Witness History

Humans are returning to the Moon - hear all about it on the BBC’s space podcast. 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II is following Nasa’s mission to loop around the Moon, with a new episode every day. Starts on Monday 30 March 2026. Search for 13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II wherever you get your BBC podcasts. Follow or subscribe now so you don’t miss an episode. Nasa plans to return to the Moon for th...

In 1972, the world’s longest-running study of wild elephants was first launched in Kenya, making a star of one of its subjects – Echo. For decades, the Amboseli Elephant Research Project followed Echo and the rest of the park’s population to learn more about their behaviour, communication and social bonds. And in 1990, when the project began to attract wider attention, a documentary TV crew asked...

In April 1999, Anthony Bourdain's essay Don't Eat Before Reading This was published. It was an unfiltered look into restaurant kitchen culture. It launched his career as a celebrity chef. He changed the way television told stories about food. Surya Elango speaks to Philip Lajaunie, his friend and former boss at Les Halles restaurant, in New York. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Wi...

In May1984, three friends starting trekking along the Great Wall of China. It took 508 days for them to complete and they became the first people to do it. They finally reached their destination at the Jiayu Pass on 24 September 1985, having documented the condition of the wall every step of the way. The men became national heroes, as the press followed their progress. Dong Yaohui spoke to Rebecca...

In 2013, after losing most of their cattle, a Maasai community in Kajiado County formed an organisation to protect their land and culture. It's called ‘Ildalalekutuk Maasai Action for Development' and was formed by Dalmas Tiampati. He tells Megan Jones how the aim was to help the community become more resilient and find ways to protect the culture. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive....

In November 1986, Pope John Paul II visited New Zealand as part of his longest ever world tour. He gave an open-air mass at Auckland Domain in front of thousands of people. He remains the only Pope to have visited the country. Jen Dale speaks to Michael Jarka who was in the crowd and performed as part of a Polish cultural dance group for the pontiff. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive...

When the Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, it marked a turning point in the Cold War in Europe and set in motion the process that led to the reunification of East and West Germany. But before that could happen, Chancellor Helmut Kohl, had to address fears about the return of a powerful Germany and convince the four allied powers of France, Russia, the US and the UK - which had occupied Germany...

It's 70 years since Tunisian gained independence from France. In August 1956, it brought in a new equality law that revolutionised women's lives. Under the socialist President Habib Bourguiba, the North African country became the first in the Muslim world to legalise civil divorce and abortion and to ban polygamy. Bourguiba also gave women the vote and widened access to education. Nidale Abou Mrad...

Between 1955 and 1959, a Greek-Cypriot paramilitary group called EOKA rebelled against British colonial rule in Cyprus. In response, the British authorities declared a state of emergency. A young Cypriot lawyer named Renos Lyssiotis joined EOKA. He was interrogated and imprisoned by the British authorities for nearly two years. He looks back on the period with Ben Henderson. Eye-witness accounts b...

On 1 February 2001, at least 30,000 people rallied in Oslo after the murder of 15-year-old Benjamin Hermansen by neo-Nazis. It is thought to be Norway's first racially motivated killing. News reports said the rally saw the largest crowd in Oslo since the liberation of Norway in 1945.Benjamin's childhood friend, Luciana Parvaneh Zehi, tells Jen Dale about the march and the events leading up to it....

In 1999, a fire at the L’Amicale gambling house in Port Louis, Mauritius, killed seven people. The fire began during riots that followed a disputed football final between the Catholic Fire Brigade and the Muslim supported Scouts Club. Police arrested dozens of suspects, and four men were later convicted of arson and murder. They became known as the L’Amicale Four. Years later, a group of senior la...

On 2 March 2006, the United States and India finalised a controversial nuclear deal, ending India's three decades of international isolation over its nuclear policy. Sweetening the deal, President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced cooperative agreements not just on nuclear power but also on the import of Indian mangoes. Surya Elango speaks to Ronen Sen, the former Indian am...

