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Explore the history of one of the world’s most captivating cities with "History Flakes - The Berlin History Podcast." Your hosts, seasoned tour guides Pip Roper and Jonny Whitlam, take you through the highs and low-lows of Berlin's past, exploring events, lives and stories from Berlin's past.
From the rise and fall of the Berlin Wall to the artistic renaissance of the Weimar Republic and the dark days of the Nazi dictatorship, each episode is a blend of history, stories from the tour guide streets, and a dash of humour. Whether you’re a history buff, a lover of Berlin, or simply curious about the forces that shaped modern Europe, join Pip and Jonny as they peel back the layers of Berlin's history. Discover the heroes, villains, revolutions, and evolutions that have defined this iconic city.
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38 Episodes
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We went in hard on this one… you’re getting a 2 for 1. A live spectacular on Kaiser Wilhelm II and his mother Empress Frederick AND some musings from us afterwards because we couldn’t get enough of this German/British collab that ended, well… terribly. Follow Vicky, daughter of Queen Victoria and liberal reformer Prince Albert, as she dives into the absolute viper’s nest that was the 19th Century court of Prussia ruled over by the Hohenzollerns. She’s got a gorgeous, kind husband, representi...
Hello Dear History Flakes Listener! We miss you all most cruelly. To tide you over until Season 4 begins in 2026, here's a live show all the way from August 2024. It was over 30 degrees but Jonny rallied valliantly (and only mentioned it 7, 8, or 100 times). We share with you some of the more ingenious and puzzling escapes from East to West Berlin. Air, land, sea, and even an inflatable mattress - you name it, it's here. So settle in for some daring escapes to freedom in the West, home ...
Agent ZigZag, Agent Garbo, Mutt and Jeff…who are these people? Are they or have they ever been Portuguese wine merchants? How is running a spy ring like a running a cricket club? All this and more in… The Double Cross, LIVE!!!!! A special treat we recorded back in March at the Comedy Cafe Berlin! Bringing to an end our series marking the 80 year anniversary of the end of WWII. We revisit John C Masterman, formerly playing football for the Ruhleben FC whilst a British POW in Berlin, he has a...
This episode we dive into the ins and outs of Wernher von Braun’s wartime credentials, before the Americans would be faced with the decision of whether or not his file needed a paperclip to begin with. (It did!) Contrasting heavily from last episode’s Klaus Fuchs, we look at someone whose humanity always came second to his ambition as a scientist in Nazi Germany, and contextualise his role into the broader scope of the Nazi concentration camp system. Who were some of the more sinister charact...
Excellent at mathematics, physics, and possibly even better at being an all round nice guy. Jonny tells us about the life of Klaus Fuchs and his roll in the melodrama of THE BOMB in 1945. Fleeing the Nazi regime, his relationship with Max Born, life as a German in WW2 Britain, his traumatic journey to Canada and his triumphant journey to the US and... spying! Also we talk a bit about Werner von Braun as if we've already done an episode...Pip got a little turned around on the release dates...v...
Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings were two of the biggest stars in both Weimar Germany and Hollywood in the early 20th century…they’re not that bothered about each other, but they would star together in The Blue Angel, filmed precisely as Wall Street crashed, catapulting them off into wildly different directions, personally, professionally and politically. This episode began as an attempt to check in with these two people in 1945, and whilst we do that, they're too interesting to conf...
World War II is over in Europe. But technically, like how? Who's involved? What's in Karlshorst? What will Marshall Zhukov be drinking and who IS Julie Busted? Inquiring minds want to know. Join us as we start to find a bit more brevity & levity in this series of War and despair. And reflect on the madness of a few people making decisions for huge numbers of us in medium sized rooms. ++++++ 💸 Donations keep us running. Click below to support the show.  ...
++++Content warning for violence and sexual violence, not one for youngsters or those of a senitive nature to these topics ++++ The Curse of the Dodgy Microphone! We've been trying to find ways to record remotely, and Pip had a bit of trouble this time, but you'll pull through, we believe in you! In this episode Jonny leads Pip through some of the key moments of the Battle of Berlin, from the Red Army entering the city on April 21 to the surrender of the Berlin garrison on May 2. We look at t...
80 years ago the Battle of Seelow Heights was the final hurdle for Stalin’s Red Army before reaching Hitler’s fascist capital, Berlin. Before the Battle of Berlin could begin, Soviet troops needed to cross the Oder river, break through several lines of German defences, and capture all the small towns and villages on the approach to Berlin. In this episode, Jonny tells Pip all about the four-day fight that opened the gates to Berlin in April 1945. Listen out for: Zhukov’s mistakes and Stalin’s...
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 h...
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 knowle...
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 ...
‼️👉 Click here to sign up! 👈‼️ 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 d...
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 an...
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 lar...
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. ++++++ Tours Want to book Pip &a...
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 status for an entire generation of children and youngsters who grew up under the leadership of the GDR. Oh… and there’...
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'...
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 admi...
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 chi...
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