0x468 - The Gangsters of MI6

December 20, 2023

Should spies be suave gentlemen or streetwise crooks? Today, Astrid and Anna introduce you to two of MI6's original gangster spies, Walter Dicketts and Arthur Owens. They quickly bring some impressive results. But, the thing about criminals is that it can be hard to trust them. Just a couple of years into the war, MI6's Double Cross System might be in a lot of trouble…

0x469 - Did Miklos Horthy Save Hungary’s Jews? - War Against Humanity 122

December 21, 2023

After the first waves of Hungarian Jews were deported in the summer, Miklos Horthy halted Eichmann’s trains. Into the autumn of 1944 a coalition of diplomats, aid workers, and states attempts to save the Jews still surviving in Budapest. But when the SS launch a coup in Budapest and bring the Hungarian fascists come to power, time runs out.

0x470 - Curtis LeMay Starts Firebombing Tokyo - War Against Humanity 123

December 29, 2023

Curtis LeMay orders his B-29s to begin the firebombing of Japanese cities. This begins a campaign that will destroy the Japanese economy but leave hundreds of thousands dead. Meanwhile, the radicalisation of Japanese society continues at all levels as the Kamikaze suicide-pilots attack Allied warships and school-children build vengeance weapons.

0x471 - Will the Allied Bombers Finally Destroy Germany’s Economy in 1945? - War Against Humanity 124

January 4, 2024

The RAF and USAAF reopen the Combined Bomber Offensive against Germany in autumn 1944. The Allied heavy bombers are targeting a German economy that is churning out more war materiel than ever before, fuelled by German Armaments Minister Albert Speer’s army of slaves. But, as 1944 turns to 1945, the bombers finally start to break the German vampire economy. But, at what cost to civilian life?

0x472 - The Germans Knew about the Holocaust! - War Against Humanity 125

January 10, 2024

How often have you heard that the German population was unaware of the horrors of the Nazi camp system? Well, the opening months of 1945 destroys that myth once and for all as the SS force hundreds of thousands of Jews and other prisoners to march across the Reich and into the vast network of sub-camps. All of this happens in in full view of the German people.

0x473 - Eastern Front Deployments

January 11, 2024

The Soviets are just about to kick off a series of enormous offensives all along the Eastern Front. Here's a look at the forces who are to attack, and those who will be defending.

0x474 - The Gay Nazi Spying For Britain

January 17, 2024

What convinces a Nazi spy switch sides? For some it’s a deeply held opposition to the murderous ideology of the Third Reich. Sometimes it’s a love of money, adventure, or an affinity with Britain. But for others, the reason is simple: to save their own skin. One of those is Agent Tate, a man who never renounces his Nazi beliefs.

0x475 - Finnish Jews, Polish Special Forces, and MREs - WW2 - OOTF 32

January 24, 2024

How did Finland treat its Jews, and what did Finnish people know about the Holocaust? Who were the mysterious Polish Silent Unseen? And, what sort of rations did soldiers carry? Find out in this episode of Out of the Foxholes.

0x476 - The Sad Story of Churchill’s Iceman Geoffrey Pyke

January 31, 2024

Geoffrey Pyke is remembered as an eccentric scientist who spewed out ideas like giant aircraft carriers made of icy Pykerete. But there was much more to him than that. He was a spy, a special operations mastermind, and his novel ideas contributed to the success of D-Day.

0x477 - The Last Days of Auschwitz - War Against Humanity 126

February 2, 2024

When the SS evacuate the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp complex in the second half of January 1945, their intent is to make sure that no live prisoners get into the hands of the approaching Red Army. The death marches that follow are a final act of mass murder at the camp, that brings the death toll to close to 1.1 million murdered.

0x478 - The War Goals to End WW2 in 1945

February 8, 2024

While World War Two looks like it is about to end, the belligerent powers have vastly different goals for that end. Differences that may or may not prolong the war, will decide the survival of tens of millions of people, and the future fate of all of Humanity.

0x479 - Yalta, When Stalin Split the World

February 11, 2024

Indy and Sparty take you through the negotiations at Yalta as The Big Three thrash out the shape of the post war world. As the splits between East and West continue to deepen, who will come out on top?

