Achtung History

04/08/2021

Cold War and espionage beneath the Iron Curtain, discover more in Tunnel, Traitor, King, Gold, watch the trailer below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD-Md9wiRLM

11/05/2021

It's become somewhat infamous in history: how a small locality of Germany was left unoccupied for 42 days after wars end.

Discover, in this episode, the strange story, the myths, lies and truths of Schwarzenberg, where neither western ally or soviet forces occupied when World War Two came for an end. Hear how this small district formed its own government and how its story has become perverted for political cause by both extremes of the political spectrum.

https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/no-mans-land-1945-the-republic-of-schwarzenberg/id1504876646?i=1000521148312&l=en

27/04/2021

Hi**er arrives at the Lustgarten in Berlin on the morning of the 1st of May 1933. Here the youth of the city as well as students from universities gathered to witness the German dictator herald in 'Tag der nationalen Arbeit."

Gone was the day of international workers now the NSDAP, Hi**er and Goebbels. It was a day to celebrate the workers, whilst at the same time stealing their rights from them.

Discover the history of May Day and how the NSDAP perverted it to their own cause in our latest episode - In the Shadow of the Sw****ka: May Day and the Quashing of the Unions.

image credit: Bundesarchiv_Bild_102-15783

14/04/2021

KZ Oranienburg was the first of the concentration camps to be put in the charge of the Sturmabteilung (SA). On the 21st of March 1933, members of the SA Standard 208, using special powers given to them as Hilfspolizei, arrested 40 enemies of the NSDAP and in placing them in a truck drove them to Oranienburg to Berlin's north. Here, at a former brewery site, the prisoners were interred constituting the first of an eventual 3000 that would pass through the wooden gates.

KZ Oranienburg was used by the NSDAP regime as an interment camp for political prisoners and many members of the Reichstag who constituted the opposition and were deemed enemies were placed here.

Discover more in our latest episode of our The Reichstag series charting the rise to power of the NSDAP.

Image credit: Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1982-014-35A

13/04/2021

13th of April 1945. The Gardelegen Massacre.

After a death march lasting nine days 1000 former prisoners of the Dora concentration camp, a camp which housed the workers of Wernher von Braun's V2 rocket factory, are crammed into a barn.

Under the orders of Unterstürmführer Brauny three of the four rolling doors to the brick barn were slammed closed. The fourth remained open, but under the watch of SS men, Luftwaffe soldiers, parachutists, Volkssturm and others. Brauny stepped forward and kneeling down he fiddled at the entrance way. Quickly those at the front of the group of prisoners, tired and hungry after the long march, realised Brauny was creating small flame within his hand and he was setting fire to the straw. The straw that had been soaked with gasoline by the Kapos.

Inside chaos broke out. Screams of curses and fear filled the air as smoke filled the space and the flames spread rapidly. Some realising that the situation could be controlled shouted orders to use their clothes to stamp out the flames. The SS watched on through the opening. They watched the desperation of the prisoners and with an order from Brauny they lowered their guns and began to fire. When a break in the firing to reload took place some guards pulled their grenades from their belts and threw them into the barn. Those who fell injured were burnt up by the flames. Voices begged to be shot to end the misery.

A day later the American Ninth Army found the remains.

You can discover this and more in our "The N**i and the Moon" series that explores Wernher von Braun's desires for space flight and the loss of human life it cost.

https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/01-the-nazi-and-the-moon-rocket-cars/id1504876646?i=1000488130641&l=en

13/04/2021

Latest episode is out! The Reichstag: The Coming Storm.

Episode 4 in our current series. Discover the events after the fire, when Hi**er and the NSDAP continued to round up and extinguish resistance and opposition.

https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/The-Reichstag-The-Coming-Storm---04-euojve

06/04/2021

The scarred face of Rudolfen Diels, first chief of the Geheimstaatspolizei better known as the Gestapo. Diels, already a deputy to Göring by February 1933 was present within the Reichstag as it burned, but unlike his masters whom believed there to have been at least 7 communists who had set fire to the German Parliament building Diels was convinced it was just 1, Marinus van der Lubbe. Discover more in our latest podcast episode linked in the bio. (Bundesarchiv Bild 183-K0108-5001-003)
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30/03/2021

The ruins of the Reichstag plenary hall taken shortly after the fire by W***y Römer. Here, citizens are paraded by the remains guarded by the SA whom had been incorporated as Hilfspolizei and were beginning their reign of terror with the law standing behind them. Find out more in our latest podcast episode link in the bio.