When Warner Bros assigned twin brothers and screenwriters Julius Epstein and Philip Epstein to adapt a stage play for the big screen in 1942, no one could have predicted the impact it would have. Casablanca has since become one of the most recognisable and quotable films of all time, firmly embedded in Hollywood history. But what appears effortless on screen was anything but behind the scenes. The...

Released on India’s Republic Day in January 2006, the Hindi film Rang De Basanti, exploded onto the cultural landscape. In its first week, it shattered box office records and inspired thousands of young Indians to pour into the streets, marching for justice. The movie's message became a rallying cry, sparking conversations about patriotism, political apathy, and the belief that ordinary people can...

In 2006, Ivana Baquero starred in Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish-language film Pan’s Labyrinth. The film tells the story of an 11-year-old girl who meets mythical creatures on a quest to achieve immortality and return to the underworld as a princess. However, it isn’t your typical fairy tale. Set in 1944, against the backdrop of Franco’s fascist Spain, the film is hard-hitting and at times violent....

Akira Kurosawa's film, Seven Samurai, is an epic three-and-a-half hour long black and white film set in 16th century Japan. It was released in 1954 and was the most expensive Japanese film ever made at the time. It is widely considered as one of the most influential films in world cinema. The production had its ups and downs, going over schedule and budget. Akira Kurosawa's son Hisao was a nine-ye...

In 1934, one of the most controversial propaganda movies ever made - Triumph of the Will – was filmed at the Nazis’ Nuremberg rally. The two-hour picture was directed by Leni Riefenstahl, once described as Adolf Hitler’s favourite filmmaker. Over four days, scenes of military marches, speeches, and parades were shot from dramatic angles. Long-focus lenses recorded close-ups of the crowds, and came...

In 1967, American plumber Al Thieme promised his wife with multiple sclerosis that he would find her an alternative to a wheelchair. He came up with a battery-powered seat on wheels. He called it an ‘amigo’ and soon other people wanted one too. In 1968, he started selling his vehicles around the world. He speaks to Rachel Naylor. Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is...

In May 1974 India successfully detonated its first atomic device. It had been developed in secret with the codename Smiling Buddha. India called it a peaceful nuclear explosion, though the experimental device was in effect a plutonium bomb. The test was seen as a triumph of Indian science and technology, but it led to the suspension of international nuclear cooperation with India, and spurred Paki...

On 11 September 1985 in Mangualde, central Portugal, an express train collided head-on with a regional train killing an estimated 150 people. The impact destroyed both engines and the leaking diesel caught fire. Many of the bodies were unidentifiable after passengers who survived the collision were trapped in the wreckage and unable to escape the blaze and toxic fumes. An inquiry found both trains...

In 1960, as he headed home from military service, the King of Rock ’n’ Roll made an unexpected stop at Prestwick Airport. It's believed to be the only time Elvis Presley is known to have set foot on British soil. It was only a brief visit, but for 16-year-old Anne Murphy, watching him walk down the airplane steps is a memory that has never faded. More than six decades later, she tells Megan Jones...

Outraged by the Christmas bombings of Hanoi in 1972 by the USA during the Vietnam War, the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme made a critical speech. He compared the US’s actions to several massacres from history, including the killing of hundreds of thousands of Jews at the Treblinka Concentration Camp by the Nazis. President Richard Nixon and National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger reacted by r...

A group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and ended in 2024. Braving snipers and bombardment, they rescued thousands of books from bombed-out buildings to rehouse. The library was a symbol of hope for a community fractured by war. Surya Elango speaks to Malik Alrifaii, a young volunteer who helped...

In 2008, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, faced a courtroom in the Hague accused of war crimes. His trial would last more than three years at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, and involve witness appearances by the supermodel Naomi Campbell and the Hollywood actress Mia Farrow. The 11 charges included rape, murder, violence and the use of child soldiers during the Sierr...

On 8 December 1941, Japanese troops landed in northern Malaya marking the start of the second world war in the Pacific. Invasion forces moved quickly down the British colony – which is now called Malaysia - capturing Singapore in just 55 days. Their occupation ended on 15 August 1945, when Japan surrendered to the allies after the US had dropped two atomic bombs. Dorothy Variyan, who lived under J...