About this episode
The episode explores the story of a Soviet prisoner of war who escaped and was hidden by a local family during World War Two, alongside discussions on political violence in Kenya and traditional fortune telling in South Korea.
For more than 80 years, no-one knew what happened to a Soviet prisoner of war who escaped from the Nazis on the Channel Island of Jersey and spent the rest of World War Two hiding from the German occupiers with a local family, the Le Bretons. Known only by his first name, Bokejon, or simply Tom, he was one of about 2,000 Soviet prisoners and forced labourers brought to the island of Jersey to build Nazi fortifications. After liberation, Tom and the other surviving PoWs were sent back to the USSR and the Le Breton family, particularly their daughter Dulcie, always wondered what became of him. That was until BBC teams tracked down his descendants. BBC Russian's Olga Ivshina was one of the journalists who tracked him down. Political violence has been a problem in Kenya for decades now. It is often carried out by gangs of young people, known as 'goons', who are sponsored by politicians to threaten, disrupt and attack rivals. After the general election in 2007 over 1500 people were killed and with another election planned for 2027, there are fears violence could erupt again. Wycliffe Muia of BBC Africa has been looking into these politically sponsored violent gangs and what can be…
Topics covered
- Soviet prisoners of war
- World War Two
- political violence
- Kenya
- family history
- fortune telling culture
- Saju
Keywords
- Soviet prisoner
- World War Two
- Jersey
- political violence
- Kenya
- Saju
- family history
- Bokejon
- Dulcie Le Breton
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BBC, BBC Russian, BBC Africa
Places: Jersey, Kenya
More episodes of Documentaries
- Trine Hahnemann: mixing cookery and hygge · June 8, 2026 · 31 min
- Introducing: The Food Chain - Rethinking the potato · June 7, 2026 · 31 min
- Injured during childbirth · June 6, 2026 · 28 min
- The Missionary Soldier · June 5, 2026 · 30 min
- The Black Power Station: I rap what I like · June 4, 2026 · 33 min
- Good Bad Billionaire: Beyonce · June 3, 2026 · 49 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Documentaries podcast page.