0x480 - Red Army Rapes the Reich - War Against Humanity 127

February 13, 2024

When the Red Army invades the Eastern German Reich provinces, and occupied Poland, years of war, anti-German agitprop, and the general misery of being a Soviet soldier has whipped them into a frenzy of bloodthirsty revenge. It’s the women of all ethnicities who pay the heaviest price as German and Polish women, even liberated Soviet victims of Nazi terror are subjected to repeated mass rapes day in and day out

0x481 - Artillery! A WW2 Special

February 14, 2024

The modern artillery of the Great War was responsible for the vast majority of military deaths in that conflict, but how has artillery developed from that war to this one? Today we take a look at some of the artillery of WW2.

0x482 - The SS Betrays Hitler

February 20, 2024

Italy, 1945. Karl Wolff of the SS is looking for a way to save his skin. In his desperation he turns to Allen Dulles and the American OSS. Wolff’s bargaining chip? The surrender of German forces in Italy. The price? Escape from the hangman’s noose. Is it a price worth paying? And what will Joseph Stalin say when he finds out his allies are talking to the Nazis?

0x483 - Allied War Crimes, Latin American Troops, and Top-Secret Proximity Fuzes

February 21, 2024

Did the Western Allies commit war crimes? What did Latin American troops do during the war? And, how did the top-secret proximity fuze change the face of warfare? Find out in this episode of Out of the Foxholes

0x484 - Soviets Hunt Down the Heroes of Humanity

February 22, 2024

The Red Army taking Budapest launches a huge wave of crime by the soldiers and the Soviet state - the most famous crime will be when Moscow disappears Raoul Wallenberg. But he is not the only neutral country diplomat who has worked to save Budapest’s Jews threatened by the Soviets.

0x485 - Who Watches History Videos?

February 25, 2024

0x486 - V-2: Hitler’s Wunderwaffe

February 27, 2024

Hitler hopes that the V-2 rocket will turn the tide of the war. It’s cutting edge technology and impossible to intercept. Right now, the first long-range ballistic missile is raining death on London and Antwerp. But is it too little, too late? Find out the backstory to this powerful weapon.

0x487 - The Allied Hunt for Nazi Super Weapons

February 28, 2024

As the Allies advance further into Germany, they turn their eyes to a new objective: recovering as much of the Nazi science and as many of the scientists as they can. Advances in jet fighters, chemical and biological weapons, rockets, all of these will be useful in the inevitable future confrontation between East and West.

0x488 - The Brutal End to the Battle of Manila

February 29, 2024

This week yet another bloody urban battle draws to its conclusion. In Manila, despite clear orders from Tomoyuki Yamashita against wanton violence, his subordinates and superiors chose to ignore him. The Japanese defenders massacre, rape, loot and then burn the remains of the city.

0x489 - Who Cracked Enigma? The True Story, No B.S.

March 6, 2024

So, you think you know the Enigma Story? The Poles, the French, Bletchley Park, Alan Turing, and daring raids on sinking U-Boats. Well, there’s one figure you may never have heard of. Today, Anna and Astrid tell the story of a German Double Agent named Hans Thilo-Schmidt and his vital but forgotten part in the Enigma story.

0x490 - The Jewish Avengers Who Hunted Nazi Murderers

March 8, 2024

In March 1945 the first Jewish unit in the Allied forces reaches the frontline. Before fighting the Nazis, the men spent years battling against the policies of the British government. After the war, they will take vengeance on the perpetrators of the Holocaust and join the Zionist movement in building and fighting for Israel.

0x491 - Nazi Spies in New York

March 20, 2024

On a snowy night, two tall men are walking along the highway on the coast of Maine. They could hardly be more suspicious. They wear light European coats, no hats, large suitcases, and they leave a trail of footprints down to the beach… These strange men are German spies on the hunt for America’s biggest secrets!

0x492 - The Volkssturm - a Million men to save the Reich?

March 26, 2024

The Volkssturm is the last-ditch people’s army of the Third Reich. Sure, on paper, there are millions of old men and boys ready to defend Germany. But how will they be armed? Are they truly willing to die for Hitler? Will they make any difference at all?

