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
Aug 16, 2022 • 11min
India's Partition - Part Two
The partition of India led to millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs fleeing their homes during horrific religious violence. This is the second of two programmes remembering that time.Lucy Williams spoke to Chandra Joashi, was only 12-years-old when his family was caught on the wrong side of the dividing line.This episode was first broadcast in 2010.Photo: Millions of families became refugees after the partition of India in 1947
Credit: Keystone-France / Contributor
Aug 15, 2022 • 11min
India's Partition - Part One
The partition of India led to millions of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs fleeing their homes amid horrific violence. This is the first of two programmes remembering that time.Listen to the story of Saleem, who was only five-years-old when his family tried to escape to the new Muslim country of Pakistan.
This programme was first broadcast in 2010.Photo: Wrecked buildings after communal riots in Amritsar, Punjab, during the Partition of British India, March 1947
Credit: Keystone Features / Stringer
Aug 12, 2022 • 10min
The nightclub that changed Ibiza
In June 1973, the nightclub Pacha opened in Ibiza. Other clubs with the capacity to fit thousands of people on the dancefloor opened in the years after, turning Ibiza into a destination for music and party lovers from around the world. Vicky Carter speaks to Carlos Martorell who organised Pacha’s opening party and Francis Van Orden, a Dutch hippy who danced all night on the opening night.(Photo: Sunset over the sea with boats in the distance. Credit: BBC and Minnow Films)
Aug 11, 2022 • 9min
Discovering Hale Bopp
Hale Bopp is one of the most widely observed comets of the 20th century. Its discovery in 1995 resulted in huge advances in science. Russell Crewe spoke to astronomer Dr Alan Hale who discovered the comet alongside Tom Bopp. This is a Made in Manchester production for the BBC World Service.(Photo: Hale Bopp Comet in the night sky. Credit: Getty Images)
Aug 10, 2022 • 11min
Indonesia's forest fires
Twenty five years ago in Indonesia, some of the worst forest fires in history devastated the environment and resulted in a smog which engulfed South East Asia for months. The fires, which were set deliberately, burned out of control for months. Mesdiono Matali Samad, known as Memes, worked on the Indonesian Red Cross relief effort helping people in East Kalimantan, Borneo. He's been speaking to Laura Jones.
Aug 9, 2022 • 9min
Sweden’s pronoun battle
Sweden has a long history of championing LGBTQ+ rights. But campaigners spent years battling to get the gender-neutral personal pronoun ‘hen’ included in Swedish dictionaries. The word was finally added in 2015. Maddy Savage spoke to Nasim Aghili from the "queer" art collective Ful, which rallied to get the word recognised. This is a Bespoken Media production for the BBC World Service. (Photo: Nasim Aghili. Credit: Thomas Straub)
Aug 8, 2022 • 9min
The resignation of President Nixon
On 8 August 1974 Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign from office, following the Watergate scandal. In 2014, Farhana Haider spoke to journalist Tom DeFrank, who watched the drama unfold minute by minute.(Photo: Nixon announces his resignation on national television. Credit: Getty Images)
Aug 5, 2022 • 9min
The return of Asians to Uganda
When President Yoweri Museveni came to power in 1986, he encouraged exiled Asians to return to Uganda and reclaim their homes and businesses to help rebuild the country.
The economy had collapsed under the dictator Idi Amin after he expelled the Asian population in 1972.
Dr Mumtaz Kassam went back to Uganda years after arriving in the UK as a refugee. She talks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about returning to her birthplace.
Caption: Dr. Mumtaz Kassam receiving a Golden Jubilee Presidential medal at the 56th independence celebrations. Credit: Dr Mumtaz Kassam
The following programme has been updated since its original broadcast.
Aug 4, 2022 • 11min
The city shaped by Ugandan Asians
Thousands of Asians who were expelled from Uganda in 1972, settled in the UK and many made Leicester their home.
Their arrival in the East Midlands helped to shape its identity and now Leicester plays host to the largest Diwali celebrations outside of India.
Nisha Popat was nine-years-old when she arrived in the city with her family who later opened up a restaurant in the area that became known as the Golden Mile. Reena Stanton-Sharma spoke to her about moving there in the 70s as a child.
This programme contains descriptions of racial discrimination.
Caption: Nisha Popat at the Bobby's deli counter Credit: Nisha Popat
Aug 3, 2022 • 9min
The exodus of Asians from Uganda
In 1972, the dictator Idi Amin announced that all Asians had just 90 days to leave Uganda.
Teacher Nurdin Dawood, who had a young family, didn't at first believe that Amin was serious.
But soon he was desperately searching for a new country to call home. Farhana Dawood spoke to her father Nurdin Dawood in 2011.
This programme contains descriptions of racial discrimination.Caption: President of Uganda Idi Amin. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images
