Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway

Sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway

In 1995, an obscure Japanese religion launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo metro.

Members of the doomsday cult, which called itself Aum Shinrikyo, dropped plastic bags containing sarin liquid on the floors of five different trains and then pierced them. As the liquid evaporated, passengers began inhaling the deadly fumes. Thirteen people were killed and thousands more injured.

One of the passengers affected that day was Atsushi Asakahara. He spoke to Chloe Hadjimatheou in 2012.

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: Sarin attack. Credit: Getty Images)

Episoder(2000)

The Roots of the Rohingya Crisis

The Roots of the Rohingya Crisis

In 2017, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims left their homes in Myanmar fleeing government persecution, in what the UN has called the world's fastest growing refugee crisis. Lucy Burns speaks to Rohingya historian and politician U Kyaw Min to explore the roots of the crisis - and a change in the Burmese citizenship laws in 1982 which left the Rohingyas essentially stateless.(Photo: Rohingya refugees walk near the no man's land area between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Palongkhali area next to Ukhia on October 19, 2017. Credit: Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images)

1 Feb 20188min

Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive

Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive

In January 1968, North Vietnamese troops and Viet Cong guerrillas launched a huge surprise attack on towns, cities and military bases across South Vietnam. The American embassy and the Presidential Palace in Saigon was among the targets that were hit. The events had a profound impact on American public opinion and marked a turning point in the war. BBC reporter Julian Pettifer covered the battles in the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon. Photo: Julian Pettifer reporting under fire near the Presidential Palace in Saigon, 31st January 1968 (BBC)

31 Jan 20189min

The Bloody Sunday Shootings

The Bloody Sunday Shootings

On 30 January 1972 British troops opened fire on a civil rights march in Northern Ireland. Thirteen people were killed that day, which became known as Bloody Sunday. Tony Doherty was nine years old at the time. In 2012 he spoke to Mike Lanchin about his father and the events that changed his life forever.(Photo: Armed British troop grabs hold of protester by the hair. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

30 Jan 20189min

The "Godfather of Gospel Music"

The "Godfather of Gospel Music"

Thomas A Dorsey is credited with developing Gospel music into a global phenomenon. He started his own musical career in jazz clubs and blues bars, but personal tragedy led him back to church, and inspired hundreds of Gospel songs that transformed the genre. Rebecca Kesby has been listening to archive recordings of Thomas A Dorsey and his singing partner Willie Mae Ford Smith, and speaking to Professor Albert J Raboteau from Princeton University. (PHOTO: Thomas A. Dorsey - 1982. Courtesy of National Endowment For Arts/Humanities/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock. Credit REX)

29 Jan 20189min

The Invention of the Lego Brick

The Invention of the Lego Brick

The Lego brick, one of the world's most popular toys, was invented in the small Danish town of Billund in 1958. Created by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, the plastic bricks can be combined in countless combinations and have sold in the billions. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, the inventor's son, was ten at the time. He used to play in the company workshop and helped test early Lego models. Olga Smirnova spoke to Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen for Witness.(Image: Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen with a Lego ship. Credit: Kristiansen family archive)

26 Jan 20189min

The Vege-Burger

The Vege-Burger

In 1982, American entrepreneur Gregory Sams launched a product that would help take vegetarianism into the mainstream in the UK. "Vege Burgers" were cheap, tasty and a deliberate attempt to provide a meat-free alternative to one of the mainstays of the fast food industry. Gregory Sams talks to Simon Watts.(Photo: The Vege Burger range, courtesy of Gregory Sams)

25 Jan 20188min

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali

The great surrealist Spanish artist Salvador Dali died in January 1989. Louise Hidalgo has been talking about his life and work with Christine Argillet, whose father was one of Dali's publishers and who, as a child, spent several summer holidays visiting Dali and his wife Gala in northeast Spain.Picture: the artist Salvador Dali (1904 -1989) in December 1964. (Credit:Terry Fincher/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

24 Jan 20189min

The Capture of the USS Pueblo

The Capture of the USS Pueblo

A US spy ship was caught by North Korean forces in the Sea of Japan on January 23rd 1968. Its crew were held prisoner for almost a year before being released. In 2012 Chloe Hadjimatheou spoke to Skip Schumacher, one of the young Americans on board.Photo: Members of the USS Pueblo's crew being taken into custody. Credit: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service

23 Jan 20188min

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