, including the beginnings of the Cold War and the Berlin Crisis, in a simple bitesize episode. For the rest of the series, I will be joined by fellow tour guides here in Berlin to help explain the fascinating and pivotal story of this barrier built to separate a people, but which came to symbolise the division of an entire world and the tension between them during the Cold War.
This episode is available to watch as a video on YouTube.
The Ministry of History offers more than just podcast episodes! Check out our blog for engaging historical insights, access transcripts of episodes, subscribe to our newsletter for updates and early access to posts, and explore our digital content. Planning a trip to Berlin? You can even book a history tour with Artie himself! To find all this, simply head to our website. You can also follow us on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
Artwork by Leila Mead. Check out her website and follow her on Instagram.
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