Introduction

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.

Outline

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.

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

A collection of programmes exploring the Cold War and fall of the Berlin Wall.

• Palace for the People.
• The Secret Life of the Berlin Wall.
• Atomic: Living in Dread and Promise.
• London Calling: Cold War Letters.
• A British Guide to the End of the World.
• Know Your Enemy: The Silent War.
• Britain’s Nuclear Bomb: The Inside Story.
• The Fall of the Berlin Wall with John Simpson.
• Rich Hall’s Red Menace.

Production & Filming Details

• Narrator: Lucy Tregear.
• Director: Christian Hans Schultz.
• Producers: Rachel Hooper and Britta Kirchner.
• Distributor: BBC Four.
• Release Date: 07 November 2019 (UK).
• Running Time: 58 minutes.
• Country: UK.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link