Witness History

After the Second World War, in what was then East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic (GDR), tens of thousands of women and girls were forcibly detained and abused in sexual health clinics.

In 1977, at the age of 15, Sabine was at a house party in Leipzig when police came for her. She was taken to a so-called ‘Tripperburgen’ which translates to ‘gonorrhoea castle’.

After 31 days she was told to leave. Research shows at least...

On 14 June 1985, five politicians met on a boat in the town of Schengen, in Luxembourg, to sign an agreement to get rid of border checks between their countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France and West Germany.

The Schengen Area now encompasses more than 450 million people and 29 countries in Europe.

Rachel Naylor speaks to Robert Goebbels, who was Luxembourg’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and one of the ori...

In 1987 Uunied States President Ronald Reagan spoke at the Berlin Wall. In his speech he called on the leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall".

The famous words were met with applause and cheers by the large crowd of West Berliners who had lived in a divided city since 1961 when the wall was built.

However, that phrase was very nearly omitted from the address. The speechwriter, Peter Robinson, tells ...

In 2012, Lonesome George, the last tortoise of his species died.

George, from Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean, was a global symbol of conservation and brought to the attention of the world the reality of extinction.

James Gibbs, vice president of science and conservation at the Galapagos Conservancy knew George well. He looked after the tortoise in life, and in death. James says: “You know, moving Lonesome George ac...

After the Sino-Indian war in 1962, around 3,000 men, women and children were incarcerated in a disused World War Two prisoner of war camp. Indians of Chinese descent were sent there having fallen prey to government suspicion following the war which only lasted a few weeks.

Joy Ma was born in the camp in Deoli, Rajasthan, and spent the first four years of her life there with her family.

She speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about her f...

Between September 1943 and June 1944 in World War Two, the Italian capital Rome was occupied by German soldiers.

Italy had surrendered and thousands of Allied prisoners of war had escaped from internment camps in the country.

An Irish priest, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, who was working for the neutral state of Vatican City set in the heart of Rome, did everything he could to help the escaped prisoners evade capture by the Nazis.

Tim...

In 1948, the foundation was laid for a “utopian” community of houses designed by a man described as America’s greatest ever architect.

Frank Lloyd Wright had been approached by a group who wanted to create a social collective of affordable homes, on land an hour north of New York city.

The group of 47 flat-roofed, open-plan homes became known as Usonia. Roland Reisley, now aged 100, is the last founding member of the community where ...

On 9 January 1992, astronomers Alex Wolszczan and Dale Frail announced they had discovered the first two exoplanets, or planets outside our solar system, while working at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico.

The two planets orbit a pulsar, a neutron star, 2,300 light-years away, in the constellation Virgo.

We now know of the existence of nearly 6,000 exoplanets, but Poltergeist and Phobetor were the first to be confirmed.

Rachel...

Carolina Maria de Jesus was a poor, single mother-of-three who lived in a derelict shack and spent her days scavenging for food.

Her diary, written between 1955 and 1960, brought to life the harsh realities faced by thousands of poor Brazilians who arrived in cities like São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro looking for better opportunities.

In 1960, her diary was published and became a bestseller, turning Carolina into a celebrity.

Her daugh...

In 2000, nightclub owners and twins Frederik and Gerrit Braun went from the neon lights of a Hamburg nightclub to building the world’s largest model trainset.

Miniatur Wunderland is now a top tourist destination and global attraction visited by millions, including celebrities like Adele and Sir Rod Stewart.

Frederik and Gerrit Braun tell Megan Jones where this crazy idea came from.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Wi...

South Africa’s first feature film aimed at black audiences was released in 1949, launching Dolly Rathebe’s career.

The actress and jazz musician was discovered by chance by two British film makers and with no previous acting experience, she was cast in Jim Comes to Jo’burg, also known as African Jim.

She played Judy, a glamourous nightclub singer. Soon she was gracing magazine covers and proclaimed Africa’s first black female movie ...

On 1 June 1985, a convoy of New Age Travellers set off for the ancient stone circle of Stonehenge in the south of England. They were planning to hold a festival there for the summer solstice, but they were stopped by police blocking their access to the site.

The authorities had heard the travellers were carrying chainsaws and petrol bombs. The police smashed the hippies’ vans and tents in what became known as the Battle of the Bean...

On 31 May 2006, police launched one of the largest raids in Swedish history, seizing servers from The Pirate Bay - a hugely popular but highly controversial file-sharing website.

Co-founder Peter Sunde managed to copy a backup meaning the site could relaunch just days later. He became a folk hero among internet users who relied on the platform for free access to pirated films and music.

Sunde and his fellow founders were eventually ...

In 1958 Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe, published his first book, Things Fall Apart.

Set in pre-colonial rural Nigeria, it examines how the arrival of foreigners led to tensions within traditional Igbo society.

The book revolutionised African writing, and began a whole new genre of world literature.

In 2016, Rebecca Kesby spoke to Achebe's youngest daughter, Nwando Achebe.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness Hist...

In 2015, rockstar and Canadian icon Gord Downie was given months to live, after doctors found he had a terminal brain tumour.

But instead of quietly exiting the stage, Gord and his band, the Tragically Hip, came up with a plan to play 15 shows across 10 of Canada’s major cities.

Megan Lawton speaks to lead guitarist Rob Baker about the tour and the remarkable final gig that was watched by millions across the country.

Eye-witness acc...

In 1992, European football was at a turning point. The European Cup was going to be replaced with a new format: The Champions League.

European football’s governing body, Uefa wanted a classical theme to accompany the new competition, in an attempt to try and fix the image of football which was mired by hooliganism at the time.

Tony Britten was the man tasked with writing such a piece of music. He tells Tim O’Callaghan how he did ...

It is only since Vivian Maier's death in 2009 that the 150,000 photographs she rarely showed to anyone have come to light.

Working as a nanny in the suburbs of Chicago in the United States in the 1950s and 1960s, she captured extraordinary street scenes on a Rolleiflex camera. But she did not always develop the photos. With no permanent home of her own, she paid for storage units where her life’s work was kept. The archives were au...

In the aftermath of World War Two, a group of famous photographers brought their individual styles into one powerful collaboration, over a celebratory bottle of champagne.

On 22 May 1947 the agency, Magnum Photos was founded, going on to represent some of the world’s best photographers.

In 2017, Louise Hidalgo spoke to Jinx Rodger, the widow of one of the founders, and Inge Bondi one of the very first staff members.

Eye-witness acco...

Martín Chambi is regarded as one of the most important indigenous Peruvian photographers of the 20th century. Famous for his black and white images of local Andean people and the surrounding countryside, Chambi’s work challenged preconceptions of Peruvian culture and traditions. In 1924 he was among the first to photograph Machu Picchu – his work helping to shape the way Peru is seen around the world. His photography was declared p...