Avsnitt
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Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat, saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis during World War Two.
Once Soviet troops reached Budapest, Wallenberg reported to Soviet officials on 17 January 1945. But he was never seen in public again. Rumours of his fate have circled ever since: a Soviet government report said he died of a heart attack in prison, while former officials said he was executed, and prisoners claimed to have seen him decades later. There is still a campaign to uncover what happened to him.
Alex Last made this programme in 2015 using archive recordings.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Raoul Wallenberg in 1937. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
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During World War Two, a Japanese American battalion became one of the most decorated army units in US military history.
The 442nd Regimental Combat Unit earned more than 4,000 Purple Hearts and seven Presidential Unit Citations for extraordinary heroism in battle.
The unit was set up in 1943, just over a year after Japan bombed the US naval base at Pearl Harbor. Following the attack, 120,000 Japanese Americans living on the west coast were sent to internment camps, but many were keen to show their loyalty to the US.
They volunteered to join the 442nd RCT and fight in Europe. Hundreds of recruits came from the camps, while thousands of others were from the Japanese American community in Hawaii.
Among them was 19-year-old Matsuichi Kusatsu. His son Clyde tells Jane Wilkinson about how the unit fought prejudice to prove their loyalty, and a warning, this story includes racist language of the time.
Actor Clyde stars in the BBC World Service drama Purple Heart Warriors. To hear this six-part season search for Dramas, wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Matsuichi Kusatsu in 1944. Credit: Family photo)
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Irena Sendler was a Polish social worker who risked her life to save 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto during World War Two.
Irena, a Catholic, was able to enter the ghetto because of her job. She was soon smuggling in food, medicine and clothing; and smuggling out children.
And, as a member of the Zegota underground resistance movement, she recruited others to help. Some children were hidden in suitcases, potato sacks, and even inside coffins. Others escaped through sewers.
In 1943, Irena was caught and tortured by the Gestapo but her supporters bribed a guard and she was released. Irena continued her work under a false name until the end of the war.
In 1965, she was given one of Israel’s highest honours for non-Jews: the title of Righteous among the Nations. She died in 2008 at the age of 98.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
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Charles Norman Shay was a field medic in the United States Army when he landed on the Normandy beach codenamed Omaha on D-Day.
On June 6, 1944, the US 1st Infantry Division faced a bombardment of machine gun fire from the German soldiers on surrounding cliffs.
More than 1,700 men died on Omaha alone. Aged just 19, Charles risked his own life to save his comrades from drowning, for which he was awarded the US silver star for gallantry.
Although he had served his country, as a native American, he was deprived the right to vote until 1954.
Aged 99, he tells Josephine McDermott his remarkable account.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Charles Norman Shay in October 1944 in Germany. Credit: Charles Norman Shay)
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In 1944, a young Irishwoman called Maureen Flavin drew up a weather report that helped change the course of World War Two.
Maureen was working at a post office in Blacksod on the far west coast of Ireland. Her duties included recording rainfall, wind speeds, temperature and air pressure.
On 3 June, she sent one of her hourly reports to Dublin, unaware that the figures were being passed on to the Allied headquarters in England. It was the first indication of bad weather heading towards the coast of France - and it was a huge blow.
Hundreds of thousands of British, American and Canadian servicemen had already gathered for the most ambitious operation of the war, the assault of the Normandy beaches on 5 June.
But after reading Maureen’s report, chief meteorologist Group Captain James Stagg advised a delay of 24 hours.
US General, Dwight Eisenhower, gave the order, and D-Day was finally launched on 6 June, 1944. A date that went down in history.
Maureen's son Edward Sweeney tells Jane Wilkinson about the family's pride in their mother.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
(Photo: Maureen Sweeney. Credit: Sweeney family photo)
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Between 1932 and 1945, hundreds of thousands of women and girls across Asia were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army.
Referred to as "comfort women", they were taken from countries including Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia to be raped by Japanese soldiers.
Today, the issue remains a source of tension between Japan and its neighbours, with continuing campaigns to compensate the few surviving victims.
Dan Hardoon speaks to Chinese survivor Peng Zhuying who, along with her elder sister, was captured and taken to a "comfort station" in central China.
This programme contains disturbing content.
