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After World War Two, Egypt’s government recruited thousands of Nazis and their collaborators to bolster the country’s defence and security.

This was part of Egyptian President Nasser’s efforts to modernise the country and present himself as the leader of the Arab world in its conflict with Israel.

Johann Von Leers was one of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi propagandists. Nasser’s government recruited him in 1956 to lead Egypt’s antisemitic propaganda machine.

Frank Gelli was a member of a far-right group in Italy at the time. He was sent to meet Von Leers in Cairo in 1964. He tells Ben Henderson about their conversation.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Johann von Leers. Credit: Bernd Settnik/BArch/CC-BY-SA 3.0)