War Survival Stories

A coach from Vienna, interned as an enemy alien, survives a torpedoed ship in the Atlantic only to face more captivity. His athletic history is about to begin.

A steel plate forced aside by bare hands saved a life

This episode explores the extraordinary journey of Franz Stampfl, an Austrian coach caught in the internment policies of wartime Britain. It delves into his fight for survival and the unexpected path that led him to shape athletic history.

Person: Franz Stampfl
Date: July 1940
Location: Atlantic Ocean
Event: Sinking of the SS Arandora Star
Status: Interned alien

- Franz Stampfl, a coach from Vienna, was interned by the British government as an "enemy alien" in 1940.
- He was placed on the SS Arandora Star, a converted luxury liner transporting deportees towards Canada.
- The ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat, sinking in thirty minutes.
- Stampfl swam for eight hours in oil-black Atlantic water after forcing a steel plate aside with his bare hands to escape the sinking vessel.
- After being rescued, he was not repatriated but sent to internment camps in Britain and then transported to Australia.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A soldier pressed a German banknote with a hurried name into the hands of a liberated prisoner on a dirt road in 1945-how did that note expose them?

The German banknote that carried a soldier's name and saved a witness

In this episode, we follow a single banknote and the life it touches as it moves from a U.S. private to a twenty-one-year-old survivor at the end of World War II. The story traces the decisions, movements, and small proofs that kept a witness alive and asks what it cost her to keep them.

Person: Lily Ebert
Date: 1945
Location: a dirt road in Germany
Event: a U.S. Army private wrote his name on a German banknote and gave it to a liberated prisoner
Origin town: Bonyhád, Hungary

- Lily was twenty-one at liberation, eldest of six children from Bonyhád, carrying responsibilities and loss.
- In July 1944 the Engelman family were deported to Auschwitz; three siblings and their mother were killed on arrival.
- Lily and two sisters were selected for forced labor, later sent to a munitions factory near Leipzig.
- At the end of a forced march, Private Hayman Shulman used a German note to write a name and handed it to Lily when he had no other paper.
- Lily kept the folded banknote for seventy-seven years as a name, a witness, and a link to a soldier she could not yet trace.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A 77-year-old woman claims Lenin spoke to her, demanding Stalin's body be moved. The Soviet Party Organizer must decide if they believe her.

The Old Party Organizer Who Told Lenin to Move Stalin's Body

This episode explores the extraordinary life of Dora Abramovna Abramovna, a woman who, at 77, made a shocking claim at the 22nd Soviet Party Organizer. We trace her journey from a gifted student to a seasoned revolutionary, revealing the experiences that led her to that pivotal moment.

Person: Dora Abramovna Abramovna
Date: October 1961
Event: 22nd Soviet Party Organizer
Location: Novozybkov, Chernihiv Governorate (birthplace)

- Dora Abramovna, born in 1884, was a gifted student who, by age 15, joined a local social-democratic circle and undertook "technical tasks" for an underground network.
- She joined the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party in 1902 at 18, using the pseudonym Sonya, and was arrested multiple times for her activism.
- In 1904, at 19, she lived in Geneva for eight months in the same apartment as Vladimir Lenin and Nadezhda Krupskaya.
- Her early political life involved forged passports, prison cells, and charges, including a murder charge in 1905 for which she was convicted and sentenced to one year.
- After 1917, she became a delegate to the Seventh All-Russian Social and by 1928, was director of the Leningrad State Pedagogical Institute, shaping teacher education for a generation.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

In 1974, a Soviet jazz musician found old women praying at a dresser, revealing a congregation the state erased decades earlier. How did a dressmaker's ledger expose them?

The dressmaker's ledger that hid the sisters' secret school

This episode explores the life of Anna Abrikosova, a woman whose faith led her to establish a clandestine religious community in Soviet Russia. It delves into her family background, education, and the decisions that shaped her path, ultimately leading to a confrontation with the state.