(Photo: People visit a museum dedicated to the victims, on the site of a former comfort station in China. Credit: Yang Bo/China News Service/VCG/Getty Images)
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The Mount Vesuvius eruption that buried Pompeii in 79AD is well known, but far fewer people know about the last time the volcano erupted in 1944.
It was World War Two, and families in southern Italy had already lived through a German invasion, air bombardment, and surrender to the Allies.
And then at 16:30 on 18 March, Vesuvius erupted. The sky filled with violent explosions of rock and ash, and burning lava flowed down the slopes, devastating villages.
By the time it was over, 11 days later, 26 people had died and about 12,000 people were forced to leave their homes.
Angelina Formisano, who was nine, was among those evacuated from the village of San Sebastiano. She’s been speaking to Jane Wilkinson about being in the path of an erupting volcano.
(Photo: Vesuvius erupting in March 1944. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)
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In August and September 1939, tens of thousands of children began to be evacuated from Paris.
The move, part of France's 'passive defence' tactic, aimed to protect children from the threat of German bombardment.
Colette Martel was just nine when she was taken from Paris to Savigny-Poil-Fol, a small town more than 300km from her home.
She’s been speaking to her granddaughter, Carolyn Lamboley, about how her life changed. She particularly remembers how she struggled to fit in with her host family, and how it all changed because of a pair of clogs.
(Photo: Colette (left) with her sister Solange in 1939. Credit: family photo)
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In 1940 a daring rescue operation began to help Allied servicemen escape from Nazi-occupied France.
French resistance fighter Roland Lepers was among those who guided stranded Allied soldiers and airmen to neutral Spain during World War Two. The 1,000 km route became known as the Pat O’Leary Escape Line - or the Pat Line.
It’s estimated 7,000 Allied personnel escaped through this route and similar escape lines, thanks to a network of people who clothed, fed and hid them. Peter Janes was one of those British servicemen.
Roland’s daughter Christine and Peter’s son Keith, speak to Jane Wilkinson about their fathers’ adventures.
(Photo: German-controlled checkpoint in France, 1940. Credit: Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty Images)
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In 1937, Japan invaded China committing atrocities including the Nanjing Massacre. Wang Jingwei was a Chinese national hero and second-in-command of China’s ruling Nationalist Party. He wanted to negotiate with Japan but his colleagues wouldn’t listen. So he defected, and in 1940 he agreed to lead a Japanese-controlled puppet government in Nanjing.
Many Chinese have hated him ever since – his name is synonymous with the word ‘Hanjian’, a traitor to China.
But Pan Chia-sheng’s memories of living under Wang Jingwei’s government tell a very different story. He speaks to Ben Henderson.
(Photo: Wang Jingwei. Credit: Wang Wenxing via Wang Jingwei Irrevocable Trust)
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In 1949, Mildred Gillars – otherwise known as Axis Sally – became the first woman in American history to be convicted of treason.
The former Broadway showgirl broadcast antisemitic Nazi propaganda on German State Radio during World War Two.
Her weekly shows were heard by thousands of American servicemen who gave her the nickname Axis Sally.
After her capture, she denied being a traitor, but a jury in Washington convicted her of treason, and she served 12 years in prison. Jane Wilkinson has been looking through the BBC archives to uncover her story.
(Photo: Mildred Gillars. Credit: Bettmann, Getty Images)
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In December 1939, fascist Norwegian politician Vidkun Quisling travelled to Berlin from Oslo for a secret meeting with Adolf Hitler.
Quisling suggested to Hitler that the British were planning to move into Norway for their own strategic needs. Norway hadn’t been a concern for the Nazis but the meeting alarmed Hitler and within months Germany started its invasion of Norway.
From that moment, Quisling was consigned into history as a traitor. So much so that in the time since, his name has become a byword for traitor in numerous languages.
Matt Pintus hears from Norwegian journalist, Trude Lorentzen, who decided to study Quisling’s life after stumbling across his suitcase in an online auction.
As part of her voyage of discovery, Trude interviewed Quisling’s Jewish neighbour Leif Grusd who was forced to flee to Sweden when the Nazis took over Norway.
Leif Grusd's interview was translated from the NRK podcast "Quislings koffert" - Quisling's suitcase - released in 2021. It was made by production company Svarttrost for NRK.
