William Hastings Burke
Author, journalist and researcher with a few documentaries on the side.
'William Hastings Burke has done a great service by bringing Albert's deeds to light.'
Gilead Sher, The Jewish Chronicle
Born in 1983, William grew up on the shores of Sydney Harbour. He studied Economics (Soc.Sc.) (Hons) at the University of Sydney and planned to pursue a PhD until Albert Göring turned his life (and history) on its head.
Hungry for more answers, William moved to Freiburg, Germany, where he began a three-year journey to piece together the puzzle of the Göring brothers. He travelled the world, digging through archives and tracking down witnesses to Albert’s story.
The product was William’s first book, Thirty Four – named after the list Albert had penned in Nuremberg, which documents the thirty-four most prominent beneficiaries of his deeds. The book caught the world’s attention, with the international media quickly picking up the story. The book has since been published in five languages and after inspiring numerous documentaries, it is now set to be turned into a feature film.
William went on to present and help produce the documentary Goering’s Last Secret for Channel 5, BBC World and the History Channel.
He has also worked as an expert researcher and consultant on other related documentaries, including Le Dossier Albert Göring (Planète +, 2014), The Good Goering (BBC Radio 4, 2016) and La liste Göring (Toute l’Histoire, 2020).
In 2010, William submitted an application to Yad Vashem in Israel for Albert Göring to be considered for the title of Righteous Among the Nations. Despite including the requisite sworn testimonies and documentary evidence, the application was denied, although the case remains open. He is currently working on a second application.
Apart from his life’s work on Albert Göring, he has flitted between journalism, marketing and TV & Film. He is currently working on another WWII rescue novel and a political thriller, while also providing research support to authors, publishers, production companies and family history enthusiasts. → More here.
He currently lives with his family and their border collie on the fringes of Kampinos National Park, Poland – along with the odd moose.
What's your story?
You don’t need to be a celebrity to find out ‘Who Do You Think You Are’. Now you can have an historian uncover your family history and bring it to life in your own interactive web documentary. →So, what’s your story?
