Sinking of the Lusitania
Witness History7 Maj 2025

Sinking of the Lusitania

On 7 May 1915, the British ocean liner, the Lusitania, was sunk by a German submarine off the Irish coast, as it sailed from New York to Liverpool.

Thousands of passengers were onboard and 1,200 people died.

The attack helped turn American opinion against Germany.

In 2015, Alex Last used BBC archives to tell the story.

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: Sinking of the Lusitania. Credit: Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Avsnitt(2000)

Living Under Gaddafi

Living Under Gaddafi

In September 1969, a military coup in Libya brought Muammar Gaddafi to power. Louise Hidalgo has been speaking to award-winning writer Hisham Matar about life in Libya in the first decade of Gaddafi's...

5 Sep 201810min

The Battle for Brick Lane

The Battle for Brick Lane

In 1978 the racist murder of a young Bangladeshi textile worker in east London galvanised an immigrant community. Farhana Haider has been speaking to Rafique Ullah who took part in the protests and co...

4 Sep 20189min

The First MRI Scan

The First MRI Scan

The first magnetic resonance scan of a human body was attempted by Dr Raymond Damadian and two students in 1977. It marked a breakthrough in efforts to develop the medical technology now known as the ...

3 Sep 20189min

Surviving the "Death Railway"

Surviving the "Death Railway"

During World War Two the Japanese forced prisoners of war to build a 400 kilometre railway from Thailand to Burma. Tens of thousands died during the construction and it became known as the "death rail...

31 Aug 20189min

The Mine Disaster That Devastated Post-War Italy

The Mine Disaster That Devastated Post-War Italy

In August 1956, a fire at a coal mine in Belgium killed 262 people. The tragedy caused grief across Europe, but particularly in Italy because more than half the dead were Italian migrants. Simon Watts...

30 Aug 20188min

The Lake Nyos Disaster

The Lake Nyos Disaster

On 21 August 1986 villagers in the north-west of Cameroon awoke to find that many of their friends and neighbours had died in their sleep. More than 1,700 people and much of their livestock are though...

29 Aug 20188min

Hitler's League Of German Girls

Hitler's League Of German Girls

The League of German Girls was the girl's wing of the Nazi party's youth movement, Hitler Youth. Open to girls aged ten years upwards, it was a key part of the Nazi plans to shape a new generation of ...

28 Aug 20188min

Benidorm

Benidorm

The Spanish town of Benidorm is now one of the world's most popular holiday resorts - receiving more than 10 million visitors a year. The hotels and skyscrapers are the vision of Benidorm's mayor in t...

27 Aug 20188min

Populärt inom Samhälle & Kultur

en-mork-historia
podme-dokumentar
mardromsgasten
p3-dokumentar
badfluence
nemo-moter-en-van
skaringer-nessvold
killradet
creepypodden-med-jack-werner
spar
flashback-forever
rattsfallen
svenska-fall
hor-har
vad-blir-det-for-mord
rss-brottsutredarna
rss-mer-an-bara-morsa
aftonbladet-daily
p3-historia
p1-dokumentar