0x493 - The Final Fury of the Allied Bombing War

March 29, 2024

The bombing war in Europe comes to an end in a fury of fire and destruction. Spartacus takes stock of the human toll of this campaign and assesses the near futility of it all. On the other side of the globe, the USAAF ratchets up the firebombing of Japan further still. Countless more civilian lives will be cut short.

0x494 - Italian Communists, The French in Indochina, and the fate of Italy’s army

April 5, 2024

What happened to Italian Soldiers overseas after the fall of Mussolini? What about the French soldiers left over in Indochina after the Japanese “occupation by invitation”? And, what did the Allies think of the Italian Communist movement and its partisan forces?

0x495 - The Secret Allied Wonder Weapon

April 11, 2024

Astrid and Anna take a break from tales of espionage to bring you one of international cooperation. Developed by a small group of highly driven individuals working in top secret, Proximity Fuzes are the new Allied super weapon changing the face of warfare forever. They’re just one of many impressive new developments which are helping the Allies win the war. Defeating the Axis is a righteous cause of course. But at its core, so much of our scientific progress is in the service of finding more effective ways to kill one another. What does this mean for our future?

0x496 - The Death of Franklin Roosevelt

April 12, 2024

He lead his nation through the Great Depression, transformed it into a war-winning titan, and is working to shape the coming postwar world in his image. But today, 4,422 days into his record breaking presidency, Franklin Roosevelt dies. What was his final year really like?

0x497 - The Führerbunker - Hitler’s Grave

April 18, 2024

The man who one conquered Europe, Adolf Hitler now cowers underground in the Fuhrerbunker as bombs and artillery rain down on the ruins of the Reich. Today Sparty gives you a tour of the damp and claustrophobic concrete maze that will soon become the dictator’s coffin.

0x498 - Russian and French Nazis Defend the Reich - SS Foreign Fighters

April 19, 2024

As the war turns ever more against Germany, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler keeps loosening the racial standards of his Waffen SS. More and more non-Germans fill the ranks of his forces. Some of these non-German fighters will be among the last defenders of the Third Reich.

0x499 - The History of Half-tracks, by the Chieftain

May 2, 2024

Is it a tank? Is it a truck? No, it’s a half-track! Nicholas Moran aka The Chieftain stops by to cover this Frankenstein of a vehicle. He looks at their origins at the turn of the twentieth century, their heyday as troop transporting, artillery towing, flak gunning, jacks-of-all-trades during the war, and their sudden decline after the war.

0x500 - Liberation of the Nazi Camps

May 10, 2024

It has been the most effective torture and murder machine in human history. Over 17 million have perished, but now freedom comes for the small portion who have managed to survive: the Nazi concentration camps are liberated.

0x501 - German-American Jews fight the Nazis

May 15, 2024

Jewish-American intelligence officers return to their homeland in Germany to fight the Nazis and find their families. As they advance they discover the true horror of the Holocaust. When the war is over, they have a chance for some justice.

0x502 - Glory Days of the Kamikaze! - Operation Kikusui

May 17, 2024

During the Battle of Okinawa, the Japanese see the opportunity to cripple the core of the Allied navies. With their conventional air and naval forces unable to challenge the Allies, the Japanese unleash a wave of mass Kamikaze attacks. Hundreds of suicide pilots smash their aircraft into the Allied fleet. This is Operation Kikusui.

0x503 - What Next for WW2?

May 23, 2024

So, what's next for us? Is this the end of the World War Two Channel?

0x504 - How Nazi Terror Came Home to Germany

May 24, 2024

Prominent Nazis flee the retribution that they have provoked. Meanwhile, they deploy greater levels of violence than ever before against the German people. With nothing left to lose, just how depraved will Nazi "justice" become? The regime's final farewell to its people will be a bloody one indeed.

0x505 - The Bloody Birth of Socialist Yugoslavia

May 30, 2024

In the final months of the war, Partisan leader Josip Tito and his forces complete their conquest of Yugoslavia. They destroy Draza Mihailovic’s Chetniks and Ante Pavelic’s Croatian Independent State and they outmanoeuvre King Peter. As Tito’s forces take revenge on their vanquished foes, Socialist Yugoslavia is born in a cradle of fire and blood.

