World War II

From Dunkirk to D-Day

Charles Wheeler, himself a D-Day veteran, is joined by three historians to analyse the Allies' resurgence in 1944 from their nadir in 1940/41.

The People's D-Day

The stories of some of those thousands of men and women who contributed to or experienced the build up to D-Day first-hand.

Coming Home

Charles Wheeler presents five personal interpretations of what the end of the second world war meant to people in Britain and across the world.

Hitler in History - In Our Time

Melvyn Bragg examines Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany through historiographical theories

Dad's Revolutionary Army - Document

In the dark days of July 1940 thousands of British civilians were being trained in the arts of garrotting, making bombs and killing quietly with knives.

Child Evacuees during World War II - Woman's Hour

Operation Pied-Piper: in 1939 up to three million children were evacuated from Britain's cities to safer places in the countryside. It was the largest mass movement of people in British history.

Churchill's Roar - Routes of English

Melvyn Bragg presents an analysis and celebration of the remarkable language, voice and vocal acrobatics displayed throughout his life by Sir Winston Churchill.

Second World War Defences - Making History

How Britain hurriedly built a network of defences at the fall of France in May 1940 when the British realised that the Second World War wouldn't be fought solely in Europe.

Sir Keith Park - A Point of View

Clive James celebrates the honouring of Battle of Britain commander Sir Keith Park.

Women in the RAF - Woman's Hour

What life was like for the RAF women who defied social convention to do men's work, and whether women play an equal role in the air force of today.

Children at War - Woman's Hour

The Children's War exhibition. Children were affected by all that the war brought - from evacuation to food shortages and the Blitz: one in ten of those killed in bombing raids was a child.

Keeping Spain out of the Second World War - Document

Mike Thomson uncovers Winston Churchill's paper trail of secret deals, bribes and broken promises in wartime Spain.

Racial Segregation - Making History

Vanessa Collingridge and the team investigate the impact of racial segregation in the American armed forces in Britain.

Wartime Losses - Tracing Your Roots

Sally Magnusson explores wartime stories bringing untraced fathers to light.

Family History - Excess Baggage

The urge to visit the scene of a family member's wartime experiences often follows the realisation of what dangers they have been through.

POW labour - Document

The story behind the German prisoners of war forced to work in Britain for three years after the Second World War had ended.

Evacuation - Thinking Allowed

Laurie Taylor talks to John Welshman, the author of Churchill's Children: The Evacuee Experience in Wartime Britain and also to the social historian Selina Todd.

Brainwashing by MI5 - Document

Did Harold Macmillan mislead the country about alleged brainwashing techniques employed by British Intelligence in the Second World War?

World War II Secrets of The Peak District - Open Country

Matt Baker finds out about the secret military training grounds in the Peak District.

Prison Camp Player - Making History

A listener discovers information about a Benjamin Britten premiere in a German POW camp.

Children strafed by enemy planes - Making History

Childhood experiences recalled of being strafed by enemy planes across Britain.

Land Girls - Woman's Hour

Angela Huth talks about the sequel she has written to her successful novel Land Girls.