New York harbour erupts with an explosion as Black Tom island is ripped apart. The shock waves ripple out around Manhattan and New Jersey, shattering windows miles away and even registering on the Richter scale. However, despite the widespread destruction, the attack was downplayed as an accident by the US authorities and it was only years later that the truth of the event came to light.
Despite its absence from public knowledge, the explosion at Black Tom island has a seismic legacy. It played a part in the rise of the Nazis, the brutal internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, and the creation of America’s counterintelligence operations. Join Sarah Churchwell and David Olusoga on Journey Through Time to explore how this explosion reverberated throughout the 20th century.
Journey Through Time