VE Day: The inspirational stories of WW2 veterans who called LBC

8 May 2020, 07:07 | Updated: 8 May 2020, 07:13

As the UK celebrates the 75th anniversary of VE Day, here are the remarkable wartime stories of the best LBC listeners.

On 8th May 1945, the Allied forces formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the German Army, a moment marked by Winston Churchill's famous speech.

There are stories of the war that we've all heard hundreds of times. But the incredible recollections below are unique - family stories told in public possibly for the first time.

Belsen 75th anniversary: The inspirational story a survivor

Belsen 75th anniversary: The inspirational story a survivor

These are the remarkable memories of Susan Pollack, an inspirational woman who survived both Auschwitz and Belsen concentration camps.

Nick Ferrari will never forget her remarkable call. In 1944, she was 14 years old and transported to Auschwitz along with other Hungarian Jews. She stayed there for around six to eight weeks, where she was personally selected by Dr Josef Mengele, knows as the Angel of Death.

She told Nick: "He was stood on the platform, and we girls stark naked marched in front of him. I remember him being a very proud man who dictated who was going to the right and who was going to the left. And we knew what that meant."

The call labelled the best ever by James O'Brien's listeners

The call that left James O'Brien lost for words

Meet Lili, the Jewish survivor whose story left James O'Brien lost for words.

She and her mother were saved during the German occupation of Poland by a German civil servant. Her and her mother were the only survivors of her family as sadly she had lost her brother and her father.

Lily shared how she managed to escape from the ghetto at 11 years old to prevent her mother having to return after a day of slave labour; in mid November in thick snow Lily was wearing a cardigan, pyjamas and slippers, and the female civil servant at her mother's work took pity on them both and took them in. A Greek Catholic archbishop then hid the pair in the convent and throughout the war was responsible for saving the lives of 150 Jewish orphans.

"Women and men did exactly the same during the war"

Amazing Female WWII Veteran: Women And Men Did Exactly The Same During The War

An adorable 99-year-old told Darren Adam that female soldiers can do everything that male ones can - because that's what she did in World War II.

During WWII, Greeta was a dispatch rider who drove three-ton vehicles to help the war effort. With her 100th birthday just round the corner, she phoned LBC to give her support for the new initiative to get women to serve on the front line in the military.

Talking about her time in the military Greeta told Darren Adam: "Some of the men that I was with were as capable as the women."

Kindertransport survivor reveals his first impression of Britain

Kindertransport Survivor Reveals His First Impression Of Britain

A 92-year-old Kindertransport survivor who arrived in London as a child 80 years ago has told LBC what his first impression of Britain was.

Austrian-born Harry Bibring was sent from Nazi-occupied Austria to Britain by his parents in 1939. He and his sister were one of nearly 10,000 child refugees who arrived in the UK through Kindertransport before WW2 broke out.

Tom Swarbrick left speechless at this caller's "utterly extraordinary" story

Tom Swarbrick left speechless at this caller's extraordinary story

This caller told Tom Swarbrick the extraordinary story of his parents' bravery during the Second World War as they lived for 14 months in a sewer under the opera house in Poland to hide from the Nazis.

They didn't see daylight for that entire 14 months.

But even more remarkably, Henry's brave father actually broke into a concentration camp to look for his wife's brother and sister. This is an extraordinary story.

WWII survivor gives inspiring advice to cope during lockdown

Robin is WWII survivor and speaks to Matt Stadlen

This heartwarming call from a WWII survivor helped to put the coronavirus crisis into perspective as Robin gave listeners advice for how to cope during lockdown.

Robin was a child when World War II was going on and told Matt Stadlen about how it felt to live through a serious global event and compared the Covid-19 outbreak to the war effort in the UK.

He told listeners that for him, laughter is the best medicine and although it is important to understand the importance of the occasion if you cannot laugh, it isn't worth fighting.