with all of its funding. family all of us has investigated the links between the b.b.c. and the foreign office in doing so she has brought surprising documents to light about the secret information research department i r d. d i r d was based in the foreign office up to 300 people working there in the fifty's and so they they basically spread anti communist propaganda and they would feed this information to journalists to trade unionists to politicians but also to institutions including very importantly the b.b.c. external services and that's the german service and it lasted until $977.00 when it was shut down and the activities of the i.r.b. only became known to the public in 978 no one had actually known that this department existed. the i.r.d. maintained an especially close relationship with the b.b.c.'s german service it was

headed by richard o'rourke and austin harrison both former army officers the documents show how intensively the propaganda specialists from the foreign office and the 2 leading b.b.c. journalists were together. austin harrison told his b.b.c. colleagues almost nothing about his regular trips to east germany. but he shared the details with a secret department in the foreign office these reports also went to the west german federal government in bonn as can be seen and documents from the political archives of the german foreign ministry. i have never heard of this but i am not surprised it really fits into overworked i often ask myself there is more to it then what i am presented here the feeling that there is

more to it than we think there will be we this stuff basically very naive going about our business and thinking we are working for the b.b.c. . well through actually working for the foreign office i think this is what a lot of my colleagues never really grasped. even more explosive the b.b.c.'s regular analyses of letters from east german listeners. these were also sent to the i r d. highlighting the most relevant extracts it in turn passed on these findings about the political mood in the east to its west german allies. every 2 weeks as a matter of course these reports are listen the research which would contain extracts of letters are passed on to the information research department of the foreign office the letters from east germany and these listen their research reports even though that anecdotal information they provide information that

the british foreign office and the west german foreign office just wouldn't have had access to a whiles we don't know exactly what they did with it but it was clearly valuable to . the radio program unsigned letters became an important commodity in the cold war propaganda campaign. but in unsigned letters. but this was not known to its listeners in east germany. iraq. had it would probably have stopped people from writing to the b.b.c. and it gives credence to the stasi allegations which say well these people are corresponding with western government agencies and they are providing material to anti communist. functionaries and so they are harming our state the while austin harrison

the contents of the listener's letters with a foreign ministries in london and bonn can hines borsch art to serve his sentence in the desert our prison. for juvenile offenders. were the young man separated from family and home for writing a few critical letters it was both traumatic and highly formative. to lose. is a key experience was this young lieutenant who talked with me as he drove me there . he ended the conversation with the remark you are lucky that you live in east germany today under the nazis we'd have sent you up the chimney already 4 legs to sean shot me are. to date there are no official numbers on how many letter writers to the b.b.c. were arrested or convicted however the $973.00 shanti report shows that there

were 15 arrests that year for letters to the b.b.c. . a lot of you are can alan is also taking a trip back in time fortunately for him his letters to the b.b.c. were not in to sent it back banned but as a young student he faced the next ordeal conscription into the east german national people's army. this was unthinkable for christians and pacifists refusing man to prison and so as a last resort he decided to flee the country in 1973 he met a west german escape assistant so by way of idea the driver told me i'll stop as soon as i reach the elba bridge and that will open the trunk briefly and

you'll jump in very quickly so that we do not attract attention. playing for me then i'll keep going with you in the truck if. why the. 2 ounce later they reached the nothing bone crossing on the border with west germany. so i know. we drove into a carriage. and i was still a bit clueless in the hope that it might just be a short stop. does a fly small step to give matter or guns and all of a sudden the trunk open and destroy. one of get for the lights were pointed out if the when they said. if you try to run away you will get a bullet through your lungs and. i

was interrogated for hours luckily his other illegal activity the letters to the b.b.c. was never mentioned. but even so the court came down hard on him. 5 years in prison for attempting to flee the republic. the political situation changed while i was in prison with the signing of treaties between the 2 german states in 1972 the 1st phase of relaxation began. in our west germans could finally visit back east and relatives more easily as far as the anakin it was a sort of diplomatic recognition of east germany. and in a way this also acknowledged the delusion of germany which a 1000000 letter writers had condemned and the british sent their 1st embassador so

it was of course no longer opportune to continue running a program that was a constant thorn in the side of east germany's authorities. and hardly any letters were getting through to london the head of the b.b.c.'s german service informed the foreign office. postal tax would simply become too effective. after almost 25 years on signed letters was discontinued without warning $974.00 much to the disappointment of its listeners in east germany. all of you like in allen and karl-heinz bush are meeting for the 1st time in front of the prison in the city of candidates once known as karl marx when our life paths to different towns. from here west germany paid east germany to

release political prisoners an average of 40000 marks some 20000 euros. for most prisoners who were taken to casper prison it was the last stop before a new life in freedom. the moment the most wonderful moment was when i was released from the citizenship of the german democratic republic. a few years and i foresaw a certificate. that was the most beautiful document east germany was able to issue the forgive my. bush i had no idea of any of this when he was transferred from desk to can mark carney a few days before he was sent to be sent to the west did he realize that his own country wanted to deport him. you know what i know both t.v. i was given an opportunity. for which others. were risking their lives that i was well aware of that at the time through the outside sean good voice. but the

young man from christ found refused to go to the west he started a hunger strike and asked his lawyer for help. they're going to have a lot of. it i grew up in christ. i have my parents grandma and sister there along with my friends this is their 1st but it goes without saying that this intention to deport me runs grossly against my own interests but. this is why i'm asking you to try to do everything. please inform my parents immediately to prevent this these are through for. all of your can alibi got a new life in west germany he studied theology and became a pastor. karl-heinz boy shot return to his hometown of christ where the all for it is kept an eye on him until the fall of the berlin wall and repeatedly caused in

trouble in his university korea is a specialist in german studies. but how do they look back at the b.b.c. radio program that played such a big role in their lives today unsigned letters were certainly a comforting anchor for freedom loving people behind the iron curtain but it was also an instrument of state guided anti communist propaganda a borderline case in the truest sense of the word assist. kryptos and i don't think that i became a victim in the propaganda war of the 2 systems with prof war or that i was somehow exploited by the editorial staff unsigned letters of the state fish fish. of the north about enforce i don't know if we influenced people i can't say that. they are. unfinished but we certainly have the intention or at least the

well 1st and the hope that we were doing something good at last quarter's. and what happened to austin harrison he retired in 1975 and died 6 years later at the age of just 65. but even after his death much remains as puzzling as it was in his lifetime. his b.b.c. personnel file can't be found. and his will call for an anonymous burial. all that remains of the supposed enemy of the state of the tapes in the archives in. privacy you write to us wherever you are let's have you have on your mind the song genetics.

climate change was the spark that made her take action. cloudy augustine 0 from portugal is suing 33 european countries and forest fires in her homeland are far too common. with a group of other young people she's heading to the european court of human rights. with success. on the road. 30 minutes on d w. here feel whatever comes gargling from the

top. news stations at health clinics. as a teenage boy has often been in short supply. now it is flowing from towns across the country. thanks to sell it now it's time. to go. on d. w. . how does a virus spread. why do we panic and when will all this. and. just through the time. and weekly radio. if you would like and your information on the coronavirus or any other science topic you should really check out our podcast you can get it wherever you get your podcast you can also find us and dot com slash science.

this is to tell you news coming to you live from berlin a major surge in fighting between israel and palestinian militants. israeli forces pound targets in gaza from the air and from the ground outside the territory while hamas launches rockets pour into israel the death toll has.