Explore every episode of the podcast History Flakes - The Berlin History Podcast
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Title
Pub. Date
Duration
S2 E2: The East German Coffee Crisis
13 Nov 2024
00:44:38
Wanna have a coffee? Well, I hope you're not an East German in the '70s & '80s, 'cos it's gonna be tough (and taste like wood).
On this episode of History Flakes Pip & Jonny dive deep into the lukewarm cup of coffee that is East Germany's struggle to procure the brown stuff for its people. To do that we've enlisted the help of TikTok's own Call Me Steve. If you follow Jonny on various socials you may have bumped into Steve's excellent, deep, engaging, and humorous East German/Cold War content. He takes us on a ride through East Germany's economic woes as we sit and sip our own coffee (Jonny had tea...) in East Berlin's Café Sibylle.
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Jonny's idea (sorry) to record this in a café was perhaps a little ambitious. Bear with us through some robotoic AI-sounding audio.
LIVE LIVE LIVE!!!! Come see us LIVE on the 29th March 2025 at the Comedy Cafe Berlin at 8pm, tickets available here: https://www.comedycafeberlin.com/event/history-flakes-live-2/
Special Episode - Tour of Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde
31 Oct 2024
01:21:47
Come enjoy an atmospheric walk around a cemetery bursting with history! Let's explore the Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde in this beautiful, golden Autumn together.
Listen at home, or follow along with a blog post, map, and photos - you could even follow the route as you walk through the cemetery!
How do you do that? Check out this link to find a map, exact locations of all the graves, photos to make it easier to find them, and information on each of the people we discuss.
To celebrate the beautfiul change of season, crunching leaves (Jonny) and acorns (Pip) underfoot, and not least Halloween, we hope you agree this is something a bit special. The Friedrichsfelde Cemetery is the final resting place of many Berlin workers and towering figures in the Socialist and Communist movements.
Find the graves of Walter Womacka, Rosa Luxemburg, (in)famous spies, WWII victims the man responsible for setting up the Berlin Wall and loads more!
Ok, let’s see how this guy ends. In part 2 of our episode on Law and Justice in Nazi Germany we talk about some of the big legal events which make life increasingly difficult for those categorised 'undesirable' by the Nazi regime and sees Roland progress in his attempt to gain full control of the Nazi legal system, right the way up to this sudden and the visually appealing way he (probably) died.
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Episode 5: Law & Justice in Nazi Germany Part 1: Establishing the Dictatorship
11 May 2024
00:52:22
Strap in nerds. In the first episode of our first two-parter, we use the career of Roland Freisler to track some of the huge legal changes that would secure the dictatorship of the Third Reich. We get up to 1934 here, where the Nazis are on the cusp of becoming the one and only political force in the country, having outlawed all other parties.
Watch out for the next episode to hear about how Freisler himself would weaponise the law for the Nazi’s murderous means and his ultimate and quite satisfying death.
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
This episode we'll be talking about Jazz's reception in Berlin and Germany more broadly, from its early arrival in the 20s to the Third Reich's attempts to stamp it out. Minister for Propaganada and Enlightenment Joseph Goebbels has a plan to make really cool and great white supremacist music actually… but the results are as one might expect. We also take a look at the rebellious teens of Nazi Germany; the Swing-Jugend, a youth subculture already inclined to scoff at the Nazis will find their anthem in the music of Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Sources: Different Drummers: Jazz in the Culture of Nazi Germany Book by Michael H. Kater
Jazz Mini Series by Ken Burns
Episode 3: S-Bahn Murderer
13 Apr 2024
00:58:39
Just weeks before the beginning of the Second World War, a dark spectre begins to stalk a particular section of the S-Bahn train line in Berlin. The press under Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels is loathe to publish news of anything but glorious German victory and the crimes of their supposed enemies within and without. As more and more women are violently attacked and eventually murdered, a decision is made to let the public in on what is happening, and inadvertently, the murderer. Against the backdrop of an extraordinarily violent regime, we take a look at an historically mundane violent occurence, as it unfolded in the city.
