After the Second World War and the Holocaust, many Germans wanted nothing more than to leave the past behind and bury discussions around guilt and responsibility. But the German-Jewish lawyer Fritz Bauer made it his mission to bring justice to the Nazis and force a nation to confront its complicity in war and genocide. I speak to Jack Fairweather, author of a new book (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prosecutor-Battle-Bring-Nazis-Justice-ebook/dp/B0D62B1LVN?ref_=ast_author_mpb) that brings the remarkable story of Fritz Bauer to life.
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26 Jan 2025
The Hohenzollerns and the Nazis with Stephan Malinowski
Did Germany's last Kaiser and Crown Prince help Hitler into power? That is a fascinating historical question with very real legal consequences in the present. Unearthing an enormous amount of new sources, the historian Stephan Malinowski took a fresh look at the situation and came to a conclusion that brought him into conflict with the Hohenzollern family. I sat down to discuss his new book The Hohenzollerns and the Nazis (https://amzn.eu/d/eW9P4Ix) with him, which will be in British bookshops from 30 January.
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19 Sept 2024
Breaking Through with Katalin Karikó
From butcher's daughter in Communist Hungary to winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine 2023 — Katalin Karikó’s story is astonishing. I spoke to her about growing up in a state that offered excellent education and childcare as well as brutal oppression and secret police surveillance. And I asked her what it was like to move from Hungary to America, to persevere and to make a breakthrough that changed the world.
Katalin Karikó’s brilliant memoir Breaking Through: My Life In Science is out now in English (https://amzn.eu/d/dgax7Uv) and German (https://amzn.eu/d/7bfj3yb).
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29 Aug 2024
The Unknown Warrior with John Nichol
Over half a million British soldiers killed during the First World War are still missing. More than a century later, they have no known grave or their body has never been identified. In a deeply personal journey, John Nichol uncovers the story of one of them: the Unknown Warrior who lies in Westminster Abbey.
Few are better placed to reflect on what it means if a person is lost in combat. As a Royal Air Force navigator during the first Gulf War, John was shot down. He was captured, tortured and held as a prisoner of war, facing the prospect that he might never return home.
I spoke to him about every soldier's worst nightmare: to be forgotten.
You can buy the book here (https://amzn.eu/d/flh42oJ) or see John live here (http://www.JohnNicholLive.com).
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18 Jul 2024
Magnificent Rebels with Andrea Wulf
In the 1790s an extraordinary group of friends changed the world. Disappointed by the French Revolution's rapid collapse into tyranny, what they wanted was nothing less than a revolution of the mind…
I spoke to Andrea Wulf about her amazing book Magnificent Rebels (https://amzn.eu/d/04h6crIe), which brings historical figures to life whose echoes I had heard loud and clear during my time in Jena in central Germany where I studied history and they dreamt up new ways of thinking, loving, writing and creating over 200 years earlier.
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4 Jul 2024
How Tyrants Fall with Marcel Dirsus
As a German historian, I think a lot about dictatorships — usually, about the age-old question of how tyrants rise. Marcel Dirsus turns this question on its head. How do tyrants fall? Uprisings? Palace intrigue? Peaceful protest? The author met with coup leaders, dissidents and soldiers to find answers. ZEITGEIST - The Podcast spoke to Marcel Dirsus for a fascinating teaser. You can pre-order the book here (https://amzn.eu/d/08kTKZyl).
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25 Apr 2024
Made in East Germany with Sabine Rennefanz
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, images of celebrating Germans went around the world. But there is another story, too. Nearly a quarter of East Germans have since left their home and moved west. One of them is journalist Sabine Rennefanz. On ZEITGEIST, we talk about her life in the GDR, her new book Kosakenberg (https://www.amazon.de/Kosakenberg-Roman-Sabine-Rennefanz/dp/3351039697) and what it means to be East German today.
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24 Mar 2024
Final Verdict: Late justice for Nazi crimes? With Tobias Buck
In 2019, one of the last Nazi trials began. 93-year-old Bruno Dey stood accused of aiding the murder of over 5,000 people at Stutthof concentration camp where he was deployed as an SS guard when he was 17.
Tobias Buck followed the trial as a journalist. But as a German, he soon realised this was more to him than a job. As the trial unfolded, he began to grapple with huge moral questions about justice, about Germany and about his own family.
At the heart of the book stands the question of who should be held accountable for Nazi crimes. I spoke to the author in London about one of the last Holocaust trials.
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8 Feb 2024
German Cars with James May
German car making is nearly as old as the state itself and woven into the national fabric. It fuelled the country’s innovative zeal during its ‘second’ Industrial Revolution at the end of the 19th century. It was a crucial pillar of Hitler’s social and economic vision for Nazi Germany. The lack of automotive desirability made East Germans yearn for more while its presence restored West German confidence. And now? What is Germany’s mighty car industry falling behind in the race for Green mobility? And if so, what does this mean for the nation’s economy and its psyche?
I left my VW Polo at home, hopped on a train and made by way to Central London where I met the legendary car journalist and TV presenter James May in London to discuss what made German cars so ‘nice’, what they mean to people in Germany and around the world and where he thinks this is all headed. A history enthusiast as well as a car man, James is ideally placed to give us a whistle-stop tour of German cars from Benz and Beetle to Trabant and TT. Enjoy!
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12 Aug 2023
The Forgers: The Forgotten Story of the Holocaust’s Most Audacious Rescue Operation
A little-known group of diplomats attempted to save the lives of thousands of Jewish men, women and children trapped in Nazi-occupied Europe. Earlier this week, I spoke to Roger Moorhouse about his new book.
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