26/03/2021

Don't forget to listen to our latest Podcast 'The Reichstag: Fire!" before the next episode comes out on Monday! https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-reichstag-fire-episode-2/id1504876646?i=1000513109425&l=en

‎Show Achtung! History, Ep The Reichstag: Fire! Episode 2 - 15 Mar 2021

03/03/2021

The latest episode is available now. https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/the-reichstag-fanning-flames/id1504876646?i=1000511153615&l=en

01/03/2021

Latest episode is out. Discover the 28 days between Hi**er becoming Chancellor and the Reichstag being discovered ablaze.

Welcome to the new series by Achtung! History and Simon J. James. This time we take a look at the Reichstag, the German parliament building famous for the fire that gutted the building on the 27th of February 1933 and catapulted Hi**er into dictator. At least that's what history classes teach us. Th...

16/02/2021

As the Reich crumbled around them and the Soviet Red Army approached Berlin, the NSDAP leadership in the latter stages of the war still clung to power. But what happened when they exerted their horror on something that mattered most to the people, bread? Find out in our latest episode out now. Resistance: The Moral Fight https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/achtung-history/id1504876646?l=en

‎History · 2021

05/02/2021

1921 Klaus Adam is born in Berlin. The son of a Prussian Cavalry officer and recipient of the Iron Cross (second class) Fritz Adam and Lilli (Née Saalfeld) he was raised in comfortable surroundings. Fritz after the war had come to run with his siblings the successful high society clothing business S . Adam (see photo 2) that had been founded in 1863. The company was so successful that in 1928 they held a design competition for a new store on Berlin’s prestigious Friedrichstraße. The competition was entered by Mies Van Der Rohe (img 3), Peter Behrens (img 4) and Hans Poelzig (img 5). Ultimately the designs were not realised partly due to the financial crash bad to the rise of the NSDAP. In 1934 Fritz sent Klaus to Edinburgh to escape the NSDAP persecution, Herr Klaus changed his name to Kenneth. Fritz was persecuted and beaten by the SS and eventually due to aryanisation had his business stolen from him. Fritz and Lilli managed to later escape their entire wealth boiled down to just a few gold coins smuggled out. Kenneth would become an RAF pilot. After the war he began working in films rising to become amongst the greatest of set designers working on Dr. Strangelove and Moonraker (img 1 copyright Ken Adam) and in 2003 knighted as Sir Ken Adam for his services.

04/02/2021

Check out our latest episode 'Wheels of Revolution' and discover Lenin's secret train from Switzerland to a Russia in the midst of revolution https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/Wheels-of-Revolution---Lenins-Sealed-Train-to-Petrograd-epp2ea

Discover, in this latest episode, the events leading up to the infamous journey of Lenin, Russian leader in the making, from Switzerland to a Russia in the midst of Revolution. Unearth a brief biography of the controversial man who would lead a Russian Revolution down a dark and bloody path. Support...

01/02/2021

Wheels of Revolution - Lenin's Sealed Train to Petrograd

In this new episode of Achtung! History, discover Russia as its Tsar fell and revolution ran amok in the imperial capital of Petrograd and how one man was brought from exile in Switzerland through a Europe at war to so chaos and lead a revolution which would go on to cost millions of lives.

https://apple.co/2MimoHg

‎History · 2021

01/02/2021

Tonight at 18:00 CET discover Lenin and the journey that brought him from exile to his homeland in the midsts of revolution!

29/01/2021

Out on Patreon now at patreon.com/achtunghistory our latest episode - The Wheels of Revolution. Available everywhere Monday at 19:00 CET. Here is the coverart for a tease.

27/01/2021

OTD in 1859 Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert better known as Kaiser Wilhelm II was born in Berlin. A difficult breech birth led to the damage in his left arm, damage known as Erbs Palsy. Through most of his life Wilhelm would hide his arm, resting it on a hilt of a sword during parades or carrying gloves in the grasp of his hand. To find out more about Kaiser Wilhelm II and his lineage check out our latest podcast 'Monarch of the Forest' https://bit.ly/2Kvek50 and our podcast Kaiser against God, https://bit.ly/3prQZAk.

