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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    The fall of Singapore

    In February 1942 Britain's stronghold in South East Asia fell to the Japanese.

  2. The Algerian Massacres

    In the 1990s, the Algerian military was locked in a brutal struggle with radical Islamists

  3. The Murder of James Bulger

    The killing of a toddler in Liverpool 20 years ago that shocked Britain

  4. The Last Days of Sylvia Plath

    It is fifty years since the suicide of American poet Sylvia Plath

  5. The plot against Franco

    In 1964 a young Scot joined a plot to assassinate the Spanish dictator, General Franco.

  6. Shergar - the kidnapping

    It is 30 years since the Derby winner was abducted from a stud farm in Ireland.

  7. Marcel Proust

    The great French writer remembered by one of his friends and by his faithful maid.

  8. The Stolen Generation

    In 2008 the Australian Prime Minister apologised for the treatment of Aborigines

  9. "Ghana Must Go"

    Thirty years ago, Nigeria expelled up to 2 million African migrants. Most were Ghanaian

  10. Hugo Chavez and the failed coup

    In February 1992 a group of Venezuelan army officers staged a coup, among them Hugo Chavez

  11. The 'flour bomb' rugby tour

    In 1981 the South African rugby team toured New Zealand, prompting huge protests.

  12. The battle of Stalingrad

    It is 70 years since German troops lost their battle to take the Soviet industrial city.

  13. The funeral of Gandhi

    How millions of Indians mourned the death of Mahatma Gandhi

  14. Peter the Great in London

    How the young Tsar's visit to 17th Century England inspired him to modernise Russia

  15. The building of the Eiffel tower

    Work on the Eiffel Tower started in 1887 but many Parisians were opposed it

  16. Lagos Armoury Explosion

    Survivors relive the tragedy of the arms dump explosion in Lagos, Nigeria, 2002

  17. Vietnam - the 'Christmas Bombings'

    One girl's memories of the bombing that came before the ceasefire of 27 January 1973.

  18. Jimi Hendrix

    The legendary guitarist's English girlfriend remembers his early days in 60s London.

  19. Hitler's will

    In January 1946 a young British woman was given Hitler's will to translate.

  20. The Capture of USS Pueblo

    American spy ship USS Pueblo was captured by North Korean forces forty-five years ago

  21. The Hunger Winter

    How millions of Dutch faced starvation at the end of World War Two

  22. The death of Bassel al Assad

    It is 19 years since the heir to the Syrian presidency died in a car crash.

  23. The Biafran war

    The Biafran war lasted for almost three years and split Nigeria. Hear one child's story.

  24. The Arrest of Klaus Barbie

    Thirty years ago, the former Gestapo chief, Klaus Barbie, was arrested in Bolivia.

  25. Black Stars of Ghana

    Striker Osei Kofi on how the Ghanaian football team dominated Africa in the 1960s.

  26. Roe v Wade

    In 1973 the landmark decision was made in the US Supreme Court which made abortion legal

  27. Chaim Soutine

    It is 120 years since the birth of the great Expressionist painter.

  28. The Tuskegee Syphilis Study

    The US government's experiment on a group of African-American men without their knowledge

  29. Baby Fae and the baboon's heart

    In 1984 doctors tried to save a baby girl's life by giving her a heart transplant.

  30. The Boxing Day tsunami and Aceh

    When the earthquake and tsunami of December 2004 hit Indonesia, over 130,000 people died.

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