Witness History

More than 200,000 people were killed during Guatemala's 36-year civil war between the military and left-wing rebels which ended in 1996. Of these, an estimated 45,000 people were forcibly disappeared, their bodies buried in unmarked pits. Jeremias Tecu's two brothers were among the disappeared. They went missing after a family party in 1981. Jeremias tells Vicky Farncombe how his mother put hersel...

In 1987, an unknown 18 year-old Somalian model called Waris Dirie walked into the studio of renowned British photographer Terence Donovan. She had never had her picture taken before but after striking her first pose it was clear belonged in front of the lens. Although she says modelling was "easy-peasy” it was not an obvious career path for Waris. She was born in the Somalian desert to a nomadic f...

In 1964, the Disney film 'Mary Poppins' was released. It was based on the character created by writer PL Travers. Travers disliked the Oscar-winning Disney production so much, that she never allowed any more Mary Poppins books to be adapted into films. In 2018, Vincent Dowd spoke to Brian Sibley and Kitty Travers about their memories of PL Travers. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive....

In 1967, the small town of St Paul, Canada declared that they were a place that welcomed everyone, even the aliens. They did this by building a giant UFO landing pad, hoping to attract intergalactic tourists. They timed it to coincide with Canada's centennial celebrations. Although most of the town saw it as a light hearted joke the driving force behind the alien parking space Margo Lagassee, was...

In 1945, a fight broke out between two groups of teenage boys during a parade in the Spanish town of Buñol in Valencia. The boys ended up throwing tomatoes at each other. They decided to repeat the deed every year on the anniversary of the first fight, defying disapproving looks from older neighbours and even bans by the city council. Eight decades later, their shenanigans have led to one of Spain...

In 1996, an Indian government minister said that the work of women serving in bars "is not suited in our Indian culture”. There were protests and restrictions on women working in bars up until 2007 when a ruling lifted restrictions and saw female bartenders in India become headline news across the world. Shatbhi Basu became known as India’s first female bartender and has been in the business since...

In 2001, Argentina suffered an economic catastrophe so severe the country went through five leaders in two weeks. On the streets police engaged in battles with protestors. Eduardo Duhalde was the fifth President tasked with pulling his country back from the brink. He speaks to Ben Henderson. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We ta...

After World War Two, Egypt’s government recruited thousands of Nazis and their collaborators to bolster the country’s defence and security. This was part of Egyptian President Nasser’s efforts to modernise the country and present himself as the leader of the Arab world in its conflict with Israel. Johann Von Leers was one of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi propagandists. Nasser’s government recruited him in 1...

In 2003, the French rock star Bertrand Cantat murdered his actress girlfriend, Marie Trintignant. The attack happened in Lithuania where Marie had been shooting a film. Cantat was sentenced to eight years, but was released after just four and returned to music. Journalist Michelle Fines tells Vicky Farncombe how the case divided opinion in France with some calling it a brutal murder, others a crim...

Two bombs ripped through the Kuta area of the Indonesian island of Bali on 12 October 2002. 202 people were killed. 28 burns victims were taken to Royal Perth Hospital, Australia, where plastic surgeon Professor Fiona Wood worked. She led a team working to save patients suffering between two and 92 percent body burns using ‘spray-on skin’. Professor Wood speaks to Megan Jones. Eye-witness accounts...

Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as ‘Carlos the Jackal’, carried out bombings, killings and kidnappings. Born in Venezuela, he was considered one of the most notorious political militants of the 1970s and 80s. After years on the run, he was captured in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in 1994. Former CIA operative Billy Waugh tracked him down. He spoke to Alex Last in 2014, before his death in 2023. Eye-...

On the morning of 17 August 1945, the Indonesian nationalist leader, Sukarno, read out a statement declaring independence. It was broadcast to the country on radio and it came just two days after Japan’s surrender at the end of World War II. The announcement marked the culmination of years of struggle against Dutch colonial rule, which had lasted for over three centuries. Sukarno’s youngest daught...