25/01/2021

St. Hubertus at Rominten, once the chapel financed and built by Kaiser Wilhelm II for the village at his hunting lodge today little more than the concrete base survives. Built in the Drachenstil design by Norwegian architects and builders its remains today lay in the Russian Enclave, what used to be East Prussia. Find out more in our latest podcast and how Kaiser faced off with Reichsmarschall. https://bit.ly/2Kvek50

21/01/2021

After the christmas break we are back with a new episode "Monarch of the Forest - The Kaiser's Forgotten Domain. Discover Rominten from Teutons battling pagans to Kaiser fighting Reichsmarschal Göring. List now here https://bit.ly/2Kvek50

29/12/2020

Achtung! History | 43 - Christmas: In The Shadow Of The Sw****ka

When Adolf Hi**er and the NSDAP came to power in 1933 they quickly set about changing all aspects of the German state, even Christmas. In this episode, Christmas: In the Shadow of the Sw****ka, discover how all aspects of Christmas were perverted to aide the National Socialist cause.
https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/Christmas-In-the-Shadow-of-the-Sw****ka-eo4gm8

When Adolf Hi**er and the NSDAP came to power in 1933 they quickly set about changing all aspects of the German state, even Christmas. In this episode, Christmas: In the Shadow of the Sw****ka, discover how all aspects of Christmas were perverted to aide the National Socialist cause. Achtung! Histor...

23/12/2020

Discover what Christmas was like under the Sw****ka in our latest episode, Christmas: In the shadow of the Sw****ka https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/Christmas-In-the-Shadow-of-the-Sw****ka-eo4gm8

When Adolf Hi**er and the NSDAP came to power in 1933 they quickly set about changing all aspects of the German state, even Christmas. In this episode, Christmas: In the Shadow of the Sw****ka, discover how all aspects of Christmas were perverted to aide the National Socialist cause. Achtung! Histor...

11/12/2020

Richard Mayne, first head of the Metropolitan Police of London and its longest serving head. It was his decision to appoint Inspector Tanner as detective in the case of the gruesome murder of Thomas Briggs, the subject of which is covered in our series 'Murder on the Tracks' out now! https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ApynugJ5o6ytfs2x7WOi1?si=YgSH7XOBSk2hwCApLIIfkQ

09/12/2020

Listen to the latest series from the beginning here https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/01---Murder-on-the-tracks---Thomas-Briggs-emsisp the final episode has had the final full stop added and will be recorded tomorrow, it's an extended episode and one that you do not want to miss! So catch up now, on the story of Franz Müller and the first murder on British Rail.

Come on a journey, a journey into the past. Travel to a time when Britain ruled much of the world and London was its beating financial heart, Join Simon J. James in the discovery of the incredible and true story of the first murder on the British railway. A murder of a well respected banker that lef...

02/12/2020

Today an Italian Cafe but if you look carefully you might be able to see that it used to be a millinery (hat maker). Above the number there is a face of a man who’s head is bedecked with a hat. In the 1860s this corner shop at 49 Crawford Street in London, belonged to J. H. Walker, a hat from whom was found in the railway carriage where poor Thomas Briggs was murdered, the only thing was the hat didn’t belong to the murdered but it would be come central to the investigation into his death that would culminate in a steamer chase across the Atlantic and our latest mini-series. Listen now.
Episode 1: https://bit.ly/2JrzfW2
Episode 2: https://bit.ly/2Jsb0Hd
(image copyright Google 2020, taken from Streetview)

01/12/2020

The second episode of Murder on the Tracks, the unravelling of the true story of the incredible and outlandish first murder on British rail is out now. Listen here https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/Murder-on-the-Tracks---The-Chain-en590f

Thomas Briggs was found unconscious on the tracks of London's Northern Railway in 1864, a short time after he died. In this second episode of Murder on the Tracks, delve into the early history of London's Metropolitan Police, the streets, sounds and people of London and discover the investigation into Thomas Briggs death and how it all hinged on a chain and a hat before turning into a steamer chase across the Atlantic.

Thomas Briggs was found unconscious on the tracks of London's Northern Railway in 1864, a short time after he died. In this second episode of Murder on the Tracks, delve into the early history of London's Metropolitan Police, the streets, sounds and people of London and discover the investigation in...

