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Toto Koopman: Socialite, Vogue Model and WWII Spy Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

Toto Koopman was remarkable; she was a high society socialite who risked her life wining and dining with Italian blackshirts in order to gather information for the Dutch intelligence service in WWII. When she refused to work as a spy for the Italians, she was thrown in a detention camp. She escaped and hid in the mountains. When she was captured again she was taken to Ravensbrück concentration camp. There, got a role at the hospital by pretending she was a nurse; she risked her own life forging documents to save the lives of women destined for the gas chamber. She was truly unapologetic about who she was, individualistic and brave. Before the war, she'd defied society's expectations as a Vogue cover model working with Coco Chanel by having high-profile relationships with both men and women - including Hollywood star Talulah Bankhead and newspaper baron Lord Beaverbrook. So why have most of us never heard of her?

In this episode, author and historical novelist Maryka Biaggio gives a roaring account of the incredible life, achievements and character of Toto Koopman, a story we should all know.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsely, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.

If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!

You can take part in our listener survey here.

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Wagner vs Putin: A History of Russian Coups Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

On the 24th of June, 2023, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his paramilitary group Wagner carried out what appeared to be an attempted coup in Russia. In a seismic turn of events, his mercenaries marched across the Russian border without resistance and seized key military installations in the city of Rostov-on-Don. While much of what followed remains uncertain, it is clear that this was the most serious challenge to Putin's authority since he came to power in 1999.

Dan is joined by Alexander Watson, an expert on Russia and the First World War, to discuss the historical context for coups in Russia.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world-renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 20th Century Arms Race Jun 25, 2023

Show notes

The 20th century heralded a revolution in how wars are fought. From military strategy and planning to the weapons and equipment used on the ground, modern militaries have radically changed how they operate. So what major changes have there been? And what is the purpose of war in the first place?

Dan is joined today by Mike Martin, a conflict scholar who specialises in modern warfare, to discuss its evolution and development over the past century.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tomos Delargy.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Windrush Generation & Scandal Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

The journey of the Empire Windrush that docked in Essex with 1,027 passengers & at least two stowaways on 22nd June 1948 has come to define a whole generation of people who arrived in Britain for two decades from the Caribbean until the 1970s. The 802 Caribbean citizens onboard were the first of 500,000 Commonwealth citizens who settled in Britain having been invited to help rebuild the "mother country". Despite having equal rights to British citizenship most faced discrimination, prejudice and abuse. Many had fought for Britain in the war just years earlier and yet when they arrived were often denied jobs, housing and access to public spaces like pubs and dancehalls. But communities among new settlers thrived, arrivals brought with them a rich heritage that shaped British culture from music and literature to food and sport. Communities pooled their resources to buy houses, set up community centres, services and support networks and fought for the rights they were promised.

In 2018, the rights of the Windrush Generation entered the news again when they and their descendants became the targets of mistreatment by the UK government, resulting in the denial of their rights, deportation threats, and significant harm to their lives and communities. Dan is joined for the 75th anniversary of Windrush Day by Dr Juanita Cox, who is a research fellow on Nationality, Identity and Belonging at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies. She unravels the long history of the Windrush Generation, their struggles and impact on Britain and the scandal with help from the voices of that generation themselves, recorded as part of her oral history project, ‘The Windrush Scandal in a Transnational and Commonwealth Context‘.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.

If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Titanic Wreck Jun 20, 2023

Show notes

In 1912 Titanic departed on her first and last voyage from Southampton, sinking over 2 miles to the bottom of the dark North Atlantic Ocean, around 400 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. It has captured the imaginations of adults and children alike for over a century since the wreck was discovered- broken in two, but largely intact by explorer Bob Ballard in 1985. Since then, people from all over the world have been desperate to see the slowly degrading wreck on the ocean floor, some paying in the hundreds of thousands to make the trip down.

