BBC Alba documentary lifts lid on Cold War Scotland v West Germany hockey clash
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A HOCKEY game between Scotland and West Germany at the height of the Cold War is to take centre stage in a documentary airing this evening (Wednesday).
BBC Alba documentary Cold War Hockey explores the incredible events of September 1961 when the Scotland international hockey team came face to face with West Germany in Berlin.
Written, produced and directed by purpleTV’s Margot McCuaig, the programme transports viewers back to a remarkable time in modern history.
Just weeks after the construction of the Berlin Wall, the Scotland women’s team were invited to play against West Germany.
Four of the team – Jenna Park, Valerie Crombie, Kit Smith and Alix Jamieson – recall the events of their trip to a tense geopolitical zone.
Simply anticipating a tough game of hockey against stern opposition, the women’s eyes were soon opened to the true magnitude of the situation on the ground in Berlin.
After the events of World War II and the ramifications over 16 years, many feared the world could be on the verge of conflict once again.
In modern times, with aggression and war once again on the agenda in Europe, two of the team, Jenna and Valerie, revisit the city for the first time in 60 years, understanding the significance of the trip to their lives, and to the history of the Cold War and the Berlin Crisis.
Historians Dr Heather Dichter and Dr Wolfgang Schmidt provide context for these seismic events and the significance of Scotland’s trip to the Olympiapark – one the England team were not prepared to make.
After flying in from Edinburgh, the Scotland team met up with their West German counterparts in Hanover ahead of the international match they were scheduled to play at the Olympic Hockey Stadium in West Berlin on September 30.
From Hanover, both teams journeyed together by bus to Berlin, importantly demonstrating to the outside world, and the population of West Berlin, that the travel corridors to the city were accessible.
When they reached Checkpoint Charlie, the access point to West Berlin, they were held on the bus at gunpoint. Politically naïve about the developing situation, it was a trip that had a profound influence on the players. When armed soldiers boarded the team bus the players were forced to watch in silence as their manager, Kate Weatherhead, was removed and interrogated.
Alix recalled: "I remember this vividly. On the bus between West Germany and Berlin, all the soldiers coming on the bus and all the towers en route with the soldiers standing with guns.
"It was quite scary.
“That was the first time we realised we were in somewhere quite dangerous. I was only 19. I was just a teenager and really not aware. My world was very small – I was all about college and hockey. We weren’t that worldly-wise then.”
Eventually, they entered West Berlin, and after being paraded in front of Soviet tanks at Brandenburg Gate, they were able to begin preparations to play hockey.
Sixty years after the match in Berlin, Cold War Hockey is a first person account of four surviving players of the Scotland team who travelled to Berlin, who look back on their experience, putting into context their shock at discovering they were playing hockey at a critical period in the tensions between East and West.
In addition, Jenna and Val return to Berlin for the first time since 1961. They visit Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate and the Olympic Hockey stadium and while in Germany reveal that in a political speech before the game they were told that their visit had played a part in keeping world peace.
Jenna said: “When it was explained to the crowd, it was all in German and we did not understand it. But we were informed later on in the day what had been said at the stadium and then we understood it a lot better.
"The gentleman who spoke to us said: 'You have to believe that you have played a part in keeping world peace'. And we felt very pleased with ourselves at that point."
Cold War Hockey is produced and directed by RTS award-winning company purpleTV and will be broadcast on BBC Alba on Wednesday, April 5 at 9pm. It will also be available on BBC iPlayer for 30 days afterwards.
