As the Third Reich rises in Germany, Switzerland suffers with its own problems with National Socialism, and its own identity. Overshadowed by its neighbours, fractured by its cantons, the nation has to face to the real threat that Hitler's national socialism brings, both outside and within. This conflict is further exasperated as Hitler's henchman, Wilhelm Gustloff, rule over a small enclave with an iron fist. Discover, Hitler's Swiss Enclave and the story of the Wilhelm Gustloff only on Achtung...
Jan 30, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 10Ep. 1
In this episode of Achtung! History Simon J. James returns to the tales of resistance to the National Socialist regime of Germany. It is a common perception that the National Socialist regime of Germany (1933-1945) was a totalitarian one. But was it as totalitarian as popular culture has led us to believe. In this episode of Resistance, Simon J. James looks into the resistance that existed amongst the youth of the German nation and in doing so explores the history and ideology of the Hitler Yout...
Dec 01, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 9Ep. 7
He was one of the greatest conmen of the 20th century, but after the failed Kapp Putsch in Berlin 1920 he was persona non grata in most European nations. So how did Ignatius Trebitsch continue to strive to find steal his place in the world? Discover the continuing act of this most audacious tale.
Nov 08, 2021•55 min•Season 10Ep. 2
Achtung! Achtung! Journey back to the events of a city long lost, Berlin in 1926. With music and real events from the Welthauptstadt Berlin. This is a trial episode.
Oct 29, 2021•25 min•Season 10Ep. 1
Discover the incredible, true story, of possibly the 20th centuries greatest con man, a man who defrauded the Church of England, and wiggled his way not only into British Government but also into two different German governments, that of Kapp and later that of Hitler and his NSDAP, in this two parter uncover the fantastic tale of 'The Man With A Thousand Faces.' Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! History is presented by Sim...
Oct 25, 2021•1 hr•Season 9Ep. 9
His name became infamous, his story legend. But today the name Schlageter has faded into history, so who was Schlageter and why did Adolf Hitler proclaim him to be 'The First Soldier of the Third Reich?" Find out in the latest episode of the Achtung! History podcast. Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! History is presented by Simon J, James. Follow Achtung! History on Twitter ....
Oct 11, 2021•59 min•Season 9Ep. 8
A small victory or the turning point in the Napoleonic wars? Find out about the oft forgotten Battle of Großbeeren in this weeks episode of Achtung! History. A special thanks to Katja Hoyer for her input in this episode, her book Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871-1918 is available now. Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and presented by Simon J, James. Y...
Aug 30, 2021•40 min•Season 9Ep. 6
How did the discovery of the body of a man in the Landwehrkanal in Berlin in August 1919 lead to the exposing of and the collapse of the much of the Police Informant ring. And what did one man have to do both with the Communist uprising in Berlin and the short lived Bavarian Soviet Republic? Find out now in Achtung! History's latest episode. Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and...
Aug 16, 2021•35 min•Season 9Ep. 5
It was the most audacious plan of the West in the Cold War, to tunnel beneath the boundary between East and West and steal information from the Soviet's own telephone line. In this concluding episode, discover the true story of spies, espionage, deception and traitors in a whirlwind adventure into the acts that defined the Cold War. Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and presente...
Jul 26, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Season 9Ep. 4
Discover one of the most audacious and incredible forgotten tales from the Cold War. A story following the CIA and British SIS as they attempt to understand the intentions of the Soviets and gain an upper hand in an Europe divided by undertaking one of the greatest acts of underground secretive engineering ever attempted. This is Tunnel, Traitor, King, Gold, a Podcast by Achtung! History. Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! ...
Jul 12, 2021•48 min•Season 9Ep. 3
The Second World War is over yet East has not met West everywhere. Nestled in the Ore mountains a region centred around the town of Schwarzenberg remains strangely empty of Allied Occupying Forces. It seems as the world has forgotten this small town that once lay on the border of Czechoslovakia. Discover the strange story of Schwarzenberg and how for 42 days at the end of the Second World War it fell into no occupation zone but formed its own government and council and how history can be mislead...