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Sources: 'A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin: The Chilling True Story of the S-Bahn Murderer' Book by Scott Andrew Selby
Episode 2: Salka Viertel
03 Apr 2024
00:42:49
You know how it is, you want Greta Garbo in your next Hollywood Talkie, but she's awkward and weird and won't get on the phone, you need Salka Viertel.
Weimar Theatre Actress, Consummate Hostess, tireless anti-fascist, Garbo whisperer. You might not have heard of Salka Viertel but some of the greatest connections and collaborations made in the early years of Hollywood happened in Salka Viertel’s Santa Monica living room. A life touched over and over by tragedy but always focussed on love and togetherness, Salka’s life has become somewhat forgotten, showing our habit of overlooking the often invisible work of hosting, caring and bringing people together.
You can can in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Sources: 'The Sun and Her Stars: Salka Viertel and Hitler's Exiles in the Golden Age of Hollywood' by Donna Rifkind
Episode 1: The November Revolution
20 Mar 2024
00:45:12
It’s November in Germany, so you know that there's History afoot. Join Jonny Whitlam and Pip Roper as we discuss some of the context leading up to the November Revolution, (29th October-9th November) and try to detangle the confusion of those in the thick of it. Kaiser Wilhelm II doesn’t know when to leave the party, Rosa Luxemburg’s fresh out of prison and she told you this war was a bad idea all along, and there’s a town full of sailor’s who aren’t that keen on pointlessly dying actually. Join us as we, and they, try to navigate a forced abdication, end of an Empire and beginning of a whole new and turbulent world.
You can can in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Sources: 'The Weimar Years' by Frank McDonough 'The Downfall of Money' by Frederick Taylor
S2 E1: Nosferatu and F.W. Murnau
30 Oct 2024
00:51:06
Dear Listener,
Come closer to the fire, pull your shawl a little tighter about your shoulders...pay no attention to the pale looking figure staring longingly at your neck from the shadows.
It is our great pleasure to kick off History Flakes Season 2 with a celebration of Halloween and the story of film maker F. W. Murnau and his most infamous film NOSFERATU.
We've missed you most cruelly, but now we're back to accompany you through the harsh depths of winter.
ALSO...Pip's mic went a bit weird on this one, apologies, it's not your headphones!
Let's dive into the wild and bruising life of Germany’s best-known pugilist, Max Schmeling—the man who went from Weimar wonder to darling of Nazi propaganda, and somehow managed to emerge in post-WWII West Germany with an intact reputation.
Schmeling’s life reads like a script from the golden age of cinema—coming of age in the chaos of Weimar Germany, he punched his way to the top, becoming a national hero with a controversial world title and a shocking victory over Joe Louis. But it wasn’t all champagne and glory. A short turn in the movies, reinventing himself as a Coca-Cola mogul and beloved television star, Schmeling’s story is one of resilience, reinvention, and how a nation deals with its past - this man was a star in the Weimar, Third Reich, *and* West German eras!
Tune in to hear how this legendary boxer left his mark on the ring and on history itself.
Recorded at the Comedy Cafe in Berlin.
Want to come to the next History Flakes LIVE recording? Keep up to date with Jonny's Instagram, Threads, and Twitter for more info on upcoming shows!
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Anita Berber, pioneering dance performer extraordinaire, or violent thieving drug-addled lunatic? Why not both!?
Join us during our first live recording as we talk about the life and times of Anita Berber, the ultimate performance wunderkind of Weimar Berlin. There’s quite a bit bubbling up under the surface, and the inter-war peace feels pretty tenuous. Much like the era itself, her nihilist self-destruction and sexual decadence flickers brightly and briefly, leaving a vacuum for the horrors to come that we know all too well.
Recorded at the Comedy Cafe Berlin
Part 2 coming soon!
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber: Weimar Berlin’s Priestess of Depravity, by Mel Gordon.
Episode 11: Markus Wolf, Stasi Foreign Intelligence Chief - Part Two
04 Aug 2024
01:08:52
Finally, the most important part of any super spy’s career… Le Sex. Markus Wolf continues to prove himself second to none in spy mastery. We hear about his highs and lows…but mostly highs because he wrote the book on himself which we’re using and he’s both humble but amazing actually (and epic in bed).