0x506 - How Nazi war criminals fled to South America

May 30, 2024

How did so many Nazi war criminals escape to Argentina? The answer is the infamous network of ratlines stretching from Europe to South America. Joseph Mengele, Adolf Eichmann, Ante Pavelic, all of these monsters escape justice thanks to the efforts of former SS men, Juan Peron, the Red Cross, and perhaps even the pope.

0x507 - Join Us for a Victory Celebration at Oktoberfest!

June 1, 2024

This September will be the sixth year since our coverage of World War Two began, and the culmination of six long hard years of fighting. We think a celebration is in order, don’t you?

0x508 - Interview with a German WW2 Veteran

June 2, 2024

Recently, we had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Joachim Hess, who fought on the German side during World War II. He shared his unique perspective, outlining the life of a Wehrmacht soldier during the conflict.

0x509 - Redeployment! - Millions of men from Europe to Asia

June 5, 2024

Now that Japan is the only Axis power still in the fight, Allied forces- especially American ones- must redeploy to prepare for the final invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. But how do you move millions of men halfway around the globe? And which ones go- veterans or new recruits, or some combination? Who decides? Where exactly do you send them to prepare too, with some many eastern ports like Manila a shambles? Let's take a look.

0x510 - German WW2 Veteran recalls escaping from Soviet captivity

June 7, 2024

Once again, we have a unique opportunity to share with you another portion of our interview with Dr. Joachim Hess. Today, we hear the story of his daring escape from the Soviet prison camp.

0x511 - Nazi Werwolves: Post War Terror

June 18, 2024

The guns are silent in Germany but the Allied Forces suffer continue to suffer a flurry of bombings, assassinations, and shootings. Who is to blame? Well, the press suspects the Nazi Werwolves - terroristic bands of men, women, and children determined to carry on Hitler’s war. But just how serious is this violence really, and how many of the attackers are true believing Nazi fanatics?

0x512 - The Korean War, forgotten no longer!

June 19, 2024

0x513 - The Curious Case of Hitler’s Corpse

June 21, 2024

Joseph Stalin claims that Adolf Hitler managed to escape Berlin and is now living somewhere in hiding. It’s complete nonsense of course. But it raises some interesting questions. What remains do we have of Hitler? How do we know they belong to the Fuhrer? And, why is Stalin spreading these far-fetched lies?

0x514 - Meanwhile in 1950… Korea!

June 25, 2024

0x515 - Japan Decides on Peace - Are They Too Late?

June 27, 2024

The US bombers continue destroying Japanese cities with a rain of firebombs. As the country burns, the Japanese leadership and Emperor Hirohito finally realise they must seek peace.

0x516 - The Secret War to Capture Enemy Planes

July 4, 2024

What did the RAF and Luftwaffe think of each other’s toys? Who were the Zirkus Rosarius and the RAFwaffe? And what happens when American and German engineers team up to save the Luftwaffe’s wonder weapons? Deception, trickery, and subterfuge await once again in another instalment of Spies & Ties.

0x517 - How Carriers Ruled the Sea in WW2

July 5, 2024

How did the carrier task force come to be the premiere weapon in the US Navy’s arsenal, eclipsing the mighty battleship? Today Indy takes a look at how the Navy worked overtime to produce flattops, train the men who sailed them, and develop new doctrine for the war against Japan. What does the future hold for the carrier force?

0x519 - Our 10-Year Story: YouTube Anniversary Special

July 18, 2024

Indy, Spartacus, and Astrid- the trio behind TimeGhost- began changing the way the world made documentaries ten years ago when they created ‘the Great War’. Since then, it’s been ten years of real time, chronology based, global, free historical documentaries with ‘World War Two in Real Time’ the greatest- and bravest- of them all. This is the story of how it all began.

0x520 - CIA and Nazi scientists - Partners in (War)crime - Paperclip pt. 2

July 25, 2024

Strap in and prepare yourself to find out how Paperclip manages to navigate through the shitstorm, and how its fate becomes inexorably intertwined with the new cool Kid on the Block, the CIA. This sinister partnership soon involves former Nazi top scientists in some of America's shadiest programs.

0x521 - Slavic Revenge on the Germans

July 31, 2024

The governments of central Europe take revenge on their German populations. From Poland, Czechoslovakia, and elsewhere, millions of people are thrown from their homes and banished to the shattered remains of Germany. This will be the largest forced migration in history.

