It's 1943, you're part of the French resistance, and you've been sentenced to death. You're allowed to write one last letter before you're shot by the Nazis. Who do you write to? Friends? Family? Fellow comrades? How do you know if they'll even get it?
Of the 10,000 or so executions during the Second World War, only around 700 letters remain, and today's guest, Daniel Brunstetter, Professor of Political Science at the University of California Irvine, has spent the last three years trying to track them down, and working with the families to piece together their life, death, and acts of heroism.
Together, Daniel and host James Patton Rogers set the scene of occupied France, Charles de Gaulle's rallying cry to resist, and the multiple lives the letters, years after their authors were executed.
The Senior Producer was Elena Guthrie. It was edited and mixed by Aidan Lonergan.
Intro music: Ludwig van Beethoven, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
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WW2: Last Letters of Resistance Fighters

From Napoleonic battles to Cold War confrontations, the Normandy landings to 9/11, this podcast opens up fascinating new perspectives on how wars have shaped and changed our modern world. Each week, twice a week, war historian, writer, and broadcaster, James Rogers, teams up with fellow historians, veterans, and experts to reveal astonishing new histories of inspirational leadership, breakthrough technologies, and era defining battles. Together they highlight the stark realities and consequences of global warfare. Join us on the front line of military history.
Follow on Twitter @HistoryHitWW2.
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Society & Culture

We're bringing you an episode of a podcast we think you'll love: Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford. At the height of World War Two, British intelligence began receiving reports that the enemy was developing a rocket weapon. The idea seemed fantastical — resources in Nazi Germany were scarce and a rocket-building program defied economic logic.
But one intelligence chief took the reports of a rocket weapon seriously and he managed to convince Winston Churchill to heed the threat too. The British Prime Minister gave the order to bomb Germany’s rocket factory to rubble, and 600 bomber planes embarked on a full-scale attempt to obliterate it.
From the air, the damage appeared devastating. The British thought they had succeeded in crushing the rocket-building program. But they were wrong.
For a full list of sources for this episode, see the show notes at timharford.com. Follow Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford wherever you get your podcasts.

Supersonic Nazi Vengeance: V2 Rocket from Cautionary Tales

The Second World War officially ended on September 2nd 1945 - and it's estimated that around 3% of the Earth's population perished during the conflict. But what ultimately bought WW2 to an end - and how vital a role did the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki play in obtaining a Japanese surrender?
In this episode, James welcomes journalist and New York Times Bestseller Evan Thomas to the Podcast, to look at how the end of one of the deadliest conflicts of modern history came to a close. Drawing on research from Evan's latest book, 'Road to Surrender', together they discuss the vital roles taken up by Henry Stimson, Gen. Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, and Shigenori Togo that ultimately led to Japan's surrender. Looking at the consequences of the atomic bomb, Japanese infighting, and an immeasurable loss of human life - what exactly bought WW2 to an end, and could the conflict have ended sooner?
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code WARFARE. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here.
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WW2: How The War Ended

This episode contains graphic descriptions of violence and sexual assault. 
Over the course of 100 days in 1994, it's estimated that between 500,000 and one million ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, were killed by Hutu extremists in the 1994 Rwandan Genocide. Sparked by longstanding ethnic tensions and political unrest in the country, and with actions exacerbated by the Assassination of Rwanda's Hutu president - violence swept across the country as neighbours turned on each other, families perished, and refugees fled. But how did the international community's delayed response further exacerbate the humanitarian crisis, and how has Rwanda recovered in the years since?
In this episode James is joined by Dr Erin Jessee from the University of Glasgow, to share how her research and gathering of first hand testimony, has helped individuals understand one of the most devastating conflicts of modern history. Looking at how Rwanda's history influenced the events of 1994, examining first hand testimony of victims and perpetrators, and looking at issues faced by researches today - what happened in Rwanda in 1994, and how was the country rebuilt itself?
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code WARFARE. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare Wednesday newsletter here.

Rwandan Genocide

December 2nd is a special date for those fascinated by Napoleon Bonaparte. Not only is this the date he crowned himself Emperor of France in 1804, but also the date of his greatest victory a year later, the Battle of Austerlitz. James Rogers is joined by world-leading historian Andrew Roberts to dissect the conditions, tactics and aftermath of Napoleon's greatest battle.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code WARFARE. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
For more Warfare content, subscribe to our Warfare Wednesday newsletter here.
First published February 2022

Napoleon's Greatest Victory: Austerlitz

What was it actually like to operate a tank during the Second World War?
In this episode, we explore the iron belly of tank warfare through the eyes of Private Arthur Ibbotson, who enlisted in the war as a young lad in 1942, first joining the Grenadier Guards in London and who ended up involved in one of the largest allied operations of the war: Operation Market Garden.
Arthur would have turned 100 years old in September this year, but sadly passed away on the 6th of June, the 79th anniversary of D Day.
Together with James, Michael Ibbotson, Arthur's nephew, recounts the realities of what tank life was like, and remembers his uncle's contribution to the greatest generation.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code WARFARE. Download the app on your smart TV or in the app store or sign up here.
You can take part in our listener survey here.

WW2: Last Letters of Resistance Fighters

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