Join us as we try to remain un-seduced by Markus Wolf’s account of his own life. Infiltrating the highest office of West Germany, building his roster of Romeo spies, to his final act, publishing a book in a very unexpected genre.
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Man Without A Face: The Autobiography Of Communism's Greatest Spymaster, Markus Wolf & Anne McElvoy, 1999
Markus Wolf - Der DDR-James Bond, Die Geschichtsmacher Podcast, 24 Jan 2022
Geheimnisse der russischen Küche (The Secrets of Russian Cooking), Markus Wolf, 1995
Episode 10: Markus Wolf, Stasi Foreign Intelligence Chief - Part One
22 Jul 2024
00:48:38
Who’s the greatest spy that ever spied and love machine spreading Communism throughout the world? WOLF!
Markus Wolf that is. Join us as we discuss the early days of the elusive and seductive spy master of East Germany. Born in Germany, raised partially in the Soviet Union during WWII to committed communist parents, Wolf is perfectly placed to establish one of the most nebulous and far reaching intelligence networks of the cold war.
And because this guy is so fascinating we’ve split this into a two parter!
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Man Without A Face: The Autobiography Of Communism's Greatest Spymaster, Markus Wolf & Anne McElvoy, 1999
Markus Wolf - Der DDR-James Bond, Die Geschichtsmacher Podcast, 24 Jan 2022
Geheimnisse der russischen Küche (The Secrets of Russian Cooking), Markus Wolf, 1995
Episode 9: Tempelhofer Feld
02 Jul 2024
00:49:54
Where can you find a former air field, military parading ground, amusement park, Turkish cemetery, concentration camp and kite surfer’s paradise?! Not all at the same time, it’s Tempelhofer Feld of course!!!
We’re going through the history of this one incredible site which dates back over 800 years, starting on the fringes of what will become the metropolis of Berlin. Those lads coming back from the crusades need keeping somewhere out of trouble, and it all kicks off from there.
It would be especially fun to grab something nice to drink at the Späti and go for a wander whilst listening to this one but, we’d never tell you what to do!
⚠️ A small note for your ears: Jonny cacked up this recording so we had to use the backup. The second half of this episode might sound weird. You’ll manage.
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
THF development plans: https://www.the-berliner.com/politics/100-tempelhofer-feld-berlin-senate-development-plan-open-space/
Radio Spätkauf on THF: vhttps://www.radiospaetkauf.com/2024/02/berlin-heat-gas-grass-or-pansys/
Episode 8: Ruhleben Football Association
24 Jun 2024
00:39:32
Are you enjoying the Football? Or do you feel like it’s very much happening at you?! Either way, enjoy the latest episode of History Flakes! How else would you know that there was an English Football league in Berlin during WWI? Crazy!
Find about Derby Legend Steve Bloomer and what the hell Bumberino is, I think you’re gonna like it!
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
This episode is a 3 in 1! We talk about 3 distinct characters broadcasting to enemy soldiers during WW2. William Joyce, aka Lord Haw Haw, a seemingly confused Irishman with a pretty serious alcohol problem. Mildred Gillers, aka Axis Sally, a failing, racist actress, who would be labelled as particularly stupid by the FBI, and Iva Toguri D'Aquino aka Tokyo Rose, someone who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, trying to survive in Wartime Tokyo.
All of them are utilised by the Nazi regime and Imperial Japan during the conflict to varying degrees of success.
You can get in touch and book Jonny or Pip for a tour of Berlin via www.whitlams-berlin-tours.com. Don't forget to subscribe for more Berlin history every two weeks!
Jill Lepore, The Last Archive, season 2, episode 3, The Inner Front Stuff You Missed in History Class: Tokyo Rose. RTE Radio 1: Lord Haw Haw.
S2 E3: The Soldier King
23 Nov 2024
01:02:57
THIS guy...This. Guy.
Meet Friedrich Wilhelm II. The Soldier King. Father of Friedrich the Great, second ever King of Prussia. He's a fighter not a lover, unless you're over 6 foot, in which case watch out, he might love you so hard you'll be taken away to join his battalion of giant human toy soldiers.
