Whispers of Freedom: Portying the Story of the last person shot at the Berlin Wall

Whispers of Freedom: Portying the Story of the last person shot at the Berlin Wall

BonusReleased Tuesday, 22nd April 2025
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Whispers of Freedom: Portying the Story of the last person shot at the Berlin Wall

Whispers of Freedom: Portying the Story of the last person shot at the Berlin Wall

Whispers of Freedom: Portying the Story of the last person shot at the Berlin Wall

Whispers of Freedom: Portying the Story of the last person shot at the Berlin Wall

BonusTuesday, 22nd April 2025
Good episode? Give it some love!
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Chris Gueffroy, was the last person to be shot dead at the Berlin Wall and a new short film called “Whispers of Freedom” portrays his story.

I speak with the film’s director Brandon Ashplant who shares the challenges of accurately portraying real individuals with deep personal histories.

Actors Cameron Ashplant (Chris) and Wendy Makkena (Karin) reflect on research they undertook to authentically represent life in East Germany.

The discussion also touches on the emotional impact of visiting key locations including Chris’s grave and the site of his death, and the delicate process of obtaining consent from his family to tell this story.

Episode extras https://coldwarconversations.com/episode399/

Where can I see the film?

There’s been various updates since we recorded. The trailer has been released and is available on the Golden Goat Films Facebook and Instagram pages (@goldengoatfilms). The World Premier is at the Sunderland Shorts Film Festival at 18:00 on Friday 16th May at the Omniplex, Sunderland. Cast and crew in attendance. So if you are in the area, do join them.

The  Canadian premiere is in September at Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival (TINFF) - which makes the film Canadian Screen Award Qualifying, opening up its route to the Academy Awards (if we’re lucky enough!)

The Guernsey premier is on September 12th and the Berlin premiere is on October 2nd at the DDR Museum. The film will thereafter live at the museum, available for international tourists to watch on an ongoing basis.

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Cold War Conversations

Experience the Cold War like never before through award-winning, real-life stories told by those who lived it. Each week, we bring you firsthand accounts from soldiers, spies, civilians, and more, capturing the full spectrum of Cold War experiences.Host Ian Sanders takes you beyond the history books, delivering raw, personal stories where every breath, pause, and emotion adds depth to understanding this pivotal era.This is Cold War history, told from the inside.We cover subjects such as spies, spying, the Iron Curtain, nuclear weapons, warfare, tanks, jet aircraft, fighters, bombers, transport aircraft, aviation, culture, and politics.We also cover personalities such as Fidel Castro, JFK, Ronald Reagan, Nikita Khrushchev, Leonid Brezhnev, Yuri Andropov, Mikhail Gorbachev, Konstantin Chernenko, Margaret Thatcher, John F. Kennedy, Josef Stalin, Richard Nixon, Lech Walesa, General Jaruzelski, Nicolae Ceaușescu.Other subjects include Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin, West Berlin, East Berlin, Cuban missile Crisis, Berlin Airlift, Bay of Pigs, SALT, Perestroika, Space Race, superpower, USSR, Soviet Union, DDR, GDR, East Germany, SDI, Vietnam War, Korean War, Solidarność, Fall of the Wall, Berliner Mauer, Trabant, Communist, Capitalist, Able Archer, KGB, Stasi, STB, SB, Securitate, CIA, NSA, MI5, MI6, Berlin Wall, escape, defection, Cuba, Albania, football, sport, Bulgaria, Soviet Union, Poland, China, Taiwan, Austria, West Germany, Solidarity, espionage, HUMINT, SIGINT, OSINT, IMINT, GEOINT, RAF, USAF, British Army, US Army, Red Army, Soviet Army, Afghanistan, NVA, East German Army, KAL007, T-72, T-64, Chieftain, M60The podcast is for military veterans, school teachers, university lecturers, students and those interested in Cold War history, museums, bunkers, weapons, AFVs, wargaming, planes, A Level, GCSE students studying Superpower Relations and the Cold War.

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