May 10, 2021•51 min•Season 9Ep. 2
May Day, famously the day of the international worker. It was a day used by Unions and by the parties, especially in Germany, to unite their workers in putting down tools as a demonstration of international strife. However, when the NSDAP came to power in 1933, and Hitler became Chancellor and with that Joseph Goebbels the Reich Propaganda Minister, they quickly set about destroying the powers of old and turning May Day into Tag der nationalen Arbeit. Join Simon J. James in this adventure into t...
Apr 26, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 9Ep. 1
In this, the final episode of The Reichstag for now, the German parliament building lays smouldering but the persecution of those considered enemies of Hitler and the NSDAP continues. How does Hitler and his party use the fire to further their hold on Germany and continue the tearing down of the republic only for it to be rebuilt as a dictatorship. Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Gu...
Apr 12, 2021•56 min•Season 8Ep. 4
The Reichstag is in flames. Inside the burning parliament Hitler, Göring, Goebbels and von Papen gather together on a balcony overlooking the fire and discuss how to go forward. At the Brandenburger Tor, Rudolf Diels interviews the captured Dutch man by the name of Marinus van der Lubbe. All, except Diels, are convinced it is a communist conspiracy and are ready to once and for all stamp out the opposition to their NSDAP not only within the Reichstag but across the German Reich. Support Achtung ...
Mar 29, 2021•44 min•Season 8Ep. 3
A cold night in Berlin turns into a night that will change the course of the 20th century itself. A young theology student wandering home from his studies at the Staatsbibliothek on Unter den Linden witnesses a shadowy figure scaling the walls of the German parliament building, little does he know that he is the first to witness the makings of an event that would bring death and destruction for Germany. In this episode Simon J. James takes you through the minute by minute happenings of that fate...
Mar 15, 2021•42 min•Season 8Ep. 2
Welcome to the new series by Achtung! History and Simon J. James. This time we take a look at the Reichstag, the German parliament building famous for the fire that gutted the building on the 27th of February 1933 and catapulted Hitler into dictator. At least that's what history classes teach us. The truth is, Hitler's ascent into dictator had begun within the first few days of coming to power and the Reichstag was an opportunity to be exploited. So join Simon in discovering those 28 days from w...
Mar 01, 2021•49 min•Season 8Ep. 1
What does resistance to tyranny mean? Is it fighting with guns on the streets, distributing pamphlets, trying to organise a coup. In this episode Simon takes a deep dive into an event that occurred in Berlin as the Soviet Red Army forces closed upon the Reichs Capital and those within the high offices of the NSDAP regime desperately tried to cling on to power and continue living the life of luxury they had enjoyed for twelve years, even if that meant starving their own people. Support Achtung Hi...
Feb 15, 2021•55 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Discover, in this latest episode, the events leading up to the infamous journey of Lenin, Russian leader in the making, from Switzerland to a Russia in the midst of Revolution. Unearth a brief biography of the controversial man who would lead a Russian Revolution down a dark and bloody path. Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and presented by Simon J, James. You can follow Achtun...
Feb 01, 2021•54 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Rominten is a forgotten domain. Once ruled over by Electors, Kings, Kaisers and Reichsmarshalls, discover the forgotten history of what was once the last Kaiser's favourite hunting ground and how it brought him into conflict with Hermann Göring. Support Achtung History and gain early access to the next episodes on Patreon for as little as 1€. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and presented by Simon J, James. You can follow Achtung! History on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram ...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 7Ep. 2
When Adolf Hitler and the NSDAP came to power in 1933 they quickly set about changing all aspects of the German state, even Christmas. In this episode, Christmas: In the Shadow of the Swastika, discover how all aspects of Christmas were perverted to aide the National Socialist cause. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and presented by Simon J, James. You can follow Achtung! History on Twitter , Facebook and Instagram or support Achtung History and gain early access to the next...
Dec 22, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Franz Müller aboard the sail ship Victoria has no idea that steaming across the Atlantic are the Metropolitan Police and those that can point the finger toward him for the murder of Thomas Briggs on the 9:50 from Frenchchurch Street Station on the 9th of July 1864. The plan of Inspector Tanner, arrest Müller aboard the ship on which he sails and beg for extradition from the US courts for the man wanted for murder. But will it go to plan? And if he is extradited what will happen to him in the Eng...