(Photo: Vidkun Quisling and Adolf Hitler. Credit: Getty Images)
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In the autumn of 1945, World War II surrender ceremonies took place across the Japanese Empire. The one in China was held at the Forbidden City in Beijing bringing an end to eight years of occupation. Thousands of people watched the incredible moment Japanese generals handed over their swords. The United States, China, Russia and the United Kingdom were all represented. John Stanfield, now 103, is the last surviving British person who was there. He recalls to Josephine McDermott how he signed the surrender declaration documents on behalf of the British.
Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.
Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.
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Vogue's war correspondent Lee Miller found herself in Adolf Hitler's Munich apartment when the news broke that he was dead.
Earlier that day, she and fellow photographer David Scherman had witnessed the harrowing scenes at the liberated Dachau concentration camp.
Lee Miller's son and biographer, Antony Penrose, explains to Josephine McDermott the significance of the photograph taken in the final days of World War II in Europe.
(Photo: Lee Miller in Hitler's bathtub. Credit: David E. Scherman © Courtesy Lee Miller Archives)
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On 25 January 1933 the last legal communist march was held in Berlin.
Just a few days later Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany.
Soon the Communist Party was banned and the Nazi grip on power was complete.
Eric Hobsbawm was a schoolboy communist at the time. He spoke to Andrew Whitehead in 2012.
(Photo: Communist rally 1932. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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In the early hours of 17 May 1943 a bold World War II attack destroyed two dams in the Ruhr Valley in Germany's industrial heartland, causing 1,600 casualties and catastrophic flooding which hampered the German war effort.
The dams were highly protected but 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force had a new weapon – the bouncing bomb.
Invented by Barnes Wallis, the weapon was designed to skip over the dams' defences and explode against the sides.
The Dambusters mission was a huge propaganda success for Britain and later inspired a famous film.
In 2013, Simon Watts spoke to George "Johnny" Johnson, the last survivor of the Dambusters squadron.
(Photo: Squadron Leader George "Johnny" Johnson. Credit: Leon Neal via Getty Images)
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Beginning in 1940 thousands of German children were evacuated to camps in the countryside to avoid the bombs of World War Two.
These camps were seen as safe places where they could continue their education but also where Nazi beliefs could be taught.
Alex Collins has listened to archive recordings from "Haus der Geschichte der Bundersrepublik Deutschland" in Bonn one of Germany's national history museums and hears the stories of former camp residents Gunter Stoppa and Klaus Reimer.
You may find some of the contents distressing.
(Photo: German children being evacuated to Prussia. Credit: Getty Images)
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Peter Royle, 103, endured a month of solid fighting in the hills outside of Tunis in 1943. Eventually the Allies prevailed and took more than 250,000 German and Italian prisoners of war. They declared victory in Tunisia on 13 May.
Peter came close to dying many times. He recalls how he once hummed God Save the King to prevent himself being shot by friendly fire. He was under the command of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, fresh from victory in the North African desert, and recalls him being inspirational to the troops.
This episode is presented by Josephine McDermott. Ahead of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2025, the BBC is trying to gather as many first-hand accounts from surviving veterans as possible, to preserve for future generations.
Working with a number of partners, including the Normandy Memorial Trust and the Royal British Legion, the BBC has spoken to many men and women who served during the war. We are calling the collection World War Two: We were there.
(Photo: Peter Royle in battle kit in 1941. Credit: Peter Royle's family)
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In May 1943, the uprising in the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw in Poland came to an end.
The Germans had crushed the uprising and deported surviving ghetto residents to concentration camps.
Simha "Kazik" Rotem was one of the Jewish fighters who survived to tell his story.
He spoke to Louise Hidalgo in 2010.
(Photo: Warsaw Ghetto. Credit: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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In 2009, Rudolf Brazda, one of the last known survivors of the Pink Triangles, returned to the former site of Buchenwald concentration camp where he’d been imprisoned during World War Two, for being gay in Nazi Germany.
In never previously broadcast recordings, taped by Jean-Luc Schwab, who wrote Rudolf’s biography, we hear Rudolf’s reaction to returning as a 95-year-old man.
Jean-Luc Schwab who became friends with Rudolf in the last few years of his life, speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma.
This programme contains distressing details.
(Photo: Rudolf Brazda. Credit: Frederick Florin/ Getty Images)
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