Infamous Assassinations
19 videos
Updated 2 months ago
Get ready to witness the 20th Century's most damaging and outrageous assassination attempts, first-hand. From the assassination of John F Kennedy to the gunning down of Mahatma Gandhi, the tragic shooting of John Lennon to the brutal bombing of one of Hitler's henchmen, the BBC series Infamous Assassinations brings you as close to the killers as the cameramen themselves - which sometimes means just a few feet.
Using rare archive footage and reconstructions, each episode of this BBC documentary series focuses on a different story, from attacks on royalty, politicians and guerrilla leaders to media personalities who all, for one reason or another, stepped in the way of an assassin determined to bring their life to an end. Many of their motives have remained shrouded in mystery. Until now...
Infamous Assassinations is a series of educational documentaries from the BBC about famous events throughout history.
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Yitzhak Rabin
Mastro72On 4 November 1995, as he was about to address a mass rally of his supporters celebrating the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Accord, one of Israel’s greatest Prime Ministers was gunned down by a young Israeli opposed to his concept of ‘Land for Peace’. The trial revealed shortcomings in the Israeli President’s security arrangements.34 views -
The Attempt on Pope John Paul II
Mastro72On 13 May 1981, in front of a crowd of 20,000 people in St Peter’s Square, a young Turkish gunman shot the Polish Pope, possibly at the behest of the Russians who were concerned at the inspiration he was providing to Poland and the Solidarity Movement.21 views -
The Attempt on Princess Anne
Mastro72As the Queen’s daughter travelled from Buckingham Palace along the Mall, she was attacked by a gunman who fired six shots at her vehicle. Several passers-by, her chauffeur, and a policemen were all seriously wounded as the gunman was eventually arrested by police reinforcements.21 views -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Mastro72A group of Serbian nationalists were determined to kill the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Two of the assassins had bombs and one, a student named Gavril Princep, had a pistol. When the bombs failed, the Archduke’s car took another route and almost stopped outside the cafe where Princep was sitting. Within seconds, the Archduke and his wife were mortally wounded. The events of that day on Sunday 28 June led to the outbreak of World War I.35 views -
Charles de Gaulle
Mastro72There were three attempts to kill General de Gaulle, all of which were unsuccessful. The first was by German snipers in Paris 1945. The second was on 8 September 1961, when a plastic charge was fired at his car by a gang controlled by Raoul Salan. The third attempt was on 22 August 1962, when his car was raked by machine-gun fire which shattered the rear window and burst two tyres. The General escaped all three attempts, but was there a fourth which was not reported?27 views -
Tsar Nicholas II
Mastro72After a disastrous war with Germany, the Bolsheviks imprisoned the Romanov family as their supporters approached. Factory worker guards were replaced by Cheka executioners, and, on 17 July 1918, the family were murdered and buried in a nearby wood. For more than 70 years their whereabouts was unknown, but new material released from Russia now conclusively reveals their fate.65 views -
Leo Trotsky
Mastro72On 20 August 1940, the exiled Bolshevik leader was assassinated with an ice-pick by Ramon Mercader, who was undoubtedly working on behalf of Stalin and his secret police. Why was it still necessary for Stalin to assassinate him?16 views -
Lord Mountbatten
Mastro72The former Viceroy of India and cousin of the Queen, Lord Mountbatten was a World War II naval hero, Allied Commander in South East Asia and one of the architects of D-Day. On 27 August 27 1979, he was assassinated by a bomb planted on his boat by the IRA (Irish Republican Army) whilst he was on holiday with his family in in County Sligo, Ireland.104 views -
Mahatma Gandhi
Mastro72India's greatest founding father was a champion of peaceful protest, yet ironically he was gunned down for no clear reason by Nathuram Godse, a fanatical Hindu, in the gardens of Birla House on 30 January 1948 while Gandhi was on his way to attend a prayer meeting.10 views -
Indira and Rajiv Gandhi
Mastro72Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, was assassinated on 31 October 31 1984 by her Sikh bodyguards as she walked in the garden of her New Delhi home. It appeared that her murder was an act of revenge for her orders to storm the Sikh's holiest shrine at Amritsar in 1983. Six years later, on 21 May 21 1991 in Sriperumbudur, near Madras, her eldest son Rajiv was also assassinated by Khan separatists in a bomb explosion.18 views
