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Tom Sutcliffe talks to three historians about the crimes of WWII and the shifting geopolitics, and the lasting reverberations today with the war in Ukraine. Dan Stone’s new book, The Holocaust - An Unfinished History moves beyond the concentration camps to reveal the true extent of the killing in towns and villages, and the depth of collaboration across the continent – from Norway to Romania. On BBC World Service and BBC Sounds Catherine Merridale uncovers the complex story of loss and silence about the murder of Soviet Jews during the Nazi invasion in 1941, and the extraordinary testimony of what was happening, detailed in The Black Book. Bernard Wasserstein’s family originally came from Krakowiec and in A Small Town in Ukraine he traces the arc of history across centuries of religious and political conflict through the fortunes of its inhabitants – from the earlier invasions of Cossaks, Turks and Swedes to the horrors of WWII and today’s war with Russia. Producer: Katy HickmanImage: Three Jewish women gather their belongings on Haifa dock, Palestine, after leaving the illegal immigrant ship Exodus. (Getty Images)

The architect Sandra Youkhana takes readers on a tour of the structures of modern digital worlds in Videogame Atlas (co-authored with Luke Caspar Pearson). From Minecraft to Assassin’s Creed Unity she examines the real-world architectural theory that underpins these fantasy worlds, and their influence on concrete designs today.The journalist Louise Blain presents BBC Radio 3’s monthly Sound of Gaming which showcases the latest and best gaming soundtracks. She explores how composers help create not only the atmosphere in a game, immersing players in these invented worlds, but their music is also integral to the game’s structure and design. Adrian Hon spent a decade co-creating the hit game Zombies, Run but has become increasingly disillusioned with the way real world institutions – corporations, governments and schools – are using gamification to monitor and control behaviour. In You’ve Been Played he shows how the elements of game playing have been co-opted as tools for profit and coercion.Producer: Katy HickmanImage Credit: Map of the game 'Katamari Damacy' by Sandra Youkhana and Luke Caspar Pearson from 'Videogame Atlas: Mapping Interactive Worlds'

From Europe’s perspective Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ America in 1492. But the historian Caroline Dodds Pennock shifts the focus in her new book, On Savage Shores, to explore what the great civilisations of the Americas – the Aztecs, Maya, Totonacs, Inuit and others – found in return. The stories of Indigenous Americans abroad are ones of abduction, loss and cultural appropriation, but also bafflement at the lives and beliefs in 15th century Europe. On Savage Shores is BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week.Iokiñe Rodríguez Fernandez is a Venezuelan sociologist who co-founded Grupo Confluencias, a consortium of Latin American conflict resolution practitioners. She works closely with indigenous communities who are fighting to retain their ways of life, and the focus is very much on local history, local knowledge and traditions. The Royal Academy of Arts in London is showcasing treasures from Spain and the Hispanic World from 21st January. This landmark exhibition will present a visual narrative of the history of Spanish culture, bringing together works from Spain and from its colonies in Latin America, from antiquity to the early 20th century. The co-curator Adrian Locke explains how the artistic, cultural and religious influences from abroad helped shape and enrich art in Spain.Producer: Katy Hickman