Inspired by the research for Helena Merriman’s acclaimed BBC podcast, Tunnel 29 is the true story of the most remarkable escape tunnel dug under the Berlin Wall – as told through the voices of the people involved.
It’s August, 1962, exactly one year after Germany’s capital was physically divided. Joachim Rudolph is digging a tunnel under the Berlin Wall. But he isn’t tunnelling out of the East. He’s tunnelling in from the West. Why? To help dozens of people escape from East Germany.
In this fascinating account you’ll learn about the psychological effects of living behind a wall, and how people in the East defied the Stasi by getting information from the outside world. And find out about East Germany’s mass of informants – including the Stasi agent who infiltrated the group and handed the tunnellers’ plans over to their enemy.
Acclaim for the BBC Podcast:
‘Both a Big BBC Podcast and a really great listen’ Observer
‘Gripping… as pacey as the best Netflix thriller’ Evening Standard
‘Combining the fun of a thriller that we know will end happily with grim perspective on history and tyranny. Merriman’s evocation of the night the Berlin Wall went up is particularly stunning’ New Yorker
Award-winning BBC journalist Helena Merriman conceived and presented the Tunnel 29 podcast.
She says, “This story is not just for cold war obsessives. It’s a story for our times: a time when people all over the world make perilous journeys in search of freedom and governments go to extreme lengths to control their borders.”