Military thread... stripes and stars

[Twilight turtle]

Thought I'd start a general military thread and post bits and bobs, videos etc. Probably more for the men tho... I've been thinking a lot about my Dad's time in the Army, he spent a lot of his time in West Germany but I don't think he would've done this trip. Not sure tho.

I'll start with this army driving video, it's 16 mins long from, either 1960s or early 1970s... really interesting. It's a British Forces Germany video with instructions and rules that a military person has to follow to the letter to drive from West Germany to Berlin. I couldn't do this, but I'm female and easily confused driver in a strange area, plus country and couldn't remember all this. What do you men think?

[Blue Frost]

What a pain in the butt, and if they would have listened to Patton that wouldn't have been necessary.
Take the best road ever built, and make it a mess with checkpoints.

[Twilight turtle]

Frosty, who would risk going there with a pair of binoculars in their boot either... I bet they didn't have many travellers going that way anyhow...

[Blue Frost]

I think it's funny how many escaped East Germany, some inside the seats of cars.

[Mel Gibson]

I have family that grew up in what we'd call the Ostzone (East Germany). They were from my Grandmothers side. When I visited as a kid in 1989, not long before the wall came down, we had to get approval and a visa stamp at the checkpoint just to enter so my Grandmother could visit the cemetery where her parents were buried in. It wasn't a huge deal, but still strange as what was once one country was now two separate entities.

And while I often don't agree with US foreign policies, I will agree with Blue in that Patton had it right, but they didn't listen to him... Instead they handed over the territory to fucking Slav rule. I have nothing against Slavs personally to be honest, but their regime had no business being there until 1990.

Interestingly enough, some former East Germans are actually nostalgic about that era if you can believe it. It's called Ostalgie. I can sort of understand it, in a way: There was no homelessness, crime rates were minimal... basically your basic needs would be met under all conditions. They drove piece of shit Trabant cars, but since everyone else did also I guess it wasn't a huge deal. Deciding what products to buy at the store was easy also, since your choices were already basically chosen for you, and as such very minimal. No worries about which gourmet cheeses to pick up on shopping day, since there wasn't much to choose from.

All in all it was a simple life, where everyone was 'valued' if you will, and had a place and function in society. It's great if you're retarded I suppose, but not so great if you have a brain (one of my East German relatives is now a marine biologist, which probably wouldn't have happened had the wall stayed up).

To me, the most worrisome part of that regime was its demand for thought control: It's rumoured that 1 in 7 East Germans were directly or indirectly associated with the Stasi... Their walls certainly had ears!

[Blue Frost]

I knew several Germans from back then, none was from East Germany though.

Most government owned apartment buildings had secret doors, and listening devises I have seen on documentaries.
The doors was made so they could rush in on you, and make you vanish.
I assume the same was in East Germany.
I believe you got extra rations if you turned someone in.

[Odinson]

The DDR secret police was called the Stasi.

Its an ominous name in here because some of the Finns were also Stasi informants.


An informant named "Pekka"/code XV/11/69 was sending documents from the Finnish foreign ministry to the Stasi.


The Finnish secret police suspected and still suspects one Finnish diplomat.

Said diplomat is very well established with the EU and UN and is friends with the former EU-commissar.

[Odinson]

The Stasi were worse than the KGB..

Look at this camera.

Its designed for spying through your butthole.

[Renee]

I think it's funny how many escaped East Germany, some inside the seats of cars.

I once worked for an engineer that smuggled his future wife out of Hungary in the late 1950s like that. It was hysterical the way he used to tell the story. Apparently it was a borrowed car and it was a pos...I broke down before they could get to the Austrian border and he had to raid a construction site and steal a battery and some tools to get the car running again, all the while his girlfriend was stuck under the back seat...

[Blue Frost]

I saw a program on the learning channel when that meant something that showed how they hollowed the seats out, and the people slipped in them.
It was quite amazing, they even put luggage on the seat, and boxes. The guard looked in the car, through the boxes, looked under the car, and in the trunk, then waved them on.
There was a wagon also with a false seat, and bottom in it they waved on.
The neatest thing was the man who pole vaulted over the wall into the west side.

[Odinson]

I only see a nice looking seat.

[beanthere]

Well Twilight, It just so happens that there is a treasure trove of old videos produced in Britain from your dad's time, all found on Youtube. Here is one of them.
Enjoy.

[beanthere]

Here's another Look At Life. This one should grab the attention of the fellows eh?

[Mel Gibson]

The DDR secret police was called the Stasi.

Correct. I edited my OP. I know it was the Stasi, but after 12 beers KGB came out for some reason!

The Stasi was different from the KGB, but just as brutal in that they didn't need to use brute force, but instead simple surveillance techniques... on almost everyone.

Files were kept on everyone, and if you became a problem, they'd become a problem for you!

[Twilight turtle]

I think it's funny how many escaped East Germany, some inside the seats of cars.

Wonder how many people got out that way.... good for them, I'm glad they got up. Nothing more than an open air prison... I bet they opened everyone's mail as well. I can see having to send info or coded words but having to break it up into many letters as well and send it thru that way, slow going escape strategy maybe.

