Witness History
BBC World Service
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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal ; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.
We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher.
You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal ; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Sep 18, 2023 • 10min
Nazi eugenics
In July 1933, the new German Chancellor, Adolf Hitler, passed 'The Law for the Prevention of Offspring with Hereditary Diseases'.It required the sterilisation of Germans with physical and mental disabilities. Helga Gross was one of those sterilised.Ben Henderson uncovers archive interviews from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, recorded in 2003.(Photo: Helga Gross as a child. Credit: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum)
Sep 15, 2023 • 10min
The Ramallah concert
In August 2005, an unusual orchestra performed an extraordinary concert in the city of Ramallah.The West-Eastern Divan orchestra was founded in 1999 by Israeli conductor, Daniel Barenboim and Palestinian literary critic and philosopher, Edward Said.Their belief was that music has the power to bring people together.Violinists, Tyme Khelefi and Daniel Cohen tell their stories to Gill Kearsley.(Photo: The West-Eastern Divan Orchestra perform in the West Bank city of Ramallah. Credit: Abbas Momani/AFP via Getty Images)
Sep 14, 2023 • 10min
The siege at the Church of the Nativity
The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is on the site believed by Christians to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ.But in 2002, it was at the centre of one of the most dramatic sieges of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.For almost six weeks, Palestinian gunmen and civilians were holed up in the church.In 2015 Louise Hidalgo spoke to Father Amjad Sabbara, a Franciscan friar who lived in the compound, and to Carolyn Cole, an American photojournalist who managed to get inside the church in the last days of the siege.(Photo: Journalists stand behind barricades guarded by Israeli soldiers metres away from where Palestinians are holed up in the Church of the Nativity. Credit: Gali Tibbon/ AFP via Getty Images)
Sep 13, 2023 • 10min
Ariel Sharon visits al-Aqsa
Rioting broke out in 2000 after the Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon made a controversial visit to the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem’s old city.In 2012, Mike Lanchin spoke to an Israeli and a Palestinian who were there that day.(Photo: Ariel Sharon is flanked by security guards as he leaves the al-Aqsa Mosque compound. Credit: AWAD AWAD/AFP via Getty Images)
Sep 12, 2023 • 10min
Camp David Summit: How Middle East peace talks failed
In 2000, President Bill Clinton led a major effort to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The two sides were brought together at the leafy presidential retreat in Maryland. The Israeli leader, Ehud Barak and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, failed to reach any agreement and the summit ended in failure. In 2017, Farhana Haider spoke to senior American diplomatic interpreter and policy adviser, Gamal Helal, who attended the Camp David summit.(Photo: US President Bill Clinton with Israeli leader, Ehud Barak and the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, at Camp David. Credit: Getty Images)
Sep 11, 2023 • 10min
Oslo Peace Accords: The secret talks behind Middle East deal
In September 1993, a peace agreement was signed between Israel and the Palestinians after months of secret negotiations.The historic handshake between Chairman of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin took place on the lawn of the White House.Mona Juul and her husband were part of the team that planned and orchestrated top-secret meetings that culminated in the signing of the Oslo Accords.She spoke to Louise Hidalgo in 2010.(Photo: Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres signs the historic Oslo Accords looked on by (from left) Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, unidentified aide, US President Bill Clinton and PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. Credit: J David Ake/AFP via Getty Images)
Sep 8, 2023 • 9min
Victor Jara: killed in Chile's coup
On 11 September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet deposed Chile's President Salvador Allende in a military coup.Thousands of people were tortured and killed in the months after the coup, including the folk singer Victor Jara. His widow, Joan Jara, spoke to Gideon Long in 2013.(Photo: Victor Jara. Credit: Gems/Redferns via Getty Images)
Sep 7, 2023 • 10min
Organising Chile's 1973 military coup
On 11 September 1973, General Augusto Pinochet deposed Chile's democratically elected president, Salvador Allende, in a violent military coup.Hermógenes Pérez de Arce was a politician and helped organise the coup. He speaks to Jane Chambers.(Photo: Hermógenes Pérez de Arce. Credit: sourced)
Sep 6, 2023 • 9min
Murder of Swedish politician Anna Lindh
In 2003, Swedish Foreign Minister Anna Lindh was stabbed to death in a department store in the middle of Stockholm. The 46-year-old member of the ruling Social Democratic party, was tipped as successor to Swedish Prime Minister Göran Person, and an important international career was likely around the corner. Her murder caused national trauma in Sweden. Her press secretary and best friend, Eva Franchell, witnessed the murder. She speaks to Marie Fjellborg.An SMT production for BBC World Service, produced by Anna Iverson.(Photo: Anna Lindh in 2001. Credit: Getty Images)
Sep 5, 2023 • 10min
Bi Kidude: Zanzibar's 'golden grandmother of music'
In the 1980s, Bi Kidude burst onto the international music scene, when she was in her 70s. She was one of the first women from Zanzibar to sing in public without wearing the veil, in the traditional Muslim country. She was born Fatuma binti Baraka, known as Bi Kidude or "little madame" in Swahili, and fondly referred to as the "golden grandmother of music". Maryam Hamdani was one of her oldest friends and helped launch Bi Kidude's career globally. Maryam spoke to Reena Stanton-Sharma about the charismatic musician who died in 2013.(Photo: Bi Kidude at the Sauti za Busara Music Festival. Credit: Mwanzo Millinga/AFP via Getty Images)
