# #179: The Most Unbelievable Story in Modern History

From **History For The Curious** by R Aubrey Hersh;Mena Reisner.

- **Published:** Thu, 04 Dec 2025 21:00:48 +0000
- **Duration:** 1:03:12
- **Audio:** https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/cxdk9cwuk5g4pmdv/HC072_-_Ep_179_-_Lincoln_Assembled_mixdownaz3nb.mp3
- **Page:** https://rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com/e/179-the-most-unbelievable-story-in-modern-history/
- **TorahApp:** https://torahapp.org/share/p/3P_history-curious?e=rabbiaubreyhersh.podbean.com%2F541119c1-7a22-3367-b2b3-f912964217d0

<p style="font-weight: 400;">Yitzchak Trebitsch was an active participant - under various names - in some of the twentieth century’s most important events: mass immigration, WWI wartime espionage, radical right-wing Germany, Chinese civil war and the Japanese invasion during WWII. But in the end he was a nobody.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">His death was attributed variously to Nazi poison, Allied vengeance, Buddhist enemies, or enraged Jews.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;">His story is stranger than fiction, but there are important lessons we can take from it.</p>
<p style="font-weight: 400;"> </p>
<p>Timestamps</p>
<p>[0:03:07] Origins: Hungarian Jewish Childhood</p>
<p>[0:04:40] Early Crimes: Theft and Deception</p>
<p>[0:07:54] Religious Transformations: Conversions and Missionaries</p>
<p>[0:11:00] Political Ambitions: Brief Parliamentary Career</p>
<p>[0:18:23] Wartime Intrigue: Espionage and Escapes</p>
<p>[0:28:00] Political Extremism: Far-Right Conspiracies</p>
<p>[0:35:00] Global Wanderings: International Adventures</p>
<p>[0:41:30] Spiritual Journey: Becoming a Buddhist Monk</p>
<p>[0:45:00] World War Machinations: Nazi and Japanese Connections</p>
<p>[0:48:44] Final Act: Decline in Shanghai</p>