A Brief History of Time
In memory of the renowned theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking, who died on the 14th of March 2018, Witness looks back at the publication in March 1988 of his best-selling book, A Brief History of Time. Louise Hidalgo has been talking to the editor who published it, Peter Guzzardi, about the book and the ideas about physics, existence and the universe that made it so popular.Picture: Physicist Stephen Hawking (Credit: Liam White/Alamy)
21 Mar 20189min
Elvis in the US Army
In March 1958, Elvis Presley, then at the height of his fame as the 'King' of Rock'n'Roll, was called up and joined the US Army. Simon Watts has been listening to the memories of the soldiers who served alongside him. The interviews are taken from the G.I. Blues of Elvis Presley, made for the BBC by Sugar Productions.(Photo: Elvis Presley listening to an army lecture. Credit:Getty Images)
20 Mar 20188min
Latvia's Controversial Waffen-SS Fighters
On March 16th 1998, veterans of the Latvian Legion who had fought for the Nazis during World War Two, marched through the capital Riga commemorating their greatest battle against the Soviet Red Army. It was a rare official remembrance of the efforts of the Waffen SS. Dina Newman has been speaking to two veterans of the Latvian Legion. Photo: Latvian infantrymen march through a street in Riga under the German occupation. Credit: Three Lions/Getty Images
16 Mar 20189min
Tancredo Neves - Doomed Hero of Brazilian Democracy
In March 1985, Brazil experienced the most traumatic moment in its transition to democracy when the first civilian president-elect in more than twenty years was rushed to hospital on the eve of his inauguration. Tancredo Neves, who had led political opposition to military rule in Brazil, eventually died 38 days later. He is now regarded as a hero in Brazil. Simon Watts talks to Tancredo Neves' spokesman, Antonio Britto.PHOTO: Tancredo Neves, centre, on a visit to Spain (Getty Images)
15 Mar 20188min
The Battle of the Airwaves in Latin America
In March 1938 the BBC began its first broadcasts to Latin America in Spanish and Portuguese. The new foreign language service was launched amid rising concerns over the influence of Nazi Germany and fascist Italy in Central and South America. Mike Lanchin has been listening back to archive recordings from the time, including the very first broadcast on March 14th 1938 and the memories of some of the BBC's first Latin American Service presenters and producers. (Photo: Rehearsals for a feature in the BBC's Brazilian programme, London 1943)
14 Mar 20189min
Surviving The My Lai Massacre
US troops went on the rampage through a Vietnamese village in March 1968, killing men, women and children in cold blood. 11-year old Pham Thanh Cong survived, but the rest of his family was killed. In 2012 he spoke to Neal Razzell about his memories of the bloodbath.Photo: Pham Thanh Cong now.Credit Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images.
13 Mar 20188min
The Moscow Show Trials
An eyewitness account of Stalin's purge of top Soviet leaders during the 1930s, when millions of Soviet citizens were executed or sent to labour camps.British diplomat Sir Fitzroy Maclean, spoke to the BBC in the 1980s about his memories of Moscow during the Great Terror, when Stalin's repression was at its height. Maclean attended the show trial of one of the foremost Soviet leaders, Nikolai Bukharin who was accused of conspiracy and was later executed. Photo: Portrait of Russian Communist leader and theoretician Nikolai Bukharin ,a former editor of Pravda and a member of the Central Organization of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, circa 1920. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
12 Mar 201810min
Changing the Alphabet in Azerbaijan
Independent Azerbaijan changed its alphabet from Russian Cyrillic script to the Latin alphabet in 2001. The new letters symbolised a break with the country's Soviet past, but presented a difficult challenge for publishers and journalists and schoolchildren. Olga Smirnova has been talking to Elchin Shixli and Shahbaz Xuduoglu.Photo: Staff members of Azerbaijan's Ustarat newspaper prepare copy July 31, 2001 in their Baku headquarters for the following day, August 1, when all newspapers, according to government decree, had to switch the alphabet of their Azeri text from Cyrillic to Latin. (Photo by Yola Monakhov/Getty Images)
9 Mar 20188min