In what was a surprisingly fulfilling fall down a Prussian rabbit hole, we discuss the Passion of the Soldier King, to the great disappointment of his mother and the brutalisation of his children and subjects.
You never thought you could have this much fun talking about Prussians!
Sources Memoirs of the Queens of Prussia: Emma Willsher Atkinson (1858)
Frederick the Great By Nancy Mitford (1938)
madmonarchs.nl
The Rise of Prussia a History of Europe Key Battles podcast
BBC In our Time: Frederick the Great Podcast
S2E5: 2024 Christmas Special with Berlin Companion
21 Dec 2024
00:53:51
And what a special it is! We're joined by the Berlin Companion herself, Beata Gontarczyk-Krampe, author of the wonderful Berlin Companion blog. Beata's deep dives into Berlin history most people have never heard of are consitently fascinating and delightful. If you like this show, you'll love her blog!
Beata blessed us with surprising stories of Berlin Christmases past over wine and Christmas treats - What is a Christmas Pyramide? What didn't Prince Albert bring to Britain, and if you're not actually feeling that festive we did manage to slip in some WAR!
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Love listening to Beata? Get the Berlin Companion app on Apple or Android and join Beata for audio walks around Berlin!
What makes a king “Great”? In this episode, we follow up on our exploration of Frederick’s intense and domineering father, the Soldier King, to uncover what shaped Frederick into a true Renaissance man. With secret lessons in music and literature, famously philosphers, the flute, and an incredible instinct for survival, Frederick became one of history’s most intriguing monarchs.
Sure, he invaded another kingdom early in his reign - young and impulsive, we all are (or were) - but even he admitted it was totes silly and he won't do it again, promise - don't hold it against him!
The Rise of Prussia a History of Europe Key Battles podcast
BBC In our Time: Frederick the Great Podcast
S2E6: Angela Davis
08 Jan 2025
00:47:25
What happened when civil rights activist, one-time FBI’s most wanted, scourge of J Edgar Hoover, Angela Davis met the GDR? A lot actually. Want to find out? Join us as we dive into Angela’s early years and into her eventful 20s, growing up surrounded by threats of death and violence in the southern US to studying in Paris, Frankfurt and Berlin. And discover why she holds cult statues for an entire generation of children and youngsters who grew up under the leadership of the GDR. Oh… and there’s a Mitford sister in there, just for laughs! (Pip mispronounces Marcuse, but she’s only just met him and she knows now, ok?!)
Color–blind and Color–coded Racism: Angela Davis, the New Left in Hungary, and “Acting Images” by Kata Krasznahorkai
Who’s Afraid of Angela Davis?: An American Icon and the Political Uses of Youth Literature in the GDR, Ada Bieber
Sarah E James, The Friendship between East Germany and Angela Davis, Frieze,
S2E7: Stalinallee & Karl-Marx-Allee
22 Jan 2025
00:57:46
How to build a new country
Step 1: No, not like that!
Step 2: Stalin, do you like your birthday present?
Step 3: We must make Stalin a nice birthday present, this time while singing a catchy song.
Step 4: Oh, Stalin, are you dead?
This episode Pip & Jonny explore how the grand buildings on Karl-Marx-Allee, formerly Stalinallee, came to be. The story of these momentous buildings is filled with hard work, hope, optimism, and trying to impress daddy.
Die Stalinallee - Prachtboulevard für Arbeiter, radioWissen
S2E8: Stella Goldschlag with Matti Geyer
05 Feb 2025
00:54:29
Join us for a discussion with Berlin tour guiding legend Matti Geyer, as we tackle the sad, mad and certainly very bad Stella Goldschlag. Born and raised to a secular Jewish Berlin family, she would take advantage of her ability to pass as 'aryan' to aid the Gestapo as a chief ‘Greifer’ or ‘catcher’ of Jewish people during the Nazi period. We talk about her role alongside that of husband Rolf Isaaksohn, and discuss why it might be that his actions as well as 30 other Greifer in Berlin are largely forgotten, whilst Stella’s story has become infamous.
