Falklands40: Memories of an Argentine Veteran

Dan Snow's History Hit

History Hit

History

4.7 • 12.9K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2022

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Please note that this episode contains descriptions of conflict and torture that some may find distressing.

When the British arrived on the Falklands Islands in 1982, they battled the Argentines. But on the other side, it was a very different story. For the young Argentine combatants, their greatest enemy was not the British, nor the unrelenting terrain—for many soldiers, it was their own commanders...

At the beginning of The Falklands War -La Guerra de las Malvinas- as it is known in Argentina, Silvio Katz was just 19 years old. Born and raised in Parque Chacabuco, Buenos Aires, Silvio would find himself amongst the battle for the Falklands, called up while fulfilling his compulsory military service. Joining Dan, Silvio shares his story of the conflict in the Battle of Mount Longdon, the harrowing methods of torture he endured at the hands of his superiors, and his reflections about the war forty years on.

Produced by Hannah Ward.

Translation by Claudio Molinari Dassatti.

Voiceover by Martin Esposito.

Mixed and mastered by Dougal Patmore.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode is sponsored by Audible, where you can now stream the new series of that brilliant Stephen Fry's
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0:14.1	police women, radio, the movies, jazz, the British sense of humour,
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0:27.7	There are some brilliant stories in here, all told in a very Stephen Fry type of way. You're going to love it.
0:32.7	Listen now, subscription required, see audible.co.uk for terms.
0:38.7	Welcome to Downsnow's History here. When the British
0:42.7	Explorery Force arrived in the Falklands in 1982, they wouldn't just fight the Argentinians. They would struggle against a hostile landscape and cruel weather.
0:51.7	And the men in the trenches, the sangers, the dugouts, across from them, the Argentinians faced not only those challenges,
1:00.7	a determined enemy, a difficult landscape and climate, but they also have to deal with an enemy that the British were spared, their own commanders.
1:12.7	In my experience, our worst enemy was the Argentine army.
1:18.7	When the British retook the violence, I felt free again.
1:26.7	This is Silvio Katz. He was an Argentine soldier stationed in the Falklands, or the Las Malvinas, as they were known to Argentinians.
1:35.7	He's speaking for the first time, very candidly about his harrowing experience of torture in the Argentinian army.
1:42.7	Something that's been documented as more and more veterans come forward to speak.
1:47.7	In this podcast he describes anti-Semitism, the Nazi sympathies within the Argentinian obstacle, and their physical and psychological torture.
1:57.7	This is a first for Downsnow's History here. We're talking to Silvio. We're talking to an Argentinian veteran of the battle.
2:03.7	I'm very grateful for his candor and addressing what must be a very difficult subject for him.
2:09.7	Silvio spoke to me through a translator, and this podcast may be disturbing for some listeners, the descriptions of torture and distressing language.
2:19.7	I'm very grateful to Silvio Katz for coming on this episode, and I'd like to salute his courage in speaking out. Enjoy.
2:32.7	Silvio, a great honor to have you on the podcast. Thank you. Where did you grow up in Argentina?
2:36.7	Hello Dan, it's also a pleasure for me to share this with you. I was born and raised in Parque Chacabuco, here in the capital of the Argentine Republic.
	...

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