Witness History

On 1 May 2004, the European Union went through its biggest ever enlargement. 10 countries joined including eight from the former Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. For some, it was the moment the Eastern Bloc threw off the shackles of the Cold War and embraced a prosperous future in the EU. For others, it was the moment European countries lost control of their borders, leading to mass migration....

During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietnamese army in their victory in the war in 1975. In 2017 Alex Last spoke to Le Van Lang, a Viet Cong veteran who helped co...

When South Vietnam fell to communist forces in 1975, most could not escape. In the last days, the United States airlifted its remaining personnel and some high-ranking Vietnamese officials - but millions were left behind to await their fate. In 2021 Alex Last spoke to one South Vietnamese veteran who remained in Saigon as North Vietnamese forces took the city. Dr Tran Xuan Dung served as a doctor...

In the late 1970s, Vietnam was one of the poorest countries in the world. Its economy had been destroyed by war with the USA, a trade embargo, and the communist government's restriction of private enterprise. So, at the Vietnam Communist Party’s 6th National Congress in December 1986, radical economic reforms were introduced, known as Doi Moi, meaning ‘renovation’. The reforms transformed the coun...

On 30 April 1945 Adolf Hitler killed himself in a bunker in the German capital Berlin as Soviet Red Army soldiers closed in. But first he married his lover Eva Braun, and dictated his will. In 1989, Traudl Junge, one of Hitler’s secretaries who was in the bunker when he died, shared her testimony with Zina Rohan. This episode was first broadcast in 2013. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by arc...

In September 1987, Othello was staged at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg during the apartheid regime in South Africa. The Immorality Act, which banned sexual relationships between white people and non-white people, had been repealed in 1985. But the Shakespeare play was controversial, especially the scene where the black actor, John Kani, kissed the white actress playing his wife. The play was...

Forty years ago, on 23 April 1985, Coca-Cola decided to change the secret formula of its fizzy drink, in a bid to be market leaders. They launched a new flavour called ‘New Coke’. But, after a public backlash and thousands of angry calls, bosses were forced to act and bring back the old recipe. In 2011, author Mark Pendergrast spoke to Alan Johnston about the change. Eye-witness accounts brought t...

An 18-second clip of a young man standing in front of an elephant enclosure at San Diego Zoo in California, describing their “really long trunks” was the first video to be posted onto YouTube in April 2005. It was uploaded by co-founder Jawed Karim, who with friends Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, cooked up the idea for the video-sharing service while working together at PayPal. Twenty years later, it...

In April 1944, the Allies planned Exercise Tiger to practise their landing on France's Normandy beaches ahead of D-Day. During the rehearsal, a German fleet attacked, sinking two allied ships. Around 749 US servicemen died. The Allies’ military leaders ordered troops not to discuss the disaster because they didn’t want to damage morale or give away the D-Day plans. So, Exercise Tiger was largely f...

In November 1995, a proposal of having an annual day focused on celebrating books was put forward at the UNESCO conference in Paris. The idea came from a long-established Spanish celebration ‘The Day of Books and Roses’. The first World Book Day was on 23 April 1996. Although some countries now celebrate World Book Day on different dates, it’s marked on 23 April in the majority of countries. Pere...

Fifty years after the start of the genocide that wiped out a quarter of its eight million population, Cambodia remains one of the most heavily landmined countries in the world. More than 65,000 people have been killed or injured by explosive devices since the end of the conflict – and almost one million still live in areas affected by the remnants of war. Aki Ra was one of thousands of child soldi...

In April 1975 the four-year rule of the brutal Khmer Rouge began in Cambodia. Up to two million people are thought to have died - many summarily executed, or starved to death in the communist regime. In 2013, Mike Lanchin spoke to Youk Chhang, who was just 14-years-old when the Khmer Rouge swept to power. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by t...

In 1993, a literal lightbulb moment led to the invention of the first white light emitting diode (LED). These LEDs are now used to light up everything from our streets to our homes to this screen you’re looking at. Along with two other Japanese engineers, Professor Shuji Nakamura, was behind this illuminating invention. But Shuji’s journey to this point is one of resilience and perseverance. In hi...

