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History told by the people who were there. For nine minutes every weekday, Witness History takes you back to moments which have shaped our world.

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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue.

We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron 鈥� Argentina鈥檚 Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous 鈥榯ear down this wall鈥� speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler鈥檚 List; and Jacques Derrida, France鈥檚 鈥榬ock star鈥� philosopher.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal ; and the death of one of the world鈥檚 oldest languages.

Updated: daily
Episodes available: indefinitely

Episodes to download

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    Ethiopia's Red Terror

    Mon 10 Apr 2017

    In the 1970s Ethiopia's military regime launched a brutal campaign of repression

  • Egypt's Facebook Girl

    Fri 7 Apr 2017

    Israa Abd El Fattah was one of the first Egyptian activists to use Facebook for protests.

  • The USA Enters World War One

    Thu 6 Apr 2017

    America declared war on Germany on 6 April 1917

  • Princess Diana's Handshake with Aids Patient

    Wed 5 Apr 2017

    In April 1987 Princess Diana opened the UK's first purpose built HIV Aids unit

  • The Nagorno-Karabakh war

    Tue 4 Apr 2017

    One man whose family were made refugees during the Nagorno-Karabakh war tells their story

  • The Jane Fonda Workout

    Mon 3 Apr 2017

    In April 1982 the film star Jane Fonda launched her first workout video.

  • The Collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf

    Fri 31 Mar 2017

    Glaciologist Pedro Svarka recalls the massive ice shelf tumbling into the Antarctic seas.

  • Teletubbies

    Thu 30 Mar 2017

    In March 1997 the 蜜芽传媒 launched one of the most successful children's TV programmes ever.

  • Anthrax Leak in the Soviet Union

    Wed 29 Mar 2017

    In 1979, an outbreak of anthrax poisoning caused dozens of deaths in the Soviet Union.

  • The Flavr Savr Tomato - The World's First Genetically Engineered Food

    Tue 28 Mar 2017

    In 1994, a tomato became the world's first genetically engineered food on sale

  • The Murder of Archbishop Oscar Romero

    Mon 27 Mar 2017

    The outspoken cleric from El Salvador killed at the altar by a right-wing death squad.

  • The Death of King Faisal

    Fri 24 Mar 2017

    King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by his nephew in March 1975

  • Ayn Rand

    Thu 23 Mar 2017

    The Russian-American philosopher whose novels praising capitalism sold in the millions.

  • Mass Deportations From Soviet Estonia

    Wed 22 Mar 2017

    In 1949, Moscow arranged the deportation of tens of thousands of Estonians to Siberia.

  • Submarine Warfare in WW1

    Tue 21 Mar 2017

    The underwater vessels were first used widely in the First World War

  • An Assassination in Colombia

    Mon 20 Mar 2017

    The murder of left-wing opposition politician Bernardo Jaramillo in March 1990.

  • Kolkata Sex Workers.

    Fri 17 Mar 2017

    In March 2001 thousands of Indian prostitutes united to fight for their rights.

  • The Germans Occupy Prague

    Thu 16 Mar 2017

    In March 1939, German troops occupied Prague; hear the story of one young boy who escaped

  • The Russian Empire in Colour

    Wed 15 Mar 2017

    Photographer Sergei Prokudin-Gorskii took the first colour photographs of Russia

  • The First Russian Revolution of 1917

    Tue 14 Mar 2017

    In March 1917 Tsar Nicholas II abdicated ending centuries of autocratic rule in Russia

  • The Aids Patient Zero Myth

    Mon 13 Mar 2017

    How one man was mistakenly identified as the "Patient Zero" of the Aids epidemic

  • The Hanafi Hostage Siege in Washington DC

    Fri 10 Mar 2017

    In March 1977 a group of American Muslims took over 100 people hostage in the US.

  • Georgia O'Keeffe

    Thu 9 Mar 2017

    One of the world's most famous female artists died in March 1986.

  • Mexico Slashes Car Use

    Wed 8 Mar 2017

    How Mexico City's bold plan helped reduce dangerously high pollution levels.

  • Kuwaiti Women Secure the Vote

    Tue 7 Mar 2017

    In 2005 an unprecedented protest by Kuwaiti women won a historic change

  • WW1: The Two Women of Pervyse

    Mon 6 Mar 2017

    The story of two British nurses who set up a first aid station on the Western Front

  • Eleanor Roosevelt

    Fri 3 Mar 2017

    America's longest-serving First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt

  • The Immortal Cells of Henrietta Lacks

    Thu 2 Mar 2017

    Cells taken from an African American woman in 1951 revolutionised medical science

  • Mother Teresa - The Nun Who Became A Saint

    Wed 1 Mar 2017

    In March 1997 Mother Teresa retired from her charity work in India.

  • Obesity

    Tue 28 Feb 2017

    In 1997 obesity was first recognised as a global problem by the World Health Organisation

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