Witness History: Witness Archive 2016
255 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 7 years ago - ★★★ - 8 ratingsHistory as told by the people who were there. All the programmes from 2016.
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Episodes
Namibian Independence
March 21, 2016 09:50 - 8 minutes - 4.11 MBIn March 1990, Namibia - formerly the South African colony of South West Africa - became independent. Andimba Toivo ya Toivo was one of the founders of liberation group SWAPO, the South West African People's Organisation. Photo: Andimba Toivo ya Toivo on release from detention in March 1984 - Associated Press
The Tunnellers of WW1
March 18, 2016 07:50 - 10 minutes - 4.62 MBArchive recordings of the tunnellers who fought underground in WW1. They would dig tunnels under no-mans-land to detonate explosives under enemy positions. It was extremely dangerous work. During the war, all sides carried out military mining against enemy positions. The explosions were so large they could kill thousands of soldiers in an instant, and would scar the battlefield with huge craters. Photo: The La Boiselle crater was made when a huge mine was detonated on the first day of the S...
Vietnam-China Border War 1979
March 17, 2016 09:42 - 9 minutes - 4.15 MBIn 1979, former communist allies, China and Vietnam, fought a short but bloody war. It was only part of a much wider regional power struggle. China had the bigger army, but as the Americans found before them, Vietnamese troops proved to be formidable opponents. Ngo Nhat Dang was a young Vietnamese conscript fighting on the border, he told Witness about his experiences. Photo; Chinese prisoners of war, guarded by Vietnamese conscripts, Getty Images.
Mad Cow Disease and CJD
March 16, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.12 MBIn March 1996 the British government admitted that there was a probable connection between a disease affecting cattle and a devastating brain illness affecting humans, called variant CJD. A ban was introduced against the sale of beef on the bone. But for some people it was too late, members of their families were already sick. Photo: copyright BBC.
Tenerife Air Disaster
March 15, 2016 10:16 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MBIn March 1977 the worst accident in the history of civil aviation took place in Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Two jumbo jets, one Pan Am, the other KLM, collided on a runway. Captain Robert Bragg was co-pilot of the Pan Am plane - hear his memories of the crash. Photo: Central Press/Getty Images
The Kasztner Affair
March 15, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.08 MBIn March 1957, Rezso Kasztner was assassinated in Tel Aviv. He was a Hungarian Jew who had saved nearly 1700 people from the Holocaust by negotiating with Nazis. In Israel he had been accused of being a Nazi collaborator. (Photo: Rezso Kasztner, courtesy of Kasztner family)
Radiocarbon Dating of the Turin Shroud
March 14, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MBThe Turin Shroud is one of the most revered relics of the Catholic Church: a piece of linen cloth that appears to show the imprint of a blood-stained crucified man. Some Christians believe it is the ancient cloth that Jesus Christ was buried in. In 1988, the Church allowed scientists to perform a radiocarbon dating test on a small sample of the shroud. The results are still controversial. Witness speaks to Professor Michael Tite who supervised the testing process. (Photo: Picture showin...
The Original Revolutionary Feminist
March 11, 2016 12:00 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MBAlexandra Kollontai was one of the most influential feminists of all time. She insisted on complete equality for men and women, and demanded state childcare for all. But she was sidelined from mainstream politics after publicly clashing with Lenin at the 1921 Communist Party Congress. Dina Newman explores her legacy. Photo: Alexandra Kollontai, March 1940. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images
The Release of the Birmingham Six
March 10, 2016 11:18 - 9 minutes - 4.36 MBIn March 1991, six men wrongly accused of carrying out two bombings in the British city of Birmingham finally had their convictions quashed, ending one of Britain's worst miscarriages of justice. The Birmingham Six had spent more than 16 years in jail for a crime they did not commit. Witness talks to one of their daughters, Breda Power, about how it affected her and her family. (Photo: Left to right: William Power, Richard McIlkenny, John Walker, Gerry Hunter, Paddy Hill and Hugh Callaghan....
Spinsters' Rights
March 08, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.07 MBIn the wake of the first World War, millions of British women were left single after the men they would have married had died during the conflict. They were forced to find different ways to live their lives - and they became a force for huge social change. For International Women's Day, Witness delves into the BBC archives to find some of their stories. Picture: Florence White, organiser of the National Spinsters' Charter, campaigning for pensions for single insured women at 55 instead of 6...
