Germany

It emerged from the Prussian victory over France in 1870 and was destroyed by the First World War less than fifty years later. German historian Katja Hoyer joins Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook to d…

He was “the embodiment of modern political evil” according to historian Sir Ian Kershaw. In this first episode of a two-part investigation of the Nazi dictator, Sir Ian joins Dominic Sandbrook and Tom…

In the second part of our examination of Adolf Hitler, Sir Ian Kershaw joins Dominic Sandbrook to discuss the Nazi leader’s years leading up to and during the Second World War.

With England and Germany set to do sporting battle once again, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook explore the historical events which have shaped the relationship between two or Europe’s super powers…

60 years ago this month, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) began building a barrier that divided the city of Berlin. It stood until 1989 and came to symbolise the front line of the Cold Wa…

As Angela Merkel bows out of German politics, Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland explore the surprisingly colourful world of Germany’s Chancellors since the Second World War. It’s a story of rebels, ex…

Today we're dropping an episode from our friends at Noiser. Their podcast brings us to Munich, Germany. November 1923. The Nazis have just attempted to launch a revolution. But instead, Adolf Hitler n…

The birth of guide books, resorts, and the package holiday. In the second episode in our holidays series Tom and Dominic drill down into the story of Thomas Cook, package tours, and nightmarish Ge…

Why is modern society so self-obsessed? The answer may be found in a group of late 18th century German rebels, including the writer Goethe and playwright Friedrich Schiller. Andrea Wulf joins Domi…

“Since the conquest of Poland, 300,000 Jews have been murdered in this country in the most bestial way ... The German people slumber on in dull, stupid sleep and encourage the fascist criminals. Each…

German hyperinflation. The Beer Hall Putsch. Hitler’s trial. Join Tom and Dominic as they discuss the Nazis in the early 1920s as the Weimar Republic is in crisis and Hitler tries to grow the party be…

Wall Street crashes. The German economy capitulates and governments start to fall. Backroom deals and political scheming come to the fore. Join Tom and Dominic as they tell the story of the shadowy de…

Hitler is chancellor, but he is not yet all-powerful. How does he go from becoming the leader of the Reichstag, to an unshackled dictator with nothing to check his power? *The Rest Is History Live…

The Mitfords were the most glamorous aristocrats on the London scene in the 1920s, with at their head Diana, the most beautiful woman in London, who would eventually marry Oswald Mosley. However, her…

“Hitler had entered Röhm’s bedroom alone with a whip in his hand. Behind him had stood two detectives holding pistols, with the safety catch removed, at the ready…” The 30th of June 1934 saw a seismi…

“We did not lose the war because our artillery gave out, but because the weapons of our mind didn’t fire” In September 1934, the Nazis held their sixth annual party conference in the Bavarian city of…

“No one can doubt that this world will one day be the scene of dreadful struggles for existence on the part of mankind. In the end, the instinct of self-preservation alone will triumph.” Hitler has b…

By 1937, Hitler’s ever-growing ambitions were driving Europe to the brink of war. Ever restless, he knew that Germany must conquer the world, or be destroyed. His first target was Austria, his homelan…

“We must have a healthy people to dominate in the world”. In July 1933, Hitler’s Nazi party passed a new law for the compulsory sterilisation of anyone with a physical disability, or “congenital feeb…

As Hitler ramps up the German war machine, he remains obsessed with one idea: uprooting Jews from the Reich. The Nazis embark on a campaign of totalitarian oppression against them, persecuting Jewish…