30/11/2020

This evening at 19:00 CET tune in on your favourite podcasting platforms to listen to the second episode of our mini-series Murder on the Tracks. Listen to the first episode now https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/Murder-on-the-tracks---Thomas-Briggs-emsisp

25/11/2020

London in the 1860s, no gastly walkie talkies or Gerkins, just an ancient city dominated by St Pauls. This was the London that Thomas Briggs knew. As chief clerk of Robarts & Co, he worked not far from the great cathedral, on Lombard Street, but he became famous as the first victim of murder on British rail. Travel back to London in 1864, a time of xenophobia, squalor and discover the Murder on the Tracks, our latest podcast mini-series. https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ApynugJ5o6ytfs2x7WOi1?si=QPTZFXsmSVSYTCtprMbn-g

23/11/2020

New episode is out and you don't want to miss it! "Murder on the tracks" the tail of the first murder on a British train. https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/Murder-on-the-tracks---Thomas-Briggs-emsisp

Come on a journey, a journey into the past. Travel to a time when Britain ruled much of the world and London was its beating financial heart, Join Simon J. James in the discovery of the incredible and true story of the first murder on the British railway. A murder of a well respected banker that lef...

17/11/2020

The concluding episode of "The Hunt for Hi**er's Horses" is out and it is one you don't want to miss! Listen now on Apple or wherever you enjoy your favourite podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/achtung-history/id1504876646?i=1000498865612

16/11/2020

What does an East German punk artist have to do with Hi**er's Horses? Find out tonight with the concluding episode of "The Hunt for Hi**er's Horses" on all your favourite podcasting platforms, here's a spotify link https://spoti.fi/2IEs1gA

Multi-millionaires, an East German Punk, art dealers, con artists, police informants, and two giant bronze horses that once stood outside Hi**er's Reich Chancellery that went missing at the end of the war. This is, the two parter, 'The Hunt for Hi**er's Horses.' This first episode looks Josef Thorak...

12/11/2020

Here the artist Torak works on the initial model (much smaller than the final piece) of the horse that would eventually be displayed at the Große Deutsche Kunstausstellung in 1939. It was the full sized bronze version of this that Hi**er liked so much that led Thorak to create two more that were installed on the terrace outside of Hi**er's office in Berlin, both of which would go missing at the end of the war! Listen to our investigation into the history of these horses and the artist here: https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/The-Hunt-For-Hi**ers-Horses---Thorak-em83ks

11/11/2020

Our latest episode brings us past 3,000 listens! A huge milestone for us.

Listen to the latest episode "The Hunt For Hi**er's Horses" and discover the art of the Third Reich, then join us this Monday for the follow up, when the story goes off of the rails, with punks, smugglers, metal dealers, art thiefs, international criminals and more. Become a Patreon from as little as 1€ and gain early access at patreon.com/achtunghistory

Listen here: https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/The-Hunt-For-Hi**ers-Horses---Thorak-em83ks

Multi-millionaires, an East German Punk, art dealers, con artists, police informants, and two giant bronze horses that once stood outside Hi**er's Reich Chancellery that went missing at the end of the war. This is, the two parter, 'The Hunt for Hi**er's Horses.' This first episode looks Josef Thorak...

02/11/2020

Our new episode is out now! Discover what could be perhaps the greatest con in history. Check it out here now! https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory/episodes/Woldemar---The-Greatest-Con-in-History-eltldf

In August 1348 an old man arrives before the Archbishop of Magdeburg. He is frail and worn but, in dropping a signet ring before the Archbishop, he claims to be Woldemar the Great, Margrave of Brandenburg, but there is only one problem. Woldemar the Great had been dead for 29 years. Who was this old...

02/11/2020

Our new episode "Woldemar - The Greatest Con in History" will be out at 19:00 CET, in the meantime don't forget to give our Halloween special a listen, "The Haunting of House Hohenzollern" on Apple here: https://podcasts.apple.com/de/podcast/achtung-history/id1504876646?i=1000496725764 or wherever you enjoy your podcasts!

28/10/2020

Our latest Podcast episode is live: Rediscover when Kaiser Wilhelm went head to head with Neptune! https://anchor.fm/achtunghistory

27/10/2020

21/10/2020

Don’t forget to check out our latest podcast episode where we look into the German resistance to the NSDAP Hi**er regime https://apple.co/3jiVLwj