Poisoned in Kosovo
March 07, 2016 09:00 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MBIn 1999, Kosovo Roma Gypsies escaped ethnic violence but ended up in a refugee camp next to a disused lead processing plant. It took years of campaigning, and dozens of deaths, before they were rehoused. Dina Newman reports. Photo: Four year old Jenita Mehmeti (bottom row centre), the first official victim of lead poisoning. Credit: Paul Polansky archive
Condemned as a Spy in the USSR
March 04, 2016 09:00 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MBFlora Leipman, a British Jew, spent decades in a Soviet labour camp on false spying charges. She managed to leave the USSR in 1984 and spoke to the BBC in 1987 about her experiences in the camp. Dina Newman tells her story using BBC archives. Photo: Flora Leipman in a BBC documentary, 1987
Marie Stopes: Birth Control Pioneer
March 03, 2016 09:00 - 8 minutes - 4.04 MBIn March 1921, Marie Stopes opened Britain's first birth control clinic in London. The Mother's Clinic in Holloway offered advice to married mothers on how to avoid having any more children. Hear testimonies on the early days of birth control in Britain from the BBC archive. This programme was first broadcast in 2013. (Photo: Dr Marie Stopes, photographed in 1953. Credit: Baron/Getty Images)
The Buddhas of Bamiyan
March 02, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MBIn March 2001 the Taliban destroyed huge ancient statues of Buddha in Afghanistan. The statues were carved into the cliffs above the Bamiyan valley. Sayid Mirza Hossein, a local farmer, was taken prisoner by the Taliban and forced to pack explosives around the ancient Buddhas. He told Witness what it felt like to destroy something that he had seen every day of his life. (Photo: Taliban fighters looking at the Bamiyan cliffs. Credit: Getty Images)
The Polaroid Instant Camera
March 01, 2016 08:51 - 8 minutes - 4.09 MBIn February 1947 Edwin Land unveiled his new invention, the first instant camera, to a gathering of scientists in New York City. The Land Camera, or Polaroid, became an overnight hit. Land's biographer, Victor McElhney, talks to Witness about the great man and his amazing camera that changed photography for ever. Photo: An early Polaroid instant camera, May 1949 (Express/Express/Getty Images)
The Siege of Sarajevo
February 29, 2016 11:31 - 9 minutes - 4.17 MBOn 29 February 1996, the last Bosnian Serb guns were removed from the hills around the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, ending the longest siege of a city in modern history. For almost four years, people in the city had endured constant bombardment, living without electricity and surviving only on what humanitarian aid could be brought in. Witness talks to Bosnian actress Vedrana Seksan, who was 15 when the siege began. (Photo: people run to avoid snipers on a street in Sarajevo. Credit: Getty Im...
The Foxcatcher Story
February 26, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MBIn 1996 an American multi-millionaire murdered one of the wrestlers he was sponsoring. The murder victim, Dave Schultz ,was an Olympic champion. The killer, John du Pont, was the heir to the Du Pont chemicals fortune and had spent millions supporting athletes and allowing them to train on the facilities he had built on his farm, Foxcatcher. Dave Schultz's brother Mark talks to Witness. (Photo: John du Pont (centre) talking to two wrestlers at the Foxcatcher farm, 1992. Credit: Tom Mihalek/G...
The Caracazo Protests
February 25, 2016 09:35 - 8 minutes - 4.08 MBIn February 1989 government austerity measures sparked days of violent protests in Venezuela. Hundreds of shops and businesses were looted in the capital, Caracas. More than 300 people were killed as the Army took back control of the streets. But many of the victims were innocent bystanders, not involved in the violence - like the husband of Yris Medina, who told her story to Witness. (Photo: Venezuelan police in the street controlling crowds. Jose Cohen/AP Photo)
Philippines People Power Revolution
February 24, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MBIn February 1986, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos took to the streets to overthrow President Ferdinand Marcos. His corrupt and brutal regime had ruled the Philippines for 20 years, After four days, President Marcos and his wife Imelda, were forced to flee. We hear from acclaimed Filipino writer, Jose Dalisay, who was one of those who took part in the People Power revolution. (Photo: Anti-Marcos demonstrators in Manila)
The Back to Africa Movement
February 23, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MBAt the end of the 19th Century, African-Americans in the southern states of the US faced a wave of political and racial violence. Lynchings reached a peak. Black people were prevented from voting and subject to laws which enforced racial segregation. In response, thousands sought to leave the US and travel to Liberia. More emigrants left from Arkansas than any other southern state. We hear from Professor Kenneth Barnes of the University of Central Arkansas. He uncovered a fascinating ser...
