Nagasaki bomb
Witness History4 Aug 2025

Nagasaki bomb

On 9 August 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, killing at least 74,000 people.

It led to the end of World War Two in Asia, with Japan surrendering to the Allies six days later.

The Nagasaki bomb, alongside the Hiroshima bomb on 6 August, remain the only times nuclear weapons have been used in a war.

In an interview he gave to the BBC in 1980, British prisoner of war Geoff Sherring describes how he survived the explosion. Produced and presented by Rachel Naylor.

This programme was made in collaboration with BBC Archives.

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 the death of Adolf Hitler, the first spacewalk and the making of the movie Jaws, to celebrity tortoise Lonesome George, the Kobe earthquake and the invention of superglue. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: Eva Peron – Argentina’s Evita; President Ronald Reagan and his famous ‘tear down this wall’ speech; Thomas Keneally on why he wrote Schindler’s List; and Jacques Derrida, France’s ‘rock star’ philosopher. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the civil rights swimming protest; the disastrous D-Day rehearsal; and the death of one of the world’s oldest languages.

(Photo: The Nagasaki bomb on 9 August 1945. Credit: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images)

Episoder(2000)

India’s 1998 nuclear tests

India’s 1998 nuclear tests

In May 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests, drawing international condemnation. It was the first time the country had tested nuclear weapons for 24 years. Governments including the USA and Japan ...

6 Des 20249min

Julia Gillard speaks out on sexism

Julia Gillard speaks out on sexism

In October 2012, Prime Minister Julia Gillard made an impromptu speech in the Australian parliament setting out the misogyny she endured for years as a prominent female politician. In 2022, she spoke ...

5 Des 202410min

The ‘Three Marias’

The ‘Three Marias’

In May 1974, people gathered in Lisbon, Portugal, to see whether three women would be sent to jail for writing a book. Maria Teresa Horta, Maria Velho da Costa and Maria Isabel Barreno’s ‘Novas Cartas...

4 Des 20249min

The discovery that led to Covid vaccines

The discovery that led to Covid vaccines

Dr Katalin Karikó grew up in a small town in Hungary with no electricity or running water at home. She overcame great adversity to become a scientist and publish a groundbreaking paper in 2005 showing...

3 Des 202410min

Gloria Steinem: The start of Ms. Magazine

Gloria Steinem: The start of Ms. Magazine

In 1972, feminist campaigner Gloria Steinem co-founded the first magazine in the US which was owned, run and written by women.Called Ms. Magazine, it covered issues including equal rights, abortion an...

2 Des 202410min

The end of the US HIV travel ban

The end of the US HIV travel ban

For 22 years, a travel and immigration ban was in place which stopped people with HIV legally entering the US.In 2009, President Barack Obama announced it would be lifted, from the start of 2010. HIV-...

29 Nov 20249min

The deepest man-made hole in the world

The deepest man-made hole in the world

In the 1970s and 1980s, scientists in Russia managed to dig a hole more than 12,000 metres deep.It was called the Kola Superdeep Borehole.They wanted to achieve a world record and learn more about the...

28 Nov 202410min

Thich Quang Duc: Buddhist monk who set himself on fire

Thich Quang Duc: Buddhist monk who set himself on fire

In June 1963, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk died after setting himself on fire in protest against the Catholic South Vietnamese government.Malcolm Brown's photograph of Thich Quang Duc's burning body bec...

27 Nov 20249min

Populært innen Samfunn

rss-spartsklubben
giver-og-gjengen-vg
alt-fortalt
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
konspirasjonspodden
rss-nesten-hele-uka-med-lepperod
rss-henlagt-andy-larsgaard
popradet
grenselos
wolfgang-wee-uncut
fladseth
synnve-og-vanessa
frokostshowet-pa-p5
min-barneoppdragelse
rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
rss-dannet-uten-piano
den-politiske-situasjonen
krisemoter