Shows / World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
World History presents powerful true stories from the most dramatic events of the 20th century. This history podcast explores World War II, the Holocaust, Nazi Germany, war crimes, resistance movements, and the individuals whose actions shaped history. Through carefully researched narration and historical sources, each episode reveals the human stories behind global conflict, from concentration camps and political trials to acts of courage and survival. Produced by the creators of World History…
Episodes
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Igo Sym: Polish Actor Turned Nazi Collaborator Executed by the Resistance
Igo Sym was a famous Polish actor who became one of the most notorious Nazi collaborators in occupied Poland during World War II. Once a celebrated film star…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Hermann Pister: Nazi Buchenwald Commandant Behind Brutal Camp Terror
Hermann Pister was the Nazi commandant of Buchenwald concentration camp during some of its deadliest years in World War II. Hermann Pister was one of the key…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Wilhelm Frick: Nazi Interior Minister Who Created the Laws Behind the Holocaust
Wilhelm Frick was one of the key architects of Nazi Germany, helping create the legal system that enabled persecution, dictatorship, and the Holocaust. Wilhelm…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Operation Anthropoid: Assassination of Nazi Security Chief and “Butcher of Prague” Reinhard Heydrich
Operation Anthropoid was the daring World War II mission carried out by Czechoslovak resistance fighters to assassinate senior Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich in…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Hermannus Reydon: Dutch Nazi Propaganda Leader Assassinated by the Resistance
Hermannus Reydon was a leading Dutch fascist collaborator whose propaganda helped support Nazi occupation policies in the Netherlands during World War II…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Lviv Pogroms 1941: Nazi Occupation and the Mass Murder of Jews in Ukraine
The Lviv pogroms of 1941 were among the first major waves of anti-Jewish mass violence during the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. The Lviv pogroms of 1941 mark…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Tetyana Markus: Jewish Anti-Nazi Hero Who Assassinated German Officers in Kyiv
Tetyana Markus was a Jewish resistance fighter in Nazi-occupied Kyiv who infiltrated German circles and carried out assassinations against occupying forces…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Johann Reichhart: Nazi Executioner Who Guillotined Thousands in the Third Reich
Johann Reichhart was the most prolific executioner of Nazi Germany, carrying out thousands of executions during the Third Reich using the guillotine. Johann…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Yakov Dzhugashvili: Stalin’s Son Who Died in a Nazi Concentration Camp
Yakov Dzhugashvili, the eldest son of Joseph Stalin, became a Soviet prisoner of war after the German invasion of the Soviet Union and later died inside…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Ilse Koch: The “Witch of Buchenwald” and Cruel Wife of a Nazi Camp Commandant
Ilse Koch became one of the most infamous women of Nazi Germany, feared for her brutality and association with the Buchenwald concentration camp during the…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Arājs Kommando: Latvian Nazi Unit Behind Massacres During the Holocaust
The Arājs Kommando was a Latvian collaborationist unit that helped carry out mass murder during the Holocaust in occupied Latvia and Belarus. The rise of the…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Ebensee Liberation: The Camp Where Freed Prisoners Took Brutal Revenge on Nazi Guards
Ebensee was one of the deadliest subcamps of the Mauthausen concentration camp system, where prisoners were worked, starved, and beaten to death during World…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Ivan Marchenko: Former Soviet Soldier Turned Nazi Treblinka Gas Chamber Operator
Ivan Marchenko was a Trawniki guard at Treblinka extermination camp who helped operate the gas chambers during the Holocaust in occupied Poland. Ivan Marchenko…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Amon Göth: Nazi Camp Commandant Known as the Butcher of Kraków
Amon Göth was the brutal Nazi commandant of the Płaszów concentration camp whose crimes made him one of the most feared figures of the Holocaust in occupied…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Fritz Sauckel: High-Ranking Nazi Official Executed for Forced Slave Labor
Fritz Sauckel was the Nazi official who organized Germany’s vast forced labor system during World War II and was later executed at the Nuremberg Trials. Fritz…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Operation Barbarossa: 5 Myths About Hitler’s Invasion of the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa was Nazi Germany’s massive invasion of the Soviet Union, later surrounded by myths about Stalin, the Russian winter, and the Eastern…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Hermannus Reydon: Dutch Nazi Propaganda Leader Targeted by the Resistance
Hermannus Reydon was a leading Dutch fascist collaborator whose propaganda work helped support Nazi occupation policies in the Netherlands during World War II…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Hisao Tani: Japanese General Executed for the Nanjing Massacre
Hisao Tani was an Imperial Japanese general held responsible for atrocities committed during the Nanjing Massacre and later executed for war crimes. Lieutenant…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Yelena Mazanik: Anti-Nazi Hero Who Assassinated Nazi Governor of Occupied Belarus
