Forbidden History

In April 1943, during the dark days of World War II, four teenage boys in Birmingham, England were hunting for birds’ eggs in a remote woodland called, Hagley Wood.

The slightest of the boys stopped at a large Wych Elm tree. Climbing up and peering down he discovered it was hollow. Spotting something in the centre, the boy carefully reached through the branches and pulled out the item for a closer look.

His hope for a bird’s nest were soon forgotten when he realised what he was holding was a human skull.

Their chance encounter upon the remains of a woman in the Wych Elm sparked a murder case that has gone unsolved for 80 years. To this day her identity and the circumstances surrounding her death are still unknown; the mystery continuing to both baffle and surprise investigators.

With an unknown phantom graffitiing clues to the victim’s identity, case files being redacted, and vital evidence seemingly disappearing, many conspiracy theories have circled this story capturing worldwide attention. Some speak of government interference, others drawing direct links to Nazi Germany and espionage.

With the help of new technology can we finally crack this 80-year-old case? In this episode we re-examine the remaining evidence of the case, unravel the conspiracies surrounding the mystery, and with the help of new forensic facilities finally try to shine a light on the true identity of the Woman in the Wych Elm.

Cast List:

• Joyce M. Coley
• The author of the book ‘Bella: An unsolved Mystery’.
• Andrew Sparke
• An independent publisher and the author of ‘Bella in the Wych Elm’.
• Richard Lund
• The Son of Dr John Lund, a forensic scientist from the West Midlands Forensic Science Laboratory, who examined the victim’s remains and fragments of clothing.
• Giselle K. Jakobs
• A palaeontologist and author of ‘The Spy in the Tower’, she is the granddaughter of Josef Jakobs, a German spy with mysterious connections to the Woman in the Wych Elm.

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It’s the morning of September 18th, 1931, and through the walls of their apartment in Munich, Germany, a man and woman can be heard arguing. The man is Adolf Hitler, who would go on to lead as German Chancellor and be one of the world’s most infamous dictators who committed heinous crimes against humanity. The woman, his 23-year-old niece, Geli Raubal.

Within hours of the argument, Geli was dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. The gun was Hitler’s.

The official verdict ruled her death a suicide, but with rumours of an inappropriate relationship with her uncle did Geli Raubal kill herself or was it a Nazi murder cover-up?

In this episode we look at Geli Raubal’s life and death under closer examination, to see how conclusions drawn in the case are now being questioned as to their accuracy. Does the evidence suggest she was involved in a violent altercation before her fatal shooting? Is the angle of the gunshot wound unusual for a suicide attempt? Do multiple witness statements contradict Hitler’s testimony?

These events and the secrecy surrounding the investigation have caused many to question the official verdict with suggestions of incest, murder, and a cover up within the Nazi Party just before they seized power. So, what is the truth? Was this suicide or murder? And how did this case affect the Nazi Party’s rise to power?

Cast List:

• Gerhard Fuermetz
• A German historian and researcher from Augsburg University.
• Dr Linda Papadopoulos
• The Reader in Psychology at London Metropolitan University, with a 17-year career working as a research scientist and practicing psychologist.
• Nigel Jones
• A historian, journalist and former deputy editor of History Today magazine and former reviews editor of BBC History Magazine.
• Roger Moorhouse
• A historian and author of many books on the Second World War, including ‘Killing Hitler’. He is a specialist in modern German history with particular focus on Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.

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The legend of King Arthur is one of a courageous fighter and leader in battle, but for centuries the fabled king has been a mystery to historians. So was his story of Camelot, Excalibur and Guinevere just an elaborate fairy tale - or was he real?

Cast List:

Jamie Theakston: Investigative reporter

Andrew Gough: Writer, presenter and editor of The Heretic Magazine

Graham Phillips: Author & Historical Investigator

Clive Prince: Co-Author, The Templar Revelation

Rev. Lionel Fanthorpe: Author ‘Mysteries & Secrets of Time’

Tor Webster: Local Guide & Historian, Glastonbury

Ross Andrews: Author & Historian

Richard Felix: A historian and lecturer specialising in local and paranormal history

Heather Osborn: Author & Historian

Lynn Picknett: Historian and researcher specialising in exposing historical conspiracies. She is also the co-author of several notable works

Eric Meyers: Narrator

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It’s the early morning of June the 26th, 1718 and in the basement of the Peter and Paul Fortress in St Petersburg, Russia, lies a young man. His face is covered in bruises, his back is bleeding, and his eyes are sunken holes in their sockets, wreathed in black.

The door is flung open, and another man strides into the prison chamber. In his hand is a hard leather whip about three and a half feet long, ending in a beak-like hook. He walks over to the prisoner, who closes his eyes and quietly sobs. He knows what’s coming.

The prisoner is Tsarevich Alexei, heir to the Russian throne. His torturer is his own father, Tsar Peter the Great.

Peter the Great was one of the most bloody and brutal rulers in Russian history. Known for leading his own torture interrogations, and using forced labour to construct his architectural visions, his son is only one of thousands of people who will suffer at his hands during his reign. Yet he is remembered as one of Russia’s greatest ever rulers. Creating a navy, a city, and being one of the first Tsars to travel Europe in 100 years, his love of science and learning saw him transform his antiquated realm into a European power of the modern age.

But given the high price paid by his people, his predisposition for violence, and how the future of his reign was cemented by torture, can he truly be seen as Peter ‘the Great’ today?

Cast List:

• Tony McMahon
• A former BBC news producer, award short-listed author, print journalist and historian.
• Hallie Rubenhold
• A bestselling author, social historian and historical consultant for TV and film. Her notable works include “The Five; The Untold Lives of The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper” and “The Covent Garden Ladies”.
• Nigel Jones
• A historian, journalist, former deputy editor of History Today magazine and former reviews editor of the BBC’s History Magazine.
• Dominic Selwood
• A historian, barrister, bestselling author, novelist, and frequent contributor to national newspapers including The Independent, The Spectator and The Daily telegraph.

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It is the early 1980s, and in a house in West Germany a man called Gerd Heidemann is flicking through a book with mounting excitement. Sentences leap from the page:

‘The burning of the books was not a good idea of Goebbels’,

‘I have violent flatulence, and – says Eva – bad breath’,

‘The measures against the Jews are too strong for me’.

The book he is reading is one of over sixty volumes of the revelatory personal diaries of Adolf Hitler himself. Through Heidemann they will be purchased for millions of dollars and published in the world’s leading newspapers and magazines. However, on publication day, with the world captivated by the opportunity to read the inner-most thoughts of the most notorious dictator in history, the scoop of the century falls apart. The diaries are total fakes and not even particularly good ones.

In this episode we explore the story of Gerd Heidemann and how he and many others fell victim to a now notorious conman and forger. Starting with how Heidemann was captivated by a historic find he couldn’t ignore, to how simple forgeries made their way through authentication unscathed, to finally how the historic find of the century was shattered on the day of its publication.

So how were some of the world’s foremost journalists conned, and who was behind a fraud that has gone down in media history?

Cast List:

Guy Walters: A British author, historian, and journalist, he has written several books on WWII. As a journalist for The Times, he writes on historical topics for the national press.

Dr Linda Papadopoulos: The Reader in Psychology at London Metropolitan University, with a 17-year career working as a research scientist and practicing psychologist.

Magnus Linklater: A journalist, writer, and former newspaper editor, he was the Executive Editor of Features at the Sunday Times during the Hitler Diaries scandal.

Gerd Heidemann: A former journalist for Stern Magazine, he was the first to bring the diaries to the attention of the media.

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