Witness History Folgen

It's 20 years since elections in French Polynesia in 2004, where the independence movement stunned the France-aligned government of the day, propelling pro-independence leader Oscar Temaru to the presidency. It was a landmark in the country's politics, where protests against French rule had increased due to the practice of using Polynesian islands for nuclear tests.Antony Geros, who helped lead the independence movement, recounts that night to Lizzy Kinch. This is a Whistledown production for BBC World Service.(Photo: Antony Geros. Credit: Getty Images)

On 14 May 1948, the state of Israel was proclaimed.Tears and applause met the declaration, witnessed by 200 dignitaries, but fighting intensified in the days that followed.In 2010, Arieh Handler and Zipporah Porath spoke to Lucy Williamson about that day and its fallout.(Photo: Young Jewish people celebrate the new state. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

In 1948, tens of thousands of Palestinians left their homes in the Middle East, never to return. The period after World War Two in the region was tense, at times violent and politically complex.For Israeli Jews it was finally a chance to build their own nation after the genocide of the Holocaust. But for Arab Palestinian Muslims and Christians it was a time of loss. Some sold their land, some were evicted - many felt intimidated by the violence and changing demographics. Rebecca Kesby speaks to Hasan Hammami who was 15-years-old when his family felt ‘pushed out’ of Palestine.The interview was recorded before the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and subsequent Israeli military operation.(Photo: Palestinians leaving their homes in 1948. Credit: Getty Images)