logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2025
38m 17s

The Germans Who Rebelled Against the Naz...

History Hit
About this episode

Today, we journey back to Berlin in the summer of 1943, where a clandestine gathering of Germany’s elite quietly plots to resist Hitler’s regime. But there is a traitor in their midst...


We're joined by acclaimed journalist and author Jonathan Freedland, author of 'The Traitors Circle: The Rebels Against the Nazis and the Spy Who Betrayed Them'. He unravels the true story behind the Solf Circle - a group of courageous men and women who risked everything to oppose the Nazis from within.


Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Dougal Patmore.


Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week and ad-free podcasts. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.


We'd love to hear your feedback - you can take part in our podcast survey here: https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on.


You can also email the podcast directly at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
The Rise & Fall of Babylon
Babylon has a PR problem, and it's 2,600 years in the making.The Bible remembers it as the ultimate city of sin, the place that crushed Jerusalem and dragged the Jewish people into exile. But if you look beyond this chapter, you find history's first true megacity. An ancient metr ... Show More
48m 32s
Aug 31
Templar's Tunnels, HMS Victory and Troy: History's Best Historical Sites with Dan Jones
The two great Dans of history - Dan Snow and Dan Jones - team up to explore the stories behind some of the world's best historical sites. Dan Jones explains the mysteries of the Templars' Tunnels in the Old City of Acre and Dan Snow tells the story of Nelson's last moments on HMS ... Show More
32m 38s
Aug 27
The Brutal History of The First Warplanes
Flying aces, flaming wreckage and deadly dogfights in the skies defined the First World War’s brutal air war. From fragile reconnaissance planes to lethal fighter aircraft, aerial warfare evolved at astonishing speed. Today we hear the stories of legendary aces like the Red Baron ... Show More
50m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2023
297: The Nazis: Hitler's Triumph (Part 3)
Wall Street crashes. The German economy capitulates and governments start to fall. Backroom deals and political scheming come to the fore. Join Tom and Dominic as they tell the story of the shadowy deals that allowed Hitler to gain power. *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: T ... Show More
59m 29s
Jul 2010
Did any Germans resist Hitler?
<p>During World War II, the Nazi totalitarian party did not tolerate dissent. Despite the risks involved, some Germans did attempt to resist Hitler's government. In this episode, Katie and Sarah explore the story of the White Rose, a secret resistance group.</p><p> </p> Learn mor ... Show More
18m 4s
Oct 2023
Downfall: The Final Solution
We pick up the story in 1942. World War 2 is well underway and the Führer is still in the box seat. But he is not as untouchable as he used to be. Nazi high-ups gather at the Wannsee Conference, honing a plan to exterminate an entire race. With the war in Russia on the rocks, and ... Show More
55m 44s
Apr 2023
Hitler
On this episode of Talking History, as part of our series on the history of totalitarian dictators, we're looking at the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler and finding out why he lost the Second World War so spectacularly. Featuring: Prof Frank McDonough, specialist on the history of ... Show More
53m 46s
Apr 2023
Early Years: The Day of Treason
The Nazi leader launches his very own assault on power: the Munich Putsch. Under cover of darkness, the SA prepare to storm locations across the city. Hitler himself prepares to kidnap a senior politician. Will the Nazis take over Germany? Or will they fail and fade back into obs ... Show More
32m 7s
Jan 2023
292: The Shadow of the Holocaust
In our second episode exploring the story of Rudolf Vrba, Jonathan Freedland joins Tom and Dominic again, to discuss the global reaction to the Vrba–Wetzler report: did anti-Semitism shape the Allied response? *The Rest Is History Live Tour 2023*: Tom and Dominic are back on to ... Show More
44m 25s
Dec 2024
The Duel: The Fox That Outlived Them All (Part 2)
April-May, 1945. Karl Wolff and Ernst Karltenbrunner are running out of time, and options. Interrogated by Himmler, and Hitler himself in the ruins of Berlin, their scheming is frustrated at every turn - even car rides and family members risk getting them killed. Join Jim and Al ... Show More
1 h
Oct 2020
'1944: Operation Valkyrie and Military Resistance Against Hitler' with Prof Winfried Heinemann
Prof Winfried Heinemann and Dr Marco Wyss discuss Operation Valkyrie (the unsuccessful assassination attempt of Adolf HItler in 1944) and the legacy of military resistance against Hitler. About the guest: Colonel Professor Winfried Heinemann has spent his career at the Center for ... Show More
39m 45s