World War Two’s Rome escape line
Witness History9 Kesä 2025

World War Two’s Rome escape line

Between September 1943 and June 1944 in World War Two, the Italian capital Rome was occupied by German soldiers.

Italy had surrendered and thousands of Allied prisoners of war had escaped from internment camps in the country.

An Irish priest, Monsignor Hugh O’Flaherty, who was working for the neutral state of Vatican City set in the heart of Rome, did everything he could to help the escaped prisoners evade capture by the Nazis.

Tim O’Callaghan has been speaking to his nephew – also named Hugh O’Flaherty about his uncle's life.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by 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 football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Hugh O'Flaherty. Credit: The O'Flaherty family)

Jaksot(2000)

Peter Singer’s Drowning Child thought experiment

Peter Singer’s Drowning Child thought experiment

In 1971, the region that is now Bangladesh fought for independence from Pakistan. At the time, Peter Singer was a philosophy lecturer at the University of Oxford. Horrified by the suffering in Banglad...

29 Huhti 10min

Car-free Sundays during the global oil crisis

Car-free Sundays during the global oil crisis

In October 1973, the Netherlands was the only western European country to face a full oil embargo from the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, OAPEC.During the global oil crisis, they ...

28 Huhti 10min

The world's first perfume archive

The world's first perfume archive

On 26 April 1990, the world's first perfume archive opened in Versailles, France.The idea behind L'Osmothèque was to create a collection of scents and preserve their memory.Perfumer Jean Claude Ellena...

27 Huhti 10min

The Tabasco floods

The Tabasco floods

In 2007, the Mexican state of Tabasco experienced its worst flooding in 50 years, with more than a million people affected. Eighty per cent of the region was under water, with people having to be res...

24 Huhti 10min

The clean-up of Chernobyl

The clean-up of Chernobyl

The disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in Ukraine, on 26 April 1986, was the world’s worst nuclear accident. The explosion in reactor four caused radioactive parts to be spread over the ne...

23 Huhti 10min

Canada's war in the woods

Canada's war in the woods

In 1993, plans to log one of Canada’s ancient rainforests sparked the country’s largest act of civil disobedience. It was known as the war in the woods. For months, protesters blocked a remote logging...

22 Huhti 10min

Europe’s long drought of 2011

Europe’s long drought of 2011

In 2011, after months of little or no rain in central and eastern Europe, water levels on some parts of the Danube River fell to their lowest level in 70 years.It’s one of Europe’s busiest shipping ro...

21 Huhti 9min

Mymba Kuera: The race to save wildlife at the Itaipu dam

Mymba Kuera: The race to save wildlife at the Itaipu dam

In October 1982, Paraguay and Brazil closed the gates of the Itaipu River, beginning to fill the reservoir of what would soon be the world's largest dam. Located in a rainforest on the border betwee...

20 Huhti 10min

Suosittua kategoriassa Yhteiskunta

i-dont-like-mondays
sita
olipa-kerran-otsikko
kaksi-aitia
siita-on-vaikea-puhua
hupiklubi
uutiscast
ihme-ja-kumma
poks
antin-palautepalvelu
gogin-ja-janin-maailmanhistoria
kolme-kaannekohtaa
mamma-mia
rss-murhan-anatomia
yopuolen-tarinoita-2
aikalisa
rss-palmujen-varjoissa
meidan-pitais-puhua
loukussa
kummitusjuttuja