War Survival Stories

OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT

Years ago, somewhere between a collapsing city and a distant front line, ordinary people discovered how quickly normal life could disappear. War Survival Stories enters those moments when escape routes close, supplies vanish, and a single decision can separate survival from tragedy. These are stories shaped by conflict, endurance, fear, sacrifice, and the instinct to keep moving when everything familiar has been destroyed. Some survived by hiding. Others crossed impossible distances, trusted strangers, or endured conditions that pushed the limits of human resilience. Each story reveals what war leaves behind long after the fighting moves on: broken families, impossible choices, and memories that refuse to fade. When survival depends on what you do in the next few minutes, how far would you go to make it home?

  1. 5h ago

    The crash that left a limp changed his life forever

    A British baronet exchanges wedding vows in Berlin with Hitler as a witness, while in London, thousands fight to stop his uniformed movement. How did this political figure cross a line that could not be walked back? The crash that left a limp changed his life forever This episode explores the early life and political rise of Oswald Mosley, a man of extraordinary ability whose choices led to a state suspending its own rules. It delves into the documented account of how this promising political talent navigated crucial forks in his path. Person: Oswald Mosley Date: October 6, 1936 Location: Berlin, London Status: Member of Parliament Event: Wedding in Berlin - Oswald Mosley, a British baronet, married in Joseph Goebbels' Berlin home with Adolf Hitler present. - On the same afternoon, thousands in London protested Mosley's uniformed movement marching through a Jewish neighborhood. - Mosley was once the youngest Member of Parliament and was described as "dark, aquiline, flashing, with defiance in his eye and contempt in his forward chin." - He was expelled from Sandhurst for riotous retaliation before being commissioned into the Sixteenth Queen's Lancers. - A flying demonstration for his mother and sister resulted in a crash, leaving him with a permanent limp. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

  2. 1d ago

    A hacksaw blade frees a prisoner

    A civilian fluent in French and German is recruited by the SOE to establish a resistance network in occupied France during WWII. His survival hinges on his ability to evade capture. A hacksaw blade frees a prisoner This episode details the early life and wartime experiences of Frank Pickersgill, a Canadian intellectual who became a secret agent. It explores the choices he made that led him into one of the most dangerous intelligence operations of World War II. Person: Frank Pickersgill Date: August 8, 1944 Location: Paris, France Organization: Special Operations Executive (SOE) Mission: Establish the Archdeacon resistance network - Frank Pickersgill, a classics graduate from Winnipeg, cycled across Europe in 1934, documenting his observations in letters home. - In 1938, he returned to Europe as a freelance journalist, meeting Jean-Paul Sartre in Paris and planning to translate his work. - After Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Pickersgill, a British subject in occupied France, was interned at Stalag 220, a civilian camp. - He escaped Stalag 220 by sawing through a window bar with a hacksaw blade smuggled in a loaf of bread. - In London, he turned down a desk job with the Canadian Army to join the Canadian Army Corps, subsequently recruited by the British SOE. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

  3. 2d ago

    The Red Baron: A Name, A Lie, A War

    A Soviet aircraft designer builds a vertical take-off jet for the military - but who is he, really? The Red Baron: A Name, A Lie, A War This episode explores the enigmatic life of Robert Bartini, a brilliant Soviet aircraft designer whose origins remain shrouded in conflicting accounts. It delves into the various versions of his early life, from his birth city to his parentage, and how these shifting identities shaped his journey. Person: Robert Bartini Date: 1968 Location: Soviet Black Sea coast Topic: Soviet aircraft design - In 1968, a 71-year-old man began building a machine that violated engineering consensus, designed to take off vertically from open water and hunt American nuclear submarines. - Robert Bartini, the designer, spent ten years as a prisoner of the same state that later tasked him with this advanced project. - Bartini's epitaph in Moscow states he kept his oath to ensure "red planes flew faster than black ones." - His birthplace, Fiume in 1897, was a port in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now known as Rijeka on the Croatian coast. - Bartini's parentage is contested, with accounts naming a nobleman, Baron Ludovico Orosdy, or his brother Philippe, as his biological father, and his mother drowning after his birth. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

  4. 3d ago

    The Notation That Sealed His Fate: Amnesty Was Refused

    A Soviet bureaucrat's quiet notation in a file condemns a peasant priest to the Gulag, marking him as beyond mercy for his forbidden faith. The Notation That Sealed His Fate: Amnesty Was Refused This episode tells the story of Potapy Emelianov, a peasant priest whose journey to a forbidden faith led to his imprisonment in the Gulag. It explores the bureaucratic decision that sealed his fate and the circumstances that made him a target. Person: Potapy Emelianov Date: March 24, 1928 Location: Soviet Karelia Status: Imprisoned Case: Counterrevolutionary activity - Potapy Emelianov, born around 1889, came from a family of Old Believers, a community separate from the Russian Orthodox Church. - He was tonsured as a monk and given the name Potapy after being received into the Russian Orthodox Church around 1901. - Potapy encountered a library before 1918 and began reading Church Fathers, leading him to a theology of papal primacy. - On June 29, 1918, he formally professed his faith and became a Greek Catholic priest in communion with Rome. - By January 1927, he was the last remaining free priest of the Russian Greek Catholic Church in the Soviet Karelia before his arrest. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