In April 2005, nine young Australians were caught trying to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia. The Bali Nine, as they became known, faced a maximum sentence of death by firing squad under Indonesia's strict drug laws. Bishop Tim Harris, who formed a close relationship with one of the Bali Nine families, and visited members of the group in prison has been speaking to Dan Hardoon. Eye-witness...

In December 1989, Germany’s ‘Green Belt’ was born. For more than 40 years, the country had been split by a 1,400km border and, in the decades the so-called ‘death zone’ had existed, life flourished everywhere. In 1989, communism crumbled and, as soon as the borders opened, Kai Frobel knew he needed to act fast to stop farmers and developers. He called a meeting on 9 December, hoping a few people m...

On 19 April 1995, a huge truck bomb killed 168 people in a government building in Oklahoma City, US. There were 19 children among the dead and more than 500 people were injured. One of the perpetrators, Timothy McVeigh, was executed in 2001. Dr David Tuggle was a paediatric surgeon who helped find survivors. He spoke to Golnoosh Golshani in 2015. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Wi...

In December 2011, Leymah Gbowee was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her role in helping to end the devastating civil war in Liberia. She had mobilised thousands of women to take part in daily, non-violent public protests calling for peace – which pressurised ruthless President Charles Taylor into meeting them. When he agreed to peace talks, a delegation from The Women of Liberia Mass Action for...

On 27 February 1933, the Reichstag building in Berlin, which was home to the German Parliament, was burned down. This was a key event in the establishment of the Nazi dictatorship. Berlin-born journalist, Sefton Delmer, told his story to the BBC World Service in 1967. He grew up in the city so knew people involved with the Nazi party. This meant he was able to get close to the main people on the n...

In 1991, a horrific civil war erupted between rival warlords in Somalia. A US-led United Nations mission tried to restore order and provide humanitarian aid. But, the mission ended in an embarrassing withdrawal in 1995 after US helicopters were shot down, as depicted in the film Black Hawk Down. Halima Ismail Ibrahim risked her life to work for the UN mission. She speaks to Ben Henderson. Eye-witn...

In 1960, Norwegian toymaker Åsmund Lærdal began selling his latest invention - a life-size training dummy designed to teach mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Resusci Anne is made of soft plastic and resembles an unconscious person. Åsmund wanted as many people as possible to be trained in this new method of life saving and he hoped that a female manikin would be less threatening to trainees. Anne's no...

United States President John F Kennedy gave a speech in Berlin at the height of the Cold War on 26 June 1963. It galvanised the world in support of West Berliners who had been isolated by the construction of the Berlin Wall. In 2023, Tom Wills spoke to Gisela Morel-Tiemann, who attended the speech as a student. A Whistledown production. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness Hist...

In 1976, Jenette Kahn took on one of the biggest roles in comic books - publisher of DC Comics, home to superheroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. She was only 28, and the first female boss. Her first mission was to change the company name. For decades it had been known as National Periodical Publications but, with sales stalling, Jenette reverted back to the original name: DC Comics. It...

In 1951, American chemist Dr Harry Coover was experimenting with a substance called cyanoacrylate but it was sticking to everything. He realised its potential as an adhesive and it went on sale in 1958 as Eastman 910, because it only took 10 seconds to set. But his product only became a commercial success after an appearance on a game show, I've Got a Secret, where Harry demonstrated his glue coul...

In the early 1900s, the first diamond was found in Kolmanskop, in the African country of Namibia. It led to a diamond rush and the town was created. Having become one of the wealthiest places, when the diamonds ran out it was abandoned. It meant this once vibrant place started being buried by the Namib Desert. Dieter Huyssen speaks to Megan Jones about his memories of visiting the town, which is w...

For more than 50 years, Mulatu Astatke has been performing at venues around the world, inspiring audiences with his original genre of music known as Ethio-jazz. He recorded the volumes of ‘Afro-Latin Soul’ with his band, The Ethiopian Quintet, in 1966. They were the first experiments of this new sound, fusing Ethiopian traditional notes with Afro Latin and jazz forms. Mulatu Astatke tells Vicky Ca...