Currently, the world watches as organisations and countries work together to try and locate a submersible carrying tourists that disappeared in the early hours of an expedition on Sunday. Titanic expert Tim Maltin joins Dan to talk about Titanic tourism, what the perilous journey down to it is like, the state of the wreck and its role as a gravesite for those who perished in the sinking. He also describes the astonishing things Bob Ballard saw when he laid eyes on the wreck for the first time - the swinging chandeliers and the telephone set from which the final distress calls were made compared with what people might see today.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.

If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

George VI and Elizabeth, Queen Mother Jun 19, 2023

Show notes

This episode brings the marriage of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother to life, from the uproar of King Edward VIIIs abdication to the challenges of the Second World War. How did they shore up public faith in the monarchy? And how did they raise their daughters through such an uncertain period?

Dan is joined by Sally Bedell Smith, a leading historian of the monarchy and author of George VI and Elizabeth: The Marriage That Saved the Monarchy. She was granted special access by Queen Elizabeth II to her parents' letters and diaries and shed some light on these questions and more.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Tomos Delargy.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Stonewall Uprising Jun 18, 2023

Show notes

Pride month happens in June in commemoration of the Stonewall Uprising that took place in the summer of 1969 after police undertook a routine raid on an LGBTQ+ bar in New York City and instead of submitting to the usual mistreatment, its patrons resisted. The unrest continued for several nights with clashes between LGBTQ+ individuals, their allies and the police. It escalated with protestors throwing bottles, bricks, and other objects at the police, who responded with force.

The story of Stonewall has become something of a mythology. Dan is joined by award-winning broadcaster and writer Matthew Todd who untangles the many threads of hearsay and weaves the facts back together into an incredible story of community resilience and determination to fight back against injustice and oppression. The Stonewall Uprising marked a significant turning point in the LGBTQ+ rights movement in the US and worldwide but was just the beginning. As Matt explains, the history of Pride is about so much more than just what happened at the Stonewall Inn.

If you're struggling with any of the issues raised in this episode, you can find help here: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.

If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at ds.hh@historyhit.com, we'd love to hear from you!

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Origins of Scottish Independence Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

For the first time in 18 years, the Declaration of Arbroath - an iconic document in the story of the struggle for Scottish independence in the 14th century - will go on public display. Dated 6 April 1320, and written by the barons and freeholders on behalf of the Kingdom of Scotland, the Declaration asks Pope John XXII to recognise Scotland's independence and to persuade Edward II of England to end hostilities against the Scots.

In this episode of Gone Medieval, Matt Lewis finds out more from Dr. Alice Blackwell, Dr. Alan Borthwick and Prof. Dauvit Broun.

The Declaration of Arbroath is on display from 3 June until 2 July 2023 at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh: https://www.nms.ac.uk/declaration

This episode was edited by Joseph Knight and produced by Rob Weinberg.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wreck, Scandal & Mutiny on HMS Wager Jun 13, 2023

Show notes

In 1740, the Royal Navy ship The Wager set sail for the Pacific to take part in the War of Jenkins' Ear. The unfortunate ship was separated from the fleet and, after pulverising storms and outbreaks of scurvy, ended up sinking near a small island off the coast of Chile.

Dan is joined by David Grann, author of the bestselling book The Wager, to tell this tale of shipwreck and mutiny on the high seas.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

You can take part in our listener survey here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine's Dam Destroyed: Water as a Weapon Jun 12, 2023

Show notes

On the 6th of June, 2023, an explosion tore through the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine. A torrent of water cascaded downriver, flooding towns and villages, displacing thousands, and causing a catastrophic ecological disaster. Many observers suggest that this was a deliberate act of sabotage by the Russian occupiers - if true, then this would not be the first time that an army has destroyed critical infrastructure to gain the upper hand on the battlefield. Neither would it be the first time that water has been used as a weapon.

Dan is joined by historian Frank McDonough, an expert on the Third Reich to unravel any parallels between what we're seeing today in Ukraine and the 'scorched earth' policies of Nazi Germany in WWII.

Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.

We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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