Betrayed by comrades (226)

03/12/22 • 66 min

1 Listener

Liz Kohn has been researching Alice Glasnerová, who was imprisoned as part of the early Cold War Czechoslovak show trials known as the Slansky trials.

These were among the most notorious show trials of the 20th century, with the prosecution and sentencing to death of Rudolf Slánský, general secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist party, and 10 other defendants, who had been arrested in a brutal purge ordered by Stalin.

Alice Glasnerová was Liz’s father’s first wife. When Liz started researching Alice’s life she had never seen a picture of her and had never read a word she had written. All I knew was that she had been married to her father and had been a member of the communist party. Liz has pieced together a tragic story of a couple although deeply in love, who were separated by the difference in their political views which ultimately resulted in pain, disillusion and betrayal.

Now if you think there is a vast army of research assistants, audio engineers and producers putting together this podcast you’d be wrong. This podcast relies on your support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available to everyone for free.

If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations.

Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.

If a financial contribution is not your cup of tea, then you can still help us by leaving written reviews wherever you listen to us as well as sharing us on social media. It really helps us get new guests on the show.

0:00 Introduction to Liz Kohn and her research on Alice Glasnerova

6:17 Alice Glasnerova's political journey and experiences in the Soviet Union

14:58 Alice's experiences in Spain and the aftermath

17:13 Alice's journey to America and the impact of Anti-Semitism

20:02 Alice's return to Czechoslovakia and involvement in the war

27:21 The communist takeover in Czechoslovakia and its impact on Alice's life

31:04 Alice's arrest and her involvement with Noel Field

43:38 The notorious Slansky trial and its outcomes

49:21 Helena's trial, imprisonment, and post-release struggles

1:00:52 Future plans for the story of Alice and Helena

1:01:59 Closing remarks, appreciation for patrons, and invitation to join the Facebook group

Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨

You can read more about Liz’s research on her blog https://lookingforalice.com/

There are further videos, photos and information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode226/

Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/

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Liz Kohn has been researching Alice Glasnerová, who was imprisoned as part of the early Cold War Czechoslovak show trials known as the Slansky trials.

If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations.

Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.

0:00 Introduction to Liz Kohn and her research on Alice Glasnerova

6:17 Alice Glasnerova's political journey and experiences in the Soviet Union

14:58 Alice's experiences in Spain and the aftermath

17:13 Alice's journey to America and the impact of Anti-Semitism

20:02 Alice's return to Czechoslovakia and involvement in the war

27:21 The communist takeover in Czechoslovakia and its impact on Alice's life

31:04 Alice's arrest and her involvement with Noel Field

43:38 The notorious Slansky trial and its outcomes

49:21 Helena's trial, imprisonment, and post-release struggles

1:00:52 Future plans for the story of Alice and Helena

1:01:59 Closing remarks, appreciation for patrons, and invitation to join the Facebook group

Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨

You can read more about Liz’s research on her blog https://lookingforalice.com/

There are further videos, photos and information on this episode here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode226/

Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/

Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previous Episode

My father, the KGB spy (225)

1 Recommendations

In 1978, Ieva Lesinska was a university student in Soviet Latvia with dreams of becoming a writer. She had just spent a heady month in New York visiting her father, Imants Lesinskis, a Soviet translator working at the United Nations. However, he was an employee of the KGB and a member of the Communist Party.

During her trip to the US, Ieva’s father informed her that he and his wife Rasma were about to defect. He offered her a blunt choice: take a taxi to the Soviet Embassy and denounce him as a traitor, or stay with him and never see her mother or her homeland of Latvia again. She chose to stay.

The new family officially became East German immigrants with new identities: Peter and Linda Dorn, and their daughter Evelyn. They were citizens of nowhere who possessed re-entry permits but no passports. In 1985, soon after Mr Lesinskis publicly disclosed confidential items on various KGB operations in Latvia, he died under mysterious circumstances.

Watch the film about Ieva story here:

UK https://amzn.to/3In12Ra US https://amzn.to/3xRZsBX

This podcast relies on listener support to enable me to continue to capture these incredible stories and make them available for free. You can support my work and help to preserve Cold War history via one-off or monthly donations

Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.

Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.

I am delighted to welcome Ieva Lesinska to our Cold War conversation...

There’s further information here. https://coldwarconversations.com/episode225/

0:00 Introduction and story of Ieva Lesinska's parents as sleeper agents

2:26 Ieva Lesinska on her childhood and family history in Soviet Latvia

17:03 Revelation of Ieva's father's KGB affiliation and defection plans

23:02 Ieva Lesinska's journey to the United States and her decision to stay

39:13 Ieva Lesinska's adjustment to new life and identity in the US

50:13 Ieva's academic journey in the US, from Ohio State University to University of Colorado

57:42 Maintaining contact with her mother and dealing with homesickness

1:00:39 Ieva's father's mysterious death and his double life as a CIA and KGB agent

1:08:17 Reunion with her mother and her life after liberation in Latvia

1:14:04 Her story being adapted into a film and rejection of the victim narrative

1:17:41 Ieva Lesinska's current life as a journalist and translator

1:19:13 Acknowledging and thanking patrons

Table of contents powered by PodcastAI✨

Support the project! https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/coldwarpod/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/coldwarconversations/

Youtube https://youtube.com/@ColdWarConversations

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Next Episode

The first woman to graduate from French Commando school (227)

Maura McCormick was posted to Berlin as a Signals Intelligence voice interceptor (Russian). Her workplace was the Teufelsberg U.S. listening station, aka Field Station Berlin.

Maura shares her early impressions of Berlin and working at the Tberg. She talks about her impressions of the infamous James Hall, a United States Army warrant officer and signals intelligence analyst who sold eavesdropping and code secrets to East Germany and the Soviet Union from 1983 to 1988.

Maura also recounts a close call with Hüseyin Yıldırım, a Turkish-American auto mechanic who was a Stasi courier for the espionage activities of James Hall.

Maura often visited East Berlin where she tells of an unusually close encounter with a chimney sweep that almost resulted in an international incident.

In West Berlin, Maura became the first woman to graduate from French Commando school. The commandant had a nightly call to Paris to confirm that she had survived the day's training...

If you’d like to help to preserve Cold War history and enable me to continue to produce this podcast you can via one-off or monthly donations.

Just go to https://coldwarconversations.com/donate/ for more details.

Do join our Facebook discussion group where the cold war conversation continues between episodes. Just search Cold War Conversations on Facebook.

0:00 Introduction and Maura McCormick's role in the Cold War

2:35 Interview with Maura McCormick begins

5:56 Maura's first posting in Berlin and impressions of West Berlin

16:21 Maura's interaction with Stasi spies James Hall and Hüseyin Yıldırım

24:52 Maura's acclimatization trip to East Germany and encounters

36:04 Maura's experiences in East Berlin and close encounter with East German leader

44:13 Maura's interactions with East Germans

48:40 How Maura ended up in French Commando school and her training experiences

1:00:53 Exploring Berlin through books and films