From 1912 until 1948, you could win medals in art at the Olympic Games, in categories such as architecture, literature, music, painting and sculpture. At the London Games in 1948, Canadian composer John Weinzweig won a silver medal for his composition, Divertimento for Flute and Strings. Rachel Naylor speaks to his son, Daniel Weinzweig. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness His...

Singer Clara Nunes is an icon of African Brazilian culture and known as the Queen of Samba. Her first samba song Ê Baiana was released in 1973. In 1974, the release of the song Conto de Areia secured her a place in history. Clara sold more records than any other Brazilian woman had before. She's considered to be one of the greatest samba singers of her generation. She died in 1983. Brazilian radio...

In 1956, the two largest US parties agreed to participate for the first time in a televised debate ahead of the presidential elections. But instead of incumbent President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his Democratic opponent Adlai Stevenson, the audience watched two female representatives defending their candidates. Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Senator Margaret Chase Smith took the stage to...

On 8 August 1974, Richard Nixon became the first US president in history to resign from office, following the Watergate scandal. This scandal began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in 1972, which was linked to Nixon’s re-election campaign. The release of tapes from within the White House, dubbed the Nixon Tapes, revealed Nixon’s invo...

In 1979, the Moral Majority was launched and changed the course of US politics. It was set up to promote family values by religious conservatives from Catholic, Jewish and evangelical Christian communities. It urged Protestants, in particular, to go against the tradition of separating politics and religion. It encouraged them to vote Republican. Richard Viguerie was one of the driving forces behin...

The US presidential election of 2000 was one of the closest and most contested in history. It was more than a month before the result was decided after a Supreme Court decision. It all came down to the vote in Florida, where irregularities and technical problems added to the confusion. In the end it's thought there were just a few hundred votes in it but the result still divides opinion. Callie Sh...

Pete Souza was Chief Official White House Photographer during Barack Obama's presidency. His photo from when Bin Laden was killed by US soldiers in 2011 has become one of his most famous. He tells Uma Doraiswamy what that day was like leading up to the moment when he took the photo. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to...

In 2014, the ice bucket challenge craze took over the internet. Millions of people including sports stars and celebrities filmed themselves being doused in ice cold water for charity. Nancy Frates' son Pete helped to make the ice bucket challenge become a phenomenon. Nancy tells Gill Kearsley the poignant story of how the challenge went from a simple idea to world news. Eye-witness accounts brough...

A warning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners - this programme contains the names of people who have died. Nearly 60 years ago, a group of university students set out on a bus to challenge the discrimination of Australia’s indigenous people. Led by Sydney University’s first indigenous undergraduate, Charles Perkins, they toured north-western New South Wales highlighting the public...

In 1998, brown bears were declared a protected species in Bulgaria and the ancient tradition of forcing them to dance for people's entertainment became illegal. A veterinarian called Dr Amir Khalil helped establish a bear sanctuary in the country, to look after the retired animals. In this programme, first broadcast in 2018, he spoke to Farhana Haider. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archi...

When Islamic State (IS) militants took control of Syria and Iraq in June 2014, the entire Yazidi population in Sinjar were immediately in grave danger. The Sunni Muslims of IS believed Yazidis were infidels and should either convert to Islam or be killed. On 3 August 2014, 5,000 Yazidis were killed on the first day of the genocide. For those who survived that night, the only escape route was to cl...

In 1983, punk rock was strictly forbidden in East Berlin. However, that didn’t stop young music obsessive Mark Reeder, from Manchester in the UK, smuggling cassettes, and then a punk band across the Berlin Wall. Mark shares how he arranged for the West German band, Die Toten Hosen, to perform illegally at a secret concert in a church. This episode was produced by Paul Hanford and Rosalie Delaney....

In 1974, Ghana pioneered a new system which would help in the roll-out of the immunisation of serious diseases across Africa and the rest of the world. The World Health Organisation chose the country to trial its cold chain system, to help keep vaccines for often deadly diseases refrigerated. It would later evolve into the storage systems used to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. Justice Baidoo mee...