Witness: Witness Archive 2015

In 1982 a British director found himself in a court battle over sex and nudity on stage. Michael Bogdanov had directed 'The Romans in Britain' which drew parallels with the contemporary presence of British troops in Northern Ireland. But a public decency campaigner, Mary Whitehouse, thought it was obscene. Photo: Hulton Archive/Getty Images.

In the late 1960s, JFK's widow had a secret romance with the Greek shipping magnate who was then the world's richest man. Witness speaks to Nico Mastorakis, a Greek journalist who visited Onassis' yacht in disguise in order to confirm the affair. (Photo: Jackie Kennedy with Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Credit: David Cairns/Getty Images).

As the film of the best-selling book by Irene Nemirovksy, Suite Francaise, is released in cinemas this week, Witness hears the extraordinary story of the manuscript which lay undiscovered in an old suitcase for more than 50 years after Irene Nemirovsky's death in Auschwitz. We hear from her great-granddaughter, and from the man who eventually published Suite Francaise, Olivier Rubinstein. (Photograph: Irene Nemirovsky with her oldest daughter, Denise. Credit: courtesy of Denise Epstein/AP)

When Serb forces attacked the family home of Kosovo liberation fighter Adem Jashari, in March 1998, more than 50 people were killed. Many of those who died were members of his extended family - only his niece Besarta survived. Hear her story. (Photo: Besarta Jashari in the remains of her family's home. Credit: Duco Tellegen)

Kenyan MP Josiah Mwangi Kariuki, considered a possible future president, disappeared in mysterious circumstances in March 1975. His widow, Terry, tells Witness about how she finally confirmed that he had been killed. (Photo: Kenyan politician JM Kariuki. Credit: Alamy)

In 1995, the London designer, Alexander McQueen, shocked the fashion world with a collection that featured kilts, low-slung trousers and acres of naked flesh. It was the start of a meteoric career that led him to one of the most prestigious fashion houses in Paris. Vincent Dowd talks to three people who knew Alexander Mcqueen well. (Photo: Alexander Mcqueen. Credit: Press Association).

On the morning of 15 March 1939, Hitler sent his troops into Czechoslovakia. From the BBC archives, we hear the account of a British newspaper journalist who watched the Germans march into Prague. (Photo: German troops on a motorcycle enter Prague on 15 March 1939. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

Josef Stalin died on 5 March 1953. Valentin Berezhkov was his translator - at the Russian leader's side for negotiations with Hitler, Roosevelt and Churchill during the World War Two.

Baby and Child Care by Dr Benjamin Spock sold half a million copies just six months after its publication in 1946. Witness hears from Lynn Bloom, a friend and biographer of the famous paediatrician. (Photo: Dr Benjamin Spock. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)

In March 1985 a national debate over surrogacy was triggered in Britain, leading to a change in the law. Witness speaks to Kim Cotton who became the country's first commercial surrogate mother. (Photo: Kim Cotton, at home in 2015, courtesy of Ms Cotton)

One of the most successful films of all time, The Sound of Music, was released 50 years ago. The film was based on the true story of the von Trapp family. But was their life really as it was portrayed in the movie? Maria von Trapp's youngest child, Johannes, talks to WItness. (Photograph: The Trapp Family Singers, whose story inspired the film The Sound of Music, in Salzburg in 1937. Credit: BBC Photo Archives)

Allied forces bombed a column of Iraqi vehicles as they headed out of Kuwait at the end of the first Gulf War. The aftermath of the bombing caused shock and controversy around the world. (Photo: Burned-out vehicles outside Kuwait City. Credit: AFP/Getty Images)

In February 1945 US Marines fought the Japanese in one of the fiercest battles of WW2. Thousands of lives were lost in almost five weeks of fighting for control of the Pacific island. Witness speaks to 91-year-old former Marine, John Lauriello. (Photo: John Lauriello. Credit: John Lauriello)

In February 1981 armed Civil Guards tried to take control of the Spanish parliament. For 18 hours they held 350 politicians hostage in the debating chamber. One of those politicians was a young Socialist MP called Joaquin Almunia. Photo: The leader of the coup attempt, Lt Col Antonio Tejero, on the speaker's platform (AFP/Getty Images)

The British attack Benin City in 1897 and steal its ancient artwork, the Benin bronzes. We hear from Mark Walker, the grandson of a British soldier who took part in what was called the Benin Punitive Expedition, launched after a group of British officials are killed. (Photo: Captain Herbert Walker seated on the far right, with some of the looted Benin bronzes in the background. Credit: Mark Walker.)

In February 1994, CIA officer Aldrich Ames was arrested for spying for the Russians. Ames had spied for the Soviets for over 9 years in return for 2.5 million dollars. We hear from former FBI agent Leslie G. Wiser who built the case against Ames. (Photo: Aldrich Ames was led from U.S. Federal Courthouse in Alexandria, after being arraigned on charges of spying for the former Soviet Union. Credit: Luke Frazza/AFP/Getty Images)

The chart-topping Bee Gees sound track which made the John Travolta movie a hit and kept disco alive. Hear from the album's producer Bill Oakes. (Photo: The Bee Gees in 1979. Credit: AP Photos)

In 1978 Egyptian commandos and Cypriot troops ended up fighting each other during a botched attempt to end a hostage crisis at Larnaca airport in Cyprus. 15 Egyptian commandos were killed in the gun battle. Former Cyprus Airways pilot, Adrian Akers-Douglas, witnessed the shootout. (Photo: Adrian Akers-Douglas in 2015. Credit: BBC)

In February 2002 a videotape was released by Islamic extremists in Pakistan showing the murder of the US journalist, Daniel Pearl. He had been kidnapped four weeks earlier in Karachi while on his way to interview a radical cleric. Witness has been speaking to Asra Nomani, Pearl's friend and colleague. (Photo: Daniel Pearl and Asra Nomani in 1995. Credit: Asra Nomani)

The Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Janani Luwum, took the brave step of speaking out against dictator Idi Amin. In February 1977 he was summoned to a meeting by the government and never seen alive in public again. Hear from his daughter, Julie Luwum Adriko. (Photo: Archbishop Janani Luwum. Credit: Keystone/Getty Images)