VE Day Special

Antiques Roadshow marks the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a special episode filmed in Berlin and at Bletchley Park, featuring interviews with veterans and the families of those who took part in the liberation of Europe.

Fiona Bruce travels to Berlin to visit Karlshorst, where Germany’s final surrender took place on 8 May 1945, bringing the war in Europe to an end.

The episode features interviews with a handful of people who played a part in the conflict, including RAF pilot Colin Bell, 104 years old, who flew 50 missions over Germany, Hazel Halter, 100 years old, who worked with the secret codebreakers at Bletchley Park, and Jake Jacob, 99 years old, who travelled from the Caribbean to join RAF ground crew in England.

The episode includes an interview with Hans Muncheberg, now aged 95, who was wounded in battle during the Germans' last stand in Berlin and who reflects on the evils of the Nazis' ideology.

Members of the public share moving stories and cherished items that provide a personal insight into the last year of the war, including a pistol taken from a German general, stationery from Hitler’s mountain retreat, model tanks from a training school and a pair of miniature clogs gifted to a British soldier who was hidden from the enemy by a Dutch family.

Mark Smith sees a collection of photos that document the arrival of British troops at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, while Adam Schoon is moved to see a yellow star worn by a Jewish prisoner, who then gifted it to the Canadian soldier who liberated them.