Yelena Mazanik was a Belarusian resistance operative who assassinated Nazi official Wilhelm Kube during the German occupation of Belarus in World War II…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
John C. Woods: American Hangman Who Executed Nazi Leaders at Nuremberg
John C. Woods was the American Army executioner who carried out the death sentences of top Nazi officials after the Nuremberg Trials. John Clarence Woods…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Nikolai Yezhov: Soviet Secret Police Chief Behind Stalin’s Great Purge Executed in 1940
Nikolai Yezhov was the Soviet secret police chief who oversaw Stalin’s Great Purge before becoming a victim of the same terror system he helped create. Nikolai…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Lída Baarová: Actress Whose Affair With Nazi Leader Joseph Goebbels Destroyed Her Life
Lída Baarová was a famous Czech actress whose affair with Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels led to scandal, ruin, and tragedy. Lída Baarová’s life is…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Dirlewanger Brigade: Nazi Unit Behind the Wola Massacre and Eastern Front Atrocities
The Dirlewanger Brigade was one of the most brutal Nazi units of World War II, responsible for mass killings across Eastern Europe and the Wola massacre in…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Stalingrad 1943: German 6th Army Encircled, Surrendered, and Destroyed
The Battle of Stalingrad marked a turning point in World War II, as the German 6th Army was encircled and ultimately surrendered to Soviet forces. The Battle…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
András Kun: Fascist Priest Who Led Jewish Massacres in Budapest
András Kun was a Catholic priest who became a brutal killer for Hungary’s Arrow Cross regime, leading murders during the Holocaust in Budapest. András Kun was…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Christian Wirth: Nazi Death Camp Commandant Behind Operation Reinhard
Christian Wirth was one of the key Nazi perpetrators behind Operation Reinhard, overseeing death camps where more than 1.5 million Jews were murdered during…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Alfred Rosenberg: Top Nazi Ideologue Executed at the Nuremberg Trials
Alfred Rosenberg was one of the chief ideologues of Nazi Germany whose racial theories helped shape the Holocaust and led to his execution after World War II…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Peter Kürten: The Vampire of Düsseldorf Serial Killer Executed in 1931
Peter Kürten, known as the Vampire of Düsseldorf, was one of Germany’s most infamous serial killers whose reign of terror ended at the guillotine. Peter…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Fritz Kuhn: The “American Führer” Who Tried to Bring Nazism to America
Fritz Kuhn was the leader of the German American Bund who tried to spread Nazi ideology in the United States before falling in scandal and disgrace. Fritz…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Moritake Tanabe: Japanese General Linked to Nanjing Massacre Executed After WW2
Moritake Tanabe was a Japanese major general whose wartime command roles tied him to atrocities in China and later led to his execution after World War II…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Jan Kubiš: Anti-Nazi Hero Who Helped Assassinate Senior Nazi Leader Reinhard Heydrich
Jan Kubiš was a Czechoslovak resistance hero whose role in Operation Anthropoid helped strike one of the boldest blows against Nazi leadership during World War…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Krasnodar Mass Public Execution: Nazi Collaborators Hanged in Soviet Russia in 1943
The Krasnodar Trial led to one of the first mass public executions for Nazi crimes during World War II, when collaborators were hanged before thousands in…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Boris Rodos: Soviet Secret Police Torturer Executed After Stalin’s Death
Boris Rodos was one of the most feared torturers of Stalin’s Soviet secret police, later executed for extracting false confessions through brutality. Boris…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Henriette von Schirach: Nazi Elite Wife Who Lived on Looted Jewish Wealth
Henriette von Schirach, wife of Nazi leader Baldur von Schirach, lived in privilege built on looted Jewish property and remained tied to the legacy of the…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
1st Mountain Division: Wehrmacht Unit Behind Massacres in Greece and the Balkans
The 1st Mountain Division, known as the Edelweiss Division, was a German Wehrmacht unit responsible for mass atrocities across Europe during World War II. The…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Lippach Massacre: US Troops Executed Teenage Nazi Prisoners of War in 1945
The Lippach massacre in 1945 saw U.S. troops execute unarmed German soldiers in one of the most controversial and little-known incidents at the end of World…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Ans van Dijk: Dutch Nazi Collaborator Who Betrayed Even Her Own Family and Paid for It
Ans van Dijk was a Jewish collaborator in Nazi-occupied Netherlands who betrayed dozens of Jews in hiding, leading to their deportation and deaths during the…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Josef Kramer: Nazi Camp Commandant of Bergen-Belsen and Auschwitz Executed After Trial
Josef Kramer, known as the “Beast of Belsen,” was a Nazi camp commandant responsible for mass murder who was executed after the Belsen Trial. Josef Kramer was…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Julius Streicher: Nazi Propagandist at Nuremberg Executed for Inciting the Holocaust
Julius Streicher was a Nazi propagandist whose antisemitic incitement helped fuel the Holocaust, leading to his execution after World War II. Julius Streicher…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Adolf Seefeldt: Germany’s “Uncle Tick-Tock” Serial Killer of Children
