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Witness History Episodes

  1.

    Bangladesh wins independence

    An inside account of the moment Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in 1971.

  2. On the front line in Bangladesh

    A Pakistani soldier's account of fighting in the Bangladesh war of independence in 1971.

  3. Rape as a weapon in Bangladesh

    How Bengali women suffered appalling sexual violence during the war of independence.

  4. The birth of Bangladesh

    How Pakistan's first elections sparked civil war and the creation of a new country

  5. The Bengali language movement

    How a march in defence of Bengali galvanised demands for an independent Bangladesh.

  6. The explosion heard by millions

    In 2005 people across southern England woke up when a huge fuel depot exploded.

  7. The Aldi kidnap

    The abduction of Theo Albrecht, co-founder of the discount supermarket chain ALDI.

  8. Spies or plane-spotters?

    Why a group of British aircraft enthusiasts were arrested for spying in Greece in 2001.

  9. The V2 rocket

    How the Nazis secretly developed the first modern ballistic missile

  10. Fighting 'virginity tests' in the Indonesian police

    How an Indonesian policewoman campaigned to ban intrusive examinations of female recruits

  11. Derek Jarman

    The British experimental film-maker who spoke out about Aids in the 1980s.

  12. South Africa and Aids drugs

    How activists fought successfully for cheaper Aids treatment in South Africa.

  13. AZT: The breakthrough treatment for Aids

    How the first successful Aids drug was developed and approved in record time in 1987

  14. The early days of HIV/Aids

    The experience of a Ugandan-born woman diagnosed with HIV in the early days of the virus.

  15. The Aids 'patient zero' myth

    How Gaetan Dugas was mistakenly identified as the 'patient zero' of the Aids epidemic.

  16. The assassination of the Mirabal sisters

    Three sisters, all political activists, were murdered in 1960 in the Dominican Republic

  17. Estonia’s internet ‘Tiger Leap’

    Estonia started connecting all schools to the internet in 1996 ahead of other countries

  18. The doctor who helped her mother to die

    How a Dutch doctor’s euthanasia dilemma changed the world.

  19. Europe's last smallpox epidemic

    The virologist who helped tackle the last smallpox outbreak in Europe

  20. The Woman in Gold by Gustav Klimt

    The story behind one of Klimt's most famous paintings

  21. Russia’s Democracy pioneer

    Galina Starovoitova, the murdered politician who championed democracy in '90s Russia

  22. Sudan's October Revolution

    How Sudanese civilian protesters first brought down a military regime in 1964

  23. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

    How a particular form of psychotherapy became popular for treating anxiety and depression

  24. The capture of war criminal Radovan Karadzic

    How Serbia finally caught one of Europe's most wanted men in Belgrade in 2008.

  25. Shoot: A milestone in performance art

    In November 1971, Chris Burden asked a friend to shoot him in the name of art

  26. Kuwaiti oil fires of 1991

    As the first Gulf War ended, retreating Iraqi forces set light to oil wells in the desert

  27. The South African football star murdered for being a lesbian

    How the killing of a female footballer got South Africa talking about ‘corrective rape’.

  28. Spying in Berlin

    At the height of the Cold War Berlin was known as the spy capital of the world.

  29. Chanel No. 5

    One of the world's most famous perfumes was launched in 1921

  30. Britain's Black Schools

    The alternative schools for black British children set up to counter racist attitudes.

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