Dec 14, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 6Ep. 4
Inspector Tanner and the London Metropolitan Police are faced with a difficult predicament. It has come to light that the man of most interest in the murder of Thomas Briggs, the first person to be murdered on British rail, has left British shores and that now they must give chase. Discover London in the 1860s, the streets, the docks and wharfs and its people in Murder on the Tracks to true story of the first murder on British railway and the incredible story that followed. This is episode 3 the...
Dec 07, 2020•36 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Thomas Briggs was found unconscious on the tracks of London's Northern Railway in 1864, a short time after he died. In this second episode of Murder on the Tracks, delve into the early history of London's Metropolitan Police, the streets, sounds and people of London and discover the investigation into Thomas Briggs death and how it all hinged on a chain and a hat before turning into a steamer chase across the Atlantic. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and presented by Simon ...
Nov 30, 2020•36 min•Season 6Ep. 2
Come on a journey, a journey into the past. Travel to a time when Britain ruled much of the world and London was its beating financial heart, Join Simon J. James in the discovery of the incredible and true story of the first murder on the British railway. A murder of a well respected banker that left a city in shock and led to an international chase that took criminal investigators over an ocean. This is, Murder on the tracks, episode one: Thomas Briggs. Achtung! History is produced by The Berli...
Nov 23, 2020•38 min•Season 5Ep. 10
In 1986 a young punk and underground artist within the DDR (East Germany) travels, with his super 8mm Russian made camera through a forest north of Berlin. There, glinting against the white of the snow he catches sight of something. Something that no other German had seen for 40 years. Recording the objects with his camera he returns to Berlin, edits it into a film, holds a showing and, as soon as the show is over, he burns the film. Why? What had he discovered? But what he had done had started,...
Nov 16, 2020•49 min•Season 5Ep. 9
Multi-millionaires, an East German Punk, art dealers, con artists, police informants, and two giant bronze horses that once stood outside Hitler's Reich Chancellery that went missing at the end of the war. This is, the two parter, 'The Hunt for Hitler's Horses.' This first episode looks Josef Thorak the artists of the Hitler horses and with art during the time of National Socialism. Join us again next week for the second part, when discovery leads to international plots, raids, a secret film and...
Nov 09, 2020•47 min•Season 5Ep. 8
In August 1348 an old man arrives before the Archbishop of Magdeburg. He is frail and worn but, in dropping a signet ring before the Archbishop, he claims to be Woldemar the Great, Margrave of Brandenburg, but there is only one problem. Woldemar the Great had been dead for 29 years. Who was this old man, what did he want, could it possibly be that this man truly was the Great Leader, the last in the Brandenburg Ascanian line, known as Woldemar returned to claim his land and who would believe him...
Nov 02, 2020•40 min•Season 5Ep. 7
Achtung! History brings you a Halloween bonus episode "The Haunting of House Hohenzollern." She had sworn revenge on the family of the man who imprisoned her, Johann Georg, Prince Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia. Swearing to enact punishments that would bring misery on to their family that had stolen her children from her and imprisoned her in the Spandau Citadel. Over the centuries she was seen, dressed in white, walking the corridors of the Berlin Schloß heralding the death of anoth...
Oct 31, 2020•31 min•Season 5Ep. 6
A thoughtful gift from the city or an insult against the highest man in the land? In 1891 Max von Forckenbeck would, as a sign of respect and easing of frustrations, gift to German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II, a magnificent fountain that still stands in Berlin today. Cast by the favourite sculptor of the Kaiser it was supposed to bring joy to the often petulant Kaiser, instead it brought the Kaiser to go head to head with a god. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and presented ...
Oct 26, 2020•40 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Discover the story of 27 year old resistance fighter Ursula Goetze who in times of great horror, when Hitler's Gestapo (secret police) were at their most powerful fought with words and knowledge against the regime and would pay the ultimate price. "Resistance" will be a new theme podcast that over the coming months multiple episodes will be produced of. Achtung! History is produced by The Berlin Tour Guide and presented by Simon J, James. You can follow Achtung! History on Twitter , Facebook and...
Oct 19, 2020•45 min•Season 5Ep. 4
