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Witness History Episodes

  1. The Boer War 1899-1902

    The conflict between white Afrikaner settlers and the British empire in South Africa

  2. Sabotage of Nazi Nuclear Programme

    In October 1942 Norwegian commandos began a series of raids on a heavy water plant

  3. Willie Nelson's Farm Aid

    Country music legend Willie Nelson holds the first benefit concert for American farmers.

  4. Japan's Bullet Train

    In October 1964, Japan launched the fastest train the world had ever seen

  5. The world's first civil union

    In 1989, Denmark became the first country to celebrate same-sex civil unions

  6. The Death of James Dean

    On 30 September 1955 the Hollywood actor, James Dean, crashed his car and died

  7. The Taliban take Kabul

    In September 1996 the Taliban took over the Afghan capital Kabul

  8. The Sinking of the 'Joola' Ferry

    In 2002 the 'Joola' ferry sank off Senegal with the loss of more than 1800 lives

  9. The Cuban Five

    Five Cuban spies were arrested in Miami by the FBI in September 1998

  10. Friends

    The American TV show Friends hits TV screens

  11. The World's First Hand Transplant

    On 23 September 1998, Clint Hallam received the world's first hand transplant

  12. The Overthrow of Bokassa

    On 20 September 1979 the Central African dictator Jean Bedel-Bokassa left power

  13. South Africa invades Lesotho

    South Africa sent 600 soldiers into Lesotho to quell political unrest in September 1998

  14. Los Topos - Mexico's Earthquake Rescuers

    How an earthquake in Mexico City in 1985 led to the creation of an elite rescue group

  15. Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters

    In 1964, author Ken Kesey led a group of friends on a psychedelic road trip across the USA

  16. Lord of the Flies

    It is 60 years since William Golding's acclaimed novel was first published

  17. Rabin and Arafat Shake Hands

    In 1993, the Israeli prime minister and the PLO leader shook hands and made history

  18. Voting Against the War on Terror

    Three days after 9/11 Congresswoman Barbara Lee became the most hated woman in America

  19. Flower of Scotland

    How a 1968 song by the folk band, The Corries, became Scotland’s unofficial anthem

  20. Sri Lanka Massacre

    The massacre of 184 Tamils by the Sri Lankan army in 1990 during the country's civil war

  21. Remembering Chairman Mao

    Chinese leader Mao Zedong died on 9 September 1976. Sidney Rittenberg knew him well.

  22. DNA Fingerprinting

    It is 30 years since a British scientist found out how to identify people by their DNA

  23. Madame Mao

    Mao Zedong died on 9 September 1976. His widow Jiang Qing wanted power after his death.

  24. The Persecution of Pakistan's Ahmadiyya Sect

    Pakistan declared that members of the Ahmadiyya sect were not Muslims in September 1974

  25. Myanmar Currency Chaos

    The crisis following the withdrawl of most circulating banknotes in Myanmar in 1987

  26. Surviving Auschwitz

    Kitty Hart-Moxon's story of how she survived two years in the notorious Nazi death camp

  27. The Port Arthur Massacre

    The murder of 35 people by one gunman led to sweeping changes in Australia's gun laws.

  28. The Story of Dr Zhivago

    How Boris Pasternak's great novel Dr Zhivago came to be published in the West .

  29. Biba

    A ground-breaking new boutique opened in Swinging London in September, 1964

  30. World War One in Africa

    Rare recordings of African veterans of WW1 in East Africa

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