There were many attempts to escape over and under the Berlin Wall but Tunnel 29 was highly unusual for tunnelling into East Berlin rather than out to the West. Led by Joachim Rudolph, who had himself escaped to West Berlin in 1961, a group of students and refugees tunnelled into the eastern half of the city in an attempt to rescue friends and relatives. This was an extremely perilous mission with the risk of death ever present from the tunnel collapsing or the Stasi discovering their work. Even more bizarrely the whole endeavour was funded and documented by an American film crew as NBC bidding to win the ratings war back in the USA. To tell this heroic tale Dan is joined by broadcast journalist Helena Merriman. Helen presented and produced Tunnel 29 for the BBC and has written a book, Tunnel 29: The True Story of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall, all about this incredible escape. 
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Escaping the Berlin Wall

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In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross the Antarctic to reach the South Pole. But what should have been a successful expedition turned into a two-year nightmare of hardship and catastrophe when their vessel the Endurance was crushed in the Weddell Sea pack-ice and sunk. Stranded with no ship, no contact with the outside world and limited supplies, it would be up to the men to find their own way back to civilisation.


This is the second episode of a special mini-series that dramatically retells the extraordinary story of the 1915 Endurance Expedition.


Subscribe to Dan Snow's History Hit to get every episode of our Endurance22 season and follow Dan as he searches for the lost Endurance shipwreck in real-time.


Presented by Dan Snow, written and produced by Mariana Des Forges. Shackleton's diary is read by Dan Aspel and produced by Thomas Ntinas.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. 
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ENDURANCE22: A Story of Antarctic Survival Part 2

In late 1914, the charismatic and brilliant explorer Ernest Shackleton led 27 men on a voyage to cross the Antarctic to reach the South Pole. But what should have been a successful expedition turned into a two-year nightmare of hardship and catastrophe when their vessel the Endurance was crushed in the Weddell Sea pack-ice and sunk. Stranded with no ship, no contact with the outside world and limited supplies, it would be up to the men to find their own way back to civilisation.


This is the first part of a special mini-series that dramatically retells the extraordinary story of the 1915 Endurance Expedition.


Be sure to subscribe to get each part in your feed over the next few days.


Presented by Dan Snow, written and produced by Mariana Des Forges. Shackleton's diary is read by Dan Aspel and produced by Thomas Ntinas.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. 
 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

ENDURANCE22: A Story of Antarctic Survival Part 1

Tristan of The Ancients podcasts has published his first book, Alexander’s Successors at War: The Perdiccas Years. Focussing in on 323 – 320 BC, the book tells the story of the tumultuous events that seized Alexander the Great’s empire immediately after this titanic figure breathed his last in June 323 BC. Today, we’re giving you a taster of what you can expect. Sit back and relax as Tristan reads out an abridged chapter from the book (including a swift introduction). He tells the story of a Spartan mercenary captain called Thibron, who set forth from Crete with c.6,000 battle-hardened mercenaries intend on forging his own Greco-Libyan empire in North Africa. Filled with several twists and turns the story is a symbol for the many fascinating events, and the larger than life cast, that dominates the immediate aftermath of Alexander’s death.


Order Tristan’s book today here.


Order from Amazon.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. 
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Alexander's Successors at War: The Spartan Adventurer

The expedition has begun and Dan is here to answer your questions about all things Endurance22, the expedition to find Shackleton’s lost shipwreck! For the first time, Dan is the subject of his own podcast as he’s interviewed by History Hit’s producer Mariana Des Forges about all things Endurance. They talk about how he’s feeling about the perilous journey across the southern ocean, what listeners can expect over the coming weeks and he answers your questions. 


He also speaks to Mensun Bound of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust who is the lead marine archaeologist on the expedition about his greatest discoveries and what they’re expecting to find when they make it to Antarctica.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. 
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ENDURANCE22: Dan Sets Sail for Antarctica!

Amid Moscow’s increasing build-up of troops along the Ukrainian border and the preparation of infrastructure for a possible invasion, tensions between Ukraine and Russia continue to mount. Dating back centuries, the history of the relationship between the two countries is one of complexity - but one that is important to understand to make sense of the current crisis.


A. D. Miller is a former Moscow correspondent for the Economist, and the Booker Prize-shortlisted author of ‘Independence Square,’ a novel set in Kyiv during the Orange Revolution. In a conversation about the historical dispute behind Russia’s current threat to invade Ukraine, A. D. Miller and Dan discuss the key events in the twentieth century, including the turning point - the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the relevance of NATO. They also detail the consequences of the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the most recent of tensions.


If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the Android or Apple store. 
 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Escaping the Berlin Wall

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