Witness History Episodes Episode guide
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East Germany's coffee from Vietnam
A thirst for caffeine led to an unusual global collaboration in the 1980s
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Friends: The making of a smash hit
Behind the scenes on one of the biggest TV comedies of all time
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The Channel Tunnel breakthrough
In 1990, the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France was connected
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Ukraine's 'museum of corruption'
Ordinary people saw inside the home of Ukraine’s ousted president in February 2014
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How to win friends and influence people
In 1936, Dale Carnegie wrote the self help book - How to Win Friends and Influence People
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How the Milgram 'obedience' experiment shocked the world
The study aimed to test whether 'ordinary' people were capable of committing evil acts
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Finding the victims of Stroessner's Paraguay
One man has dedicated his life to finding the victims of Paraguay's dictatorship
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Oliver Tambo returns to South Africa from exile
Oliver Tambo returned to South Africa in 1990 after 30 years in exile.
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Brenda Fassie: Madonna of the townships
Brenda Fassie was a popular South African pop star, dubbed the 'Madonna of the townships'
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Sarah Baartman's 200-year journey back home
The campaign to return Sarah Baartman to South Africa nearly 200 years after her death
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Soweto uprising: Children who marched against apartheid
In 1976, an uprising was sparked when demonstrating children were gunned down
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South Africa's referendum on apartheid
The last whites-only vote in South Africa was held in 1992
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Major Charity Adams and the Six-Triple-Eight
The first African-American woman to lead a World War Two battalion
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Deadly Everest avalanche
In 2014, an avalanche in the Khumbu Icefall killed 16 sherpas on Mount Everest
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West Africa's Ebola virus epidemic
In 2014, Sierra Leone was devastated by Africa's biggest Ebola outbreak on record
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The friendship train: Connecting India and Bangladesh
In 2008, India and Bangladesh were reconnected by train after 43 years
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Egypt and the ‘Cairo 52’
In May 2001, 52 men were arrested in a gay nightclub floating on the River Nile
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Hiroo Onoda, Japan’s last WW2 soldier to surrender
Hiroo Onoda spent 30 years fighting in the jungle, believing the war was still going on
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St Teresa of Avila's severed hand
How General Franco kept the hand of St Teresa of Avila for spiritual guidance.
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The Scream: A stolen masterpiece
In 1994, an undercover operation was launched to recover the Scream painting
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How Lake Karla in Greece was drained
In 1962, Thessaly’s Lake Karla was drained by the Greek government
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The 2010 Kampala bombings
Bombings in Uganda in 2010 killed 74. Many were football fans watching the World Cup
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Sweden's Cinnamon Bun Day
In 1999, a delicious new tradition was born in Sweden's kitchens
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The Bluetooth story
The story of how a Viking inspired wireless technology.
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Sweden's pioneering paternity leave
Fifty years ago Sweden introduced gender neutral parental leave
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The man who invented the seat belt
In 1958, Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin invented the three-point safety belt for cars
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Fifty years of Abba
In 1974, Swedish act Abba won the Eurovision song contest
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Surviving the Rwandan genocide
April 1994 was the start of the Rwandan genocide. One hundred days of atrocities followed
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The founding of Nato
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to block the Soviet Union's expansion
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Britain's first beach for nudists
In 1980, a seaside town opened a beach where people could strip off as they pleased