The Belfast Blitz
Dan Snow's History Hit
History Hit
4.7 • 13.7K Ratings
🗓️ 16 November 2023
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
It wasn't just London that was devastated by German bombing raids in WWII, but Belfast in Northern Ireland too. The most intense bombing took place over four consecutive nights, from April 7 to April 10, 1941, as the Luftwaffe targeted strategic locations, industrial sites, and residential areas in Belfast. Over 1000 residents in the city and surrounding counties were killed in the raids. Hundreds more were wounded and many deceased were left unidentified after the rubble was cleared.
The Belfast Blitz was part of the wider strategic bombing campaign by the Germans, aiming to weaken the resolve of the British population and disrupt industrial production. Dr Jim O'Neill joins Dan to tell the city's story of war, of how people, including his own family experienced the raids, learning to survive in a state of constant fear and danger and the heroic bravery that emerged. He also tells Dan about his own work to ensure those who were killed are properly memorialised.
Produced by James Hickmann and edited by Ella Blaxill.
Discover the past with exclusive history documentaries and ad-free podcasts presented by world-renowned historians from History Hit. Watch them on your smart TV or on the go with your mobile device. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW - sign up now for your 14-day free trial http://access.historyhit.com/checkout?code=dansnow&plan=monthly.
We'd love to hear from you! You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.
You can take part in our listener survey here.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Dan Snow's History Hit to listen to all of our episodes ad free, get bonus content |
| 0:06.0 | and watch hundreds of history documentaries. Download the History Hit app or go to History Hit |
| 0:10.9 | dot com slash subscribe. |
| 0:12.8 | And if you're an Apple listener, you can subscribe for new ad-free episodes |
| 0:16.5 | within the Apple app. |
| 0:17.6 | This episode, the podcast is sponsored by Ridley Scott's new action epic film Napoleon |
| 0:26.2 | starring Wackin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby only in cinemas November the 22nd. |
| 0:31.5 | Why Napoleon and why now, the big man? |
| 0:36.0 | In many of his facts, he is one of the great curiosities in history. |
| 0:41.0 | It's here at last, folks. It's a sumptuous, wild fantastical depiction of the life of Napoleon. |
| 0:48.0 | This genius commander who won victories from Portugal to the pyramids and the gates of Moscow. |
| 0:54.9 | It's a truly awesome spectacle. |
| 0:57.7 | There are cavalry charges, there are one-line zingers, there's a food fight, and the Royal Navy gets a strong cameo. The movie tracks the |
| 1:07.2 | kind of relentless journey of Napoleon Bonaparte to the pinnacle of power through the |
| 1:11.8 | prism of his addictive, his volatile relationship with his one true love Josephine |
| 1:16.4 | You get the politics you get the romance but against the backdrop of some of the most extraordinary battle sequences I've ever seen film. |
| 1:23.7 | Do you feel incredibly lucky that you created these epic, epic films? |
| 1:28.9 | Every time, every time. And it's the first time I came to be now in the field and he said who are all these people and said this is all for you made |
| 1:37.4 | This movie is an event you're gonna want to see it on the biggest screen possible. |
| 1:42.8 | Book tickets to see Napoleon in Cinemars and IMAX from November 22nd. Hi everybody welcome to Dan Snow's history hit. Belfast in Northern Ireland |
| 1:57.2 | was one of the great industrial cities of the United Kingdom on the outbreak |
| 2:01.0 | of war in 1939 but for various reasons as you'll hear, it was not widely believed |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.