[Twilight turtle]

I have family that grew up in what we'd call the Ostzone (East Germany). They were from my Grandmothers side. When I visited as a kid in 1989, not long before the wall came down, we had to get approval and a visa stamp at the checkpoint just to enter so my Grandmother could visit the cemetery where her parents were buried in. It wasn't a huge deal, but still strange as what was once one country was now two separate entities.

And while I often don't agree with US foreign policies, I will agree with Blue in that Patton had it right, but they didn't listen to him... Instead they handed over the territory to fucking Slav rule. I have nothing against Slavs personally to be honest, but their regime had no business being there until 1990.

Interestingly enough, some former East Germans are actually nostalgic about that era if you can believe it. It's called Ostalgie. I can sort of understand it, in a way: There was no homelessness, crime rates were minimal... basically your basic needs would be met under all conditions. They drove piece of shit Trabant cars, but since everyone else did also I guess it wasn't a huge deal. Deciding what products to buy at the store was easy also, since your choices were already basically chosen for you, and as such very minimal. No worries about which gourmet cheeses to pick up on shopping day, since there wasn't much to choose from.

All in all it was a simple life, where everyone was 'valued' if you will, and had a place and function in society. It's great if you're retarded I suppose, but not so great if you have a brain (one of my East German relatives is now a marine biologist, which probably wouldn't have happened had the wall stayed up).

To me, the most worrisome part of that regime was its demand for thought control: It's rumoured that 1 in 7 East Germans were directly or indirectly associated with the Stasi... Their walls certainly had ears!

Mel, that's interesting what you've said about your family there. The cemetary visit is insanity, the paranoia by the state. And they wonder why everyone would make a run for it, outta there if they had half a chance... They just give you enough to stop from dying. They know they need humans, they're nothing without that. The way they stifle intelligent people like... jealousy I think and fear you'll bolt off if half a chance but at the same time know they need higher IQ people. I kind of imagine what a commie country would be like if all that was left there had IQs of 80 because the rest were clever enough to get out.

[Twilight turtle]

The Stasi were worse than the KGB..

Look at this camera.

Its designed for spying through your butthole.

Parasites with paranoia... needs gone from this planet for once and all...

Oh hang on... last year, there was articles about CV19 being spread by flatulence... sounds daft, but I look at now that & think what are they up to now, shake down more cash on it from more ways to swab...

[Twilight turtle]

I saw a program on the learning channel when that meant something that showed how they hollowed the seats out, and the people slipped in them.
It was quite amazing, they even put luggage on the seat, and boxes. The guard looked in the car, through the boxes, looked under the car, and in the trunk, then waved them on.
There was a wagon also with a false seat, and bottom in it they waved on.
The neatest thing was the man who pole vaulted over the wall into the west side.

Frosty... I'll look on youtube and see if there's anything there to watch. I wonder what the population was just before commie takeover and then over time... bet the pop dropped a lot. Then the parasites in control worry about that, less prisoners for them to feed off of and no one wants to emigrate there.

[Twilight turtle]

Well Twilight, It just so happens that there is a treasure trove of old videos produced in Britain from your dad's time, all found on Youtube. Here is one of them.
Enjoy.

BT, thank you... I haven't come across that one yet. Prolly more on YTs to get thru I reckon... there are ex-army men as well that go back to the towns and camps there for visits and post their videos or drone clips. It's a shame really b/c BAOR, British Army on the Rhine, closed almost all the bases early 1990s onwards. A lot have been left to go to seed as well and makes me pretty sad. My mum was there for years as well, me too... my sister. Germany doesn't have google street view, shame really.

Your video, that music I like those happy looking days...wish it was still like that. Life looked more light hearted really... maybe not for the men tho.

Some Brits stayed there in Germany as well and never came back to GB, I don't blame them really... Germany did not look like the conquered country that we had been told but come back here to GB, this place looked done. Still does. Something never added up in my head as a child, I noticed the diff in the two countries and Britain looked like the lost country instead.

My Dad first went out to Germany in late 1959 after he'd done his trade training, Herford and then more or less there until 1974 at other camps, except for a few other countries in his army time time as well. Looks like a different army back then.

[Twilight turtle]

The DDR secret police was called the Stasi.

Correct. I edited my OP. I know it was the Stasi, but after 12 beers KGB came out for some reason!

The Stasi was different from the KGB, but just as brutal in that they didn't need to use brute force, but instead simple surveillance techniques... on almost everyone.

Files were kept on everyone, and if you became a problem, they'd become a problem for you!

Mel, highly paranoid they are, aren't they... they give themselves away... that dependant on keeping their civvie prisoners under jackboot like that. Commie survival depends on it... UK is getting like that. It'll be the long term welfare crowd that rat out the rest I reckon tho. This poison place, full of jealous and entitled people who now have more than the working stiffs a lot of time. These commies know how to play people, looks like... I'm always analysing the low mindset of people here, place is like a loonie bin. It's alien almost... I'm rambling but working people in drudgey, low paid jobs get talked down to now while the ones doing the talking down are living off the proceeds of the worker who's more like the slave class now. This place is sick, has been for decades. My Dad said over three decades ago that this place is DEAD.