Berlau, Oliver (Oral history)

Sound: © IWM (35078)

1769175325
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.
1890875048
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.
1418858628
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.
1859448853
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.
1444214434
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Description

Object description

East German child in Zeline, Rugen Island, German Democratic Republic, 1964-1982; trained as tank commander with 9th Tank Division, National People's Army at Eggesin, German Democratic Republic, 11/1982-4/1983; NCO served with 21st Panzer Regt, 9th Tank Division, National People's Army at Spechtberg, German Democratic Republic, 4/1983-10/1985; student at Leipzig University, German Democratic Republic, 11/1985-6/1989; official with Press Department, Foreign Ministry in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic, 9/1989-10/1990

Content description

REEL 1 Recollections of period as child in Zeline, Rugen Island, German Democratic Republic, 1964-1982: family; character of education; membership of German Youth League; father's relations with Communist Party as actor and West German; political education; degree of political awareness; listening to BBC German Service; contact with family in West Germany; degree of awareness of Ministry of State Security (STASI); contact with Swedish tourists; decision to learn English and become journalist; degree of access to English language publications; lack of sense of isolation; work as 'people's correspondent' for local newspaper; social activities; attitude to restrictions on travel; attitude towards para-military training at school. REEL 2 Continues: food shortages; question of drug and alcohol abuse in East Germany. Aspects of enlistment and training as tank commander with 9th Tank Division, National People's Army at Eggesin, German Democratic Republic, 11/1982-4/1983: requirement to do compulsory military service; desire to serve with Volksmarine; reporting for basic training at Eggesin; parent's reaction to enlistment; accommodation and rations; punishment for talking to company commander; character of uniform; duration of basic training and examinations; first day of basic training; effect on company commander of visit of television journalist Lutz Hearn to one of his fellow recruits; fate of recruits who didn't reach required standard; operating T-72 Tank; role of tank commander; political training; daily routine; training for underwater crossing of rivers; conditions inside T-72; skills learnt as tank commander and relations with crew. REEL 3 Continues: lack of ceremony at end of training; final rank of Lieutenant at end of service. Recollections of period as NCO with 21st Panzer Regt, 9th Tank Division, National People's Army at Spechtberg, German Democratic Republic, 4/1983-10/1985: joining unit equipped with T-72 Tank; participation in Exercise Druzhba-85; nature of terrain during Exercise Druzhba-85; story of fraternisation with Polish troops and their attitude towards Soviet Union; character of Exercise Druzhba-85; characteristics of T-72 Tank; story of narrow escape during tank crash during exercise; presence of political officers during Exercise Druzhba-85; defensive nature of Warsaw Pact exercises; degree of preparedness for operations; demobilisation, 31/10/1985. Recollections of period as student with Leipzig University in German Democratic Republic, 11/1983-6/1989: joining course, 11/1983; sharing room with Sudanese student Richard Bakhta-Khamis. REEL 4 Continues: duration of course; organisation of course; memories of lecturers and their political outlooks; contact with western native English speakers; attitude towards lectures on military policy; change in political atmosphere as result of Perestroika in Soviet Union; graduation, 6/1989; start of demonstrations in Leipzig, 1989; proposed career route. Aspects of period as official with Press Department, Foreign Ministry in East Berlin, German Democratic Republic, 9/1989-10/1990: background to approaching Wolfgang Meyer, Head of German Democratic Republic Press Office; committee that controlled journalism graduates; work with Foreign Ministry; effects of press conference on opening of border, 9/11/1989; visit to Berlin Wall, 9/11/1989; crossing into West Berlin, 10/11/1989; buying English copy of George Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' in West Berlin; lack of awareness of significance of fall of Berlin Wall. REEL 5 Continues: atmosphere at Foreign Ministry after fall of Berlin Wall, 11/1989 and election victory for the Christian Democratic Union of Germany party, 3/1990; attempt by Ministry of State Security (STASI) to recruit him; visits to library in United States Embassy; journalist internship in New York, US, 6/1990-8/1990; severance allowance after closure of Foreign Ministry; freelance work for 'Die Zeit' newspaper, 11/1990-8/1991; recruitment to BBC German Service, 19/8/1991; description of his book 'Die Fahne'; attitude towards military and student life in German Democratic Republic; attitude towards military service.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Kempster, Jonathan (Recorder)
Berlau, Oliver (Interviewee/Speaker)
Dimensions: whole: Duration 150, Number Of Items 5
Catalogue number: 35078

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Berlau, Oliver

Our collections information

We have over 1.7 million object records online, and we are adding to this all the time. Our records are never finished. Sometimes we discover new information that changes what we know about an object, such as who made it or used it. Sometimes we change how an object is interpreted. We sometimes make mistakes in our spelling, transcription or categorisation, or miss information out of our records.

Read more about our collections and the information we hold. Developing our collections information

If you have concerns about the language in this record, or you have information to improve it, please share your feedback.

We receive a lot of comments and can't respond to each one, but we do read them all and will respond where we can.

Object Details

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Our collections information