The Death of Jonas Savimbi
February 22, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MBIn February 2002 the controversial Angolan rebel leader was killed by government forces. He had led his UNITA guerrillas for almost four decades, as Angola found itself on the front-line of the Cold War between East and West. But by the time he died, Savimbi had been abandonned by his former backers in Washington. Hear from one of his closest aides, Alcides Sakala. (Photo: Jonas Savimbi addresses his troops in Jamba, December 1985. Credit: Trevor Samson/AFP/Getty Images)
The UK’s Foot-and-Mouth Epidemic
February 19, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.05 MBOn 19 February 2001, a vet carrying out a routine inspection at an abattoir in the south of England spotted a suspected case of foot-and-mouth. Within days the highly infectious disease had spread to other parts of country and it was clear the government was struggling to control it. It was the first major foot-and-mouth outbreak in Britain for more than 30 years. Millions of livestock were slaughtered in the months that followed and the final cost to the UK was estimated at well over $10 bi...
The Battle of Verdun
February 18, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.18 MBIn February 1916, France and Germany began one of the most devastating battles of the First World War During 10 months of fighting at Verdun, around 800,000 men were killed, wounded or were declared missing. In France, the battle became synonymous with the horrors of war on the Western Front. Using archive recordings of French and German veterans, we tell the story of Verdun. Photo:French troops under shellfire during the Battle of Verdun. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)
Seven Years In Tibet
February 17, 2016 17:46 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MBIn 1944, two Austrian mountaineers fled into the forbidden land of Tibet to escape from a prisoner-of-war camp in India. Heinrich Harrer and his friend Peter Aufschnaiter spent seven years as guests of the Tibetans, gaining a unique perspective on a way-of-life that was about to disappear. Harrer became the young Dalai Lama's tutor and later wrote a famous account of his visit called Seven Years in Tibet. PHOTO: The Dalai Lama in the 1930s (Getty Images)
Christian Dior's New Look
February 16, 2016 16:51 - 8 minutes - 4.05 MBIn February 1947, French designer Christian Dior transformed post-war fashion. His first collection was based on extravagant full skirts and tiny corseted waists - it would become known as the New Look. PHOTO: Christian Dior designs are displayed at the "Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950" exhibition at The Victoria and Albert Museum on May 15, 2012 in London, England. Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images
The Attempt to Kill Khaled Meshaal
February 16, 2016 09:57 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MBIn 1997 Israeli secret agents tried to kill a Hamas leader, Khaled Meshaal, in Jordan. But they botched their assassination attempt and a diplomatic scandal followed. In February 1998 the head of Israel's secret service, Mossad, was forced to step down after an official inquiry into what went wrong. Hear from Mishka ben David, a former Mossad agent, who played a part in the events in Jordan. Photo: Khaled Meshaal in 2003. Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images.
Black Sabbath
February 12, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.13 MBOn Friday 13 February 1970, Black Sabbath released their first album and a new genre was born - heavy metal. Witness speaks to guitarist Tony Iommi about the band's origins in Britain's industrial West Midlands - and the day his career nearly ended when he lost the tips of two fingers in a metal-working accident. (Photo: Black Sabbath backstage at Top of the Pops (BBC). From left: Bill Ward, Ozzy Osborne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler)
Britain's Secret Code-Breakers
February 10, 2016 22:52 - 9 minutes - 4.2 MBIn February 1943, as German and Italian troops withdrew from Libya, thousands of miles away, Britain's secret army of British code-breakers were listening in. Witness talks to Rozanne Colchester, one of the thousands of young men and women who worked at Bletchley Park in England, breaking their enemies' secret codes, like Enigma, and deciphering their top-secret military communiques. (Photo:Code-breakers in Hut Six at Bletchley Park, deciphering German Air-force codes. Crown copyright, repr...
