Witness History Episodes Episode guide

The origins of the all-inclusive holiday

How a holiday village in Majorca helped pioneer the all-inclusive holiday
When Taiwan’s ‘White Terror’ ended

In 1987 Taiwan finally lifted martial law after nearly four decades of authoritarian rule
Ashley Kriel: South Africa's anti-apartheid 'Che Guevara'

In the 1980s Ashley Kriel emerged as a leader of the struggle against white minority rule
The first carbon offset

In 1988, an idea was born to plant trees to offset effects of a coal-fired power plant
City of God: The film that reshaped global cinema

City of God was filmed in 2001 using children from Rio De Janeiro’s favelas as actors
The cellist who survived Auschwitz-Birkenau

In 1943, Anita Lasker-Wallfisch survived Auschwitz after being recruited to an orchestra
'I organised the first Comic Con'

In 1964 a group of teenage boys organised the first official comic convention in New York
Sweden's summer shutdown

In 1978, Swedish workers relished the chance to take long, paid vacations
The making of Oasis’ Wonderwall

In 1995, British band Oasis recorded one of their biggest hits
The last execution by garrote: Salvador Puig Antich

In 1974, a 25-year-old anarchist became the last person executed by garrote in Spain
Creating Africa’s largest film festival

In 1969, the first African film festival of Ouagadougou took place
The first solar-powered flight around the world

In 2016, two pilots attempted to fly around the globe without any fuel
Unveiling the face of Crazy Horse

In 1998, a carving of the face of Native American warrior Crazy Horse was unveiled
How a Peruvian instrument revolutionised flamenco

In 1977, flamenco artists attended a party in Lima that transformed the genre forever
Mexico’s ‘little old lady killer’

In 2008, Juana Barraza was found guilty of murdering 11 elderly women
A child's return to Franco's Spain

What it was like to live under Franco’s rule during the Spanish Civil War
Birkin bag: Creating fashion’s iconic accessory

In 1985, one the world’s most recognisable fashion accessories was launched, the Birkin
Turkey’s failed coup

On 15 July 2016, more than 300 people were killed in the coup attempt
Creating Canada’s largest territory

In 1999, Canada’s map was redrawn creating Nunavut, a territory showing Inuit land rights
The Kiss of Life photo that earned a Pulitzer Prize

In 1967, a lineman’s lifesaving actions were captured in a prize-winning photo
Dada: The birth of an art movement

In 1916, in Switzerland, an aesthetic began which would influence Surrealism and punk.
South Sudan celebrates independence

On 9 July 2011, people flooded the city of Juba as a new nation was born
Seveso Disaster

On 10 July 1976, there was an explosion at a chemical factory near Seveso, northern Italy
The immigrant workers who refused to pay rent in 1970s France

Thousands of workers protested against rent hikes and living conditions in French hostels
Jackie Kennedy renovates the White House

In 1962, first lady Jackie Kennedy took the cameras on a tour of the restored White House
Restoring the Statue of Liberty

In 1984, the Statue of Liberty was rejuvenated ahead of her 100th birthday
KCOR: The first Spanish-language radio station in the US

In 1946, Mexican-American Raoul Cortez launched a radio service in Spanish in Texas
Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested after refusing to give up her seat on the bus
The final journey of Chief Long Wolf

In 1997, the remains of a Lakota leader were returned from London to South Dakota
Hawaii becomes the 50th American state

In March 1959, the Hawaiian Admission Act was passed