Person: Anna Abrikosova
Date: July 23, 1936
Location: Butyrka prison hospital
Event: Founding of a Greek-Catholic Dominican congregation
Status: Vatican review since 2002

- Georgii Friedman discovered women praying at a dresser that belonged to a congregation officially erased 38 years prior.
- Anna Abrikosova, born into the celebrated Abrikosov confectioner family, was educated by an English governess and attended Girton College, Cambridge.
- She converted to Catholicism in the Byzantine Rite in Paris in 1908, a decision that would later define her community in Russia.
- Her cousin Vladimir Abrikosov, whom she married, was ordained a Greek-Catholic priest by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky.
- Anna founded a congregation of Greek-Catholic Dominican sisters in her Moscow apartment, running a clandestine school and translating Catholic books.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A man held captive for 738 days presses the word "HOSTAGE" into a sandbag in the dark, hoping it will be found. This act of defiance becomes his only message to the world.

The Sandbag That Bore "HOSTAGE" and Survived 738 Days

This episode explores the story of Avinatan Or, a man taken hostage by Hamas, focusing on his life before captivity and the extraordinary measures he took to maintain his sanity and identity while held underground. It delves into the silent struggle of a man using his engineering mind to survive an unimaginable ordeal.

Person: Avinatan Or
Date: October 7, 2023
Location: Nova music festival, Kibbutz Re'im
Event: Hamas assault
Captivity Duration: 738 days

- Avinatan Or, a 30-year-old chip designer for Nvidia and former elite Israeli soldier, was captured during the Hamas assault on the Nova music festival.
- He and his partner, Noa Argamani, attempted to evade militants in the woods before being found, with Argamani dragged onto a motorcycle and Or taken on foot into Gaza.
- Hamas classified Or as a captured soldier due to his IDF service, a distinction that impacted his treatment and future negotiations.
- During his captivity, Or used a Rubik's Cube and his engineering discipline to mentally map his surroundings and maintain his cognitive function in a windowless cell.
- He managed to briefly surface once, where he pressed the word "HOSTAGE" into a sandbag before being caught, beaten, and dragged back underground.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A Syrian Air Force colonel's public defection ignites a civil war, but his vision for a Free Syrian Army faces internal dissent and external pressures.

A public defection created the Free Syrian Army

This episode explores the journey of a Syrian Air Force colonel who publicly defected, triggering a revolution and the formation of the Free Syrian Army. It examines the challenges he faced in leading a fractured movement and the ultimate cost of his actions.

Person: Riad al-Asaad
Date: July 4, 2011
Location: Syria
Organization: Syrian Air Force
Event: Public Defection

- Riad al-Asaad, a Syrian Air Force colonel, made a public defection on camera on July 4, 2011, after decades of service to the Assad regime.
- Twenty-five days after his defection, al-Asaad declared the Free Syrian Army (FSA) into existence.
- By March 2012, eight months after its declaration, the FSA had grown to 75,000 fighters, largely due to the weight of a senior military defection in a military-centric state.
- Al-Asaad agreed to a UN-backed ceasefire in spring 2012, but the regime continued firing, leading him to declare the Annan plan a failure.
- In 2012, fellow FSA officer Colonel Kasim Saaduddin publicly disputed al-Asaad's effective control of the FSA.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A celebrated poet gives birth in a horse stall on Americans soil, classified as a threat by her own government. Her Japanese ancestry is her only crime.

The Leave Form That Forced Her to Prove Her Loyalties

This episode explores the life of Violet Kazue de Cristoforo, an Americans poet whose family was forcibly removed from their home during World War II. It delves into the impossible choices faced by Japanese Americans during this period.

