The 'Wolf Children' of World War Two and China's TV lessons
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We hear from 'wolf child' Luise Quietsch who was separated from her family and forced to flee East Prussia. Whilst trying to survive during World War Two, these children were likened to hungry wolves roaming through forests. Journalist and documentary filmmaker Sonya Winterberg who recorded the testimony of “wolf children” for her book, discusses the profound impact it had on their lives. We also hear about the first major series of English lessons which were broadcast on Chinese television in 1981. A former student recalls the series of unprecedented teachers’ strikes which temporarily shut down most of New York schools in the late 1960s.Plus the deadly attack at Milltown Cemetery which took place during the funeral of three IRA members.Finally we head to Eastern Europe in 1989, where approximately two million people joined hands across across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to form a human chain demanding independence from the Soviet Union. Contributors:Luise Quietsch - chair of a community of wolf children called Edelweiss-Wolfskinder.Sonya Winterberg - author of “The Wolf Children of the Eastern Front- Alone and Forgotten”. Kathy Flower - presenter of Follow Me.Monifa Edwards - former pupil at a school in the district of Ocean Hill-Brownsville. Bill Buzenberg - American journalist.Sandra Kalniete - a Latvian organiser of the human chain protest. (Photo: Luise Quietsch. Credit: Rita Naujokaitytė)
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51:13
Back to 1995
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes, all about events which happened in 1995. First, we hear how Microsoft launched Windows 95 after a $300 million marketing campaign. Our expert guest is Dr Lisa McGerty – Chief Executive of the Centre for Computing History in Cambridge.Next, after 17 years terrorising America, we hear about the hunt for the Unabomber. Plus, the sarin gas attack on a Tokyo metro, carried out by members of a doomsday cult.Finally, how China exerted its influence over Tibetan Buddhism’s leadership. Contributors: Sarah Leary – project manager for Microsoft.Dr Lisa McGerty – Chief Executive of the Centre for Computing History.Carmine Gallo – police officer.Dr Kathleen Puckett – FBI agent.Atsushi Asakahara – metro passenger.Arjia Rinpoche – senior Tibetan Lama.(Photo: People lined up by US Microsoft Windows 95 exhibit. Credit: Forrest Anderson/Getty Images)
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50:55
World War Two on film and Africa's landmark lifestyle magazine
Josephine McDermott sits in for Max Pearson presenting a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes.We hear from the author who stumbled across the story of Oskar Schindler while shopping for a briefcase in Beverly Hills.Our guest is Dr Anne-Marie Scholz, from the University of Bremen in Germany, who reflects on the impact of dramatizations of World War Two.We also hear about the start of Drum magazine, credited with giving black African writers a voice in the time of Apartheid. The devastation of the earthquake in the port city of Kobe, Japan, is recalled by a child survivor. Plus, the New Deal created by President Franklin D Roosevelt to drag the United States from the Depression of the 1930s. Finally, the family intervention of American former First Lady Betty Ford, which led to the world-famous rehabilitation clinic being started. Contributors: Thomas Keneally – author of Schindler’s Ark.Dr Anne-Marie Scholz - author of From Fidelity to History: Film Adaptations as Cultural Events in the 20th Century.Prospero Bailey - son of Jim Bailey on the origins of Drum magazine.Kiho Park – survivor of the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Adam Cohen – expert on Roosevelt's New Deal.Susan Ford Bales – daughter of Betty Ford. (Photo: Nazi SS troops in Germany. Credit: Getty Images)
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51:12
The Charlie Hebdo attack and the art of decluttering
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes. We hear a first-hand account of the attack at the offices of French satirical magazine, Charlie Hebdo. Our expert guest is Dr Chris Millington, who leads the Histories and Cultures of Conflict research group at Manchester Metropolitan University. We also hear about Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews during World War Two. Plus, the Bosphorus boat spotter tracking Russian military trucks in Turkey. Russian military trucks on a civilian ship bound for Syria.Also, the Norwegian man who invented the hotel key card in the 1970s.Finally, we’re sparking joy with Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo. Contributors: Riss – Charlie Hebdo cartoonist.Dr Chris Millington - Histories and Cultures of Conflict research group at Manchester Metropolitan University. Yörük Işık – boat spotter.Archive recordings from 2015. Anders – son of Tor Sornes.Marie Kondo - organising consultant. (Photo: Charlie Hebdo mural. Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
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51:08
The Boxing Day tsunami, and Alexa’s creation
Max Pearson presents a collection of the week’s Witness History episodes.We hear two stories from the deadly 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, which killed thousands of people in south-east Asia.Our expert guest is Ani Naqvi, a former journalist who was on holiday in Sri Lanka when the wave hit.We also hear from the two Polish students who created the voice of Alexa, the smart speaker.Plus, the story of Klaus Fuchs, the German-born physicist who passed nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union while working on the first atomic bomb.Finally, we find out about Robert Ripley, the American cartoonist who made millions from sharing bizarre facts.Contributors:Choodamani and Karibeeran Paramesvaran – couple whose three children died in the Boxing Day tsunami.Dendy Montgomery – photographer who captured the tsunami devastation.Ani Naqvi – former journalist who was caught up in the tsunami.Lukasz Osowski and Michal Kaszczuk – creators of Alexa.Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski – nephew of atomic spy Klaus Fuchs.John Corcoran – director of exhibits at Ripley’s.(Photo: Tsunami devastation in Indonesia. Credit: Getty Images)
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