Send us a textIt’s the summer of 1953, and, across East Germany, angry people take to the streets. This isn’t a polite street protest. This is a furious, red flag ripping, police beating, office burning rampage. The crowds demand: - better living conditions; - the reunification of Germany; and - free elections. Instead, they would get:  - Trabants;  - the Berlin Wall; and  - another 35 years of hardline Communist government. Could the 17 June 1953 uprising have ever been successful at bringing down Soviet-dominated eastern Europe? Or were the people’s protests doomed to fail before they even started? Do you like the podcast?Please rate or review the podcast and share it with friends. On iTunes, this takes a couple of steps but it is the best way to help me reach a wider audience. 1. Search for Vaguely Interesting History on the Podcast app. 2. Tap the podcast artwork under the Podcasts heading (the red and white logo). 3. Tap reviews and leave a star rating or, even better, add a review as well! Music credits The theme music is Newsroom by Riot. The other music featured in this episode was Cylinder Seven and The Life and Death of a Certain K. Zabriskie, Patriarch, both by Chris Zabriskie and Sunset by Kai Engel. All tracks are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).