Person: Violet Kazue de Cristoforo
Date: 1942
Location: Fresno, California
Event: Forced removal of Japanese Americans
Document: Leave clearance questionnaire

- Kazue Yamane was born in Hawaii to Japanese immigrant parents who later sent her to Hiroshima, Japan, for primary education.
- She returned to California at age thirteen, navigating both Japanese Americans and broader Americans cultures.
- Before World War II, she married Shigeru Matsuda, opened a Japanese bookstore, and became an established haiku poet in the kaiko style.
- Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorizing the forced removal of Japanese Americans from the West Coast.
- In April 1942, a pregnant Kazue, recovering from surgery, was ordered to evacuate Fresno with her family to a converted fairground.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A German lawyer parachutes into neutral Ireland with a mission, but his past as a spy is exposed by a landlady's misread telegram.

A Misread Telegram Undid a German Spy

This episode explores the life of Hermann Görtz, a German agent who became a fugitive in wartime Ireland. It delves into the circumstances that led him to a fateful decision in Dublin Castle, and the question of what he knew about his impending deportation.

Person: Hermann Görtz
Date: May 23, 1947
Location: Dublin Castle, Ireland
Status: German agent
Event: Operation Mainau

- Hermann Görtz, a German lawyer with a doctorate in international law, served on the Eastern Front in WWI and earned the Iron Cross First Class.
- In 1927, Görtz visited Ireland and developed an affection for the country, later seeking out members of Clan na Gael.
- In 1935, Görtz was arrested in Britain after his landlady misread a telegram about his "bicycle combination" as a motorcycle theft.
- He was convicted under the Official Secrets Act for possessing documents related to RAF Manston and sentenced to four years.
- After his release and deportation to Germany in 1939, Görtz was employed by the Abwehr and given the mission Operation Mainau.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A man claiming to be Major Satokata Takahashi moves through Depression-era Detroit posing as a Japanese officer-how did the café ledger expose him?

The Café Ledger That Let Him Pose as a Japanese Major

In this episode, we follow how a man built and abandoned multiple lives across continents, then resurfaced as a self-styled Japanese major organizing in Black communities. What clues did everyday records-like a café ledger-leave behind that could unravel his false identity?

Person: Satokata Takahashi / Naka Nakane
Date: 1934 (deportation) and 1926-1932 (six-year disappearance and reappearance)
Location: Detroit; Moose Jaw; Tacoma; Kitsuki
Event: Deportation of a man with no U.S. entry records
Topic: Creation and maintenance of a false identity across decades

- Born Naka Nakane in 1870 in Kitsuki, Japan, raised in a former samurai family and taught English by a missionary.
- Naturalized as a British subject, ran the Carlton Cafe (1912) and La Hale Lodge (1918) in Moose Jaw while engaging politically with provincial officials.
- Abandoned his family and debts in 1926 and vanished from records for six years before reappearing under a new name.
- Reemerged in early 1930s Detroit as Satokata Takahashi, claiming Imperial Japanese Major rank and speaking in Black churches.
- Federal agents in 1934 deported a man who, by official papers, had never legally entered the United States.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].

A Jewish refugee turned intern on a troopship holds a pewter plate and recognizes the world's oldest photograph-how did that image expose him?

The Pewter Plate Revealed the World's First Photograph

In this episode, we follow the moment a man recognizes a faint rooftop image on a pewter plate and trace the life and work that plate connects to. What does the plate reveal about the man who found it and the world around him?

Person: Helmut Gernsheim
Date: 1952
Event: HMT Dunera deportation to Australia (summer 1940)
Work: New Photo Vision (manuscript written in camp, published 1942)
Location: Hay internment camp, New South Wales

- A pewter plate the size of a dinner tray sat misidentified in a private collection for over a century until 1952.
- Helmut Gernsheim, a Jewish refugee and photographer, was classified as a “friendly enemy alien” and deported on the HMT Dunera.
- The Dunera voyage lasted fifty-seven days; internees were held below decks and had luggage looted.
- Inside Hay camp, Gernsheim lectured, wrote a manuscript that became New Photo Vision, and continued photographing after release.
- Gernsheim built a career photographing Baroque monuments in London, earning praise from Kenneth Clark and Nikolaus Pevsner.

To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.

© 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved.
This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].