  5. 4d ago

    A vacant seat moved Kamall into the European Parliament

    Born to Guyanese immigrants in working-class London, a young man joins the Conservative Party. His political journey takes an unexpected turn when a vacant seat in the European Parliament becomes available. A vacant seat moved Kamall into the European Parliament This episode explores the complex journey of Syed Kamall, from his family's origins as indentured laborers to his unexpected entry into the European Parliament. It delves into the forces that shaped his political philosophy and career. Person: Syed Kamall Date of birth: February 15, 1967 Place of birth: Hornsey Political party: Conservative Party Education: University of Liverpool, London School of Economics, City University London - Syed Kamall's family history traces back to indentured laborers from India transported to British Guiana in the 19th century. - His father migrated from Georgetown to London in the 1950s, settling in the working-class borough of Edmonton. - Kamall joined the Conservative Party at age twenty in 1987, despite not fitting the typical demographic for the party in his background. - He pursued parallel careers in academia, publishing a book on EU telecommunications policy, and local Conservative politics throughout the 1990s. - After multiple electoral losses, Kamall secured a seat in the European Parliament in 2005 when Theresa Villiers vacated her position to join the House of Commons. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

  6. 5d ago

    The intake meeting note that said "to use it" let him walk

    A 12-year-old told school staff “to use it” about a knife; years later he entered a children's Taylor Swift workshop. How did that note shape every decision? The intake meeting note that said "to use it" let him walk In this episode, we follow the sequence of recorded moments and institutional choices that followed a boy from school hallways to Hart Street, tracing how words in files shaped responses over five years. What chain of decisions allowed those warnings to accumulate without stopping him? Date: 29 July 2024 Location: Hart Street, Meols Cop, Southport, Merseyside Person: Axel Muganwa Rudakubana Age at intake quote: 12 Diagnosis: Autism spectrum disorder (February 2021) - At a specialist school admission meeting in October 2019, a twelve‑year‑old told staff he brought a knife “to use it,” and the statement was recorded. - After bringing a knife to school approximately ten times and being expelled from Range High, he began at The Acorns School but was enrolled despite the admission note. - In December 2019 he returned to Range High with a hockey stick marked with names, assaulted a pupil, and was found with a knife; he pleaded guilty in February 2020. - The Acorns School excluded him after the conviction and switched to sending work home, leaving him without regular education or supervision. - In February 2021 he was diagnosed with autism; that diagnosis changed how institutions described risk and influenced subsequent referrals, including multiple Prevent referrals. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

  7. 6d ago

    The typewriter she found in Poston published a country back its story

    A twenty-year-old inside barbed wire finds a typewriter at Poston and publishes a serialized mystery in the camp newspaper - how did that expose them? The typewriter she found in Poston published a country back its story In this episode, we follow a young American-born writer confined at the Poston relocation camp as she produces the camp newspaper and serializes a detective story that keeps readers waiting for resolution. We explore how her fiction and reporting documented life behind the wire and raised a quiet challenge to the logic that imprisoned her community. Person: Hisaye Yamamoto Date: 1942-1943 Location: Poston (Colorado River Relocation Center), Arizona Event: Publication of the Poston Chronicle and the serialized story "Death Rides the Rails to Poston" Topic: Japanese American incarceration, camp journalism, serialized mystery fiction - She was twenty years old, born in Redondo Beach on August 23, 1921, and writing fiction under the pen name Napoleon. - Executive Order 9066 led to her and her family’s forced removal in spring 1942 despite American birth certificates. - Poston housed over seventeen thousand people at its peak in tar-paper barracks surrounded by barbed wire and administered by the War Relocation Authority. - A typewriter already present at Poston became the tool she used to report, edit, and publish the Poston Chronicle. - She serialized Death Rides the Rails to Poston in the camp paper, delivering weekly hooks that promised resolution to an audience living without legal recourse. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

  8. Oct 11

    The Manuscript Finished Behind Barbed Wire That Proved His Loyalty

    A Japanese-American writer hides a novel in an internment camp. How did that manuscript expose him? The Manuscript Finished Behind Barbed Wire That Proved His Loyalty In this episode, we follow the life and writing of Toshio Mori from his nursery in San Leandro to the Topaz War Relocation Center, tracing how a completed manuscript and a shelved book intersected with wartime America. What did finishing a novel behind barbed wire mean for his claim to belonging? Person: Toshio Mori Date: March 3, 1910 (birth) Location: Topaz War Relocation Center, Millard County, Utah Event: Completion of the novel Send These the Homeless in 1942 Manuscript: Yokohama, California held by Caxton Printers with foreword promised by William Saroyan - Born to Hidekichi Mori and Yoshi Takaki, Toshio worked in his family nursery in San Leandro before writing in the evenings. - In 1938 his short story "The Brothers" appeared in The Coast and his work was included in New Directions in Prose and Poetry. - By 1941 he had a full manuscript titled Yokohama, California with William Saroyan slated to write the foreword and Caxton Printers holding the text. - After Pearl Harbor and Executive Order 9066, Mori and his family were sent to Topaz where he continued to write inside tarpaper barracks surrounded by barbed wire. - In 1942 he completed Send These the Homeless, a finished novel written in the camp that remains unpublished and held in an archive. To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: business@obomedia.com.

See All (86)

About

Years ago, somewhere between a collapsing city and a distant front line, ordinary people discovered how quickly normal life could disappear. War Survival Stories enters those moments when escape routes close, supplies vanish, and a single decision can separate survival from tragedy. These are stories shaped by conflict, endurance, fear, sacrifice, and the instinct to keep moving when everything familiar has been destroyed. Some survived by hiding. Others crossed impossible distances, trusted strangers, or endured conditions that pushed the limits of human resilience. Each story reveals what war leaves behind long after the fighting moves on: broken families, impossible choices, and memories that refuse to fade. When survival depends on what you do in the next few minutes, how far would you go to make it home?

Information

  • Creator
    OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    86
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright OBOMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT
  • Show Website
    War Survival Stories