Adolf Seefeldt, known as “Uncle Tick-Tock,” was a German serial killer who murdered young boys while posing as a harmless traveling watch repairman. Adolf…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Yoshiko Kawashima: “Mata Hari of the Far East” Executed for Treason After WWII
Yoshiko Kawashima, known as the “Mata Hari of the Far East,” was a spy, collaborator, and key figure in Japan’s expansion in China who was executed for treason…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Tomoyuki Yamashita: “Tiger of Malaya” Executed for WWII War Crimes in the Philippines
Tomoyuki Yamashita, known as the “Tiger of Malaya,” was a Japanese general whose victories and wartime atrocities led to his execution and the creation of the…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Nancy Wake: The “White Mouse” Who Fought the Nazis and Led the French Resistance
Nancy Wake, known as the “White Mouse,” was one of the most daring Allied agents of World War II and a key figure in the French Resistance against Nazi…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Kharkov Mass Public Execution in Ukraine: Nazi War Criminals Hanged in 1943
The Kharkov public execution in 1943 saw Nazi perpetrators and a collaborator hanged for mass atrocities committed during the German occupation of Soviet…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Stanisław Kosior: Top Soviet Official Behind Ukraine’s Man-Made Famine Executed in Stalin’s Purge
Stanisław Kosior, Soviet leader in Ukraine and one of the key figures behind the Holodomor, was later executed during Stalin’s Great Purge. Stanisław Kosior…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Geli Raubal: Hitler’s Niece Found Dead in Mysterious Munich Scandal
Geli Raubal, Adolf Hitler’s niece, became the center of one of the most disturbing and mysterious scandals of the early Nazi era after her unexplained death in…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Fyodor Truhin: Soviet General Who Became Nazi Collaborator Executed for Treason
Fyodor Truhin, a Soviet general who became a Nazi collaborator, was executed for treason after helping organize anti-Soviet forces during World War II. Fyodor…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Chenogne Massacre: U.S. Troops Executed German POWs After Malmedy in WW2
The Chenogne massacre saw U.S. troops execute German prisoners of war in retaliation after SS atrocities during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. The…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Stanisław Trzeciak: Polish Priest and Nazi Collaborator Who Spread Antisemitic Propaganda
Stanisław Trzeciak, a Polish Catholic priest and Nazi collaborator, became one of the most prominent voices spreading antisemitic propaganda during the Second…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Franz Ziereis: Mauthausen Commandant Who Ran One of Nazi Germany’s Deadliest Camps
Franz Ziereis, commandant of Mauthausen concentration camp, oversaw one of the deadliest systems of forced labor and mass killing in Nazi Germany during the…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Joseph Goebbels: Nazi Propaganda Minister and Architect of Holocaust Hate
Joseph Goebbels, Nazi Propaganda Minister and one of the key architects of ideological hatred behind the Holocaust, became one of the most dangerous figures of…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Paul Ogorzow: Serial Killer Who Terrorized Berlin Trains in Nazi Germany
Paul Ogorzow, known as the “S-Bahn Murderer,” was a serial killer who terrorized Berlin during Nazi Germany and was executed for his crimes in 1941. Paul…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Ferenc Szálasi: Hungarian Fascist Leader of Arrow Cross Executed for War Crimes
Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian fascist leader of the Arrow Cross Party, ruled Hungary under Nazi control and was executed for war crimes after World War II. Ferenc…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Prince Yasuhiko Asaka: Japanese Imperial Commander of Nanjing Massacre Who Escaped Justice
Prince Yasuhiko Asaka, a member of Japan’s imperial family and commander during the Nanjing Massacre, oversaw one of the most brutal atrocities of the Second…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Witold Pilecki: Anti-Nazi Hero Who Volunteered for Auschwitz and Was Executed by Soviets
Witold Pilecki, a Polish resistance hero who voluntarily entered Auschwitz, became one of the most extraordinary figures of the Second World War before being…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Majdanek Public Execution: Nazi Perpetrators Hanged at Concentration Camp in 1944
The Majdanek public execution in 1944 saw Nazi perpetrators hanged at the site of their crimes in one of the earliest war crimes trials of World War II…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
The Fate of Eight Soviet Generals: Stalin’s Great Purge of Tukhachevsky and Red Army Command
Eight Soviet generals, including Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky, were arrested and executed during Stalin’s Great Purge in one of the most devastating political…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Emmy Göring: Nazi “First Lady” Who Lived on Looted Art and War Crimes
Emmy Göring, the so-called “First Lady of the Third Reich” and wife of Hermann Göring, lived a life of luxury built on looted art and Nazi war crimes. Emmy…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Bronislav Kaminski: Nazi Collaborator and Leader of Brutal Kaminski Brigade in WW2
Bronislav Kaminski, a Nazi collaborator and leader of the brutal Kaminski Brigade, became one of the most notorious figures of the Second World War. Bronislav…
- World History: True Stories of the 20th Century
Wereth 11 Massacre: Black U.S. Soldiers Captured and Killed by Nazis in WWII
The Wereth 11 massacre saw eleven Black American soldiers captured and killed by Nazi forces during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II. The Second World…