Kultur & Gesellschaft
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Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more. Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.
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Folge vom 22.03.2024Wham! in ChinaIn 1985, the British band Wham! became the first Western pop act to play in China.Around 12,000 fans packed into the Worker’s Gymnasium in Beijing to hear such hits as Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go and Freedom.Wham!’s manager Simon Napier-Bell tells Vicky Farncombe how the strangeness of the event affected singer George Michael’s nerves.(Photo: Wham! perform in China. Credit: Getty Images)
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Folge vom 21.03.2024Discovering the Terracotta ArmyIt's 50 years since a chance find by Chinese farmers led to an astonishing archaeological discovery.Thousands of clay soldiers were uncovered in the province of Shaanxi after being buried for more than 2,000 years.They were guarding the tomb of the ancient ruler Qin Shi Huang, who ruled the Qin Dynasty.In 2013, archaeologists Yuan Zhongyi and Xiuzhen Li told Rebecca Kesby about the magnitude of the dig, and how unearthing the incredible statues shaped their careers.(Photo: Terracotta soldiers stand to attention. Credit Marica van der Meer/Arterra/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)
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Folge vom 20.03.2024The 'comfort women' of World War TwoBetween 1932 and 1945, hundreds of thousands of women and girls across Asia were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army.Referred to as "comfort women", they were taken from countries including Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia to be raped by Japanese soldiers.Today, the issue remains a source of tension between Japan and its neighbours, with continuing campaigns to compensate the few surviving victims.Dan Hardoon speaks to Chinese survivor Peng Zhuying who, along with her elder sister, was captured and taken to a "comfort station" in central China.This programme contains disturbing content.(Photo: People visit a museum dedicated to the victims, on the site of a former comfort station in China. Credit: Yang Bo/China News Service/VCG/Getty Images)
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Folge vom 19.03.2024Surviving re-education in China’s Cultural RevolutionIn 1968, Jingyu Li and her parents were among hundreds of thousands of Chinese people sent to labour camps during Mao Zedong’s so-called cultural revolution.The aim was to re-educate those not thought to be committed to Chairman’s Mao drive to preserve and purify communism in China.Jingyu’s parents – both college professors - were put to work among the rice and cattle fields, and made to study the works of Chairman Mao. Fearful for their daughter’s safety, they disguised six-year-old Jingyu as a boy. Over the next six years, the family were sent to four different camps. Not everyone could cope, as Jingyu tells Jane Wilkinson.(Photo: Reading Mao's little red book in 1968. Credit: Pictures from History/Getty Images)