Pakistan's Women Only Police Station
February 10, 2016 09:00 - 8 minutes - 4.08 MBIn 1994 Pakistan opened its first all-female police station, in the city of Karachi. Witness has been speaking to two women police officers, Shagufta Majeed and Syeda Ghazala, who worked there. (Photo: Police officers Syeda Ghazala (L) Shagufta Majeed (R) in Karachi)
The Arab Spring and Syria
February 09, 2016 10:40 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MBIn the early months of 2011 demonstrators took to the streets across the Arab world. We go back to some of the first protests to take place in Syria. The roots of the country's bitter civil war lie in the government crackdowns that followed. Hear from one Syrian who was there. (Photo: Anti-government activists on the streets of Daraa in Syria in March 2011. Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP/Getty Images)
The Last of the Red Hot Mamas
February 08, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.05 MBThe larger than life vaudeville star - Sophie Tucker - died on February 9th 1966. The jewish singer and nightclub entertainer was known across America for her risqué performances and her self-effacing humour. But she was also an early pioneer in the recording business. Hear from two people who knew her. Photo: Sophie Tucker Getty Images.
Prozac
February 05, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.13 MBIn the spring of 1988 a new kind of anti-depressant went on the market. The media called it a 'wonder drug' and it became so well-known that people would ask for it by name. But was Prozac over-hyped? Dr David Wong was part of the team who developed it for the drug company Eli Lilly - he has been speaking to Ashley Byrne about Prozac. Photo: A packet of Prozac. Copyright:BBC.
Afghanistan's National Museum
February 04, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.11 MBSince 1989 the treasures in Afghanistan's National Museum in Kabul have been at risk. From war, from looting, and also from the Taliban who destroyed many works which they saw as un-Islamic. Yahya Muhibzada was acting director of the Museum in 2001 when he was forced to look on helplessly as Taliban officials destroyed statues. Nancy Hatch Dupree is an American who has charted the fate of Afghanistan's cultural heritage. (Photo: Yahya Muhibzada)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
February 03, 2016 12:10 - 9 minutes - 4.2 MBIn February 1938, the world's first full-length animated feature film went on general release. It was Walt Disney's classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Disney had had to gamble all his money, and take out a loan against his life insurance to finish it. Witness listens back through the archives to some of those who worked on it, and talks to film writer and enthusiast, Brian Sibley, who met many of those involved. Photograph: An illustration from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by ...
The ‘Abscam’ Corruption Investigation
February 02, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.05 MBA major undercover corruption investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation became public in February 1980. Codenamed 'Abscam', the operation used a fictitious Arab sheikh who was supposedly looking to invest millions of dollars in the US. The case shocked America when it was revealed that half a dozen Members of Congress had been recorded receiving bundles of cash from representatives of the bogus sheikh in return for political favours. Witness speaks to John Good who was the FB...
Spanish Embassy Killings
February 01, 2016 08:51 - 8 minutes - 4.1 MBOn 31 January 1980, 37 people were killed, many of them burnt alive, when police stormed Spain's embassy in Guatemala City, to end an occupation by peasant farmers. Witness hears from Gustavo Molina, the son of a prominent Guatemalan politician who was among the dead. (Photo: Red Cross workers with stretchers outside the Spanish embassy in Guatemala City, Jan. 1980. Credit: AP)
The First Batman TV Series
January 29, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.09 MBIn January 1966 the popular comic superheroes, Batman and Robin, hit TV screens in America for the very first time. The series became an overnight sensation. We speak to the daughter of William Dozier, the executive producer who created the tongue-in-cheek shows. (Photo: Batman and Robin sitting in the batmobile. Credit: 20th Century Fox/Getty Images)
Sharia Returns to Nigeria
January 28, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MBIn 2000, Zamfara became the first Nigerian state to implement full Sharia law. In a country split between a mainly Muslim north and a largely Christian south, the move sparked a national political storm. We hear about life in Zamfara from Ibrahim Dosara, a former state employee who began working for the BBC amid the Sharia controversy. (Photo: A cinema in Zamfara state prepares to close ahead of the introduction of Sharia)
The Challenger Disaster
January 27, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.04 MBIn January 1986 a space shuttle launch went horribly wrong. Six astronauts and a teacher - Christa McAuliffe - were killed. Hear from Barbara Morgan, another teacher who trained alongside the Challenger crew. (Photo: Christa McAuliffe (left) and Barbara Morgan. Credit: Nasa)
The First Fleet Lands in Australia
