The History Hour

Max Pearson presents a collection of this week's Witness History episodes.American artist Keith Haring's bold 1986 mural on the Berlin Wall and British naturalist Gerald Durrell's 1950s mission to save species from extinction.We discuss other examples of art which aim to bring peace and unity around the world with Dr Lucy Weir, head of art history at the University of Edinburgh.Plus Malta's divorce referendum in 2011, Hungary's 1956 uprising, the first Refugee Olympic Team of 2016 and how Ten Canoes made cinema history in Australia in 2006.Contributors: Alexandra Hildebrandt - the chairwoman of the Wall Museum at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin. Dr Lucy Weir - the head of the history of art at the University of Edinburgh. Gerald Durrell - British naturalist. Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando - Maltese MP. Péter Pallai - survivor of the Hungarian uprising. Frances Djulibing - actor in Ten Canoes. Rose Lokonyen - 800m runner for the Refugee Olympic Team.(Photo: Keith Haring painting his mural on the Berlin Wall in 1986. Credit: Patrick Piel/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear from one of the Peruvian pilots who secretly flew fighter jets to help Argentina during the Falklands War in 1982. We discuss with our guest, Iberian and Latin American historian Stella Krepp from Bern University, about the stance Peru and other countries from the region took in the conflict.Plus, the killing of the Egyptian president Anwar Sadat in 1981, the mirrors that brought winter sunshine to a Norwegian town, the rats that were trained to detect landmines, and the real-life boy who inspired the Winnie-the-Pooh books.Finally, this week's Sporting Witness – the day Australia’s cricket captain had to choose between setting a personal record and his team’s chance to win.Contributors:Rubén Mimbela – former Peruvian Air Force pilot.Jehan Sedat – Anwar Sadat’s widow.Martin Andersen – inventor and artist.Bart Weetjens – product designer.Christopher Robin Milne – son of author A.A. Milne (archive). Mark Taylor – Australia’s former cricket captain.(Photo: Argentina's Air Force patrol during the Falklands War. Credit: Fireshot/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We dedicate this edition to Manchester, in England. We hear about the man who opened the city's first racially inclusive nightclub in 1962. This programme contains descriptions of racial discrimination. Our guest Kath McDermott, a Mancunian DJ and producer at BBC 6 Music, tells us about Manchester's musical scene and how it helped shape the town’s culture and identity. The acclaimed artist Harold Riley was a local to Greater Manchester and also the only one granted access to paint Nelson Mandela from life.Plus, we remember the time the city hosted the Fifth Pan-African Congress in 1945, where activists from around the world met to discuss the struggle against colonialism and racial discrimination.And we go back to 1948, when the University of Manchester developed ‘Baby,’ the world’s first stored-program computer.Also, the mass trespass on Kinder Scout in the Peak District that challenged private landownership to demand access to the countryside. And the UK’s first female football photographer.Contributors: Lisa Ayegun – daughter of Phil Magbotiwan, the founder of The Reno. Harold Riley – artist (archive). Peter Abrahams – African National Congress activist and writer. Tom Kilburn – creator of the 'Baby' computer (archive). Hakim Adi – historian. Benny Rothman – organiser of the Kinder Scout mass tresspass (archive). Harry Rothman – son of Benny Rothman. Magi Haroun – football photographer.(Photo: Albert Square in Manchester in 1968. Credit: Manchester Evening News Archive/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

Max Pearson presents a collection of the week's Witness History episodes from the BBC World Service.We hear how a French curator uncovered lost documents showing that the Nazis researched the Bayeux Tapestry during World War Two. Our guest, Professor Catherine Clarke, takes us through the finer details of the famous medieval tapestry. Plus, communist fighters struggling to survive while following Mao Zedong during the Chinese Civil War in 1935. The firefighter who survived the collapse of the North Tower with his crew during the 9/11 attacks in 2001. The Irish woman whose report changed the date of D-Day, and the winner of the first Rubik's Cube World Championship. We also learn how reports of a moving statue in rural Ireland drew thousands of visitors in 1985. Contributors: Sylvette Lemagnen - former curator of the Bayeux Tapestry Catherine Clarke - Professor at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London Zhong Ming - soldier in Mao Zedong's army Jay Jonas - former New York firefighter Edward Sweeney - son of Maureen Flavin Minh Thai - Rubik's Cube World Champion 1982 Ita Dungan - pilgrim to the site of the reported moving statue in Ballinspittle(Photo: The Bayeux Tapestry. Credit: Reuters/Charles Platiau)