
Witness History: World War Two history
BBC World Service
Categories: Education
Listen to the last episode:
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)
Previous episodes
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139 - The mystery of Raoul Wallenberg Thu, 09 Jan 2025
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138 - The Purple Heart Warriors Wed, 11 Dec 2024
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137 - The woman who saved 2,500 children from the Warsaw ghetto Thu, 07 Nov 2024
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136 - Saving lives on D-Day Thu, 06 Jun 2024
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135 - The woman whose weather report changed the date of D-Day Wed, 05 Jun 2024
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134 - The 'comfort women' of World War Two Wed, 20 Mar 2024
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133 - The last eruption of Mount Vesuvius Fri, 15 Mar 2024
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132 - French child evacuees of World War Two Tue, 05 Mar 2024
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131 - The WW2 escape line that fooled the Nazis Mon, 12 Feb 2024
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130 - Wang Jingwei: China’s traitor or protector? Wed, 24 Jan 2024
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129 - Axis Sally: World War II traitor who broadcast for the Nazis Tue, 23 Jan 2024
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128 - Vidkun Quisling: Norway's traitor Mon, 22 Jan 2024
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127 - Japan surrenders in China Wed, 19 Jul 2023
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126 - Lee Miller in Hitler's bath Mon, 12 Jun 2023
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125 - Last communist march before Hitler Thu, 08 Jun 2023
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124 - The Dambusters Wed, 17 May 2023
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123 - German child evacuees of World War Two Tue, 16 May 2023
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122 - World War II victory in North Africa Fri, 12 May 2023
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121 - Warsaw Ghetto uprising Thu, 11 May 2023
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120 - Families interned in WW2 China Thu, 23 Feb 2023
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119 - Pink Triangles: Gay men in Nazi concentration camps Tue, 28 Feb 2023
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118 - Shanghai at War Thu, 19 May 2022
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117 - World War Two child evacuees in Britain Mon, 19 Sep 2022
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116 - China and Japan at War Mon, 17 Dec 2018
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115 - Britain's secret propaganda war Wed, 06 Nov 2019
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114 - Broadcasting D-Day Thu, 06 Jun 2019
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113 - D-Day Tue, 04 Jun 2019
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112 - The Arnhem Parachute Drop Thu, 20 Sep 2018
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111 - Berlin's Rubble Women Mon, 03 Dec 2018
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110 - The Climbers of Leningrad Thu, 28 Dec 2017
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109 - The Fake IDs That Saved Jewish Lives Wed, 25 Oct 2017
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108 - Saving Italy's Art During WW2 Wed, 11 Oct 2017
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107 - Britain's Land Girls Tue, 26 Sep 2017
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106 - The Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials Mon, 21 Aug 2017
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105 - The Sinking of the Lancastria Fri, 16 Jun 2017
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104 - The Roma Victims of the Holocaust Tue, 23 May 2017
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103 - The Katyn Massacre Tue, 11 Apr 2017
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102 - The Germans Occupy Prague Thu, 16 Mar 2017
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101 - Sara Ginaite Lithuanian Jewish Partisan Tue, 13 Dec 2016
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100 - Soviet Woman Bomber Pilot Tue, 06 Dec 2016
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99 - Italy's Partisan Fighters Mon, 05 Sep 2016
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98 - The Fall of Paris Fri, 17 Jun 2016
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97 - The Imaginary War Heroes Mon, 09 May 2016
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96 - The Death of General Patton Mon, 21 Dec 2015
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95 - Surviving Pearl Harbor Wed, 02 Dec 2015
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94 - The Bari Raid 1943 Tue, 01 Dec 2015
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93 - Surviving Ravensbruck Thu, 26 Nov 2015
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92 - The Battle of El Alamein Thu, 05 Nov 2015
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91 - The Leningrad Symphony Fri, 18 Sep 2015
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90 - The Auschwitz Cellist Sat, 29 Aug 2015