January 26, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MBA British fleet of 11 ships established a penal colony in Australia in 1788. It was the first step towards claiming Australia as a British territory. For the indigenous population, the arrival of British settlers brought violence and disease which would decimate the population. (Photo: Royal Navy ships took 750 British convicts to New South Wales, where they established the first European settlement in Australia. Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
The Wapping Dispute
January 25, 2016 11:15 - 8 minutes - 4.05 MBIn January 1986 newspaper owner Rupert Murdoch took on the print workers' unions in a bitter industrial dispute which would revolutionise the British press. Baroness Dean of Thornton-le-Fylde was head of print workers union SOGAT 82 at the time. Picture: Rupert Murdoch holds copies of his Sun and Times papers at his print works in Wapping, East London. Press Association 26/01/1986
The Funeral of Jan Palach
January 22, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.14 MBIn January 1969 hundreds of thousands of people lined the streets to mourn student activist, Jan Palach, who had set himself alight in protest at the crushing of Czechoslovakia's 'Prague Spring'. Hear from two of the students who helped organise his funeral, and the priest who spoke. Photo: Members of the public filing past Jan Palach's coffin, 28th January 1969. Credit: Keystone/Hulton Archive-Getty Images
The Poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko
January 21, 2016 09:00 - 10 minutes - 4.78 MBIn 2004, a Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was mysteriously poisoned during his election campaign, as he was set to defeat his Moscow-backed rival. Mr Yushchenko explains how he was poisoned, how he managed to survive and how he won the election, following the Orange Revolution. Photo: Viktor Yushchenko in November 2004; AP
The Soldier Who Never Surrendered
January 20, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MBIn January 1972 a Japanese soldier was found hiding in the jungle on the Pacific island of Guam. He had been living in the wild there for 27 years since the end of World War Two. His name was Soichi Yokoi. (Photo: Soichi Yokoi. Credit: Associated Press)
Mexico's Tequila Crisis
January 19, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.06 MBIn January 1995 Mexico's economy went into melt-down following the sudden devaluation of its currency, the peso. The government was forced to seek a multi-billion dollar bailout from the US and the IMF. Witness hears from Luis de la Calle, a top Mexican official who helped negotiate the package. (Photo: American and Mexican officials sign a US$20 billion rescue package for the Mexican economy at a ceremony at the US Treasury in Washington. Credit: Pam Price/AFP/Getty Images)
The Adventures of Tintin
January 18, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.04 MBIn January 1929, Belgian cartoonist Herge created one of the most famous cartoon characters in history - Tintin. Herge's real name was Georges Remy. He spoke to the BBC in 1977. (Photo: Covers of comics series Tintin translated in several languages. Credit: Georges Gobet/AFP/Getty Images)
Nigeria's First Coup
January 15, 2016 08:50 - 9 minutes - 4.2 MBOn 15 January 1966 a small group of Nigerian army officers launched a bloody coup against the civilian government. It marked the start of the military's involvement in Nigerian politics which would last for decades and set Nigeria on a path to civil war. We hear from one of the soldiers who took part, Colonel Ben Gbulie. **This programme was first broadcast in 2014** (Photo: Nigerian troops on the streets of Lagos, 16 January 1966. Credit: AP)
The Freedom Tower in Tehran
January 14, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.05 MBIn January 1972 a vast new monument was opened to the public in Tehran. It was called 'Shahyad' and was dedicated to centuries of Iranian royalty. Hossein Amanat was the young architect employed to design it. After the Iranian revolution of 1979 the monument's name changed, but it has remained a centrepiece for public events and demonstrations in the city. Photo: Hossein Amanat in front of his tower. Credit: Hossein Amanat.
The First Alzheimer's Patient
January 13, 2016 08:50 - 8 minutes - 4.11 MBIn 1901, the German psychiatrist Dr Alois Alzheimer treated a 51-year-old woman, Auguste Deter, who had developed a type of dementia. The illness he documented became known as Alzheimer’s disease. We speak to Professor Konrad Maurer, who discovered Dr Alzheimer's original case file on Auguste Deter, which had been lost for almost a century. Photo: Auguste Deter photographed in the psychiatric hospital in Frankfurt where Dr Alzheimer worked, c.1901
Russia's Forbidden Art
January 12, 2016 13:49 - 8 minutes - 4.05 MBFifty years ago, a Russian painter and archaeologist, Igor Savitsky, created a museum in the remote desert of Uzbekistan, where he stored tens of thousands of works of art that he had saved from Stalin's censors. The Savitsky museum, in Nukus, would come to be recognised as one of the greatest collections of Russian avant-garde art in the world. Witness talks to the son and grandson of one of the artists, Alexander Volkov, whose work Savitsky saved. (Photo:the Karakalpak Museum of Art, hom...