0x522 - Unleashing the Atom: The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

August 6, 2024

In August 1945, the United States became the first, and to this day only, nation ever to employ nuclear weapons in war. After The fledgling technology proves itself on the testing ground, it is ready for immediate use. The price for this innovation is paid by hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians who are blinded, burned, crushed, irradiated, and finally burned in a humanitarian crisis never seen before and never since. Join us to hear the gut-wrenching accounts of survivors and understand the motivations behind this tragic outcome to ensure that the horrors of nuclear war are never forgotten and never again unleashed upon the world and its people.

0x523 - 1 million subscribers for peace - WW2 finale breakfast club

August 15, 2024

We just finished shooting the final episode in our WW2 chronology. The next morning we sat down for coffee, croissants and some reminiscing.

0x524 - Stalin’s Scientist Snatch: Operation Osoaviachim

August 21, 2024

In this eye-opening episode, we delve into the secretive Soviet operation known as Operation Osoaviachim—often dubbed “the Soviet Paperclip.” As World War II draws to a close, the alliance between east and west begin to fracture, and the race for scientific supremacy intensifies. This video explores how the Soviet Union strategically “recruited” German scientists to gain an edge over the West, setting the stage for the future conflicts. Join us as we uncover the intricate details of this clandestine mission and its far-reaching implications.

0x525 - Famine and Revolution at the End of the War

August 23, 2024

As the war comes to a close, the death continues and millions of people around the globe face starvation and famine. Today Sparty looks at the situation in Europe and Asia as the crisis of hunger grows and even drives some nations to revolution.

0x526 - Is Germany Still a Nazi Nation?

August 30, 2024

How do you eradicate an ideology from an entire nation without destroying that nation? That’s the challenge faced by the Allies as the seek to Denazify Germany. Very soon, fervent ideological opposition to Nazism runs into the everyday realities of restoring a broken country and the emerging Cold War rivalry.

0x527 - Ten More Years of WW2 and TimeGhost!

September 6, 2024

We have now been making history for over ten years, and together with you we’re now gearing up for the next ten years and beyond.

0x528 - The Zarubins, The Power Couple of Soviet Espionage

September 13, 2024

In this episode, we dive deep into the lives of Elizaveta and Vasili Zarubin, the Soviet Union’s most notorious espionage power couple. From their early days in pre-WW2 Soviet Russia to working in key positions in Europe, China, and, ultimately, the United States, the Zarubins played a pivotal role in Soviet intelligence during the rise of modern espionage. Discover how their undercover missions influenced global events, including their involvement in the Manhattan Project, as we explore the origins of Soviet spycraft in part one of this two-part special.

0x529 - The Occupation of Japan Begins

September 14, 2024

The war is over and the occupation of Japan has begun. The country has largely been destroyed by Allied bombs, and shall be rebuilt, physically, economically, and even governmentally. But what will the new government be? What shall become of the Emperor? Who is to actually do the occupation? Today we look at all this and more.

0x530 - How Popular Was Hitler?

September 19, 2024

In the summer of 1940, Hitler was at the peak of his popularity as he conquered Germany’s enemies seemingly at will. But just how quickly did this approval decline as the war turned further and further against Germany? What did the Germans think of him by the end of the war? Is there any love left for Hitler in postwar Germany? Today Spartacus answers these questions.

0x531 - Who is Indy Neidell?

September 28, 2024

0x532 - Which Countries Are Still at War from WW2?

September 28, 2024

It’s time for another exciting episode of Out of the Foxholes! What sort of questions will Indy tackle today? Well, there’s a big one - are there any countries still at war from WW2? There’s another about the role of the Italian Mafia in the war, and one on Japan’s extra Special Naval Landing Forces.

0x533 - Victory 1945 Oktoberfest Celebration

October 1, 2024

This past week we gathered in Munich with parts of our team and members of the TimeGhost Army to celebrate the conclusion of the chronological WW2 coverage and our future projects.

0x534 - Oppenheimer, a Communist Spy? The true story!

October 3, 2024

Was J. Robert Oppenheimer secretly aiding the Soviets? In this episode, we dig into his alleged connections with the Soviet Spy Couple, the Zarubins, his involvement in the Manhattan Project, and the mystery surrounding his true loyalties.