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Love the smooth radio voice and historical insight of Matti Geyer? Find his tours online at www.toursofberlin.com
Josephine Baker...Josi Bakes as we've taken to calling her, respectfully. Fizzing with energy, talent, and pure GUMPTION. The only African American woman to be inducted in the Pantheon of France. Her story takes us from the poverty and violence of segregated St. Louis, to the scandalously modern revues of interwar Europe. Beloved in Berlin, but finding herself most at home in Paris, she would tirelessly work for the French resistance during the Second World War, only to return to rejection and racial prejudice in the united states, until being one of only 2 women to speak at the 1963 March on Washington. All that whilst being what seems to be a genuine delight. Strap in as Pip bursts with info on Josephine Baker.
Link not working? Look up “Pay What You Want Tour - International Women's Day Special with Pip Roper” on eventbrite.com
Pay What You Want Tour - International Women's Day Special with Pip Roper
It’s international Women’s Day! Come along for a special tour led by Pip Roper of History Flakes, Gender Historian and highly experienced Berlin Tour Guide. Learn about some of our more famous figures, Marlene Dietrich, Rosa Luxemburg, that most beloved Queen Luise, and discover some lesser know stories like that of the first ordained female Rabbi Regina Jonas, Angela Davis' relationship to the GDR, and more!
We’ll discuss some of our most celebrated female figures, lament over some of the worst and weave together the stories of progress and challenges through the lens of this great city’s women, all while exploring Berlin together on a special one-off tour.
Jonny will come and join, too - we're both really excited to meet our Flakes family.
See you there!
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S3E2: Ravensbrück Concentration Camp Part 2: Prisoner Stories with Berlin con Pablo
30 Apr 2025
01:14:20
We continue our discussion about Ravensbrück concentration camp and to reflect on the 80 year anniversary of its liberation with Pablo aka Berlin con Pablo, who's been guiding Spanish language vistiors to Berlin for many years!
We each bring a story of an individual woman's survival of Ravensbrück: Neus Català, Yevgenia Lasarevna Klemm, and Odette Sansom.
This was a tough one to record because of the sheer horror of the content and apologies everyone, it's not our best audio quality. But we hope you get something from these incredible and at moments truly devestating stories of endurance, survival and bravery.
CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of concentration camp, torture, death.
Sources:
Ravensbruck: Life and Death in Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women, Sarah Helm
KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps by Nikolaus Wachsmann
S3E1: Ravensbrück Concentration Camp Part 1: The History of the Camp
16 Apr 2025
01:06:40
Spring 2025 marks the 80th Anniversary of the end of World War II.
We're kicking off this season, focused on WWII, by discussing Ravensbrück concentration camp, the only camp purpose built for women under the Nazi regime.
In this first of two parts, we take a look at whom this camp was built for, who ran it day to day, and how it changed dramatically over the course of it's life. We also discuss the concentration camp system more generally, contextualising it along side our knowledge as guides of the former concentration camp Sachsenhausen.
(ALSO, apologies Pip mixed up Sylvia Salvesen, who was from Norway not Sweden!)
CONTENT WARNING: Discussions of concentration camp, torture, death.
Sources:
Ravensbruck: Life and Death in Hitler's Concentration Camp for Women, Sarah Helm
KL: A History of the Nazi Concentration Camps by Nikolaus Wachsmann
S2E11: Berlin: The Early Days with History of the Germans
19 Mar 2025
01:10:07
Dearest Listener!
Please enjoy this very special bonus episode! We welcome Dirk Hoffmann-Becking, from The History of the Germans Podcast. If there’s something this man doesn’t know about the Wittelsbachs, I sure as hell don’t want to hear about it!
Dirk takes Jonny and I from the earliest context surrounding the founding of Berlin and introduces us to some real characters like Henry the Fowler, all round nice guy, Uta von Ballenstedt, popped collar, cold hard stare, medieval FOX; As well as the painfully incontinent and hateful Saint Bernard of Clairvaux…AND he’s here and he’s less cuddly than you might think, it’s Albrecht the mutha hugging BEAR!
You can find more of Dirk’s fantastic content here: