HISTORY • 653 videos

20 Days in Mariupol

An AP team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion. As the only international reporters who remain in the city as Russian forces close in, they capture what become some of the most defining images of the war: dying children, mass graves, the bombing of a maternity hospital, and more.

2023 • History

Mariupol: The People's Story

In a little under three months, residents of what was a thriving city witnessed the deaths of women and children in a maternity hospital and bodies left abandoned on the streets of Mariupol. Filmed and told by many of the citizens of Mariupol, this powerful documentary records the deaths of thousands and daring escapes, and is the story of their loss, bravery and determination.

2022 • History

A World Still to Conquer

The Persian Empire conquered, Alexander defeats Darius III. Still ambitious, he now seeks to control the entire world.

S1E6Alexander: The Making of a God • 2024 • History

The Living God

Alexander faces his destiny leading his army into Persia's heart. Peace impossible, he heads for a final confrontation with Darius III.

S1E5Alexander: The Making of a God • 2024 • History

The Golden Empire

After Egypt brings new purpose, Alexander embarks on a dangerous quest to find an oracle and discover his identity.

S1E4Alexander: The Making of a God • 2024 • History

Face to Face

After defeating Darius III at Battle of Issus against odds, Alexander falls back and sets sights on unexpected target: Egypt.

S1E3Alexander: The Making of a God • 2024 • History

Death or Victory

Alexander leads army to victory in western Persia. Darius III reassesses opponent as tyrant inside Alexander starts to emerge.

S1E2Alexander: The Making of a God • 2024 • History

Episode #1.1

After a violent murder, a young Alexander ascends the throne of Macedonia and takes up arms against the mighty Persian Empire, ruled by Darius III.

S1E1Alexander: The Making of a God • 2024 • History

Beyond Utopia: Escape from North Korea

A suspenseful, immersive look at the lengths to which people will go to gain freedom. The film follows various individuals as they attempt to flee North Korea, one of the most oppressive places on earth and a land they grew up believing was a paradise. At the film's core are a mother desperate to reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind; a family of five - including small children and an elderly grandmother - embarking on a treacherous journey across the Yalu River and into the hostile mountains of China; and a South Korean Christian pastor on a mission to help them. Leaving their homeland is fraught with danger - severe punishment if caught and possibly even execution - as well as potential exploitation by unscrupulous brokers. Family members who remain behind may also face retribution. Yet these individuals are driven to take the risk. Gripping, visceral and urgent, Madeleine Gavin's film embeds the viewer with these family members as they attempt their perilous escape, palpably conveying life-or-death stakes.

2024 • History

Berlin 1945: Diary of a Metropolis

Journey back in time to Berlin's most fateful year - 1945 - through the eyes and voices of those who experienced it - ordinary German people and the Allies who entered the city. AKA Berlin 1945: Tagebuch einer Großstadt and Berlin 1945: Le journal d'une capitale.

2020 • History

Berlin 1933: Diary of a Metropolis

Using extracts from individuals' diaries and some film records, this documentary series tells the story of the changes that occurred in Berlin (and Germany) during the pivotal year of 1933.

2023 • History

Putin and Ukraine's Stolen Children

The Ukrainian government says that thousands of children have been taken unlawfully to Russia since the start of the war. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for President Putin's arrest. Now, Panorama investigates what happened to more than 40 children taken by Russian forces from a children's home in Kherson. The film-makers, working with journalists in Ukraine, uncover birth certificates, a secret adoption and a trail of evidence leading all the way to the Russian parliament.

2023 • History

Ukraine's Stolen Children

Shahida Tulaganova's documentary tells the stories of Ukrainian children, some of them orphans, who were taken to Russia after the war started and their territory was occupied. Through moving testimonies, the children tell how they were made to sing Russian patriotic songs, forced to speak Russian and led to believe their parents had abandoned them, and the film follows mothers, godmothers and relatives making daunting journeys into a hostile state to find their loved ones and bring them home.

2023 • History

The Manhunt

Chapter 1: Most Wanted The return of the documentary, picking up in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, when the Allies uncovered the scale of the Holocaust. Preparations began for a trial at Nuremberg, where 22 of the highest-ranking Nazis, including Hermann Goering, were to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But not all the highest-ranking Nazis had been captured, and the job of tracking them down fell to Allied soldiers. Chapter 2: The Ratline After the Nuremberg trial, the most senior ranking Nazis had been executed or imprisoned - but many of the worst criminals were still at large. They included Adolf Eichmann, who arranged the transportation of millions of Europe's Jewish people to death camps, and Nazi secret police chief Klaus Barbie, who became known as "the Butcher of Lyon" because of his reputation for extreme cruelty. This documentary follows the hunt for these two war criminals. Chapter 3: The Reckoning The continuing story of the diehards committed to hunt down thousands of Nazi war criminals, some of whom were living in plain sight. One such woman was German Beate Klarsfeld, determined to right the wrongs of her country's dark past and identify Nazis who had gone unpunished - including the notorious Klaus Barbie. The documentary also tells the story of Josef Mengele - who performed gruesome experiemnts on Auschwitz inmates - and the son so appalled by his father's actions he considered turning him in.

S4Rise of the Nazis • 2019 • History

The Downfall

Chapter 1: Who Will Betray Him? In the winter of 1944, Germany is losing the war on all fronts, but Hitler refuses to contemplate surrender. Instead, he calls leading military generals to a secret location and orders them to start preparing a massive surprise attack against the Western Allies as part of his policy of total war. It's an attack he believes will finally break them. Chapter 2: Hitler's Birthday At the end of March 1945, with the German army utterly depleted and his circle of trust rapidly shrinking, Hitler invites a group of Hitler Youth to the Reich Chancellery gardens to be congratulated. These are the people upon whom he now relies – children. Nazi Germany is on the brink of collapse, and with Berlin under daily bombardment, Hitler has permanently retreated to his bunker, a series of 30 cramped rooms under the Reich Chancellery where night and day merge into one. As his life becomes increasingly bizarre, Hitler and Joseph Goebbels look for signs from German folklore that fate will intervene. Chapter 3: Into the Abyss In April 1945, the Nazis organise one of the final acts of the Third Reich - a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic, including the last scene of the opera Gotterdammerung, which features a suicide at its centre. It's a clear sign that Hitler and many of his supporters are going to end it all. Most of Germany is occupied by invading Allied forces. A two million-strong Soviet army is now just a mile from Hitler's hiding place. With the Nazi regime disintegrating, most of Hitler's deputies are busy making plans to try to survive the end of the war. Only his most die-hard loyalists stay by his side.

S3Rise of the Nazis • 2019 • History

Dictators at War

Ch1. Barbarossa Focuses on the Eastern Front during the Second World War, which many see as the defining arena of the conflict. In the autumn of 1940, Adolf Hitler has to decide what to do about the Soviet Union and its leader Joseph Stalin. He offers to carve up the post-war world in exchange for his fellow dictator's support in the war against Britain, but is actually preparing an attack on the USSR. Ch2. Stalingrad In January 1942 the German army loses the battle for Moscow and a furious Hitler sacks or side-lines his top generals and appoints himself commander-in-Chief of the army. He decides on a bold new plan, focusing his forces on seizing the Soviets oil fields and stealing the fuel from the Red Army to supply his own. Stalin unveils his own plan to drive the Germans out of the Soviet Union by launching a huge offensive from Leningrad to the Black Sea. Zhukov warns him that the Red Army is in no shape to attack, but Stalin banishes the former chief of the general staff to the front and takes control. Ch3. The Home Front Hitler retreats from public life as he faces defeat on the Eastern Front after the Red Army's triumph at Stalingrad, with senior Nazis competing to prove themselves as his most valuable deputy, and each has a different strategy. Meanwhile, student resistance group the White Rose call on the youth of Germany to rise up and overthrow Hitler and the Nazi party, and Claus von Stauffenberg is part of a military resistance network who are planning to kill Hitler.

S2Rise of the Nazis • 2019 • History

Origins

Chapter 1: Politics Takes us into the corridors of power where Germany's top political mastermind sees an opportunity to use the sudden popularity of the Nazis for his own ends. This sets off a chain of miscalculations, backroom deals and power grabs that will propel Hitler from the fringes of political activism into the heart of government. Hitler wants to become absolute leader of a single-party German state - standing in his way is democracy and the rule of law. After leading a failed coup in 1923, Hitler decides on a new strategy for taking power: instead of being revolutionaries, the Nazis will become a legitimate, mainstream political party operating under the veneer of legality. Hitler aims to win power democratically and then destroy democracy from within. To achieve his goal Hitler must overcome Germany's political elite, including Paul von Hindenburg, the president who looks down on him, and, behind the scenes, political mastermind Kurt von Schleicher, who wants to use him. Whilst this political intrigue plays out at the highest level of government, Hitler faces another obstacle at ground level - a Jewish lawyer called Hans Litten, who is out to prove that the Nazis are far from the legal, legitimate party they claim to be. Chapter 2: The First Six Months in Power At the start of 1933, Hitler is the chancellor of Germany but he does not have absolute power - there is still a democratic parliament beneath him, a head of state above him and the rule of law hanging over him. Hitler sets his sights on dismantling the German state. When Hitler calls a general election to increase Nazi representation in the Reichstag, Hermann Goring sees an opportunity to impress by taking out the left-wing opposition. Goring orders a raid on the Communist Party HQ in the hope of finding evidence of a planned uprising. He doesn't find it, but when a fire breaks out in the Reichstag it is an opportunity to pin the blame on the left. Goring then has the green light to use the stormtroopers to brutally round up communists and social democrats - terror reigns in German streets. Thousands of arrests have been made but to make them legal, Hitler calls on president von Hindenburg and a decree is passed giving the Nazis emergency powers to ban free speech, the right to protest and to arrest without charge. When the Reichstag burned the Nazis persuaded the German people and their president that this was the first sign of a left-wing insurrection. The ensuing fear of left-wing violent lawlessness means that Hitler can push through another law that suspends democracy, allowing him to act without the approval of parliament. Soon, the first laws to restrict the freedom of the Jewish population are passed. One Jewish baker is found dead with a swastika carved into his chest. Goring has eradicated the Nazis' parliamentary opposition. He is rewarded with more power and more prestige. Another Nazi wants this type of power and influence but in early 1933 Henrich Himmler is based in Munich, not Berlin. He is the unassuming, uncharismatic head of an elite force of fanatical Nazis known as the SS. Himmler wants to make the SS the central institution in Germany in charge of political repression. Now that Himmler can arrest perceived Nazi opponents indiscriminately, he needs somewhere to put them. He gives a press conference regarding the opening of a camp to re-educate political prisoners. It has a capacity of around 5,000. The camp is near the small town of Dachau. In April 1933 a 39-year-old deputy state prosecutor called Josef Hartinger receives a telephone call. Four detainees have tried to escape from the camp at Dachau, three have been shot dead. Under German law it is Hartinger's job to investigate these unnatural deaths. He visits Dachau and sees the bodies - he realises something is very wrong. The official story just doesn't add up and it is strange that all the dead happen to be Jewish. Hartinger is sure these deaths are murders and that they are not an isolated case. He collates enough evidence to implicate the commandant of Dachau in the murders. This means going up against Himmler, whose power is growing. Himmler is in the process of bringing every state in Germany under SS control. He does not want the wider world to know that Dachau is a place of savage brutality and murder. Hartinger's boss will not go against Himmler's authority and shuts his deputy down but Hartinger will not be silenced and files a report. Himmler is worried - the SS does not have the right under German law to kill political opponents. To placate his critics, Himmler fires the commandant and as far as the German public are concerned the concentration camps are benign and humane. Hartinger's file goes all the way to Berlin and the killings stop at Dachau - it seems like a victory for the law. But Himmler is starting to impress, and he manages to persuade Hitler to block the legal investigations into Dachau. Now Himmler and the SS feel emboldened and the killings continue. Goring realises he has to take Himmler seriously and that his grip on power could be under threat, but he has his own secret weapon. He has created a surveillance organisation that listens in on anyone that could move against him. To act on the information gathered, Goring creates a new branch of the secret police, known as the Gestapo. But Himmler wants Goring's secret police - this is after all his territory. Goring will not relinquish control. These rivalries mean nothing to Hitler - books are being burned, Jewish people, gay people, intellectuals, anyone held to have anti-Nazi beliefs are disappearing. Germany is well on its way to becoming a Nazi dictatorship, but there is a serious obstacle in Hitler's way: the country's elderly president. Chapter 3: Night of the Long Knives Adolf Hitler has been chancellor of Germany for just under a year. It is a challenging balancing act. On the one hand, the Nazis must be mindful of President Paul von Hindenburg and Vice Chancellor Franz von Papen, who are members of Germany's traditional aristocratic ruling elite. On the other, there is the Nazis' own power base- the stormtroopers - millions of angry, disenfranchised men who wreak havoc on German streets. The stormtroopers are led by Ernst Rohm, one of Hitler's oldest and closest friends. Rohm wants Hitler to fulfil his promise to sweep away the traditional ruling class. Hitler owes Rohm: he has paved the way for Hitler's political career, and his stormtroopers have helped to eradicate left-wing opposition to the Nazi Party. Now, though, they're a potential threat - stormtrooper violence is undermining Hitler's credibility as chancellor. In a bid to placate Rohm, Hitler makes him a minister, but Rohm tries to wrestle control of the existing army that reports to President Hindenburg, putting Hitler is in a difficult position, stuck between his president and his old friend. Rohm's actions present Hermann Goring with an opportunity to persuade Hitler that his old comrade is no longer a friend, but a threat. But G?ring will also need the help of his own rival, Heinrich Himmler. Himmler agrees to help destroy Rohm and his stormtroopers and make the SS Germany's only paramilitary force.

S1Rise of the Nazis • 2019 • History

A Dangerous Path

As Ukraine decides to join NATO, Russia feels threatened and plans a full scale invasion of Ukraine. Western leaders tries to avoid a catastrophe with diplomatic talks.

S1E3Putin vs the West • 2023 • History

Back with a Vengeance

Putin who was against foreign military intervention (and even criticized the west for intervening in Iraq and Libya), suddenly decides to support his ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria by sending Russian air-force to bomb the ISIS territory.

S1E2Putin vs the West • 2023 • History

The Great Famine

The little-known story of the American effort to relieve starvation in the new Soviet Russia in 1921, The Great Famine is a documentary about the worst natural disaster in Europe since the Black Plague in the Middle Ages. Five million Russians died. Half a world away, Americans responded with a massive two-year relief campaign, championed by Herbert Hoover, director of the American Relief Administration known as the ARA. In July of 1921, Herbert Hoover, received a plea for international aid by Russian novelist Maxim Gorky. "Gloomy days have come for the country of Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Mendeleyev," Gorky warned. He made a similar request to other Western nations, but it was Hoover who responded immediately with a promise of support. The first American relief ships arrived in Petrograd in September 1921, as the embers of the 1917 Russian revolution still smoldered. American relief workers were among the first outsiders to break through Russia's isolation and to witness and record the impact of the Bolshevik Revolution. They would be tested by a railroad system in disarray, a forbidding climate, a ruthless government suspicious of their motives, and the enormous scale of death and starvation. The initial plan called for feeding one million children by delivering bread, rice, grits, sugar, corn and milk to the most hard hit regions. Almost immediately, Hoover encountered formidable obstacles. Vladimir Lenin's new communist government was skeptical of American aid and sabotaged the relief effort by planting spies in local American Relief Administration offices. When trains stuck on the tracks prevented food from being transported, Russian officials were uncooperative, resulting in delays that contributed to an estimated 50,000 deaths. New estimates in the fall of 1921 revealed that at least 16 million Russians would be impacted by the famine. Hoover's initial plan to feed just the children would not be sufficient. That winter, cannibalism became widespread across Russia as the people continued to starve. In the U.S., Hoover managed to double the project's funding, arguing that by providing food famine relief, Americans could demonstrate the strength, kindness and efficiency of American society to a Communist culture. After a spring thaw, hundreds of American relief workers — nicknamed "Hoover's boys" — were finally able to deliver food. In August 1922, a full five months after the initial shipments of corn were sent to Russia, American Relief Administration officials were still feeding almost 11 million Soviet citizens each day in 19,000 kitchens. By the end of the famine that fall, five million Russians had starved to death, but the toll would have been significantly higher without Hoover's unprecedented humanitarian commitment. Known as "the Great Humanitarian" for his relief work during and after World War I, Hoover is said to have saved more lives than any person in history. "Lenin's government never recognized America's humanitarian motives," says producer Austin Hoyt (George H. W. Bush, Victory in the Pacific, Reagan). The Soviets always saw the relief workers as exploiters and spies." The Cheka, Lenin's secret police, kept a watchful eye on the Americans and especially on the 120,000 Russians the ARA hired to do the work. White Russians and aristocrats, the losers in Russia's brutal civil war, were hired because they were educated. The Bolsheviks feared the ARA was training them as counter-revolutionaries. The tensions the Americans experienced in the early 1920s would come to dominate U.S. Soviet relations for much of the century.

2011 • History

In the Name of Allah

13th Century: After a unique triumph, Islam became the religion of many peoples - from Spain to Indonesia. But there was no Islamic empire, just as there was no Christian empire. Middle Ages meant: small states, wars of princes and tribes against each other. This episode covers the spreading of Islamic and Arabic culture, which was based on the use of military slaves: children of non-Muslim Turkic peoples were trained to become Islamic elite warriors. Their military triumph not only spread war and the new faith, but also advanced culture: medicine, art, architecture, astronomy - a unique blossoming of knowledge, culture and intellectual freedom penetrated as far as Spain. The real threat to Allah's earthly kingdom came not from Europe, but from the steppes of Asia. The Mongols attacked their enemies ruthlessly, devastatingly and invincible. In 1258 AD, Baghdad, the center of Islamic civilization, fell into their hands. Military conflict accompanied the spread of Islam during the Middle Ages. This program reveals the ironies of that union between war and faith: how Islam was adopted rather than marginalized by invading Mongols; how the rise of strict Islamic orthodoxy countered the scholarly advances of Arabic culture, weakening the empire; and how European appreciation of Islamic culture grew after the Christian 'Reconquista' of the Iberian peninsula. Interviews with respected scholars—including Drs. Raif Georges Khoury of the University of Heidelberg and Patrick Franke of Martin Luther University, Halle-Wittenberg—illuminate key developments in Islam's Mediterranean dominance.

S1E3The Holy Wars: War and Religion • 2004 • History

Christians against Christians

Corruption, loose morals, depravity – the German monk Martin Luther had enough of this and demanded a pure church and a pure faith. His goal was nothing less than a revolution: the Reformation of the church and the ousting of the "depraved" popes. Instead, the freedom within every Christian believer was to be expressed. The first example was the Peasants' Wars. Christianity once again became divided after the downfall of Byzantium: there were now Catholics, Lutherans and Reformed, for the rebels soon went their own way. The new longing for a purer Christianity soon led to the biggest catastrophe in Europe, the Thirty Years' War. It was not foremost a religious war, although it was easier to kill more mercilessly without a legitimation than have to worry about "eternal life." Europe lost half of its population during this period. The horror of the roving hordes of soldiers, the plunge into the most terrible atrocities that humans are capable of, caused the educated to doubt the beneficial power of religion. The separation of church and state is the result of the European experience of so-called religious wars. Outlining the provincial causes and ravaging effects of Europe's Thirty Years' War, this program illustrates the ability of religious fervor to inflame nationalism and drive the quest for power. With background on Martin Luther's split with the Catholic Church and the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Dr. Helmut Neuhaus of Friedrich Alexander University offers detailed analysis of the Hapsburg-Bohemian conflict, the shifting alliances of Catholics and Protestants, and the mercenary campaigns of Wallenstein—leading to a comparison with large-scale natural disaster. The program clearly identifies the three-decade inferno as an inspiration for later divisions of church and state.

S1E2The Holy Wars: War and Religion • 2004 • History

In the Name of Christ

The times were turbulent around 1100 AD, when West-Roman Christianity was spreading out in all directions. The Crusades were part of it - perhaps the most important, certainly the best known. The advance of the Islamic Selchuks could not be stopped, especially their attacks on the travel routes of the pilgrims, who were on their way to the holy Christian sites. When news of raids mounted, the Patriarch of the Eastern Roman Church Alexios I asked Rome for help. Even then, Christianity was divided - not into Catholics and Protestants, but into the Eastern Roman (Orthodox) and Western Roman Churches. The Crusades took place in the middle of tension between these different interest groups. The expansion of the West Romans cut a swath through the Islamic territories, which had by then reached the climax of their development. The Byzantine realm increasingly lost its importance. It was not a battle of cultures, not a struggle against Islam, but a chaotic confrontation of warlords and princes. The main goal of the crusades – the conquest of Jerusalem – was soon forgotten, and the first conquest ended with bloodbaths among the civilian population that are still notorious today. The following crusades were equally infamous and far from an honor to Christianity. This program examines the forces behind European determination to capture Palestine, linking the belligerence of medieval Crusaders with their piousness. Drs. Klaus Herbers of Friedrich Alexander University and Patrick Franke of Martin Luther University draw surprising parallels between East and West, focusing on martyrdom as a vital component of the Crusader's motivation, interreligious notions of knightly behavior, and cases of negotiation and cultural exchange despite numerous atrocities and military disasters. Without neglecting the harsh realities of the Crusades, In the Name of Christ presents a fresh perspective on the medieval clash of Christian and Islamic powers.

S1E1The Holy Wars: War and Religion • 2004 • History

Pompeii: The Last Day

Pompeii: The Last Day is a dramatized documentary that tells of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, covering the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in ash and pumice, killing everyone trapped between the volcano and the sea. On 24 August AD79, the magnificent Roman cities of Pompeii and nearby Herculaneum came to a devastating end. In just 18 hours, the entire city of Pompeii and all its inhabitants were buried in volcanic ash. Pompeii - The Last Day tells the heart rending story of the last hours of both Pompeii and Herculaneum.Their story is told first-hand by those who witnessed the disaster, including a local politician and his family, a fuller, his wife, and two gladiators. Historical characters include Pliny the Elder and his nephew Pliny the Younger. Pompeii: The Last Day draws heavily on the eyewitness account of Pliny the Younger, as well as historical research and recent discoveries in volcanology. This BAFTA nominated and Emmy Award winning drama is the ultimate disaster movie. It's Man versus Volcano - how the greatest civilisation in the world was brought to its knees by a deadly threat it knew nothing about. It s a true story and its significance today is that it could all happen again, much sooner than most people realise. One of history's greatest stories, the destruction of the city of Pompeii was a natural disaster on an epic scale that has fascinated a succession of cultures around the world for centuries. The twin cities lay undisturbed under metres of volcanic debris for more than 1500 years, during which time all memory of them faded. The seal of wet ashes preserved public structures temples, theatres, baths, shops and private dwellings. The remains of some of the victims, including gladiators, soldiers, slaves and their masters, and entire families, were found in the ruins. Archaeological excavations only began in 1748 and have been continued since then. A massive area has now been excavated, however, even today more than a quarter of Pompeii still awaits excavation. The Last Day is based on archaeological evidence and the writings of Pliny the Younger. The documentary, which portrays the different phases of the eruption, was directed by Peter Nicholson and written by Edward Canfor-Dumas. Extensive CGI was used to recreate the effects of the eruption. One of the greatest natural disasters - and most fateful days - comes to vivid life in this critically acclaimed dramatization. Starring Jim Carter (Downton Abbey), and Tim Pigott-Smith OBE (King Charles III 2017, Victoria and Abdul 2017, Alice in Wonderland).

2003 • History

Attila the Hun

Exploring the myth of the crude savage Attila. Part genius, part psychopath, Attila is unlike the other Huns. A calculating, ruthless gambler, his one goal is conquest - and he's set his sights on Roman cities to test out his brilliant new siege tactics. The Roman Empire is about to fall. Tribes hungry for booty are invading from Asia, the Huns being the fiercest of them. Only two things unite them: The greed for Roman gold and their leader, Attila. He is the greatest warrior the Huns have ever seen, as brutal as he is brilliant. Through skilful tactics and unscrupulous lust for power, he briefly creates an empire that stretches from the steppes of Central Asia to the Danube.

S1E6Warriors: Great Men of History • 2007 • History

Richard the Lionheart

Drama-documentary about Richard the Lionheart. Was he the heroic warrior of Robin Hood? Or was he just a greedy thug who wanted to loot the Holy Land? Revisionist history suggests that Richard was neither- an extremist Christian, he struggled to lead a fractious international coalition against an impenetrable Muslim stronghold. Saladin used scorched earth tactics which spread dissension through the Crusaders' ranks. Gradually, Richard's coalition fell apart and he returned a failure. In 1191, the English King Richard the Lionheart is just one of several leaders of the Third Crusade to retake Jerusalem. His adversary, the aging Egyptian statesman and empire founder Salah-ad Din, had conquered the pilgrimage city a few years earlier. Before the decisive battle of Arsuf, all signs actually point to a dramatic defeat for the crusaders. But Richard keeps his troops together - it will be the greatest triumph of the warrior king.

S1E5Warriors: Great Men of History • 2007 • History

Cortes

Drama documentary about Hernan Cortes, Spanish conquistador who overthrew the Aztec empire and won Mexico for the crown of Spain. In, 1519 the Spanish adventurer Hernan Cortes is supposed to have taken on the mighty Aztec empire with a handful of soldiers and 16 horses. The myth claims that the Aztec emperor, Montezuma, surrendered his empire beause he believed Cortes to be a God. But a more accurate account suggests that the Conquistadors started a civil war in Central America, uniting an army of tribesmen who hated Aztec rule. Montezuma is revealed to be a sophisticated ruler. This is the story of a man who, almost in one fell swoop, subdued an entire civilization: the Aztec Empire. It is one of the highlights and at the same time one of the darkest chapters in human history. In August 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes lands on the east coast of unexplored Central America. Driven by the greed for fabulous riches, Cortes wants to conquer the Aztec kingdom.

S1E4Warriors: Great Men of History • 2007 • History

Spartacus

Dramatised documentary revealing Spartacus as he really was - a brilliant leader of a guerrilla band, but a flawed and indecisive human being. Starring Anthony Flanagan as Spartacus and Robert Glenister as his nemesis, Marcus Licininus Crassus. 73 BC BC Spartacus is captured and ends up on the slave market in Rome. He is sold to a gladiator school in Capua - his combat skills quickly show. In his first official battle, Spartacus is forced to kill his opponent at the request of the people and their master. From then on he plans his escape - in the same year he escapes with 70 other slaves. The small uprising quickly turns into a bitter fight for the freedom of thousands.

S1E3Warriors: Great Men of History • 2007 • History

Shogun

Drama-documentary about the Samurai general Tokugawa Ieyasu, a towering figure of Japanese history. He overthrew the governing dynasty of Japan and became the Shogun - the supreme military leader - of Japan. Ieyasu's rise to power climaxes in the biggest Samurai battle in history, the Battle of Sekigahara with 160,000 soldiers fighting for the future of Japan. On the way, there is a story of love for a reckless son, a politician in drag, a night time Ninja attack, suicide and betrayal. Brutal civil wars characterize Japan in the 16th century, it is the time of the samurai. The country is torn apart, powerful clans fight for supremacy. The greatest samurai general of all time is Tokugawa Ieyasu, better known as 'The Shogun'. In the greatest battle in samurai history, he risked everything in history's most daring military decision. His achievements resemble those of Caesar and Napoleon.

S1E2Warriors: Great Men of History • 2007 • History

Napoleon

Drama-documentary telling how Napoleon Bonaparte rose from being a penniless French soldier to create an empire, beginning at the siege of Toulon in 1793 where France's leaders first recognised his tactical genius, immense bravery and boundless ambition as he defeated the English. France, late 18th century: In the turmoil of the French Revolution, a Corsican refugee, Napoleon Bonaparte, comes to France. He embarks on a military career and increasingly gains the trust of older commanders. With the successful conquest of Toulon in December 1793, Napoleon laid the foundation for his career, which would eventually make him an important European general. Shot in authentic locations using a script based on documents from the time, including Napoleon's own letters, the film has been written with the advice of modern historians.

S1E1Warriors: Great Men of History • 2007 • History

Military Masterminds

Chapter 1: Rapid Dominance From Julius Caesar to Napoleon Bonaparte, ancient generals took advantage of a military tactic still used in modern warfare, employing overwhelming power to paralyse the enemy. A tactic known as Rapid Dominance. This episode explores the lives and feats of four men who used it to achieve victory: Moshe Dayan, Erwin Rommel, Colin Powell and Isoroku Yamomoto. Chapter 2: Combat Power Combined arms operations use the force of different military corps to increase the combat power deployed against an enemy. Combining these forces needs incredible planning, decisiveness and authority. This episode explores the lives and feats of four military leaders who used the tactic to achieve victory: Bernard Montgomery, William Westmoreland, Georgy Zhukov and Norman Schwarzkopf. Chapter 3: Deception Disinformation, decoys, and traps. Strategy and tactics can be creative. But behind every deception and masquerade are the Military Masterminds creating, planning and executing each strategy to defeat an enemy. This episode explores how leaders Winston Churchill, Nikita Khrushchev, George Patton and Muhammad Anwar Sadat, used the tactic to achieve victory. Chapter 4: Guerrilla Warfare To surprise the enemy, attacking and disappearing without a trace. To harass, sabotage, ambush. Throughout the 20th Century the majority of guerrilla warfare centred around the confrontation between right and left ideologies. This episode looks at how Mao Zedong, Fidel Castro, Josip Broz Tito and V? Nguy?n Gi?p used Guerrilla Warfare to overcome a militarily superior enemy.

2022 • History

Europe's Royals Revealed

As King Charles III is crowned, Katty Kay sets out to discover what he could learn from Europe's royal families. They face many of the same challenges as Charles: how to modernise, how to steer clear of politics and how to heal very public family rifts. So how do they handle them – and what's the point of a monarchy in a 21st century democracy? Travelling from Denmark to Albania, she meets Europe's modern royals.

2023 • History

WW2 From the German Perspective

This documentary offers a unique perspective on World War II by examining the conflict from the viewpoint of the German military.

The Armchair Historian • 2023 • History

Part 2

A great short history of the Japanese Empire, from the early mediaeval strife of the time of the code of the Samurai which carried through to to the opening of Japan to Western trade. There's good detail on how Japan began to rely on its military caste and its deification of its Emperor. The search for Empire is its very undoing as the military seize political power and begins to rival the colossus of the USA for domination of Asia, a disastrous policies that ends beneath the foreboding mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

S1E2The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire • 2011 • History

Part 1

A great short history of the Japanese Empire, from the early mediaeval strife of the time of the code of the Samurai which carried through to to the opening of Japan to Western trade. There's good detail on how Japan began to rely on its military caste and its deification of its Emperor. The search for Empire is its very undoing as the military seize political power and begins to rival the colossus of the USA for domination of Asia, a disastrous policies that ends beneath the foreboding mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

S1E1The Rise and Fall of the Japanese Empire • 2011 • History

Ataturk: The Father of Modern Turkey

This in-depth documentary examines the life of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who founded the Republic of Turkey from the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. One of the most fascinating personalities of his time: Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. November 10 2018 marks the 80th anniversary of his death. His revolution, which quickly and radically transformed the declining Ottoman Empire into today's Turkey and profoundly changed culture and society, is rooted in European thinking. But Ataturk's unconditional determination also shows dictatorial traits. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - Monuments to the father of modern Turkey can be found in every city, the anniversary of his death is commemorated every year, derogatory words about him are punishable by law. Rarely has a politician changed a society so radically in such a short time as Ataturk did in Turkey, which was born out of the declining Ottoman Empire. He acted with unconditional determination when it came to catapulting a deeply backward country into modernity. His reforms still have an impact today. Ataturk's revolution is rooted in European thinking, in the French Enlightenment, in the process of secularization in western states. In many ways it is a turning to the West. It is also based on the idea of equality between men and women - unique in the Islamic world at the time. With his cultural revolution, however, he also overwhelms many traditionally oriented Turks. It still has an effect today. How did a young Ottoman officer become the hero of Gallipoli in World War I? How did this hero become the charismatic founder of today's Turkey through the war of independence? How does he push his reforms through in just fifteen years: abolition of polygamy, introduction of Swiss civil law, dress reform, hat reform, language and writing reform? The docu-drama tells the story of Mustafa Kemal Pasha - from his birth in multicultural Salonika to his death on November 10, 1938. Along with interviews with historians, a rich trove of archival footage and photographs enhance the documentary. These are further illuminated by reenactments depicting the intellectual evolution of Ataturk the man, as well as his revolution and political philosophy. Inner monologues drawn from the wide range of the nation's founder's writings and diaries, notes and letters lend authenticity and credibility to the film.

2018 • History

Cunk on Earth

Landmark documentary-maker Philomena Cunk traces the history of Britain and the world, from the Big Bang to Brexit. Chapter 1: In the Beginnings Philomena Cunk travels the world, heading down caves and up mountains in her search for mankind's first moments. With the help of a variety of experts, she explains how the earliest societies were formed: from the easier ones to spell, like Rome and Greece, to the ones that are harder to spell, like Egypt and Mesopotamia. Chapter 2: Faith/Off Philomena Cunk tells the story of the birth of two of the world's great religions and learns what came next: the fall of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, the Crusades and Genghis Khan. So a bit of a rough patch for mankind, if we're honest. Along the way, Philomena asks experts hard-hitting questions about humanity's progress and stands on or near impressive old ruins and inside museums, before the shot cuts away to some archive footage of the bits that don't exist anymore or were too expensive to film at. Chapter 3: The Renaissance Will Not Be Televised Philomena Cunk visits the allegedly beautiful city of Florence to explore the Renaissance and interrogates experts and historians about the revolutions that went on to shape the modern world, including the American War of Independence and, to a lesser extent, the French Revolution. Chapter 4: Rise of the Machines Cunk continues her ambitious march across the face of mankind into an age of industry and science. With the help of historians, she explains the scientific breakthroughs of Marie Curie and Albert Einstein. She demonstrates the inventions that changed the world and covers how the American Civil War, World War I and World War II taught humanity how to use its new grasp of technology to shoot, blow up and irradiate itself in huge numbers. Chapter 5: War(s) of the World(s)? Philomena Cunk takes us from 1945 to the present day. She travels the world and meets top experts to examine the Cold War, the space race, globalisation and social media. The world's recent history is one of polarisation and division, as humanity divided itself down the middle – communism v capitalism, Apple v Microsoft, Beatles v Stones. Is humanity doomed to repeat the mistakes of history? Cunk does her best to find out.

2022 • History

The Worlds Biggest Murder Trial: Nuremberg

On the 19 November 1945, the International Military Tribunal was opened in the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany. The city, which had seen the rise of the Nazi Party was, in the eyes of the allies, the perfect location to host its demise. The first of the Nuremberg trials was to be the biggest murder trial in human history, with 21 Nazi leaders appearing before the court charged with the deaths of millions of innocent people during the Holocaust of WWII. These were no ordinary criminals; they represented the very foundation of Nazi ideology that had instigated the most ferocious genocide the world had ever seen. With judges and prosecutors from the US, the UK, the USSR and France, the trials were the allies' collective condemnation of Nazi Germany and the atrocities committed in pursuit of their ideology. The decisions made at Nuremberg had implications not only for the accused, but for the very foundation of modern international criminal law. Now, 75 years on, audiences are provided with an immersive look at the event that has become synonymous with the birth of contemporary human rights in the 2020 documentary, The World’s Biggest Murder Trial: Nuremberg. This feature-length documentary provides a detailed account of the events and implications of the trials, featuring more than 1000 archive clips, including recently digitised film footage from the courtroom itself. Whilst 90 minutes seems incredibly brief considering the enormity of the trials, the documentary's constant and unwavering focus on the courtroom, and the horrors it uncovered, suggest any longer might be too harrowing to bear. It is a decision that serves to amplify the inhumanity of the accusations, the apparent indifference of the accused, and the desperate desire for justice in the aftermath of such a dehumanising period of history. The sheer enormity of the task that faced the judges and prosecutors is evident from the moment each of the accused ascends from deep beneath the palace and enters the dock. Convicting a single alleged murderer is one thing, but a murder trial with an estimated 12 million victims is a an almost incomprehensible undertaking, even in a modern context. The cinematic quality of the footage captures every moment in extraordinary detail, from the disturbing cold-bloodedness of the Third Reich leaders as they openly snigger at translation errors throughout the trial, to the accounts of survivors, who witnessed the terror of their actions first hand. With the benefit of hindsight, their crimes seem indisputable; however the documentary proves that there is no conviction without proof, and the trials themselves were not without controversy. The convictions were based on concepts barely understood, laws not yet formalised, and many believed the process served as a political judgement rather than a transformative moment in international law. Despite the criticisms surrounding them, there is no denying that the greatest legacy of the trials is the role they played in reiterating the need for an international body focused on the protection of the human person. Though the majority of Nazis never received a punishment that reflected the extent of their crime, Nuremberg will forever be remembered as the moment that much of the world heard of the atrocities of the Holocaust for the first time.

2020 • History

Destiny

Vlad and Mehmed face off. Maria and Gülbahar foil the Wallachian plot. Ottoman troops march into an abandoned Târgoviste and face a gruesome sight.

S2E6Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2022 • History

Night Attack

Mehmed prepares to strike a fatal blow to Vlad's army. A spy is found in Mehmed's camp. Vlad launches a nighttime attack, but a surprise awaits.

S2E5Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2022 • History

Brothers No More

As the war drags on and resources dwindle, Vlad wages biological warfare on Mehmed's army. Radu closes in on Vlad's castle to take Anastasia hostage.

S2E4Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2022 • History

Land Of Dracula

Mehmed's troops advance into Wallachia, and Vlad employs guerrilla tactics to weaken his rival. A threat lurks in the imperial palace.

S2E3Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2022 • History

Troubled Waters

Mehmed sends Maria to coax Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus into an alliance. An epic battle along the Danube River looms, and Vlad has the upper hand.

S2E2Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2022 • History

House Of War

Mehmed the Conquerer must defend his empire and protect his plans for western expansion against a new challenger...Vlad the Impaler of Wallachia.

S2E1Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2022 • History

The Real Inglorious Bastards

This is the incredible true story behind Quentin Tarantino's film Inglourious Basterds; a group of Jewish-American refugees of Nazi Germany who boldly went behind enemy lines for vengeance. As a teenager, Hans Wijnberg is sent to America from Holland to escape Nazi aggression; Fred Mayer and his family flee Germany at the onset of war. Both enlist in the U.S. army and are recruited by the OSS. But for their daring mission 'Operation Greenup', investigating the Nazi stronghold of Tyrol in the Austrian alps, they need an inside man – POW and Tyrol native Franz Weber, a former officer and conscientious deserter from the Austrian Wehrmacht… "The truth is way stranger than fiction," muses one interviewee in this unbelievable true account of an incredible war time saga. As the Second World War was coming to a close, the US Office of Strategic Services trained and parachuted two Jewish refugees and a German deserter deep into Nazi occupied Austria. The film reveals how their efforts disrupted a vital supply route between Germany and the Italian front to bring about the surrender of Innsbruck to Allied Forces. Their unbelievable adventure has a finale that beats any Hollywood movie hands down — but a story so powerful that it became the basis for Quentin Tarantino's mega hit. Through vivid first-person accounts from the extraordinary OSS veterans, gripping dramatic reconstructions, CGI and archive, the intrepid trio's hair-raising 'Operation Greenup' is brought to life, revealing one of the most successful and daring covert operations of World War Two. Hear directly from two of the men on the missions, Hans Wijnberg and Fred Mayer as they detail their amazing exploits. Both Fred and Hans were interviewed extensively, however Hans died from heart problems the day after the interviews with him were recorded. Written and Directed by Min Sook Lee ; Produced by 2271120 Ontario Inc. for Storyline Entertainment with Shaw Media, CMF Canada Media Fund, Rogers Cable Network Fund, History Television and TVF International

2012 • History

Raiders of the Lost Past: Tutankhamun's Secrets

On the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's treasure-packed tomb, Dr Janina Ramirez turns detective and heads to Egypt to uncover the real story of how a Briton called Howard Carter unearthed a pharaoh's tomb when everyone else believed there were no more great Egyptian finds to be made. She discovers that some of Tutankhamun's treasures are missing and reveals the name of the person responsible. She delves into the origins of the supposed pharaoh's curse, finds the surprising truth about the young king's brutal injuries, and digs out fresh evidence that Tutankhamun wasn't the delicate, powerless boy king of legend but was instead a powerful statesman.

2022 • History

Into the Valley of the Kings

Dan Snow journeys through Egypt's Valley of the Kings, and uncovers the stories of European explorers going in search of treasures in this long-lost desert chasm. He discovers the work of maverick engineer Giovanni Belzoni, who levered out statues of pharaohs, the rivalries that erupted between teams of explorers across Europe in search of long-buried treasures, and tells the story of the most famous discovery in the valley - Howard Carter's unearthing of Tutankhamun's Tomb.

2022 • History

Spain, the First Globalization

A new reading of the historical period that began with the reign of the Catholic Monarchs (1479-1516) and the discovery of America (1492), as well as an analysis of its undeniable influence on the subsequent evolution of the history of Spain and the world.

2021 • History

Last Battles

France is in chaos. The French people take to the roads, trying to escape. The government signs an armistice as Germans take over half the country. May 1940. The French and the English retreat desperately. In Dunkirk, there are more than 300,000 troops waiting to be transhipped in hundreds of ships, which perform a heroic back and forth trips to England. Thousands of men perish at the sea, struck down by German bombs. Celebrated as heroes throughout Britain, the soldiers of Dunkirk were saved by the sacrifice of French soldiers. To take advantage of the booty, Mussolini's Italy attacked in turn in the Alps. Paris is emptying of millions of refugees who experience a desperate exodus on the roads, and the government surrender. The entry of two major figures does not change anything: on June 17 Petain was appointed head of state and calls for an end to the fight, when de Gaulle urges, on June 18, to resist. But the armistice was signed, in a ceremony desired by Hitler to reverse the humiliation of the Germans in 1918. Half occupied by the Germans, the other subject to the Vichy regime, France offered its coasts and airfields to the Germans who want to invade England. Will she be able to survive this Apocalypse better than France?

S1E2Apocalypse: Hitler Takes on the West • 2020 • History

The Trap

1940. Nine months after the outbreak of World War II, Hitler attacks in the West, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Great Britain. The "phoney war" ends, the real war begins, in an unleashing of violence never seen before. The devastating blitzkrieg exceeds all expectations in intensity and its soldiers push back all human limits by consuming Pervitine, a synthetic drug that prevents them from sleeping. After a four-year-long First World War, Hitler's feat was to defeat Belgium and the Netherlands in 18 days and France in barely 45 days... The Nazi apocalypse swept through Sedan, on the Somme and to the English Channel, the last rampart of Great Britain. At Dunkirk, which had become a bottleneck, the British fled en masse under enemy fire. Can Churchill save them?

S1E1Apocalypse: Hitler Takes on the West • 2020 • History

Bush & Obama - Age of Terror

The meaning of events up to today. Obama and the destiny of the American Empire.

S1E10Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

Bush & Clinton: Squandered Peace-New World Order

George W. Bush's doctrine of endless war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the continued cannibalization of the U.S. economy. Squandered chances given by the end of the Cold War. A new USA, the National Security Fortress.

S1E9Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

Reagan Gorbachev & Third World-Rise of the Right

Carter's dreams of change give way to Ronald Reagan. Gorbachev redeems Reagan and fresh opportunities for peace arise. The debate over Reagan's legacy.

S1E8Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

Johnson, Nixon & Vietnam: Reversal of Fortune

Cataclysm in Vietnam as the war reaches a turning point - there's no going back. The betrayal by Richard Nixon.

S1E7Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

JFK: To the Brink

JFK and the Bay of Pigs; on the brink of total war during Cuban Missile Crisis; early Vietnam; JFK's attempts at peace with Khrushchev; JFK assassinated.

S1E6Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

The '50s: Eisenhower, the Bomb & the Third World

Eisenhower and John Foster Dulles replace Truman. Stalin dies but relations with the Soviet Union turn colder. The H-bomb and the doctrine of nuclear annihilation are explored, as are the Korean War and U.S. rearmament. McCarthyism grows and so does the ruthlessness of U.S. policy towards a Third World. Eisenhower emerges as a game changer.

S1E5Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

The Cold War: 1945-1950

The equation changes: specific month-by-month causes of the Cold War emerge and it is not entirely clear who started it. Highlights include Churchill's Iron Curtain speech, the civil war in Greece and the Red Scare that prompts the rise of Joseph McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee and the FBI

S1E4Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

The Bomb

The strategies behind the U.S. atomic bombings of Japan are explored as well as the new mythology that emerged from the war. The bombing haunted the Soviets and mistrust towards the Allies grew quickly. The consequences of beginning a process that could end life on the planet are examined.

S1E3Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

Roosevelt, Truman, & Wallace

Highlights from the historical upset of Harry Truman replacing Henry Wallace as Roosevelt's Vice President during his fourth term - this dramatic shift in leadership propelled the US towards empire building. Exploration of the relationship between the US and the Soviet Union and the beginnings of the Cold War. The relationships between Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill are an integral part of post-war Europe's division at the Yalta conference..

S1E2Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

World War II

The first chapter explores the birth of the American Empire by focusing on Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin. Through examination of key decisions during World War II, discover unsung heroes such as American Henry Wallace and explore the demonization of the Soviets.

S1E1Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States • 2013 • History

Dunkirk: Mission Impossible

(contains all 3 parts)Former Royal Marine JJ Chalmers uses his own devastating experiences of war to give his perspective on the evacuation of Allied soldiers in May and June 1940.

2022 • History

Part 3: Peak and Death: The Gulag's peak and decline (1945-1957)

At the end of the 1950s, populations of the newly occupied territories of the East and intellectuals remained two categories particularly suspected of anti-Sovietism. Subjected to exhausting tasks like men, women, including many war widows condemned to heavy sentences for petty food pilfering, now represent a quarter of the zeks. Nearly 2 million detainees, many of them on the very edge of survival, are still crammed into the camps. Little by little, these appalling living conditions cause the economic profitability of the Gulag to drop. On March 5, 1953, after Stalin's death, a million releases were announced. In 1956, Khrushchev, exonerating himself from his responsibility, however undeniable, denounced the crimes of Stalinism, provoking an immense shock wave in the world.

S1E3Gulag: The Story • 2019 • History

Part 2: Propagation: The Gulag in the turmoil of the "Great Terror" and war (1934-1945)

Glorified at the XVIIth Congress of the Communist Party, in 1934, Stalin launched major projects that would go down in history. The NKVD, which succeeded the GPU, multiplies the camps. The number of deportees passed the one million mark in 1935. A spectacular showcase for the great terror unleashed in 1937, the Moscow trials concealed the extent of the repression that blindly fell on all of Soviet society and anonymous people. In August 1939, after the signing of the German-Soviet pact, hundreds of thousands of Poles, Balts, Western Ukrainians and Moldavians joined some 2 million Soviet deportees in the Gulag camps. Conditions of detention deteriorated appallingly with the invasion of the USSR by the Wehrmacht in June 1941; and in 1945, despite the victory over Nazi Germany, the number of oppressed increased by tens of thousands of men, women and even children who often had no other fault than to have survived the Nazi occupation...

S1E2Gulag: The Story • 2019 • History

Part 1: Origins: From experimentation to setting up the forced labour system (1917-1933)

In 1918, only a few months after the October Revolution, the first concentration camps appeared. With the aim of getting rid of political adversaries and re-educating the so-called "asocial" elements through work, the new Bolshevik regime conducted its first large-scale experiment on the Solovki archipelago, very close to the Arctic Circle. Thousands of political and common law detainees, men and women, were deported there and subjected to forced labor. With the arrival of Stalin in power, slavery in these camps became a major economic resource. However, the death of thousands of zeks ("prisoners") will not worry the regime, which sees its population as an inexhaustible source of labor...

S1E1Gulag: The Story • 2019 • History

Orient Express a Train Writes History

Putting the Orient Express – also called „the train of trains“ – on its tracks called for considerable stamina. Several times, the ambitious project of Georges Nagelmackers was on the brink of failure as the Belgian entrepreneur was facing the bankruptcy of his sleeping car company.

S1E10History By The Numbers • 2021 • History

Skyscrapers

The history of skyscrapers is the history of American cities, technological ingenuity, and a global boom in urbanization. From West to East, and 5 stories up to 1km high, there’s nowhere to go but up.

S1E9History By The Numbers • 2021 • History

Air Travel

Since the earliest pioneers million commercial flights each year, discover how innovation, coach class, and sex have made our flying fantasies come true.of flight,we've dreamed of conquering the skies. From the first brave passenger flying across Tampa Bay in 1915 in a rickety rust bucket to 40

S1E8History By The Numbers • 2021 • History

The Amazon

The Amazon rainforest is one of the enduring mysteries of the natural world - and no wonder, it is as big as the whole continental US! It’s home to over 2 million Indigenous peoples, and a massive 10…

S1E7History By The Numbers • 2021 • History

Race to Berlin

It's June 1944. the Soviet Red Army and the Western Allies are in a race to the finish line. The prize is Hitler's Berlin, and whoever is first to cover 700 miles will not only win the war but will get to decide

S1E6History By The Numbers • 2021 • History

King Tut

When the lost tomb of King Tut is opened in 1922, it's not only the famous Curse that is unleashed. Fashion, movies and architecture all come under the pharaoh's spell as the world goes mad for Tut-mania.

S1E5History By The Numbers • 2021 • History

Heists

Get the inside track on five of the greatest heists in history. These are not petty robberies, but high-stakes operations meticulously planned and audaciously executed, with a cast of colorful characters from the mastermind to the snitch. Find out who gets away with the loot, and who doesn't.

S1E4History By The Numbers • 2021 • History

The Roaring 20s

Ever wonder what happens after a global pandemic? Sometimes the secrets of the future can be found in the past. In the wake of the Spanish Flu, the 1920s become the decade of flappers, jazz, and the speakeasy, and for many a time of unprecedented opportunity.

S1E3History By The Numbers • 2021 • History

The Soviet Story

The Soviet Story offers an alternative history of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale.

2008 • History

he Wall (1956-1962)

February 24, 1956. During the Soviet Communist Party's twentieth Congress, Khrushchev stuns everyone by denouncing Stalin's crimes. Without denying the ideology, the USSR's new leader seeks to distance himself from his predecessor and open up to the outside world. "Mister K" is full of surprises. He drinks Pepsi with Nixon and insists on spending a day at Disneyland when he visits America... But behind this clown-like character, the "executioner of the Ukraine" hasn't gone soft. In 1956, he didn't hesitate to crush the uprising in Budapest in bloodshed. Now, he is preparing a co-existence with newly elected President Kennedy that will not be all peaceful: construction of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban missile crisis, and not forgetting the aid to Ho Chi Minh in the preparation of his new war for reunification... The Vietnam War is beginning. Kennedy tries to retaliate: in Vietnam, he sends military advisers to train the army of the south. And in Berlin, on June 26, 1963, he gave the famous speech of hope, declaring in front of an excited crowd: "Ich bin ein Berliner".

S1E5Apocalypse: War of Worlds 1945-1991 • 2019 • History

The Conquest (1953-1955)

March 1953. Stalin is dead. Following many long hours of agony in his dacha, the Little Father of Peoples is now no more than an embalmed corpse. His potential successors eagerly flock to pay their respects. In East Berlin, a wave of hope swept through the German workers who rise up against the Party. This hope is swiftly crushed by Soviet tanks... In Asia, the hot conflicts are coming to an end. After the Panmunjom truce, the US ingloriously leaves Korea. The few remaining troops impatiently await a visit from Marilyn Monroe. In the meantime, in Indochina, another army prepares for a far less exciting event. The French hope to stop the Vietminh in Dien Bien Phu, a village surrounded by mountains 300 km from Hanoi... But the French generals do not suspect that at the same time, General Giap of Vietminh and his Chinese advisers, are developing a plan battle that will take the form of a trap: let the French forces settle in the basin of Dien Bien Phu, then surround and destroy them. The French army soon evacuated the country, terribly bruised and humiliated, but Ho Chi Minh only partially triumphed: during the Geneva negotiations, his Chinese and Soviet comrades disappointed his expectations, for fear of an escalation of the conflict. Ho Chi Minh got North Vietnam, but the South is still in Western hands. What will Ho Chi Minh do?

S1E4Apocalypse: War of Worlds 1945-1991 • 2019 • History

The World Trembles (1950-1952)

September 1950. On the banks at Incheon, 30 miles from Seoul, General MacArthur is victorious. The landing he planned, to rescue his men stuck in Pusan, was a success. But the war isn't over. In the North, the Americans will have to face an unexpected enemy. On the other side of the frozen Yalu river, Mao, covert as always, has stationed 300,000 of his men. On Thanksgiving Day, the Chinese and North Koreans attack the US army, whose only choice is to fall back. Faced with his army's defeat and Chinese intervention, Truman considers the atomic bomb... Further south, in Indochina, the French are also suffering setbacks. An ambush set by the Vietminh on the road Route Coloniale 4 annihilates them. To relieve the situation, the French government sent as a last resort one of its most famous generals: Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. French win a victory in Vinh Yen , but suffer heavy losses too. The parallel between Korea and Indochina is striking: the same hidden operators, frightened civilians, bomb blasted regions, columns of emaciated prisoners... For De Lattre, it is indeed one and the same war: the war for freedom, against communism. And the real enemy is Stalin, who sends North Koreans weapons and MIG-15 planes, and struts in front of his people with a super bomber capable of carrying his brand new atomic bomb. Will Stalin conquer the world?

S1E3Apocalypse: War of Worlds 1945-1991 • 2019 • History

The Escalation of Fear (1947-1950)

1947. Fearing that a damaged Europe might fall prey to Communism, President Truman launches the Marshall Plan, a major loan package offered to European nations to assist in their reconstruction. It is also a way to help the French in Indochina, where Ho Chi Minh has established a proper government, working from its "bamboo ministries". His army and his influence grow with each passing day. At the Kremlin, Stalin celebrates his 70th birthday. The grandiose celebrations organized for him around the world are a testimony to his power. In Berlin, he has imposed a blockade, which is overcome only thanks to the bravery of American pilots and their airlift. But Stalin prefers to focus on the success of his brand new atomic bomb. And the red wave continues to progress... In China, after a long civil war, Mao Zedong installs a totalitarian regime which will kill more than 50 million people in thirty years. In Korea, communist troops from the north have crossed the 38th parallel and are heading south, facing a South Korean army lacking men and supplies. Truman decides to intervene: commanded by General McArthur, the UN troops are sent to the front. A real debacle awaits them. Entrenched in the far south of Korea, in Pusan, Americans are surrounded by the enemy, will they be able to hold out

S1E2Apocalypse: War of Worlds 1945-1991 • 2019 • History

The Big Rift (1945-1946)

Summer 1945. Leaving the atrocities of World War II behind, the Allied nations wholeheartedly celebrate victory and enjoy a return to world peace. But, behind the scenes of the post-war era, a more drawn-out, insidious confrontation is in the making between those who must build the world of tomorrow. In the West, the Americans and the British are concerned about Stalin's growing power in the East. He no longer hides his expansionist designs. Communist ideology continues to spread, especially in Indochina, where one of the twentieth century's longest conflicts is in the works. In this former French colony, Ho Chi Minh will emerge as the great figure of the Vietnamese struggle for independence. This convinced Communist clandestinely formed a small army which was going to fight the French troops sent to reconquer the territory in 1946. But behind this seemingly isolated conflict lie other issues, through which the Western world and the Communist bloc will soon clash. Especially since the Americans experimented in the summer of 1945 with a new extremely effective and terribly destructive weapon: the atomic bomb. It is the cold war, the war of the worlds, that threatens mankind with a new apocalypse.

S1E1Apocalypse: War of Worlds 1945-1991 • 2019 • History

Part 2

The Soviet submarine K-129 disappears in 1968 and the U.S. Navy finds it sunk at the bottom of the Pacific. The CIA is launching an operation called Project Azorian to lift a sunken submarine out of the sea but hide the events from the world. In 1975, when information about the operation was leaked and reported, the Soviet Union was furious.

Part 2The Real Hunt for Red October • 2020 • History

Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

In 1984, Tom Clancy, who works as an insurance salesman, publishes a book, The Hunt for Red October, which contains some of the Cold War's best-kept secrets. Where does the information come from? The book is followed by a hit film, the story of which appears to be strongly linked to one of the largest operations in CIA history.

Part 1The Real Hunt for Red October • 2020 • History

The Fight to the End

The Fight to The End tells the story of the terrible battles of 1917 and 1918 and how Britain and her Allies turned a looming defeat into victory.

S1E3The First World War: The Peoples Story Series • 2021 • History

The Battle of the Somme

The Battle of the Somme tells the story of one of the most iconic and tragic battles in history through its last survivors and through families at home. When the troops went over the top in June 1916 they imagined this was the attack that would end the war.

S1E2The First World War: The Peoples Story Series • 2021 • History

For King and Country

King and Country tells the story of the first years of war in 1914 and 1915, culminating in the Battle of Loos when the Pals Battalions who had enthusiastically volunteered to serve had their first taste of the horror of mass industrialized warfare.

S1E1The First World War: The Peoples Story Series • 2021 • History

The Lessons of Nuremberg

In 1945, Stuart and Budd Schulberg were sent to Europe to gather film evidence of Nazi crimes. The two brothers were part of a special OSS unit. The material they gathered was eventually put to use prosecuting top Nazi officials at Nuremberg.

2021 • History

Hiroshima: 75 Years Later

Marking the anniversary of the first detonation of a nuclear weapon in wartime and the swift end it brought to World War II, this special features never-before-seen archival footage, long-suppressed colour film from the immediate aftermath of the bomb, and overlooked audio testimony from core protagonists and victims to provide a a unique and highly personal understanding of the most devastating experiment in human history. HIROSHIMA: 75 YEARS LATER aims to infuse humanity into one of the planet's darkest moments, allowing the figures who designed, built and detonated the bomb, as well as those who were caught in its wake, to narrate their own journeys through an astonishing story of scientific endeavor, unprecedented ambition and unyielding horror. Told entirely from the first-person perspective of leaders, physicists, soldiers and survivors, the documentary presents the moral, scientific and military conundrums of the atomic bomb as felt by those closest to it.

2020 • History

The Codebreaker

Based on the book The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies, The Codebreaker reveals the fascinating story of Elizebeth Smith Friedman, the groundbreaking cryptanalyst whose painstaking work to decode thousands of messages for the U.S. government would send infamous gangsters to prison in the 1930s and bring down a massive, near-invisible Nazi spy ring in WWII. Her remarkable contributions would come to light decades after her death, when secret government files were unsealed. But together with her husband, the legendary cryptologist William Friedman, Elizebeth helped develop the methods that led to the creation of the powerful new science of cryptology and laid the foundation for modern codebreaking today.?

2021 • History

Who Would Inherit Europe After The Romans? | Storm Over Europe

Starting in the 5th century AD, the Franks migrated to France, the Anglo-Saxons to Britain, and the Goths to Spain and Italy. Europe and the Christian west grew out of their empires.

S1E4Odyssey • 2021 • History

The Ancient Tribes Of Europe That Rebelled Against Rome | Storm Over Europe

To Roman eyes, the tribe they called the Cimbri, the Cimbrians, lived at the edge of the inhabited world, in Jutland. In 120 B. C., they and other Germanic tribes began a mass migration. Now through excavations, we learn about these ancient tribes and their lives.

S1E3Odyssey • 2021 • History

Rome's End: The Rise Of The Goths | Storm Over Europe

The Goths rocked the Roman Empire and wrote themselves into history. Who were these tribes from the north that ended the rule of Rome?

S1E2Odyssey • 2021 • History

How The Huns Became The Terror Of Europe | Storm Over Europe

For the people of the ancient world, the Huns were "the most feared of all warriors". Never before had people experienced such brutal fighting. The power of the mounted nomads became a threat to Rome, but other tribes were also on the move and headed to the center of a weakened empire.

S1E1Odyssey • 2021 • History

The Last Days of the USSR

Moscow, 31 December 1991: the Red Flag of the Kremlin is pulled down and replaced by the banner of Russia, marking the end of the Soviet Union and of its ideologies. Exceptional footage sheds some light on the political turnarounds, breaches of alliances, treacheries, coups d'etat, physical threats and lies among those who plotted to stop or caused the inexorable collapse of the Soviet Regime.

2010 • History

JFK Assassination

On November 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot twice as he rode in an open-top limousine through Dallas, Texas. The assassination sent shockwaves across the world and begged the question: How could a United States president be murdered so easily? Now, thanks to new research, firsthand accounts, and unpublished CIA files, we uncover ten crucial errors—from ignored threats to intelligence breakdowns to major security failings—any one of which, if avoided, could have saved JFK's life…and changed history.

S1E2Ten Steps to Disaster • 2021 • History

Viking Warrior Women

Think of a Viking warrior and you probably imagine a fearsome, muscular, bearded man. Well, think again. Using cutting-edge facial recognition technology, scientists have brought to life the battle-hardened face of a female fighter who lived more than 1,000 years ago.

2019 • History

9/11: Life under Attack

A unique and compelling documentary examining the events of September 11th 2001, featuring never-before-seen footage captured by those on the ground on that fateful day. Told in the moment without interview, commentary, or narration, this riveting documentary weaves together the personal video of a dozen people whose accounts provide a raw and unfiltered telling of 9/11.

2021 • History

The Spy who Stole the Atom Bomb

Newly declassified MI5 files reveal the story of the female spy who stole Britain’s atomic secrets and gave them to the Soviets. In January 1941, Ursula Kuczynski, a Jewish German refugee, arrives in Oxford with her children on a British passport. She settles into the daily life of a housewife, but this woman has a secret – she is a Soviet spy.

2017 • History

Shanghai 1937: Where World War II Began

When did World War II begin? This film answers that question in a way most audiences will find surprising. Americans might say December 7th 1941... The day the Japanese Imperial Navy attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. For Europeans, it was September 1st 1939... When Nazi Germany invaded Poland. But in China, people will tell you a different date, August 13th 1937. That day, after a century of humiliation, and six years of repeated "Incidents" initiated by the Japanese military, China at last "stood up." This act of defiance took place in Shanghai, the most international city in Asia. It was headline news around the world. Today, the story is largely forgotten… except in China. The Battle of Shanghai has been described as the last battle of World War I, and the first battle of World War II. It was a warning to the world, a warning that was ignored. And it was the place where the destiny of modern China was set in motion.

2018 • History

Rule Forever

Seizing power is hard, but keeping it is harder. In North Korea, the Kim dynasty unlocked the secret to ruling forever: They declared themselves gods.

S1E6How to Become a Tyrant • 2021 • History

Create a new Society

Free speech? Right to assembly? Rebel-turned-dictator Muammar Gaddafi realized that civil liberties had to go when reshaping society. But he got soft.

S1E5How to Become a Tyrant • 2021 • History

Control the Truth

Through public relations spin, revisionist history and censorship. Soviet autocrat Joseph Stalin found a certain flexibility with the truth useful.

S1E4How to Become a Tyrant • 2021 • History

Reign Through Terror

When keeping your population under control, is it better to be loved or feared? Idi Amin certainly thought he knew the right answer to that question.

S1E3How to Become a Tyrant • 2021 • History

Crush Your Rivals

You've secured your place at the top, but maintaining power means watching your back. Nobody did that better or more ruthlessly than Saddam Hussein.

S1E2How to Become a Tyrant • 2021 • History

Seize Power

Interested in becoming a tyrant? There are rules, and the playbook for a rise to dictatorship starts with one of history's most brutal: Adolf Hitler.

S1E1How to Become a Tyrant • 2021 • History

Emperors Ghost Army

Explore the buried clay warriors, chariots, and bronze weapons of China's first emperor. In central China, a vast underground mausoleum conceals a life-size terracotta army of cavalry, infantry, horses, chariots, weapons, administrators, acrobats, and musicians, all built to serve China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang Di, in the afterlife. Emperor's Ghost Army" explores how the Emperor directed the manufacture of the tens of thousands of bronze weapons carried by the clay soldiers. NOVA tests the power of these weapons with high-action experiments and reports on revolutionary 3D computer modeling techniques that are providing new insights into how the clay figures were made, revealing in the process the secrets of one of archaeology's greatest discoveries.

NOVA PBS • 2015 • History

Pirates

In pop culture, pirates are often depicted as booty-looting rogues, but their history is far more complicated. See how they became enemies of humanity.

S2E6Explained • 2019 • History

Hindenburg: The new Evidence

The cause of the infamous Hindenburg crash has baffled experts for over 80 years, with theories about the airship’s fire ranging from deliberate sabotage to a spark generated by the stormy conditions in which it landed. But little-known amateur footage of the crash has resurfaced, showing the airship’s final seconds from a fresh angle and in unrivaled clarity. Taking clues from the footage and other sources, NOVA leads a fresh investigation at a leading scientific lab with eye-opening experiments that point to a final solution of the mystery.

NOVA PBS • 2021 • History

Titanic: Into the Heart of the Wreck

For the last 35 years, they have been exploring the most mythical wreck in the world, but now 108 years after it sank, the Titanic is under threat. Resting at over 12,500 feet below sea level and 380 nautical miles off the coast of Newfoundland, in pitch darkness, the most famous shipwreck in the world is being consumed by a colony of iron-eating bacteria. This slow and irreversible decay, according to the most concerned experts, will sweep away all the secrets of the mythic liner within a few decades.

2021 • History

The SS: A Barbaric State

Also known by the acronym SS, the Schutzstaffel organization was a privileged instrument within the German state. Created in April 1925 to ensure the close protection of Adolf Hitler, it became over the years a real state within a state, organizing the extermination of the Jews of Europe, but also assuming political functions, repressive, ideological and even military with the creation of the Waffen-SS. This documentary looks back on its origins and its workings. Nuremberg. In 1945 the main war criminals were tried in this city where Hitler gathered fanatical crowds. The Allies judge Nazi leaders and officials of the Third Reich. Among the defendants - the Fuhrer's closest collaborators.

2019 • History

A World Without War: March 1945 - September 1945

A few weeks after the death of President Roosevelt shocks the country, Germany surrenders. Meanwhile, American sailors, soldiers and Marines endure the worst battle of the Pacific--Okinawa. In August, American planes drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese, too, surrender. Millions return home--to try to learn how to live in a world without war.

S1E7The War • 2007 • History

The Ghost Front: December 1944 - March 1945

Americans are shocked by Hitler's massive counterattack in the Ardennes Forest--but by mid March, 1945, they are across the Rhine, while the Russians are 50 miles from Berlin. In the Pacific, after weeks of desperate fighting, Iwo Jima is secured, and American bombers begin a full-fledged air assault on Japan.

S1E6The War • 2007 • History

FUBAR: September 1944 - December 1944

Victory in Europe seems imminent, but in Holland, the Vosges Mountains, and the Hurtgen Forest, GIs learn painful lessons as old as war itself--that generals make plans, plans go wrong and soldiers die. Meanwhile, on the island of Peleliu, the Marines fight one of the most brutal, and unnecessary, battles of the Pacific.

S1E5The War • 2007 • History

Pride of Our Nation: June 1944 - August 1944

On June 6, 1944, D-Day, 1.5 million Allied troops take part in the greatest invasion in history, but then bog down in the Norman hedgerows for weeks. Saipan proves the costliest Pacific battle to date, while back home dreaded telegrams from the War Department begin arriving at an inconceivable rate.

S1E4The War • 2007 • History

A Deadly Calling: November 1943 - June 1944

Americans are shocked by terrible losses on the Pacific atoll of Tarawa, while in Italy Allied forces are stalled for months at Monte Cassino and a risky landing at Anzio fails utterly. At home, as overcrowded "war towns" boom, economic transformation leads to confrontation and ugly racial violence.

S1E3The War • 2007 • History

When Things Get Tough: January 1943 - December 1943

Americans mobilize for total war at home and overseas. Factories hum around the clock, while in North Africa and then Italy, inexperienced GIs learn how to fight. Meanwhile, in the skies over Europe, thousands of American airmen gamble their lives against preposterous odds on daylight bombing missions.

S1E2The War • 2007 • History

A Necessary War: December 1941 - December 1942

The tranquil lives of the citizens of Mobile, AL; Sacramento, CA; Waterbury,CT; and Luverne, MN are shattered on December 7, 1941, as they, along with the rest of America are thrust into the greatest cataclysm in history.

S1E1The War • 2007 • History

Ashes to Ashes

Ottoman cannons reduce the city walls to rubble, and Venetian reinforcements arrive too late. Mehmed ushers in a new era for the Ottoman Empire.

S1E6Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2020 • History

Ancient Prophecies

Amid a spiral of brutality and low morale, Mehmed makes Giustiniani an enticing offer. The grand vizier urges Mehmed to seek a truce with his rival.

S1E5Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2020 • History

Loose Lips Sink Ships

Mehmed moves his ships overland to the Golden Horn in a daring, visionary feat. In the shadow of betrayal, Giustiniani attacks the Ottoman fleet.

S1E4Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2020 • History

Into the Horn

Mehmed's men dig underground tunnels in an attempt to shatter city walls. The tides turn against the Ottomans when a naval blockade founders.

S1E3Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2020 • History

Through the Walls

Mehmed launches an ambitious siege to break through the walls of Constantinople, but Giustiniani's mercenaries manage to forestall the Janissaries.

S1E2Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2020 • History

The New Sultan

After claiming the Ottoman throne, Mehmed II sends an unmistakable signal to Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. Enter Genoese mercenaries.

S1E1Rise of Empires: Ottoman • 2020 • History

The Weight of Memory (March 1973 - Onwards)

Civil war continues in Vietnam as President Richard Nixon resigns. After North Vietnamese troops regain control of Saigon and the war ends, people from all sides search for reconciliation.

S1E10The Vietnam War • 2017 • History

A Disrespectful Loyalty (May 1970-March 1973)

The South Vietnamese fight on their own, succumbing to terrible losses in Laos. After he is reelected, President Richard Nixon strikes a peace deal with Hanoi that sees the release of American prisoners of war.

S1E9The Vietnam War • 2017 • History

The River Styx (January 1964 - December 1965)

Fearing Saigon's collapse, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorizes the bombing of North Vietnam and sends U.S. ground troops to the south.

S1E3The Vietnam War • 2017 • History

Riding the Tiger (1961-1963)

President John F. Kennedy and his advisors consider how deeply the U.S. should get involved in South Vietnam as a communist insurgency and Buddhist protests intensify.

S1E2The Vietnam War • 2017 • History

Deja Vu (1858-1961)

After nearly a century of French colonial rule, Vietnam emerges independent, but divided.

S1E1The Vietnam War • 2017 • History

Descent into Madness

Roman Empire looks at the end of the reign of Caligula. His sisters Agrippina and Livilla plot against him after he marries. He later has them shipped to exile on an island in the Mediterranean. The derange emperor becomes even more debauched and begins to spend large amounts of money on monuments to himself. To raise money seizes property after accusing senators of treason and raises taxes. He later orders the invasion of Britain, but his distrustful soldiers refuse to go. Eventually, he is assassinated by the Praetorian Guard and his uncle Claudius is made Emperor.

S3E4Roman Empire • 2019 • History

In Search of an Heir

Rome Empire looks at the increasingly deranged and paranoid reign of Emperor Caligula. He a kills his heir and forces his praetorian prefect to commit suicide. In search of a new heir to solidify his place as Emperor, Caligula begins affairs with his three sisters in order to have a child of royal blood. When his sister Drusilla dies, Caligula becomes deranged and the plot of three daggers surrounds him.

S3E3Roman Empire • 2019 • History

A New Hope

Roman Empire examines the life of Caligula from his days as co-heir of the Empire. He smothers Emperor TIberius to death with a pillow and nullifies his will instructing co-emperors. Caligula is made Emperor and works to win over the Senate by offering amnesty to those we sentences under Tiberius. He then wins over the people by putting on elaborate gladiatorial games. He searches out his exiled sisters and enjoys a life of debauchery. Later, he survives brain fever but the illness drives him mad and he kills his heir Gemellus.

S3E2Roman Empire • 2019 • History

The Rightful Heir

The young Caligula has a difficult childhood when his family members are either murdered or exiled at the hands of the emperor Tiberius.

S3E1Roman Empire • 2019 • History

The Ides of March

Caesar implements important reforms and grows more powerful and popular in Rome. He acts like a king and plans to become a dictator in perpetuity. To demonstrate his power, he plans to conquer Parthia. However, the Senate and Brutus in particular, are outraged.

S2E5Roman Empire • 2018 • History

Queen of the Nile

Caesar pursues Pompey to Egypt, where he is received by king Ptolemy, who seeks an ally against his rival to the throne - his sister Cleopatra. Caesar finds good chemistry with Cleopatra, but problems in Rome require his return to Rome.

S2E4Roman Empire • 2018 • History

Crossing the Rubicon

Caesar's hard-won victory over Gaul endears him to the Roman people but leads to a military showdown with the Senate and his former ally, Pompey.

S2E3Roman Empire • 2018 • History

The Great Conqueror

Caesar's wealth grows as one-third of the triumvirate, but his brutal tactics make enemies, forcing him to remake his image as a military conqueror.

S2E2Roman Empire • 2018 • History

The Triumvirate

After success in war makes Caesar a rising star, escalating tension between Rome's two most powerful men creates an opportunity for advancement.

S2E1Roman Empire • 2018 • History

14 Days of Blood

Lavish imperial games at the Colosseum are highlighted by the emperor's bloody victories, but his paranoid abuses of power lead to a final betrayal.

S1E6Roman Empire • 2016 • History

Fight for Glory

A disastrous grain shortage reveals Cleander's treachery and leaves Commodus isolated, inspiring him to train as a gladiator in a bid to unite Rome.

S1E5Roman Empire • 2016 • History

Rome is Burning

Commodus defeats his sister's coup but withdraws from governing, allowing others to amass power while he engages in an affair and banishes his wife.

S1E4Roman Empire • 2016 • History

Enemy of the Senate

Commodus rises to power as Rome's new emperor, but not everyone supports his ascent. Among those conspiring against him: his older sister Lucilla.

S1E3Roman Empire • 2016 • History

The Making of an Emperor

The Germanic tribes strike as Marcus Aurelius succumbs to disease, leaving a skeptical Emperor Commodus to prosecute a war that doesn't interest him.

S1E2Roman Empire • 2016 • History

Born in the Purple

Fighting an implacable enemy in Germania, Marcus Aurelius trains his decadent son Commodus to succeed him, while rumor and intrigues brew back in Rome.

S1E1Roman Empire • 2016 • History

Blood and Tears: French Decolonisation

The story of the decline of the French empire and the indelible mark colonialism left on countries that were colonised. In the mid-to-late 19th century, the French and other European powers colonised much of Africa and Southeast Asia. During the decades of imperialism, these industrialising powers viewed the African and Asian continents as reservoirs of raw materials, labour and territory for future settlement. In most cases, however, significant development and European settlement in these colonies was sporadic. After the second world war, the French and European colonial empires started falling apart. By 1966, most French-controlled territories and colonies gained independence, and new nation states were established. This three-part series charts the history of that period of decolonisation, and explores the debates about assimilation, race, identity and citizenship that have troubled France from then until now. Featuring interviews with war veterans and descendants of those who experienced the "blood and tears" of colonialism and decolonisation directly – in Africa, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific – it also looks at the indelible mark this has left on the hearts and souls of close to half a billion people across five continents and some 45 countries.

2020 • History

How to Build an Ancient Man

After finding strands of human hair buried in Greenland's permafrost, scientists are attempting the impossible: to be the first to reconstruct the identity of a Stone Age human being through nothing but his ancient locks. From scraps of DNA an ancient face appears. Further discoveries in the genetic code threaten to overturn long-held beliefs of how humans populated the earth. How much does your hair say about you? Scratch that. How much will your hair say about you, in say, 4,000 years? After finding tufts of human hair buried in Greenlands permafrost, scientists will assemble a remarkable human blueprint that details the life of one early human down to the color of his eyes, the shape of his teeth...even his receding hairline. But as the research team, lead by evolutionary biologist Eske Willerslev, break into this genetic code, they find far more than they bargained for, and the discovery threatens to turn our long held concept of how humans populated the earth on its head. In the ultimate cold case, National Geographic will obtain exclusive access to the international team of genetic scientists, archaeologists and paleo- artists who are breathing life into a man dead for 4,000 years, learning everything about him and even the way he and his people lived... through his hair.

Explorer • 2010 • History

May 1945

The British, French and Americans are waiting to enter Berlin. In the meantime, the Soviets appoint mayors, organise the food supply and go on the hunt for war criminals. The Jewish community, among whom there are few survivors, regroup. The fate of the city is determined at the Potsdam Conference. Life returns to the ruins, theatres reopen and orchestras play in the open air. By the end of 1945, the bond that held the Allies together is torn apart - and the Cold War begins.

S1E3Berlin 1945: Diary of a Metropolis • 2020 • History

April 1945

The Battle for Berlin has begun. Step by step, the soon-to-be victorious powers advance. On 30 April, the Red Flag flies over the Reichstag and Adolf Hitler takes his own life. Another seven days pass before the Wehrmacht disassembles. National Socialism is finally beaten, along with Germany and Berlin. But for many, the fall of Nazism spells liberation rather than defeat.

S1E2Berlin 1945: Diary of a Metropolis • 2020 • History

New Years Eve 1945

At the beginning of 1945, Berlin remains under the spell of the Nazi promise of salvation, an illusion at odds with the city’s daily reality. Every day there are bombing attacks, fires to be extinguished and corpses to be buried. Life goes on as the front lines of the war close in each day. Death comes for men, women, the old, the young, the National Socialists and the forced labourers. In April, the Red Army stands ready outside the city. In a time of uncertainty on the front lines, nobody has a clear view of what will happen. Civilians hiding, SS soldiers shooting deserters, and Red Army soldiers hoping to survive the final days of the war. As the war comes closer and closer to the metropolis, it returns everything to its roots, showing no mercy.

S1E1Berlin 1945: Diary of a Metropolis • 2020 • History

Henry VIII: Man, Monarch, Monster

Three-part drama-documentary series revealing the truth about England's most infamous King, King Henry VIII. Filming in historic locations including Hampton Court, Windsor Castle and the Vatican and unearthing new documents never seen before on TV, a team of Tudor experts uncover the real Henry, and explore how his complex personality fundamentally shaped the nation. Ch1. Rise of a Tyrant Experts examine how Henry VIII's traumatic childhood affected his personality, from the death of his older brother to the tragic early death of his beloved mother. Narrated by Jason Isaacs. Ch2. Bloodlust and the Boleyns Takes viewers on a journey through the turbulent marriages, affairs and tyrannical politics of King Henry VIII's reign, and explores how Henry's obsession with marrying Anne Boleyn resulted in a cataclysmic and hugely unpopular split with the Roman Catholic Church. The programme also examines Henry's relationship with his new chief advisor and enforcer, Thomas Cromwell, who would come to bear the brunt of the King's increasing unhinged behaviour in the years to come. Narrated by Jason Isaacs. Ch3. Endgame A look at the king's final years, when the pain caused by an infected ulcer on his leg had a detrimental impact on his increasingly angry temperament. Lauren Johnson examines the king's exotic diet, including meat from porpoises and seals, and considers its impact on both his weight and his health. Plus, a look at a Catholic rebellion and the breakdown of Henry's relationship with advisor Thomas Cromwell.

2020 • History

Coffee The Drink That Changed America

Join coffee roaster Dean Cycon and food lover Judith Jones to explore America’s love affair with the red bean that arrived on American shores not long after the Pilgrim Fathers themselves. “Coffee: The Drink That Changed America” explores the brew’s amazing story, from its origins in the Middle East to the 21st century coffee palaces in America.

2018 • History

Revolution in the Treatment of Disease

Begins with the story of the signature scientific achievement of our time: the mapping of the human genome. As scientists learn to read the genetic code, they grapple with the dangers inherent in increasingly sophisticated and easily available methods of intervening in the very essence of what makes us human, our DNA.

S1E2The Gene: An Intimate History • 2020 • History

The Center of the World (1946-2003)

- the only episode filmed after 9/11/2001 -

S1E8New York: A Documentary Film • 2003 • History

The City and the World (1945-2000)

During the seventh episode of NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM, the turbulent and often harrowing years from 1945 to the present are explored. Emerging from the Depression and the Second World War as the most powerful metropolis on Earth, New York soon confronted urban woes of unprecedented proportions, and fought for its very existence. In exploring the social, economic and physical forces that swept through the city in the post-war period, Episode Seven examines the great African-American migration and Puerto Rican immigration of the '40s, '50s, and '60s; the beginnings of white flight and suburbanization; and the massive physical changes wrought by highways and urban renewal -- all of which were directed, to a surprising degree, by one man: Robert Moses. The film comes to a climax with the destruction of Penn Station, the battle over the Lower Manhattan Expressway, the social and fiscal crises of the '60s and '70s, and New York's miraculous revival in the last quarter-century.

S1E7New York: A Documentary Film • 1999 • History

City of Tomorrow (1929-1945)

During the sixth episode of NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM, the dramatic events that followed the Crash of '29 fuel the greatest economic depression in American history and plunge the city and the nation into economic gloom. In little more than ten years, immense new forces were unleashed in New York, from the Depression itself to the New Deal, which permanently altered the city and the country. Along the way, two of the most remarkable New Yorkers of all time came to the fore: Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and master builder Robert Moses, both of whom attempted to create, in the darkest of times, a bold new city of the future. The episode examines their careers in detail, as well as the immense public works that transformed the city in the '30s. Also explored are the demise of Mayor Jimmy Walker, the coming of the New Deal, the fate of Harlem during the Depression, and the increasingly complex impact of the automobile on the city.

S1E6New York: A Documentary Film • 1999 • History

Cosmopolis (1918-1931)

During the fifth episode of NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM, the post-war economic boom, the rise of consumer culture, and the birth of new mass-media industries fuel the convergence of an incredible array of human and cultural energies, ending with the Crash of 1929 and the construction of the Empire State Building. In this short but dazzling period, New York became the focal point of an extraordinary array of human and cultural energies, reaching its highest levels of urban excitement and glamour. In just over a decade, New York gave birth to its signature skyscrapers, the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings, and to artistic creations like F. Scott Fitzgerald's THE GREAT GATSBY, George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue," and to the jazz compositions of Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Along the way, Harlem emerged as the undisputed capital of the African- American experience and the new media industries of advertising, radio networks, public relations, and magazines found their homes in midtown Manhattan.

S1E5New York: A Documentary Film • 1999 • History

The Power and the People (1898-1918)

This episode of NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM follows New York into a new century in the wake of an extraordinary wave of immigration and the birth of the skyscraper. As New York spilled into the new century, the extraordinary interplay of capitalism, democracy and transformation surged to a climax. During a single generation, over 10 million immigrants arrived in New York. The city itself became an even more dramatic lure with the construction of the first subways and skyscrapers. And arising from the plight of New York's most exploited citizens came landmark legislation that would eventually transform the lives of all Americans.

S1E4New York: A Documentary Film • 1999 • History

Sunshine and Shadow (1865-1898)

This episode of NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM turns to the period when greed and wealth fueled an expanding metropolis, even as politics and poverty defined it. Now the spotlight shines on the growth, glamour and grief of New York during America's giddy postwar "Gilded Age." Exploring the incomparable wealth of the robber barons and the unabashed corruption of political leaders, such as Tammany Hall boss William M. Tweed, the episode examines the era when the expansion of wealth and poverty -- and the schism between them -- built to a crescendo. The program ends as the city itself dramatically expands its boundaries, annexing Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island into a single massive metropolis -- Greater New York.

S1E3New York: A Documentary Film • 1999 • History

Order and Disorder (1825-1865)

This episode of NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM details New York's enormous growth as a booming commercial center and multi-ethnic port, and the mounting tensions that set the stage for the nation's bloodiest riot. Already established as America's premier port, New York City swelled into the nation's greatest industrial metropolis as a massive wave of German and Irish immigration turned the city into one of the world's most complex urban environments, bringing with it a host of new social problems. Episode Two reveals how the city's artists, innovators and leaders, from poet Walt Whitman to Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux (the designers of Central Park) grappled with the city's growing conflicts -- which culminated in the catastrophic Civil War Draft Riots of 1863.

S1E2New York: A Documentary Film • 1999 • History

The Country and the City (1609-1825)

The first two hours of NEW YORK: A DOCUMENTARY FILM chronicle New York's beginnings -- from its earliest days as a Dutch trading post to the 17th century construction of the Erie Canal, which made New York City a vital conduit to the mainland of a growing America.

S1E1New York: A Documentary Film • 1999 • History

The Secret History of Writing

[3 episodes] How the invention of writing gave humanity a history. From hieroglyphs to emojis, an exploration of the way in which the technology of writing has shaped the world we live in.

2020 • History

Towering Infernos

Exploits of Firefighters Some of the world's most dramatic fires and how they have been fought, with live action footage of daring rescues and escapes. Spectacular, out-of-control blazes create unique problems for firefighters. During World War II, in Hamburg, bomb-triggered fires of unprecedented scale created heat so intense it sucked in hysterical bystanders. A 25-story Brazilian office complex belched thick, toxic smoke, trapping workers on balconies and windows. And the highrise MGM Grand Hotel, firefighters staged a daring helicopter rescue for frantic guests breaking out windows on the upper floors. No matter how great the danger, firefighters battle on until the last ember is doused... then prepare for the next inferno. The Towering Inferno was one of Hollywood's blockbuster disaster films. But the reality of a major fire that is out of control is a more frightening spectacle than any film can portray. Using live footage of the major fire disaters of the twentieth century, this episode shows how these towering infernos have been fought and the bravery that has led to daring rescues and unbelievable escapes.

20/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Save Our Souls

Dramatic Sea Rescues Some of the Twentieth Century's most famous examples, with emphasis on how the rescue services have operated in the most appalling conditions. When the "unsinkable" Titanic struck an iceberg on her maiden voyage, she went down long before rescue ships could reach her. Those who survived owed their lives to the brave, self-sacrificing efforts of some of the crew and passengers on board. Shipbuilding, sea communications and rescue capabilities have advanced since then, but as the ill-fated voyages of the Morro Castle, Andrea Doria, Estonia and others show, disaster can strike at any time. And when it does, heroic efforts often mean the difference between survival...and a watery grave. Disasters at sea can be due to war, negligence or more often the force of nature. The twentieth century is littered with examples of sea disasters, from the negligence that sunk the unsinkable Titanic on her maiden voyage, to the tragedies of war and the weather. However, if the cause of the disaster was bad weather, the rescue services then have the most difficult task of responding to the SOS in the most appalling conditions.

19/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Spies in the Sky

The Story of Aerial Photographic Reconnaissance The fascinating story with newly released footage on how flying high and fast, and often unarmed, aircraft brought back valuable intelligence on the enemy in both war and peace. Sometimes they did not return. We have come a long way since the first few silk-suited aerostiers of the French revolution ascended in tethered balloons to scan the battlefield through wobbly telescopes. In just 230 years, humanity has progressed from its first faltering flights to the capability to photograph from space an object the size of a grapefruit - a testament both to technological progress and our need to keep a close eye on the world around us. From the days of artillery-spotting balloons the extensive use of aerial reconnaissance began in the Great War and has continued throughout wartime and peacetime. Newly released footage shows the dangers that these planes faced flying high and fast in enemy territory. Many of these reconnaissance planes were unarmed with only their wits to guide them safely back home. Some however never returned.

18/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Over the Wall

Berlin Escapes 1961-89 The many and sometimes successful attempts to escape under the watchful eyes of the East German border guards. Set against the background of the history of the Wall. On August 13th, 1961 building commenced on die Berliner Mauer, the wall that would divide the world for nearly thirty years, as well as the city of Berlin. During that period more than five thousand people escaped to freedom, but over two hundred lost their lives. Even the phrase, Checkpoint Charlie, evokes the deception and fear that existed every day in the East and West Berlin. On a Sunday morning in 1961, shocked citizens awoke to the sounds of a barrier being built along the border separating East and West Berlin. Over the next three decades, thousands of of East Berliners risked their lives--leaping from buildings, crashing vehicles into gates, digging tunnels--in desperate attempts to breach the Berlin Wall and reach the West. In 1989, as Communist rule was collapsing throughout Europe, defiant Berliners began to tear the Wall down. Today, a few battered sections remain standing--a monument to those who died trying to escape to freedom.

17/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Amazon Adventures

Exploring the World's Longest River In the tradition of 'Indiana Jones' the true story of Man's efforts to reach the source of the world's mightiest river including the mystery of the disappearance of Colonel Fawcett in 1923. The Amazon basin is a marvel of the world and the imagination, an ecosystem of unrivaled size and diversity, and a place of near mythical status among travelers. The Amazon River has more water than the next eight largest rivers combined, and is twice the area of India, and the basin spans eight countries. The Amazon is the world's mightiest river and the second longest at 6.280 kilometres. The river was first discovered when a captain noticed that his ship, which was out to sea, was actually sailing in fresh water and that this must be the outflow of river. Since then many explorers have tried to discover the source of this great river. One of them, Colonel Fawcett, mysteriously disappeared in 1923 whilst tracking up the Amazon.

16/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Kennedy's Torpedo Boat Drama

How a Future US President Faced Death in the War in the Pacific Set against the backcloth of motor torpedo boats attracting adventurous spirits in both world wars, this is the story of the future US President and his struggle to survive after the sinking of his PT-109 off New Georgia in the Solomons in July 1943. Few people know how close JFK came to death in World War II when his PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer in the Pacific killing two of its crew. While on night patrol in the Solomon Islands, skipper Jack Kennedy's torpedo boat was cut in half by a Japanese destroyer. Although injured himself, Kennedy pulled one badly wounded man to the shore, then swam to nearby islands to find help for his crew. Kennedy's torpedo boat was the only one to be rammed by the Japanese navy during the war, which led to accusations of poor leadership. However, nobody could doubt the courage of Kennedy to lead his 10 men to safety as he swam for over five hours to raise the alarm and be rescued by a navy that had given him up for dead. His exceptional courage and leadership saved his men... and made him one of World War II's most notable heroes.

15/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

France's Yankee Fliers

The Story of the Escadrille Lafayette Well before their country entered the Great War a number of adventurous Americans volunteered to fight for the British and French. Among them were a number of pilots, and in early 1916 they were formed into a special French fighter squadron, which fought with great distinction on the Western Front. Amazing aerial footage shows WW1 dog-fights as they really were. If the Wright brothers' 1903 flights in Kitty Hawk marked the birth of aviation, World War I can be called its violent adolescence—a brief but bloody era that completely changed the way planes were designed, fabricated, and flown. France's Yankee Fliers tells the story of the men who were at the forefront of that revolution: the daredevil Americans of the Lafayette Escadrille, who flew in French planes, wore French uniforms, and showed the world an American brand of heroism before the United States entered the Great War.

14/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Against the Odds

Great Air Escapes Some of the remarkable escapes which people have had from air disasters including the tail gunner who fell 12,000 feet without a parachute and survived. More than half the passengers in plane crashes escape with their lives... but how? Flying in a plane is not only the fastest way to get to a destination, it's also the safest. Despite this fact, engine issues, bad weather, and even pilot errors can occur and lead to a plane crash. But even when these rarities occur, there are often survivors who make it off the plane alive.The greatest escapes from disasters in the air are truly breathtaking. These stories of plane crash survivors are proof that even when the odds are against people, they can still find a way to make it out of unimaginable circumstances. Chances are very high that most of us will never have to experience a plane crash, but there are plenty of people who have and have lived to tell the tale. From the Hindenburg airship disaster to the tail gunner who fell 12,000 feet without parachute and survived, these remarkable tales of survival are a testament to the fact that surviving an air disaster is against all odds.

13/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Barnstormers and Stuntment

A History of Aerobatics Fighter pilots developed the art during the Great War, but it soon became a source of wonderment for the peoples of the world. A select group of these daredevils found new audiences, performing their stunts in the silent feature films and serials that proliferated throughout the 1920s. Startling footage never seen previously of early flying stunts. The history of Aerobatics was developed into an art by the fighter pilots of the Great War who sometimes performed miracles in the air. They flew their rickety aircraft within a few feet of the ground, looped them again and again in dangerous maneuvers and roared earthward in seemingly suicidal dives, pulling out at the very last minute. These were the danger-loving fliers of aviation's early days, widely known as barnstormers. Soon it became a source of wonderment around the world as people risked their lives trying to perform dangerous feats that really tested the Limits of Man's endurance and agility. Startling, never seen before, footage of early flying stunts are included in this programme.

12/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Wings over the Orient

The Story of Imperial Airways How the air routes were trailblazed to the east and the Pacific during the 1920s and 1930s. The fascinating story of how the East and Australia became just an air-journey from Europe. The air route to the east and the Pacific was a trailblazing effort for Imperial Airways during the 1920's and 1930's. Subsidised by the government its objective was to open air routes between Britain and her Empire. In January 1927 a service between Cairo and Basra was opened after a furrow several hundred miles long was dug in the sand to assist navigation across the desert. This programme depicts the fascinating story of how the East and Australia became just a plane journey from England.

11/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Fastest on Land

The Story of the Land Speed Record The men that have striven for it and the cars they drove. Craig Breedlove and the plane without wings and Malcolm Campbell's historic 'Bluebird'. Breathtaking shots of success and disaster in the Nevada Desert. In 1904, automotive pioneer Henry Ford set an early speed record--to increase sales. By the late '20s, British competitors Henry Seagrave and Malcolm Campbell had pushed the record to more than 200 mph...25 years later, Campbell's son Donald doubled his father's speed. Craig Breedlove's jet-powered "Spirit of America" soon rocketed to a new record--which was broken by a rocket-powered vehicle and then by one attached to a sidewinder missile. Today Breedlove is once again trying to become the world's fastest man...by driving the speed of sound. With breath-taking footage of triump and disaster this documentary tells the story of men who risked their lives to be the fastest on land. From Malcolm Campbell's 'Bluebird' to Craig Breedlove's self-designed plane without wings that broke the 600 mph barrier in 1965 it is the true story of man's obsession with speed and danger on land.

10/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

They Landed by Moonlight

The Dropping of Agents into Occupied Europe during World War II Set against the backcloth of the Special Operations Executive and its US equivalent, the Office of Strategic Services, the use of light aircraft, parachutes, motor torpedo boats, and submarines to insert agents. The programme illustrates examples of particular agents such as Odette, Yeo-Thomas (The White Rabbit), and Violet Szabo. 1942. British Special Operations Executive ("SOE") agent Odette Sansom, mother of three, steps off a courier for the French resistance network--a highly trained Allied spy. One slip of the tongue, a flash of a British clothing label...and her life could be over. During the course of war, dozens of brave SOE agents gathered intelligence for relay back to England, destroyed Nazi roads, bridges and strongholds, and paved the way for D-Day, the largest military operaton ever attempted.

9/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Fjord Watchers

Norway's World War II Radio Spies A group of Norwegians, separate from Milorg, the main Resistance movement, sent back intelligence of German activities in their country by radio direct to the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS). Among their coups was tracking down the German battleship Tirpitz. They were often infiltrated back into their country by the Shetland Bus, a group of Norwegian fishing smacks based in the Shetland Islands. When Hitler invaded Norway in 1940, some fled, most submitted...and a courageous few became Fjord Watchers-spies. Whether roaming a busy Oslo street or foraging in a remote mountain cabin, they radioed a constant stream of intelligence to Allied forces even as German soldiers relentlessly hunted them. Special agents such as Torstein Raaby, whose reports helped sink the infamous German battleship Tirpitz, and author Thor Heyerdahl would pose as merchants, fishermen an laborers while they scrutinized Hitler's every move. They were the eyes, ears and voice of the armies that liberated Norway.

8/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Lawrence of Arabia

How He Helped the Arabs to Liberate Their Lands from the Turks The story of T E Lawrence's exploits with the Arabs during the Great War. Hitherto unseen clips of Lawrence riding in the desert with King Faisal and the victorious arrival into Damascus. Thomas Edward Lawrence was dispatched to Arabia in 1915 to support Britain's war effort there. Lawrence grew to love the desert people and their struggle and made it his private agenda to ensure that Britain granted the Arabs independence from Turkey as promised. Lawrence led countless raids on railways, long desert treks and repeated assaults on Gaza. He endured capture and brutal torture that scarred him emotionally and served to bolster his resolve. His heroism made him legendary in Arabia and worldwide. T.E. Lawrence was probably one of the greatest adventurers of the Great War and was immortalised in film by Peter O'Toole. But what was the true story behind this man who helped liberate the Arabs from the Turks? This documentary contains rare footage of Lawrence of Arabia riding with King Faisal at their triumphant arrival into Damascus.

7/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

No Surrender!

Japanese Soldiers Who Refused to Believe World War II was Over A number of Japanese soldiers in the Pacific did not heed the news in August 1945 that their country had surrendered. They continued to wage guerrilla war both in the belief that their country was fighting on and for their own survival. One on the island of Guam in the Marianas did not surrender until 1960 and the last, Hiru Onada, endured a further ten years before giving himself up to the Philippine authorities. August 1945. The Japanese Empire's four million troops surrender to Allied forces. But many Japanese soldiers--stranded deep in the jungles of the Pacific islands--fought on single-handedly. And their imagined enemies--mainly island residents or peace-keeping forces--swarmed in their gunsights. Not even leaflets, endless pleas by radio, nor friends and family could budge these warriors from as much as thirty years of jungle warfare. Some Japanese soldiers in the Pacific refused to believe Japan would commit the shame of surrender and thought that the news of Japan's capitulation in August 1945 was an American trick. They continued to wage a guerrilla war for a further twenty five years until the Emperor's last, loyal soldier surrendered in 1970. The soldier's loyalty etched their names forever on the hearts of their countrymen.

6/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Descent from the Skies

The Story of the Parachute Parachutists are a breed apart, for few experience the freedom and the whims and the very substance of the air as they do. From its original development and use during the Great War, through the beginning of sport parachuting between the wars and its use in World War II (including airborne forces) to the skydivers of today. Includes footage of early unsuccessful attempts. A history of parachuting incorporates the pioneers, those who have leapt for their lives from stricken aircraft, the paratroopers who used the parachute to carry them to battle , the show-jumpers, the Sky Divers who jump simply for pleasure and the test jumpers who made it possible for them to do so. Like many inventions the parachute was originally developed during the heat of battle in the Great War. During the inter-war years it started to develop as a sport but came into its maturity in the Second World War with the development of airborne forces, which played a key part in Hitler's invasion plans. The skydivers of today are the latest in a long list of those who sought to descend from the skies; sometimes with unfortunate consequences. It is a story that relates the excitement, the triumph, and the tragedy that have accompanied parachuting through the years.

5/10The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Who Dares Wins

The Story of the Special Air Service A young Commando officer conceived the idea in Egypt in 1941. Since then the SAS has grown to become the world’s most feared and prestigious Special Forces unit. The Special Air Service was created in 1941 by a young Commando officer, David Stirling, after a disastrous parachute jump whilst on duty in the Middle East. Since then the SAS has become the world's most feared and respected Special Forces unit. Only ten percent of those who apply for entry into SAS detachment are accepted to begin training--and few survive that. An SAS soldier must live off the land, crouch concealed for days at a time, live for months in the jungle or desert--and accompish the impossible. Since their creation, SAS forces have have completed missions in Egypt, Libya, the Falkland Islands and Borneo. Anywhere that Britain's interests are threatened, the SAS can be found...but not easily. Their history and most famous achievements, such as the Iranian embassy siege in 1980, are captured in this startling documentary.

4/10The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Captain Courageous

The Story of Captain Carlsen and the Flying Enterprise Kurt Carlsen's epic solo struggle to save his 6,700 ton merchant vessel, her holds waterlogged, from the ravages of an Atlantic hurricane during Christmas 1951. Spectacular film taken at the time shows the immense bravery of this famous Captain in his efforts to stay with his ship. Danish Captain, Henrik Kurt Carlsen, was given the name of 'Captain Stay-put' by the press in 1952, when his ship rolled on her side and couldn't right itself. The vessel Flying Enterprese was doomed. Pounding seas had cracked her hull, tilting her thirty degrees on the port side, and sending a tidal wave pouring through her engine room. Making sure that the passengers were taken off, he--together with Mate Kenneth Dancey-- stayed on board his ship as rescue efforts to tow him into Falmouth failed. They battled the raging seas in a valiant attempt to bring the battered ship into port. Captain Carlsen only jumped off the ship at the last moment before it sank and was rescued by the Turmoil. Their story is one of astounding courage and determination.

3/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Wheels of Adventure

The World's Longest Motor Journeys Long distance car rallies, including the London-Sydney and the Pan African rallies, and attempts to drive round the world (by Kegresse half-tracks in the 1920s) and the length of the Americas. Epic footage of speed and endurance. With the development of the motor car man soon turned his attention from using it as a means of travel to using it for his sporting aspirations, to driving around the world, to remote corners, to those places where few men have ventured before. Driving in these early days was always a challenge. Dirt roads that the horse found perfectly acceptable became impassable quagmires of mud for the automobile. Despite these challenges, it was not long before the automobile transformed itself from novelty to necessity. The advent of the world's longest motor journeys took place with the London-Sydney and Pan Africa car rallies, in deserts and at tropical jungles. These were then followed by epic attempts of endurance to drive round the world and across the length of the Americas.

2/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Wings Across an Ocean

How the Atlantic was conquered by air ranging from the pioneering epic of Lt Cdr Read USN in his Curtis flying boat and Alcock and Brown in their converted Vickers Vimy bomber in 1919, to Charles Lindbergh's epic solo crossing of 1927 and the record speed flights, including Concorde. Once man had conquered the power of flight, his next goal was to find a way to cross the Atlantic. The pioneer was Lt Commander Read of the US Navy who crossed the North Atlantic in a Curtiss NC-4 flying boat. In 1919 he was followed by Alcock and Brown in their converted Vickers Vimy bomber; and a few years later Charles Lindbergh made his epic solo flight across the Atlantic. In the following years the record breaking attempts were aimed at speed with Concorde's breaking of the sound barrier.

1/20The True Action Adventures of the Twentieth Century • 1996 • History

Nothing Ends Here

Challenger's shocking explosion devastates the families of the crew as well as millions watching live, and an investigation puts NASA on the defensive.

S1E4Challenger: The Final Flight • 2020 • History

A Major Malfunction

After several delays, the crew prepares for launch as engineers and NASA officials tensely discuss concerns about the O-rings and cold weather launch.

S1E3Challenger: The Final Flight • 2020 • History

HELP!

To revive public interest, NASA chooses teacher Christie McAuliffe to be the first civilian on the Shuttle. Issues with the solid rocket boosters linger.

S1E2Challenger: The Final Flight • 2020 • History

Space for Everyone

The new Space Shuttle program captivates America and draws a diverse, determined crop of astronauts. But safety issues arise out of public view.

S1E1Challenger: The Final Flight • 2020 • History

Hannibal's March on Rome

Even 2,000 years after his death, General Hannibal's battle strategies are still studied today. But of all his military feats, perhaps his greatest was leading his massive Carthaginian army of men and three-dozen elephants across the Alps and into the heartland of Rome in 218 B.C. Until now, the route they took has been a matter of dispute, but thanks to modern-day technology, geomorphologist Bill Mahaney and microbiologist Chris Allen believe they've accurately traced this ancient journey.

2019 • History

Samurai: Miyamoto Musashi

In the History Channel Samurai – Miyamoto Musashi, Mark Dacascos, 8th dan Wun Hop Kuen Do expert, and martial arts movie actor, travels to Japan to trace the footsteps of the ultimate samurai warrior Miyamoto Musashi. They were the most lethal swordsmen who ever lived, an elite warrior class who held the reigns of power in Japan for more than 700 years. Among this group of powerful fighters, one man stood out above all the rest, Miyamoto Musashi. Originally the samurai's job was to serve the emperor, much the same way the legendary Knights of the Round Table were meant to serve King Arthur. The life of the Samurai changed when the country was in transition from one Shogun to another.

2009 • History

Stasi: East Germanys Secret Police

"Had the party given me orders, maybe East Germany would still exist today. You can count on that." (Erich Mielke, Minister of State Security from 1957-1989) An informative and chilling account of the history of the notorious East German secret police, the Stasi. Up to 90,000 full-time employees and more than 180,000 unofficial informants work for the Ministry for State Security of the GDR, and about one in 50 adults in East Germany collaborated with East Germany's Secret Police. Relative to population, it was the largest secret service in the history of mankind. Headed by the sinister Erich Mielke, the Stasi kept the East German population under constant surveillance. The Stasi - just another intelligence agency, in just another country? "Shield and Sword of the Party" is what the Stasi calls itself. The Party dictatorship never dares to face its opponents. Instead, the Stasi has to keep all dissenting opinions under control. The goal is total total surveillance. In addition to the state security, the "Stasi" is responsible for foreign intelligence and counter-espionage, personal and property protection, border and passport controls. As the party's shield and sword, the MfS is supposed to keep all enemies of the state under control. "Die Firma: Stasi" takes a look at the extent of Stasi work and shows the omnipresence of state security - from the enormous headquarters of the Ministry in Berlin through district administrations, local offices, detention facilities, prisons, disguised isolation camps, hidden bunkers, reconnaissance planes, eavesdropping stations to the secret execution site of the GDR. Through tapping phones, reading mail, and installing informers they created an insidious culture of fear and suspicion. This definitive doc reveals the calculated cruelty and brutal repression committed by East Germany's most infamous organization.

2007 • History

Hiroshima

A fully dramatised reconstruction of the story of the first atomic bomb deployed in an act of war. Interviews with both the aircrew who dropped the bomb and the survivors, special visual effects and archive all bring to life the fateful mission of the Enola Gay and the devastating impact of the bomb on the people of Hiroshima.

2005 • History

Race to Berlin

A look at the decisive final months of the Second World War, from the American attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the race to reach Berlin.

S1E6World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

D-Day and Beyond

In September 1944, Allied forces undertook Operation Market Garden, a joint air and ground mission with the aim of ending the Second World War by Christmas. Though the initiative liberated much of the Netherlands from Nazi occupation and established a foothold from which the Allies could make later offensives into Germany, it was considered a costly failure with lasting consequences.

S1E5World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

Tehran Sit-down

How, after a year of fraught relations and tension, the big three leaders met in Tehran seeking to find the unity they need to help the Allies win the Second World War.

S1E4World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

Victory at Any Cost

An exploration of the tensions at the heart of the Allied war effort, as the dominant powers weigh up the moral ambiguity and actions of their alliance.

S1E3World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

An Unholy Alliance

On December 7 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, who killed more than 2,000 Americans. It soon became evident the US continue could no longer remain neutral in the Second World War.

S1E2World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

Mortal Peril

Documentary offering a chronological timeline of how and why the central alliance between Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union was formed in the years leading into the Second World War. It was an uneasy alliance and one fraught with power struggles, false promises and deadly suspicions. Plus, an in-depth picture of the race to ultimate victory and post-war supremacy, concluding with V day on the May 8 1945.

S1E1World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

The King Who Tricked Hitler

This is one of the last and greatest untold stories of the Second World War, revealed by the last surviving Chief of State, King Michael I of Romania. “We took the train to Berlin to see the other side of the coin and we had lunch with Hitler. It wasn’t an enjoyable meeting.” It is the story of a King’s decision who, in a critical moment of the Second World War, relinquished Germany’s support, guiding Romania towards the Allies, thus bringing about a quicker end to the war. It is a story of palatial intrigues. And a story of deceptions. From Buckingham Palace to Bucharest. From Moscow to Washington. Lost diplomatic signals, aristocrat spies and blackmail at gun point. And the courage of a young king who dared. Romania, at the outbreak of the Second World War, was a very young nation, with an age of only 20 years.

2017 • History

Need for Speed

No prizes for second place! In this episode we learn how being the fastest enabled empires to be born and capitalism to thrive.

12/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Building Earth

Mankind is a building species. Inspired by the divine we create monuments to its power (Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid). New challenges create new sciences and when the Romans mixed volcanic ash with water they created a new super-material: concrete.

11/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Information is Power

Communication is the vital ingredient in the building of civilization. The ability to share complicated ideas allowed early man to hunt, farm and build communities.

10/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Man and Beast

15,000 years ago man and the wolf form a partnership that shapes the future of Mankind. With the help of man's new best friend we domesticate more animals, sowing the first seeds of farming and civilization.

9/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Man and Metals

Five thousand years ago man first throws a handful of rocks into a campfire and stumbles upon a discovery that changes the world: Metal. Copper, Tin and Bronze empower the ancient world and allow empires to expand, armed with sharp, hard-wearing weapons.

8/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Fire, Coal and Oil

Early man rubbed two sticks together and created fire. We learn to cook our food, saving vital energy. As a result, our brains expand--making us the most intelligent species on the planet.

7/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Eat It, Drink It, Smoke It

Man uses plants to feed, heal and clothe himself, to build his world and even to alter how he feels. The use of plants like corn, tobacco and cotton become such an important part of our lives that they play a central role in our evolution.

6/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Rise of the Machines

Tools and machines have allowed us to overcome our physical limitations, and become the most successful species on Earth. But tools are also transforming what it means to be human.

5/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Connecting the World

The world is linked like never before. Modern transport and communications have resulted in a world that is wealthier, healthier, more mobile and better informed than ever before.

4/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Violent Planet

Over millions of years, mankind has evolved from a puny, vulnerable creature to become a dominant force on the planet. Occasionally the planet bites back--with terrifying consequences that have shaped our evolution.

3/13Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Lust for Luxury

When ordinary people desire the luxuries of the rich, ingenuity and innovation come together to take history in a new direction. From the obsession with silk to the fall of Constantinople, our desire for luxury has shaped our history and evolution.

2/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Arms Race

About 10,000 years ago we discover farming. But when crops fail, early farming communities face a new threat. War. It's the birth of the arms race.

1/12Mankind Decoded • 2013 • History

Palace for the People

Showcases five of Soviet Europe's most grandiose architectural enterprises. Created to embody the 'collective good', the buildings, made with courage and a bit of lunacy, were used to remind the people of the power and brighter future that awaited them. Each building was designed to be either the tallest or the largest, or to have the biggest clock on earth or the most advanced technology of its time. Now that socialism is over, film-makers Missirkov and Bogdanov revisit five of communism’s most splendid palaces to reveal their hidden secrets through the eyes of the people who designed, built and worked in them. Featuring the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, Moscow State University, the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest, the Palace of Serbia in Belgrade and the Palace of the Republic in Berlin.

2019 • History

The Queen and the Coup

It's February 1953, the first anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's reign. Little does the Queen know she is about to be deployed in a US plot to topple Iran's democratic leader in favour of an all-powerful shah. Planned by MI6 and executed by the CIA, the coup destroyed Iran's democracy and had an impact on relations between Iran and the West. Using declassified secret documents, this documentary reveals the truth of what happened in 1953.

2020 • History

The Battle of Normandy: 85 Days in Hell

On the morning of June 6, 1944, thousands of ships reached the French coast of Normandy as part of an Allied operation to take back France from the Germans. For the next 85 days, U.S., British, and Canadian soldiers engaged in conflicts of unimaginable violence, conquering and liberating the region's cities, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. From the D-Day invasion to the final Nazi surrender in Argentan, this is the definitive story of the three-month Battle of Normandy as it's never been seen before.

2018 • History

24 Hours after Hiroshima

The National Geographic Channel EXPLORER series takes on the August 6, 1945, U.S. Air Force atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, in this chronological retelling of the 24 hours following the event. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945, was a moment that changed the world. Power that fueled the stars had been unleashed and turned into a lethal technology. Now learn the second-by-second story of that defining moment through those hit hardest by that weapon--the survivors. On August 6th, 1945 a weapon unlike any other before was unleashed on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Four days later, the Japanese surrendered having been subjected to horrors and devastation previously unknown and unimaginable. But beyond the horror and human toll, real scientific questions remained unanswered. In 1945, a team of scientists and experts from the Manhattan Project was ordered by President Truman to investigate the facts of what really happened when the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima. National Geographic reveals the incredible science behind what happened moment by moment in the 24 Hours After Hiroshima.

Explorer • 2010 • History

When the Moors Ruled in Europe

This program contends that the popular perception of the Muslim occupation of Spain toward the end of the first millennium is largely wrong. The eighth century Muslim invasion of the Iberian Pennisula was largely welcomed by the locals and rejuvenated the area with advanced technology, agriculture and a construction boom. This program describes these innovations. All this changed in the eleventh century when the regional government fragmented. That set the stage for the Christian invasion and the Islamic fundamentalist resistance leading to more of a civil war than a holy war that decimated the region with corruption, destruction and exile.

2005 • History

Epic Warrior Women: Vikings

Even during the brutality of the Dark Ages, the Vikings of Northern Europe were considered particularly fearsome, ruthless, and dangerous. For centuries, historians believed all Viking warriors were men, but new archaeological discoveries on a small island in central Sweden have revealed evidence that some of the fighters were women. See how modern forensic testing helped identify the sex of one female war chief.

2019 • History

Elizabeth I - The Golden Age

A detailed look at the life of Elizabeth I, the 'Virgin Queen'. Exploring the close relationships with her intimate attendants and the attitudes to and treatment of women at the time, this episode about Elizabeth focuses on her affairs, her diet and her power.

S1E3The Private Lives of the Tudors • 2016 • History

Henry VIII - The Tyrant King

Tracy Borman examines the reign of Henry VIII, revealing his interests, clothing, taste in food and the accidents he survived during his life.Intricate details about the man, Henry VIII are revealed.

S1E2The Private Lives of the Tudors • 2016 • History

Henry VIII - Rise of a Dynasty

Armed with fresh research, historian Tracy Borman reveals the truth about everything from the Tudor bedding ceremony to Henry VIII's affairs.

S1E1The Private Lives of the Tudors • 2016 • History

Normans of the South

Professor Robert Bartlett explores the impact of the Normans on southern Europe and the Middle East. The Normans spread south in the 11th century, winning control of southern Italy and the island of Sicily. There they created their most prosperous kingdom, where Christianity and Islam co-existed in relative harmony and mutual tolerance. It became a great centre of medieval culture and learning. But events in the Middle East provoked the more aggressive side of the Norman character. In 1095, the Normans enthusiastically answered the Pope's call for holy war against Islam and joined the first crusade. They lay siege to Jerusalem and eventually helped win back the holy city from the muslims. This bloody conquest left a deep rift between Christianity and Islam which is still being felt to this day.

S1E2The Normans • 2010 • History

Conquest

In the second of this three-part series, Professor Robert Bartlett explores the impact of the Norman conquest of Britain and Ireland. Bartlett shows how William the Conqueror imposed a new aristocracy, savagely cut down opposition and built scores of castles and cathedrals to intimidate and control. He also commissioned the Domesday Book, the greatest national survey of England that had ever been attempted. England adapted to its new masters and both the language and culture were transformed as the Normans and the English intermarried. Bartlett shows how the political and cultural landscape of Scotland, Wales and Ireland were also forged by the Normans and argues that the Normans created the blueprint for colonialism in the modern world.

S1E2The Normans • 2010 • History

Men from the North

In the first episode of an exciting three-part series, Professor Robert Bartlett explores how the Normans developed from a band of marauding Vikings into the formidable warriors who conquered England in 1066. He tells how the Normans established their new province of Normandy -'land of the northmen' - in northern France. They went on to build some of the finest churches in Europe and turned into an unstoppable force of Christian knights and warriors, whose legacy is all around us to this day. Under the leadership of Duke William, the Normans expanded into the neighbouring provinces of northern France. But William's greatest achievement was the conquest of England in 1066. The Battle of Hastings marked the end of the Anglo-Saxon aristocracy and monarchy. The culture and politics of England would now be transformed by the Normans.

S1E1The Normans • 2010 • History

Going Medieval

Mike Loades has spent his life exploring history. He is a historian who believes that when you get your hands on the past, you discover what a surprising place it was - a place with familiar challenges but very different solutions. Now historian and weapons expert Mike Loades presents this program on the Middle Ages, from the 5th to the 15th centuries. It is a distinct period in time that conjures up images of knights on horseback, castles, combat and chainmail, and which has played host to countless fictional adventures, from tales of King Arthur and Merlin to Robin Hood and many more.

2012 • History

Napoleon's Waterloo

It lasted only one day on a small piece of land, but the impact the Battle of Waterloo had on history is massive and far-reaching. This is the definitive account of the fight that ended Napoleon's rule as emperor and altered the destinies of France, Europe, and the world. Based on testimonies of those involved, we reveal the tactical decisions and human dramas that transpired on both sides of the battle to give you an unprecedented look of one of history's most epic conflicts.

2014 • History

Cold War

The Cold War was won not by weapons of war, but blue jeans, silk stockings, and fast food. Just follow the money.

S1E4Hi$tory • 2019 • History

Transcontinental Railroad

The movies have taught us that the west was won by rugged individuals with a gun on one hip and a gal on the other. But those Americans, who settled the west, those icons of freedom and independence, lived at the mercy of the railroad tycoons.

S1E3Hi$tory • 2019 • History

Civil War

Why, as a teenager in New Jersey in the 1980s, was Peter Sagal taught the Southern myth of the Civil War? How did Gone with the Wind became a national parable? Why is Robert E. Lee an American hero? Slaves = money = power.

S1E2Hi$tory • 2019 • History

Watergate

Like a burger and fries, Nixon and scandal have always gone together. But why did his men break into the Watergate office building? Why did Nixon crave personal wealth? The answers lie with JFK, Howard Hughes, and... The Nixonburger!

S1E1Hi$tory • 2019 • History

Reconstruction: America after the Civil War

Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The twelve years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era (1865-77) witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and makeup of our democracy, with millions of former slaves and free black people seeking out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law. Though tragically short-lived, this bold democratic experiment was, in the words of W. E. B. Du Bois, a 'brief moment in the sun' for African Americans, when they could advance and achieve education, exercise their right to vote, and run for and win public office.

2019 • History

The Fall of the Berlin Wall

It's said that journalists write the first draft of history. To mark the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on 9 November 1989, John Simpson, the BBC's world affairs editor and longest-serving correspondent, goes back to his reports on what he believes is the most important story he ever covered – the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

2019 • History

Korea: The Never Ending War

Between 1950 and 1953, more than 24 nations sent troops to Korea as the opposing ambitions and ideologies of the emerging Cold War superpowers - China, Russia and the USA - fought for supremacy on the peninsula. With first-hand testimony and new historical material, Korea: The Never Ending War retraces the history of a conflict that resulted in millions of deaths, brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, and continues to shape history to this day. The 1953 armistice brought a fragile peace to the Korean Peninsula, but the war has never officially ended and deep divisions - and the threat of nuclear conflict - remain.

2019 • History

My Lai

In this edition of the critically acclaimed "American Experience" series, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Barak Goodman reopens the investigation into the infamous My Lai massacre, a Vietnam War-era atrocity that killed more than 300 unarmed civilians. Complemented by 400 hours of newly discovered audio recordings that shed light on what happened on the ground, Goodman's Emmy-nominated film includes first-person accounts from the participants and other eyewitnesses.

American Experience • 2010 • History

The Allies Strike Back/Twilight of the Axis

Examines the botched raid on the German-occupied harbour of Dieppe, France in August 1942, which resulted in the loss of around 4,000 Allied men and drove home just how costly an invasion of France would be. The programme also focuses on Hitler's order in 1945 to destroy any military or industrial facilities that could be useful to the enemy - which would have condemned the German people to utter desolation.

S1E4World War II in Numbers • 2019 • History

The Road to Stalingrad/Leviathan Wakes

A look at how Hitler calculated that to fight on long enough to fulfil his aim of eradicating Europe's Jews he needed to capture the Caucasus, and to do that he had to take Stalingrad. There is also a look at how the US rebuilt its navy and took itself from the 18th-ranked army in the world to be second only to the Soviet Union, a tale of ingenuity and enterprise that turned the vast resources of America into the numbers that could win a war.

S1E3World War II in Numbers • 2019 • History

Backs to the Wall/Global War

A look at the Battle of Britain, examining the limited resources the British military were left with following the retreat from Dunkirk, and the pressure on German forces to conquer England quickly, so attention could be switched to Russia. The second half of the programmes examines the US entry into the war, in defiance of the promise made by President Roosevelt during his re-election campaign.

S1E2World War II in Numbers • 2019 • History

The War of the World/Lightning War

Begins by looking at the story of Franz Honiok, a 43-year-old farmer who is often considered the first victim of the Second World War, before going on to show that when Germany invaded Poland in August 1939, no-one was ready for war.

S1E1World War II in Numbers • 2019 • History

Part 4

D-Day is a success, but now the Allies face the challenge of breaking out of the dense hedgerows of Normandy and into open country. They face highly motivated and experienced German soldiers, including Waffen SS units, who make them pay dearly for every yard they advance. The savagery of the fighting also takes a high psychological toll on Allied soldiers – much more so than on German troops who have been subjected to years of indoctrination. But in the end, Allied material superiority takes its toll. General Patton arrives to lead the charge into open country. German soldiers start to surrender in ever greater numbers, and the road to Paris is suddenly open.

S1E4D-Day: The Soldiers Story • 2012 • History

Part 3

D-Day is underway, but at Omaha Beach, 'the Bedford Boys', volunteers of the US 29th Infantry Division, find themselves thrown into freezing surf and a murderous German cross-fire. As the first assault waves are mown down on the ramps of their landing craft, it looks like the Allied invasion of Europe might be careering towards disaster. But at other beaches the British, Canadian and US troops are soon able to advance inland. For the local French population it is a moment of joy, but also great danger. Hundreds are killed when the RAF bombs the Norman town of Caen – one of their D-Day objectives. The fighting inland is no less fierce than on the beaches. As 'the Longest Day' draws to a close, rumours circulate on both sides that the enemy is shooting its prisoners.

S1E3D-Day: The Soldiers Story • 2012 • History

Part 2

D-Day suffers a last minute postponement when the weather over the Channel deteriorates. For Allied Supreme Commander General Eisenhower these are moments of extreme anxiety. Many of his men will be experiencing combat for the first time, and there is much that could go wrong. When meteorologists promise Eisenhower a brief window of improved weather, he takes the gamble and orders the invasion to proceed. Airborne divisions lead the way, parachuting into the darkness over Normandy. Shortly after dawn landing craft approach the coast. At Omaha Beach the Germans are waiting for them. The carnage that follows is described here with vivid personal testimony from both sides.

S1E2D-Day: The Soldiers Story • 2012 • History

Part 1

In 1943 the British and Americans plan the opening of a 'Second Front' in Northwest Europe. Huge numbers of troops, aircraft and ships begin to assemble in England for the invasion of France. They train relentlessly for what will prove the largest amphibious operation in military history. Meanwhile across the Channel the Germans also gather their strength. Hitler sends one of his best generals, 'the Desert Fox' himself Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, to supervise the construction of coastal defences known as 'the Atlantic Wall'. But the Allies retain one crucial advantage that even Rommel's genius cannot compensate for – only the Allies know where and when they will strike.

S1E1D-Day: The Soldiers Story • 2012 • History

Tiananmen: The People Versus the Party

On June 4th, 1989 the world’s biggest, longest, and most famous pro-democracy demonstration was brought to a tragic end. The images from those final bloody days remain potent and the death toll is still disputed. In Tiananmen: The People V the Party, eyewitness accounts and leaked secret documents provide a deeper understanding of how the events of those seven weeks unfolded in the Square and behind the scenes, changing the course of Chinese history.

2019 • History

The Rebirth of God's City

Simon Sebag Montefiore charts Rome's rise from the abandonment and neglect of the 14th century into the everlasting seat of the papacy recognised today. His story takes us through the debauchery and decadence of the Renaissance, the horrors of the Sack of Rome and the Catholic Reformation, through to the arrival of fascism and the creation of the Vatican State. By taking us inside Rome's most sensational palaces and churches and telling the stories behind some of the world's most beloved art, Sebag Montefiore's final instalment is a visual feast.

S1E3Rome: A History of the Eternal City • 2012 • History

Divine Gamble

Simon Sebag Montefiore charts the rocky course of Rome's rise to become the capital of western Christendom and its impact on the lives of its citizens, elites and high priests. Rome casts aside its pantheon of pagan gods and a radical new religion takes hold. Christianity was just a persecuted sect until Emperor Constantine took a huge leap of faith, promoting it as the religion of Empire. But would this divine gamble pay off?

S1E2Rome: A History of the Eternal City • 2012 • History

City of the Sacred

Simon Sebag Montefiore looks at how every event in ancient Rome revolved around religion. From the foundation myth through to the deification of emperors, nothing could happen without calling upon the pantheon of Roman gods. Simon investigates how the Romans worshipped and sacrificed to the gods. He discovers that sacredness defined what was Roman and it was the responsibility of every Roman to play their part in the cult. Even the ancient Roman sewer was holy ground!

S1E1Rome: A History of the Eternal City • 2012 • History

1944: Should We Bomb Auschwitz?

In April 1944, two Jewish prisoners miraculously escaped from Auschwitz. When they recounted what they had left behind, their harrowing testimony revealed the true horror of the Holocaust to the outside world for the first time. They described in forensic detail the gas chambers and the full extent of the extermination programme. The news they brought presented the Allies with one of the greatest moral questions of the 20th century: Should we bomb Auschwitz? While the Allies deliberated in London and Washington, the killing machine ground on in southern Poland. One month after the men’s escape, almost 800,000 Hungarian Jews had been rounded up awaiting transport to Auschwitz. By early July 1944, the majority had been transported. Most of them were murdered on arrival. As the killing at Auschwitz reached its frenzied climax, the outcome of the Second World War hung in the balance. Millions of troops were fighting on both fronts and battling for supremacy in the air. Should the Allies use their resources to push on and win the war or to stop the industrial slaughter at Auschwitz? The request to bomb the camp, with 30,000 captive prisoners, was remarkable and came from a place of utter desperation. But it was a direct response to the destruction of an entire people. There were operational challenges - was it possible to reach the camp to bomb it? How many heavy bombers would it take? What would the Nazi propaganda machine say about such an attack? - as well as complex moral ones. How many prisoners would likely die in such a raid? Can you kill friendly civilians in order to save the lives of those being transported towards the death camp? These were the hard questions faced by Churchill, Allied Air Command and the Jewish Agency.

2019 • History

Time

Time makes sense in small pieces, but when you look at huge stretches of time, it's almost impossible to wrap your head around things.

In a Nutshell • 2018 • History

Master of the WOrld

1944: The Soviets continue on the path towards liberation. On the road to Berlin, they discover the horror of Hitler's extermination camps. Stalin's people have sacrificed the most: 9 million soldiers dead and 20 million civilians killed. Has he become Master of the World?

S1E3Apocalypse Stalin • 2015 • History

Red

1942. After blocking the Germans right outside of Moscow, Stalin now faces Hitler's second assault. The world's fate will be decided in Stalingrad. Like in Leningrad, men, women and children, plunged into hell, are sacrificed. Will Stalin become Master of the World?

S1E2Apocalypse Stalin • 2015 • History

Demon

Episode covers Joseph Stalin's early life and his early political activities which resulted in his rose to power with the help of Lenin. June 1941 Hitler has thrown himself into a fight to the death against Stalin. Two decades earlier, in 1917, Joseph Jughashvili from Georgia is a member of Lenin's Bolshevik Party, who has just seized power in Russia. The country is torn by civil war.

S1E1Apocalypse Stalin • 2015 • History

What Happened Before History? Human Origins

Humans. We have been around for a while now. When we think about our past we think about ancient civilizations, the pyramids, stuff like that. But this is only a tiny, tiny part of our history.

In a Nutshell • 2016 • History

Herculaneum Scrolls Unraveling History

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius is renowned for its decimation of Pompeii, but nearby, an equally impressive Roman settlement known as Herculaneum was lost to history. Today, the latest in technology is opening a wind to the past, as scientists digitally "unravel" the Herculaneum Scrolls.

Breakthrough • 2019 • History

Life after WWI in Colour

Historical documentary featuring colourised archive footage charting the First World War's aftermath in Europe and beyond once celebrations marking the end of hostilities had ceased. Ch1. Vengeance Traumatised by combat, demobilised soldiers return home to the four corners of a war-shattered world. At the Palace of Versailles, the victors draw the borders of new nations, created through strife. Ch2. Return to Hell Nations try to rebuild, but the USA withdraws into isolation, the threat of communism frightens European democracies and populist movements spring up, determined to impose their totalitarian ideology.

2019 • History

Secrets of Ancient Empires

The team continues to make astonishing discoveries on the floor of the Black Sea. A treasure trove of shipwrecks uniquely preserved that date back two and a half thousand years to the Greek and Roman empires, culminating in maritime archaeology’s greatest ever wreck discovery.

S1E2Expedition: Black Sea Wrecks • 2018 • History

Journey to an Ancient Sea

An international team of scientists began a 3-year exploration of the Black Sea in search of evidence of the ancient empires that sailed their ships into unknown waters in pursuit of trade.

S1E1Expedition: Black Sea Wrecks • 2018 • History

How the Victorians Built Britain

Michael Buerk looks at the transformation of the nation during the Victorian era, telling the surprising stories behind famous landmarks and the hidden heroes behind epic constructions. He begins by revealing how the Victorians created public transport and sewerage systems. Michael Buerk looks at how the Victorians created what is now known as the modern home, exploring the huge rise in house-building during the period. He travels to Fakenham, Norfolk, to visit the last remaining gasworks in England, and discovers how the Victorians mastered the art of producing `town gas" from coal. He also investigates how the kitchen was transformed with the advent of gas cookers, as more complex meals including the Sunday roast steadily became the norm across the nation.

2018 • History

Filming the Bomb

In 2017, the U.S. released films from a generation of nuclear tests allowing scientists to study the last images of thermonuclear explosions we hope we'll ever see. But just getting them took years of trying and dozens of nuclear explosions. In Los Angeles, a secret film studio, Lookout Mountain, staffed by Hollywood professionals, produced countless films aimed at diverse audiences from policymakers to soldiers, scientists to civilians. The goal: convince anyone who will listen.

Atomic Age Declassified • 2018 • History

Spies in Space

Just two years ago, the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) declassified a top-secret 1960s program to put a manned spy platform into orbit. While Apollo got all the attention and the glory in its race to the Moon, the men and women behind MOL worked in the shadows to give America the eyes and ears it needed. After 50 years of secrecy, Spies in Space will be the first television program to weave together rarely seen footage from America's secret spy satellite systems.

S1E2Atomic Age Declassified • 2018 • History

Born with the Bomb

The flash of the first atomic blasts exposes a multi-billion dollar clandestine operation: The Manhattan Project. A modern state secrecy apparatus emerges directly out of Los Alamos – only to find itself immediately compromised as Russia announces its own atomic arsenal. Radiation testing on unsuspecting civilians. An 800 page American World War III battle plan that targeted 600 million civilians. Broken Arrows. And the real stories of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

S1E1Atomic Age Declassified • 2018 • History

The Flu that Killed 50 Million

It is 1918 and the end of WWI. Millions have died, and the world is exhausted by war. But soon a new horror is sweeping the world, a terrifying virus that will kill more than fifty million people - the Spanish flu. Using dramatic reconstruction and eyewitness testimony from doctors, soldiers, civilians and politicians, this one-off special brings to life the onslaught of the disease, the horrors of those who lived through it and the efforts of the pioneering scientists desperately looking for the cure. The film also asks whether, a century later, the lessons learnt in 1918 might help us fight a future global flu pandemic.

2018 • History

World War Speed

Follow historian James Holland on his quest to understand how the use of amphetamines affected the course of World War II and unleashed the first pharmacological arms race.

Secrets of the Dead • 2019 • History

10-1 Events 20th Century

Which ten events will stay in our minds and hearts as those that marked history Martin Luther king’s i have a dream speech influenced civil rights laws, apartheid ended in south Africa, a bomb dropped on Hiroshima, and man landed on the moon.

S1E8101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History

23-11 Events 20th Century

We countdown from 23 to 11 events that include a new vaccination for the polio epidemic, a leap in human rights with a new Declaration, and the invasion of Poland that started a world war.From the Wright brothers who launched a plane into flight for the first time, to a country that launched a rocket called Sputnik into space for the first time, the 20th century showed our rapid advance in technological feat

S1E7101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History

35-24 Events 20th Century

Counting down from 35 to 24, this episode includes a space venture of a shuttle called Challenger, a ship journey on the unsinkable Titanic, and a car chase of Princess Diana - all that end in disaster. We see a war in Vietnam, a war in China, and a war thrust upon the United States; the birth of the Israeli nation, and a new style of cinema with sound. Celebrity OJ Simpson is on trial, and a dictator consolidates power as Chancellor of Germany

S1E6101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History

49-34 Events 20th Century

We count down from 49 to 34 events that include a Treaty in Versailles aimed at bringing peace to the world, the Watergate political scandal, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the assassination of John Lennon.

S1E5101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History

62-50 Events 20th Century

We countdown from 62 to 50 events including creation of the bra that would symbolize liberation of women, a groundbreaking heart transplant, and an Olympics disaster in 1972.The battle of Stalingrad was turning point in WWII, the Rwandan genocide and Tiananmen Square massacre left millions in sorrow, and war criminals were taken to trial in Nuremberg.

S1E4101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History

75-63 Events 20th Century

Counting down from 75 to 63 we showcase great works of art and scientific feats in space, civil wars, sieges and environmental crises. In Episode Three we see the construction of the Panama Canal that created a passage between two continents, the invention of genetically modified crops that changed the future of food, the kidnapping of Lindbergh's baby, and a Battle of the Sexes on the tennis court.

S1E3101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History

88-74 Events 20th Century

This episode we count down from 88 to 74 events that have shaped and influenced thought, marked wars, changes fashion, and rebuilt economies

S1E2101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History

101-89 Events 20th Century

This episode counts down from 101 to 89 events that marketed the last century. From the discovery of king tut in the valley of the kings, to the evacuation of Dunkirk

S1E1101 Events that Made the 20th Century • 2018 • History

A Suicide

Even after the allies landing in Normandy and the failed battle of the bulge as last attempt, Hitler does not want to accept the end, and the German people still believe in their leader

13/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A War Criminal

Hitler's military decisions become disastrous, the defeats increase, fronts break apart. After Stalingrad, the military leadership realizes that the war is lost. The western allies defeat the German troops in Italy and Africa. The Russians push back the German army in the East. But even after D-Day, Hitler refuses any idea of surrender. After the failed assassination attempt, he feels invulnerable

12/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A Mass Murderer

Hitler personally arranges for a euthanasia program, underestimating the resistance of the Church. The killing of the mentally ill has to be slowed down, but the extinction of Jews is expanded to an industrial scale. Russian prisoners of war are murdered directly, abused, or left to starve. Most Germans know of these crimes even if they refuse to acknowledge them.

11/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

The Commander

Hitler breaks the pact with Stalin and invades Russia. He wants to eradicate the entire population and gain territories in eastern Europe for the Ayran race. Germany has reached the summit of its military power.

10/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A Conqueror

Hitler invades Poland, and Great Britain and France declare war immediately. despite all warnings, this is unexpected for Hitler, but the allies passivity encourages him to advance.

9/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

An Arsonist

In pure breach of the Munich Agreement, Hitler claims further territories for Germany based on the alleged wish of the people in those areas. After the occupation of Czechoslovakia, the world is duped and are waiting to see if Germany will risk European peace. Hitler firmly expects that England and France are afraid of a war

8/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A Statesman

In Benito Mussolini, Hitler finds an ally to whom he remains faithful until his downfall. The trips to Italy are the only foreign ones he undertakes. Hitler takes control of the army. The threat alone of an invasion is enough: the Austrian Chancellor allows Hitler to take over, 75% of the Austrian people want to be part of the German Reich. Planning to disintegrate Czechoslovakia, Hitler signs the Munich Agreement in September 1938, in which Czechoslovakia has to abdicate the territories of the so-called Sudeten Germans

7/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

The Fuehrer

Hitler's fame reaches its climax. Germany is simultaneously admired and feared by foreign countries. In 1936, the Wehrmacht invades the Rhineland, a demilitarized zone by the Treaty of Versailles. The Nuremberg party rallies are a magnificent spectacle of the ever-growing leadership cult. The Summer Olympics in 1936 show Hitler's popularity internationally.

6/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A Dictator

Hitler's power has become unrestricted and unlimited. He is Chancellor and President. He makes the law. Cabinet and parliament just have alibi functions. Hitler is admired by the people. Germany feels strong again, and people accept the merciless dictatorship and the persecution of others as necessary evil. The 'Nuremberg Race Laws' pass unanimously by the Reichstag parliament. A referendum in then-French Saarland shows 91 percent of the population voting to return to the German Reich. Now the world looks anxiously whether Hitler will make further territorial claims. His gaze turns to Austria, his homeland.

5/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A Murderer

Hitler gets rid of his political opponents and those who brought him to power with lies and violence. Now he only has to get rid of the leaders within the NSDAP. What will he do?

4/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A Party Leader and a Mob Orator

Out of prison Hitler establishes the NSDAP to achieve power by legal means.as its sole leader, he develops the party into a movement that soon becomes the strongest force in parliament.

3/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A Revolutionary and an Ideologist

Hitler’s coup attempt in 1923 fails and he is arrested and jailed for over a year. He spends his time in prison writing Mein Kampf, an outlining of his political views.

2/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

A Ne'er-do-well and a Private

When a young Hitler joins the Bavarian army and becomes a soldier and a patriot, for the first time he feels like he belongs. But when WW1 ends, he loses the only regular life he’s known.

1/13The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

Lost Viking Army

Forty years ago, hundreds of skeletons were unearthed in a mass grave in an English village. Bioarchaeologist Cat Jarman believes these bones are the last remains of the “Great Heathen Army,” a legendary Viking fighting force that invaded England in the ninth century and has long been lost to history. Armed with the latest scientific methods, Cat’s team uncovers extraordinary human stories from the front line, including evidence of women fighters and a lost warrior reunited with his son in death

NOVA PBS • 2019 • History

First Horse Warriors

In a spectacular adventure, NOVA unlocks the mystery on the vast, grassy plains of Kazakhstan, where horses still roam free, and nomadic herders follow their traditional way of life. Investigating clues from archaeology and genetics, researchers reveal vivid evidence of the very first horsemen. They also discover warriors who swept across Europe and turn out to be the ancestors of millions today.

NOVA PBS • 2019 • History

Decandence and Degeneration

Actor Paul McGann discovers how fears of moral and imperial decline terrified 1890s Britain - informing the daring plays of Oscar Wilde and the fantastical stories of HG Wells.

S1E2Victorian Sensations • 2019 • History

Architect of the Afterlife

Enter the royal tomb of the first emperor and witness the incredible terracota warriors who guard it

S1E2China's Dragon Emperor • 2019 • History

Creating a Nation

Was he an incompetent ruler, a brutal tyrant, or a great leader? 2,000 years after his death, the legacy of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, remains a point of debate. His role in ending centuries of conflict between warring factions and creating China's first imperial dynasty is indisputable, yet he has questionably been portrayed as a violent oppressor. Through ancient texts, artifacts, and expert insights, revisit the life of this complicated and influential figure.

S1E1China's Dragon Emperor • 2019 • History

Victory in the Pacific

The end of the War in the Pacific is one of the greatest and most terrible tales of modern history. The Japanese fought to the bitter end and continued to fight island by island, hill by hill. US Air Force command tried bombing Japan into submission, firebombing Tokyo but could not break the Japanese resolve. Over 200,000 people died. In the end, President Truman decided to go nuclear and the fates of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sealed.

13/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Victory in Europe

The months of the war in Europe were shocking and desperate. This film follows the British and Americans as they cross the Rhine and the Russians as they push through Poland into Germany itself. It covers the horrors of the liberation of Belsen and Buchenwald, and the final terrible street fighting in Berlin. The story culminates in the suicide of Hitler, the carving up of Germany between the Allies, and the Nuremberg trials.

12/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

The Island War

Since December 1941, a vicious war against Japan was being waged in the Pacific. The Japanese were driven back across the ocean, island by island, in savage hand to hand fighting. American dominance at sea was finally established in "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot", when radar gave the US Navy advance warning of a huge Japanese attack and the last vestiges of Japanese naval air power were destroyed. But this film also looks at the war in the jungles, in places like Burma, where new specialist fighting units - like Orde Wingate's Chindits - slowly pushed back the Japanese despite horrific conditions.

11/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Closing the Ring

In 1944 America and Britain in the West and Russia in the East began to close their pincer around Germany. But even now, the outcome was in the balance. The film explores the Allied disaster at Arnhem and the tragedy of the Warsaw uprising, when Polish freedom fighters were abandoned to their fate by Stalin. It tells the shocking story of the Liberation of the death camps, when the full extent of the Holocaust became clear for the first time. The film ends with Hitler's last great gamble, as he threw all his last reserves against the oncoming Allied forces in the Ardennes.

10/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Overlord

Today it is easy to see D-Day as inevitable - a straightforward victory against a German army that was already all but defeated. This film explodes that myth. It charts the careful planning of the campaign, the development of specialised equipment needed for the amphibious landing. It reveals the deception plan that wrong footed Hitler. It shows how the Americans were very nearly driven off Omaha beach. If that had happened, the whole operation might have failed. The film ends with the Liberation of Paris, as the Free French forces led by Charles de Gaulle matched down the streets of the capital.

9/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

The Soviet Streamroller

By July 1943, the full extent of Hitler's failed gamble in the East had become clear. After failing to deliver knock-out blows at Stalingrad and Moscow, his army was now at the mercy of the vast Soviet war machine. With its huge resources and seemingly limitless numbers of men, the Red Army slowly pushed the Germans back out of Russia through Ukraine, Poland, the Balkans and Hungary. This was war on a monster scale, pitching armies of millions against each other. But it was also a war fought by small bands of partisans, men like Tito in Yugoslavia, leading guerrilla bands against Nazi forces.

8/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Turning the Tide

Both the Allies and the Nazis were always looking for a single knock-out blow to end the war. Britain's Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris thought the answer might lie in "strategic bombing." The idea was to blow the belt out of Germany's infrastructure and cities. This, he argued, would cripple the Nazis ability to wage a war and the ordinary people would soon lose the will to fight. But it led directly to the tragedy of Dresden, when Allied planes firebombed tens of thousands of ordinary Germans. The Germans believed that the decisive stranglehold would come from their submarines. If they could only cut American supply lines to Britain across the Atlantic, then the Allied effort would collapse. So begun a long game of cat and mouse between U-Boats and British and American convoys.

7/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

The Mediterranean and North Africa

Mussolini's ambition had always been to recreate the old Roman empire. The trouble was, militarily, he was a disaster. After failed attacks in North Africa and Greece, his armies were on the run. Hitler, now faced a difficult choice. Did he divert troops needed at other fronts to support his ally, or did he let Mussolini fall ? Hitler chose to support him - a decision that would spell disaster for both of them. Hitler would lose hundreds of thousands of troops. Mussolini would be assassinated. This film tells the extraordinary story of the war in North Africa and features the heroics of the tiny island of Malta as it withstood wave after wave of Nazi assault. It ends with the Allies fighting their way up Italy and Germany in retreat.

6/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Red Sun Rampant

December 7th 1941 is "a date that will live in infamy" proclaimed President Franklin Roosevelt. That was the day that Japan entered World War II, with its surprise attack upon the US Fleet in Pearl Harbour. Japan swiftly followed this up with the defeat of a huge British army in Singapore. For a while Japan was rampant in the Pacific. But gradually, America, the sleeping giant, awoke. The war that would follow would be characterised by major innovations. In particular, it saw the battleship consigned to history and the emergence of the aircraft carrier as the decisive weapons of the seas.

5/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Hitler Strikes East

When Hitler expounded his intention to invade Russia his generals looked at him in horrified silence. The Soviet Union was vast and had matchless resources. Hitler's whole plan depended upon striking a swift and decisive knock-out blow. Get sucked into a long, drawn-out war and Germany would surely lose. Hitler was certain his forces could do it. No one had so far defeated them. But there had never been a military gamble like it... This film takes in Stalingrad and the battle of Kursk, the biggest tank battle in all history.

4/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Britain at Bay

In June 1940, Britain stood alone against the Nazis. Hitler was convinced that it was only a matter of days before it sued for peace. He had more troops, a better air force and the better weapons. This film shows how close Britain came to defeat, as its exhausted air force struggled to fight all the German Luftwaffe. However, because of critical errors by the Luftwaffe commander Hermann Goering, Britain was able to regroup. Then using its brilliant team of code crackers and specially trained spies, it began the fightback, working alongside the resistance movements in the occupied territories.

3/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

Lightning War

This film shows how the Nazis developed a terrifying new military tactic - Blitzkrieg - and how it caught first Poland and then Britain and France utterly unprepared. It charts the fall of Poland and how Hitler then conquered France in just a few weeks, an achievement that had eluded Germany throughout all the four years of World War One. It also reveals how heroic French resistance allowed the British to escape from Dunkirk and live to fight another day.

2/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

The Gathering Storm

The series starts with that great paradox. How could the settlement at the end of World War One - the 'war to end all wars' - lead to an even greater conflict just a few years later ? The answer is a tale with terrible resonancy today. This film shows how the Great Depression sapped the will of the democracies of the West to face up to a new and disturbing political phenomenon - the rise of militaristic dictators, in Germany, Italy, Japan and Spain. The result was that the major powers ignored all the warning signs and allowed the likes of Mussolini and above all Hitler to begin the course that would lead the world into catastrophe. The programme ends as Hitler plots his attack upon Poland.

1/13World War II In HD Colour • 2009 • History

War in the Shadows

At the end of the 80s, the Soviet army is being universally modernized, observed closely by western military intelligence in East Germany. Weapons-scouts in the field are constantly on duty, as are agents in high command or in intelligence service stations.

S1E3The Spying Game Tales from the Cold War • 2018 • History

Mission Behind the Iron Curtain

During the Cold War, tensions between East and West mount alarmingly. In consequence, western intelligence services shift their focus on East Germany as the Warsaw Pact’s major deployment zone.

S1E2The Spying Game Tales from the Cold War • 2018 • History

Tales of the Cold War

Some just counted tanks, others stole blueprints for bombs. The Cold War was the battleground for thousands of spies and spotters. Even the Allied Military Missions in Germany doubled as covert observers in the spying game.

S1E1The Spying Game Tales from the Cold War • 2018 • History

Dien Bien Phu: a Losing Battle

Since the end of the 19th century, Indochina has been a flourishing colony, the gem of the French Empire. However, the Second World War turns everything upside down. At the end of the war, the Viet Minh movement announces its independence.

S3E13Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Encyclopedia: Dare to Know

July 31, 1784, Paris. Denis Diderot has just passed away and with him, the memory of the biggest editorial epic of the Age of Enlightenment: Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts.

S3E12Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Miners: Fodder of the Industrial Revolution

University of Glasgow, England, 1763. A young engineer tries, in vain, to fix a steam engine before finally understanding what is wrong with it. James Watt still doesn’t know it but he will soon revolutionize the world of industry.

S3E11Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Carthage: Romes Rival

In 814 BC, the exiled Phoenician queen Dido founds the city of Carthage on the African Coast. The city develops and takes the lead of a maritime empire based on trade. Carthage dominates the Western Mediterranean. But in the third century BC, she finds herself opposed to the Roman Republic.

S3E10Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Augustus: Emperor of the Republic

At the end of a succession of civil wars which have weakened the Roman Republic, Caesar proclaims himself dictator for life. However, on March 14, 44 BC, he is assassinated by conspirators in the name of the Republic.

S3E9Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Apartheid: The Spiral of Fear

August 5, 1962, South Africa. After several months on the run, the Black leader Nelson Mandela is arrested by the South African police and incarcerated in Robben Island, a fortress-like jail off Cape Town. He doesn’t know it at that time, but it is only the beginning of his penitential ordeal.

S3E8Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Lawrence of Arabia: For a Fistful of Sand

1916, the Great War, far away from the trenches, in the sand of the Middle East, war has a very different face. With a handful of intrepid men, Thomas Edward Lawrence leads the revolt of the Arabs alongside Sharif Hussein, against the Ottoman Empire.

S3E7Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Champollion: Unravelling the Mysteries of the Stone

In July 1799, during the French Campaign in Egypt and Syria, the French soldiers of lieutenant Bouchard discover by chance at Rosetta a large black stone. It is, in fact, the fragment of a stele engraved in honor of King Ptolemy V, including three writing systems: Greek, Demotic, and hieroglyphs.

S3E5Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Cook in Pursuit of the Southern Lands

In 1415, the Portuguese launch an era of explorations that will lead to the European discovery of the world. The competition is intense between France and the United Kingdom for the possession of North America and the West Indies for the Indian colonies, but also for Science.

S3E4Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Vikings: Assault on the Frankish Empire

While the Viking raids have come one after another in the Occident for almost a century, in November 885, hundreds of Scandinavian boats sailing towards Burgundy present themselves before the walls of Paris and besiege the city.

S3E2Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Kursk: The USSR Strikes Back

In the spring of 1943, after the successive failures of Moscow and Stalingrad, the armies of the Reich go on the offensive again. Considered the greatest tank battle in History, this event represents a real turning point of World War II on the Eastern Front.

S3E1Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

The Wall: A World Divided

The Berlin Wall separating East and West Germany was the most potent symbol of Communist oppression in Europe during the Cold War. The documentary "The Wall: A World Divided" profiles how a source of violence, hostility and pain was torn down by ordinary journalists and citizens who risked their life to bring down an oppressive regime and achieve what politicians and world leaders could not. "The Wall: A World Divided" looks deep inside the revolution that swept across Europe two decades ago — with the November 1989 opening of the Berlin Wall — to understand how this remarkable event helped end the Cold War without a shot being fired. The film explores the lives of ordinary people caught up in Cold War politics: a young father forced to tunnel beneath the wall to reunite his family; a teenager whose love of pop culture got him in deep trouble with the state; a student activist helping make a peaceful revolution while facing down tanks; and a young man broken by the ruthless interrogation methods of the secret police. With insights from political leaders like George H.W. Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, Helmut Kohl, James Baker and Condoleezza Rice, explore the origins and demise of the notorious Berlin Wall, the structure's affect on ordinary German lives and the peaceful end to the Cold War. Full of detailed information, this historical PBS documentary explains the stark differences between East and West Germany and their process of reunification.

2010 • History

Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz

The incredible story of Ben Ferencz - the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor and lifelong advocate of "law not war". After witnessing Nazi concentration camps shortly after liberation, Ferencz became the lead prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case at Nuremberg, which has been called the biggest murder trial in history. All 22 Nazi officials tried for murdering over a million Jews were convicted. Ferencz went on to advocate for restitution for Jewish victims of the Holocaust and later for the establishment of the International Criminal Court. At 98, his fight for justice for victims of atrocity crimes is stronger than ever.

2019 • History

The Last of the Valois 1584- 1594

In France, Henry III still has no heir. Catherine de Medici is determined to prevent him from being the last of the Valois line and leaving the throne to Henry of Navarre. Yet again, the wind of revolt blows over the kingdom of France and leads to the assassination of Henry, Duke of Guise.

S2E6The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History

Feuding Brothers 1575- 1584

Mary, Queen of Scots is forced to abdicate and flee to England, where Queen Elizabeth has her imprisoned. Refusing to acknowledge her cousin as her legitimate heir, Elizabeth accepts to wed one of Catherine de Medici’s sons. In Flanders, William I requests military assistance from France.

S2E5The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History

Blood Wedding 1567- 1574

In the name of religious tolerance, Catherine de Medici weds her Catholic daughter, Margaret of Valois, to the young Protestant heir of the Bourbon dynasty, Henry of Navarre. Protestants and Catholics are both in attendance. This event leads to the most infamous bloodbath in France's history.

S2E4The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History

Europe Ignites 1561- 1569

In France, perfidy and treason plunge the French Kingdom into chaos. Behind new king Charles IX, Catherine de Medici rules in the background as master of the throne. However, she is unable to prevent a civil war.

S2E3The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History

In the Name of God 1559- 1561

The rise of Protestantism is dividing Europe. This is the beginning of the Wars of Religion. While celebrating an alliance treaty, Henry II dies during a jousting tournament. Espionage, conspiracies, treason - his son, the sickly Francis II, sees his life and his reign threatened by the Protestants.

S2E2The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History

Game of Queens 1542- 1559

In the middle of the Renaissance, the son of Francis I shake up the foundations of Europe. Henry II, the King of France, secures a claim to the Scottish crown by marrying young queen Mary Stuart to his son, the future Francis II, heir to the French throne.

S2E1The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2018 • History

Curse of the Afterlife

Archaeologists decode the afterlife's secrets in an elaborate tomb and unearth a rare burial chamber revealing evidence of grave robbing.

Part 6Lost Treasures of Egypt • 2019 • History

Warrior Pharaoh Queen

Archaeologists investigate Hatshepsut, one of the greatest female pharaohs in history; a discovery inside one of Hatshepsut's quarries sparks an investigation which leads to the temple of Karnak; an archaeologist excavates mummy parts.

Part 5Lost Treasures of Egypt • 2019 • History

Egypt's Darkest Hour

The discovery of a rare mass grave with the bones of nearly 60 people outside Luxor sends archaeologists on a quest to find out who the remains belong to, why they were buried the way they were and what was happening in ancient Egypt that would have led to a mass burial. Could the collapse of the empire’s Old Kingdom provide any clues?

Secrets of the Dead • 2019 • History

Engineering the Future

An aerial journey reveals how Egypt is modernizing while preserving its unique past.

S1E2Egypt from Above • 2019 • History

Egypt's Ancient Empire

Flying across Egypt reveals how the ancients' achievements shaped the modern nation.

S1E1Egypt from Above • 2019 • History

King Arthur's Lost Kingdom

After four centuries of occupation and leadership, the Romans left Britain in 410 AD and the island’s fate was left hanging in the balance. History teaches that in the 5th century, the country descended into a tumultuous and violent period knows as the Dark Ages, leaving the nation vulnerable to invading Angle and Saxon hordes from northern Europe. With a nation divided, great leader known as King Arthur emerged, uniting the lawless lands to fight off invaders – or at least that’s what the fragmentary historical texts suggest. The truth is, no one really knows what happened, and this pivotal moment in history has been shrouded in mystery – until now. Professor Alice Roberts and a team of experts use new archaeological discoveries to decode Dark Ages myths and piece together a very different story of this turning point in Britain’s history that might also explain the legend of King Arthur.

Secrets of the Dead • 2019 • History

Secrets of the Lost City

The new treasure map leads Albert Lin to discover lost pyramids at the ancient city of El Palmar and beneath the site of a sacrificial ball game. Hidden treasures reveal the epic scale of the ancient Mayan civilization.

S1E4Lost Treasures of the Maya • 2019 • History

Tomb Raiders

A dramatic find reveals ancient, state-sanctioned tomb robbery on an industrial scale. Egyptologist Don Ryan works against the clock to examine the contents of Tomb 49 - and makes a dramatic discovery.

Part 4Lost Treasures of Egypt • 2019 • History

Cleopatra's Lost Tomb

Archaeologists hunt for Queen Cleopatra's lost tomb; underwater archaeologists explore sunken ruins; a team takes mummies to the hospital to scan for hidden treasure; an archaeologist discovers a secret tunnel network at a forgotten temple.

Part 3Lost Treasures of Egypt • 2019 • History

Hunt for the Pyramid Tomb

An investigation into why the great pharaohs of Egypt abandoned the pyramids of Giza and chose a secret cemetery in the Valley of the Kings in which to be buried; a team looks for clues to identify human remains found in looted graves.

Part 2Lost Treasures of Egypt • 2019 • History

Tutankhamun's Treasures

Archaeologists unearth a long-lost box of treasures from inside Tutankhamun's tomb; new technology reveals why this boy king's resting place remained hidden from tomb robbers for thousands of years; a team is tasked with transporting Tut's treasures.

Part 1Lost Treasures of Egypt • 2019 • History

Secrets of the Sun God

Albert Lin follows the treasure map to a pyramid at the heart of the most famous ancient Mayan city; divers search for an entrance to a flooded cave beneath a Mayan pyramid; archaeologists find a ceremonial royal drinking cup that reveals the tomb of a lost king.

S1E3Lost Treasures of the Maya • 2019 • History

Secrets of the Underworld

The treasure map uncovers a mysterious pyramid complex that reveals clues of violent sacrifices; newly discovered cave systems reveal gruesome evidence of ancient Mayan rituals; Albert Lin dives deep beneath the surface of the Mayan spirit underworld.

S1E2Lost Treasures of the Maya • 2019 • History

Secrets of the Snake Altar

A treasure map leads to the discovery of a lost fortress; a sacred altar is unearthed, revealing secrets of the legendary Maya Snake King uprising; Albert Lin travels to a remote jungle, where technology reveals evidence of a forgotten war.

S1E1Lost Treasures of the Maya • 2019 • History

Their Finest Hours

From D-Day to the final Pacific Island hopping campaigns, we see what they experience and how that shapes them as leaders. Nixon faces a barrage of live fire, Bush is shot down in the Pacific, Ford faces kamikazes on the USS Monterey and Eisenhower takes on perhaps the greatest invasion in world history the invasion of Normandy.

S1E2Presidents at War • 2019 • History

A Call To Valor

Part One of this epic event special follows these men through war in both the European and Pacific theaters, starting in December 1941 through late 1943, telling the story of their war experiences and how those experiences shaped them as leaders. In the Pacific, Johnson is nearly killed in a twist of fate, and JFK's PT boat is blown up, Reagan becomes the popular face of the American soldier, Carter joins the US Naval Academy and Eisenhower moves from a rookie to a seasoned general as he leads the invasion of North Africa, Italy and prepares for D-Day.

S1E1Presidents at War • 2019 • History

The 1960s

Witness the dawn of modern America, through famous and infamous images and footage, shown in full color. From the Cuban Missile Crisis to the music of the Beatles; from the March on Washington to the walk on the moon, it's the '60s like they've never been seen before.

S1E5America in Colour • 2017 • History

The 1950s

Witness the 1950s when teens discovered rock 'n' roll, Elvis became a phenomenon, the Space Race took off, and war in Korea erupted.

S1E4America in Colour • 2017 • History

The 1940s

Color footage of America in the 1940s gives a rare look at the decade's most significant moments, including Nazi sympathisers in World War Two, Pearl Harbor, the Manhattan Project and the rise of post-war prosperity.

S1E3America in Colour • 2017 • History

The 1930s

From the Great Depression and Dust Bowl nightmares to Technicolor Hollywood dreams, it's the 1930s in America as only few have seen them... in full color.

S1E2America in Colour • 2017 • History

The 1920s

The Jazz Age, the 1920 bombing of Wall Street, the market crash, and other seminal moments of America's Roaring 20s - carefully colorised, frame by frame, for the first time.

S1E1America in Colour • 2017 • History

Samurai Warrior Queens

In ancient Japan, honor and glory were reserved for male soldiers only, which makes the story of Takeko Nakano so remarkable. Not only was she a female Japanese warrior, but she was joined by several hundred other samurai warrior women, whose complete dedication and extensive suffering remains one of the world's great untold stories. In this Docu Drama, Discover Nakano's rise to become a martial arts master, her epic battle for her clans' independence, and how in today's martial arts schools, the spirit of Japan's female warriors continues to thrive.

2015 • History

The Making Of

What is involved in creating a groundbreaking film that documents the latest paleoanthropological findings? This film will shed light on the talent, research, and scientific discoveries that made Out of the Cradle possible.

S1E2Out of the Cradle • 2019 • History

The Origins of Humanity

An extraordinary journey tracing the footsteps of early Homo sapiens leaving Africa, reaching the easternmost end of the Eurasian continent, and developing unique culture there. The latest paleoanthropological findings and CGI created by top game creators should stun the viewers.

S1E1Out of the Cradle • 2019 • History

The Nero Files

The Roman emperor Nero is considered one of history's greatest criminals. His name has become synonymous with evil, as historic accounts have accused him of killing his stepbrother, his wife and his mother, as well persecuting Christians and instigating the devastating Great Fire of Rome. This is the judgement that is passed in history from one generation to the next, but are these accounts of Nero's reign accurate? New scientific discoveries and a closer examination of the ancient texts written about Nero cast a different light on the Roman emperor and the accusations levelled against him. Secrets of the Dead: The Nero Files follows internationally renowned criminal psychologist Thomas Muller and a team of scientists and historians as they investigate the new evidence in order to discover the truth about the controversial emperor.

Secrets of the Dead • 2019 • History

Idi Amin

See how Idi Amin used lessons learned in the colonial British army to build a powerful dictatorship in Uganda. Through a combination of populist charm and brutal violence, he ruled for eight years until his strategic blunders brought him down.

S1E6The Dictator's Playbook • 2019 • History

Francisco Franco

Learn how Francisco Franco used the tactics of colonial war to win control of Spain. Driven by a deeply conservative vision, he used torture, murder and incarceration to transform Spanish Society.

S1E5The Dictator's Playbook • 2019 • History

Apocalypse, la paix impossible 1918-1926

11th November 1918. The world emerges from the worst conflict ever known. While the victors build a new world order, traumatised peoples rebuild their lives. In the years to come, the major empires collapse while hatred and fear resurface, leading the world to a new apocalypse. Directed by: Isabelle Clarke, Daniel Costelle (France, 2018). Narration: Mathieu Kassovitz

2018 • History

Manuel Noriega

In Episode Four Watch Manuel Noriega rise through the Panamanian military to become chief of intelligence and then, military dictator. He spied for the United States, but in the end, money laundering, drug trafficking and political crimes led to his downfall.

S1E4The Dictator's Playbook • 2019 • History

Benito Mussolini

Learn how six dictators, from Mussolini to Saddam Hussein, shaped the 20th century. How did they seize and lose power? What forces were against them? Learn the answers in these six immersive hours, each a revealing portrait of brutality and power In Episode Three see why Benito Mussolini was considered a pioneer among 20th century dictators. From undermining judges to indoctrinating children, he forged key tactics for seizing power. He also created fascism, an ideology that would plunge Europe into darkness.

S1E3The Dictator's Playbook • 2019 • History

Saddam Hussein

Learn how Saddam Hussein ruled Iraq with an iron fist for almost 30 years. To maintain power, he used fear, intimidation and violence like few other dictators in history, but he made the fatal mistake of believing his regime could take on the world.

S1E2The Dictator's Playbook • 2019 • History

Kim Il Sung

In The First Episode, Witness Kim Il Sung's transformation from guerrilla fighter to brutal dictator of North Korea. How did he build the most controlled society on earth and launch a dictatorship that has lasted for three generations?

S1E1The Dictator's Playbook • 2019 • History

They Shall Not Grow Old

Academy Award winner Peter Jackson's poignant WWI documentary 'They Shall Not Grow Old' to commemorate the centennial of the end of the first World War. The acclaimed documentary is an extraordinary look at the soldiers and events of the Great War, using film footage captured at the time, now presented as the world has never seen. By utilizing state-of-the-art restoration, colorization and 3D technologies, and pulling from 600 hours of BBC archival interviews, Jackson puts forth an intensely gripping, immersive and authentic experience through the eyes and voices of the British soldiers who lived it. Jackson recorded a special introduction to the film offering his perspective on why the film is important for audiences, who have never experienced WWI footage as anything but grainy black & white, and silent. Jackson opens a window to the past in a way that has never been seen or heard before, noting, "Restoration is a humanizing process."

S1E3 • 2018 • History

Endgame

The numbers will favoured one side, then the other in 1918. When the Bolsheviks took Russia out of the war, millions of German and Austro-Hungarian troops were freed up to attack Britain and Belgium, France and Italy. But across the Atlantic, America was training an army of two-million men.

S01E06The Great War in Numbers • 2017 • History

Total War

Episode five tells how, after 1916 and the hell of the Somme and Verdun, the imperial powers redoubled their efforts to crush their enemies.

S01E05The Great War in Numbers • 2017 • History

The Home Front

How the First World War transformed life on the home front, from a greater number of women in the workplace to increased government interference in everyday life.

S01E04The Great War in Numbers • 2017 • History

Weapons of War

By the beginning of 1915 the horrific killing power of machine guns and artillery had taught all sides that the only way to survive was to find shelter and dig in.

S01E02The Great War in Numbers • 2017 • History

The March to War

The opening episode tells the story of the outbreak of war in 1914. In the decades since the last European War the world changed.

S01E01The Great War in Numbers • 2017 • History

A Queen Betrayed

Neil reveals how the clans plotted against Mary Stewart, Queen of Scots, ultimately leading to the beheading of the most charismatic queen in Scottish history. The tale turns on a brother's plot to overthrow his sister in a ruthless bid for power. James Stewart, Earl of Moray, uses clan power to first control and then rid Scotland of his sister Mary. As she battles conspiracies, plots and counterplots, Mary is trapped in the cruel and tumultuous world of clan blood feuds. After they murder her husband Lord Darnley and Mary flees into the arms of the Earl of Bothwell, the most ruthless of Scotland's clan chiefs, civil war breaks out. Mary escapes to England, never to return again.

S1E3Rise of the Clans • 2018 • History

Brothers at War

Neil follows the rise of Clan Stewart to become Scotland’s Royal dynasty. It’s the blood soaked tale of a bitter family feud. In a vicious contest, using clan power to plot, manoeuvre and murder their way to power, the story culminates with the dramatic assassination of King James I below a tennis court in Perth, 1437. Neil traces this family feud through clan combat, royal romances and spectacular Renaissance courts to the brutal torture and execution of the last rival Stewart, Walter Atholl, when the king’s widowed Queen Joan wreaks a terrible revenge for his treachery.

S1E2Rise of the Clans • 2018 • History

The Bruce Supremacy

Neil follows the clans as they rallied behind Robert the Bruce in his against-all-odds bid to win Scotland's crown. After their crucial role in crushing the English at Bannockburn in 1314, Bruce rewarded the loyal chiefs with land and titles. They rise to shape the fate of kingdom in the centuries to come.

S1E1Rise of the Clans • 2018 • History

The Emperor's Lost Harbour

In the heart of a metropolitan city of 15 million people and among the construction of a new billion-dollar transportation network, an archaeological sensation has been discovered: the ancient harbour of Theodosious. Theodosious was the last ruler over both Eastern and Western portions of a unified Roman Empire; the harbour has been buried and shrouded in mystery for over 800 years…until now. Istanbul, Turkey, is situated exactly between Europe and Asia. It has, since prehistoric times, bridged the gap between these continents, their cultures and its people. Engineers are working to connect East to West through a spectacular 1.4 kilometer railway tunnel, 60 meters below the surface, but they've been stalled by the discovery of the Emperor's Lost Harbor.

S51E05The Nature of Things • 2011 • History

The Code Breakers

For decades, scientists believed that humans were forced to wait until the end of the last Ice Age before they could enter the Americas. Evidence suggests that 11,000 years ago they crossed the Bering Land Bridge by foot, into what is now modern-day Alaska. Those peoples were called the Clovis, and their arrival and hunting practices were blamed for the sudden disappearance of many large mammals, from mastodons and woolly mammoths to giant ground sloths and sabre-toothed tigers. In recent years however, tantalizing – but often frustratingly inconclusive – evidence of an earlier human migration into the Americas has begun to emerge. It is an incredible revelation – to think that ancient humans could somehow have managed to get past a sheet of ice four kilometres thick. In this fascinating documentary, Canadian anthropologist and adventurer Niobe Thompson takes us inside the incredible scientific discoveries that are finally unraveling these mysteries

S50E10The Nature of Things • 2011 • History

Stonehenge Uncovered

Stonehenge is an icon of prehistoric Britain, an enigma that has seduced archaeologists and tourists for centuries. Why is it here? What is its significance? And which forces inspired its creators? For the last four years, an international team has surveyed and mapped every monument, both visible and invisible, across 10 square kilometres of the sacred landscape to create a complete digital picture of Stonehenge and the surrounding area through time. Known monuments have yielded more data than ever before, revealing hidden structures within; and new finds are revolutionising the history of Stonehenge.

S54E01The Nature of Things • 2014 • History

Secrets in the Bones

Hendrik Poinar is a bit of a mystery man – as in, he likes to solve them. And he’s part time traveller – as in, he likes to dig up the past. Think Doctor Who meets Indiana Jones. Poinar is an evolutionary biologist - which means he studies the nature of how we humans got here and where we’re going. He happily admits his childhood dream was to travel the world and travel back in time. “No-one imagines that there’s actually something still hidden within a bone that’s been buried for a few thousand years or 100,000 years, let alone the possibility of resurrecting it or bringing it back to life,” says Poinar. “I mean, that’s sort of completely bizarre. It’s like a time machine, yeah, it’s a kid’s dream.” Secrets in the Bones follows Poinar on an epic journey to Italy, Germany, Britain, and across the Unites States. His mission: solve one of the greatest mysteries of science, a mystery that has eluded researchers for more than six centuries: unlock the secrets of the fourteenth century killer disease that caused the Black Death and wiped out more than 50 million people.

S53E12The Nature of Things • 2014 • History

The War Leader

Harald Sandner continues his study of Adolf Hitler as he seizes control of Germany and plunges the European continent into the bloodiest conflict the world has ever seen. Harald meticulously notes every success and failure as the world's powers come together to put an end to this chapter in history.

S1E2Adolf Hitler The Itinerary • 2018 • History

The Ascent of a Criminal

Harald Sandner, a history enthusiast, has traced Adolf Hitler's early life. From his childhood home, through his relationship with his family, the challenges he endured as a young man, and the home he made for himself in the German military. Follow the world's greatest murderer's rise to power.

S1E1Adolf Hitler The Itinerary • 2018 • History

The Future of Food

Industrialized and processed food has dominated the last century. Now, the question is, what's next? We go around the world to meet pioneers in urban farming, veganism, and insect protein production to find out what will be the future of food.

S1E5The History of Food • 2018 • History

The Industry of Food

Industrialization brought the second great food revolution. Over the brief span of the 20th century, agriculture underwent greater change than it had since it was first practiced some 12,000 years ago.

S1E4The History of Food • 2018 • History

The Invention of Cooking

Humans have depended on fire for millennia, but do we fully understand the impact it has had on our diet? When our hunter-gatherer ancestors learned to harness this tool, it ignited a culinary and cerebral revolution believed to be one of the most important factors in our evolution.

S1E1The History of Food • 2018 • History

Cities of the Sky

Cities of the Sky explores the creation of some of the ancient world's largest and most splendid cities. Were people across Native America inspired by celestial phenomenon to build their communities? Answers are revealed in American urban centers that bloomed from the Mexican jungle, a massive multi-cultural city in Central Mexico that is among the largest urban centers in history, and the capital of South America's greatest empire.

S1E3Native America • 2018 • History

Nature to Nations

Nature to Nations explores the rise of great American nations, from dynastic monarchies to participatory democracies. What lies behind these diverse and sophisticated governments? Answers emerge from an archaeologist excavating America’s oldest temple in the Peruvian Andes, a tribe initiating a new chief at a ceremony surrounded by cedar totem poles in the Pacific Northwest, an expert reading ancient hieroglyphs from a sarcophagus to tell a forgotten history of Maya kings, and the return of an ancient shell wampum belt to the birthplace of democracy near Syracuse, New York.

S1E2Native America • 2018 • History

Railways of the Holocaust

Traveling through three countries from Nuremberg to Auschwitz, Chris Tarrant explores the darkest chapter in the history of the railways - their role in the Nazi Holocaust of WWII.

2018 • History

The Story of Fascism in Europe

In this one-hour special, Rick Steves travels back a century to learn how fascism rose and then fell in Europe — taking millions of people with it. He traces fascism’s history from its roots in the turbulent aftermath of World War I, when masses of angry people rose up, to the rise of charismatic leaders who manipulated that anger, and the totalitarian societies they built.

2017 • History

Instanbul

Istanbul: At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, many of its secrets are concealed or underground. The latest 3D imaging technology reveals the city as no human eye ever could to show how the city has had to reinvent itself over and over through its turbulent past.

S1E3Ancient Invisible Cities • 2018 • History

Cairo

Discover the historical secrets of Cairo and Ancient Egypt from the Great Pyramid of Giza to the first pyramid ever built. Explore a hidden Roman fortress and uncover a well deep in the rock below the Arabic citadel of Saladin.

S1E2Ancient Invisible Cities • 2018 • History

Athens

Professor Darius Arya uses scanning technology to reveal the hidden secrets of ancient Athens. From the buildings on the Acropolis to the silver mines and quarries beyond the city, he investigates the story of the city that gave the world democracy.

S1E1Ancient Invisible Cities • 2018 • History

Retreat and Surrender

The dramatic story of the D-Day landings and of the liberation of Paris. In the east the Soviets liberate Auschwitz and fight their way to the heart of Berlin. Germany finally surrenders, but Japan fights on until the atom bombs are dropped.

S1E6Apocalypse: The Second World War • 2009 • History

Allies Strike Back

This episode looks at the turning of the war against Germany, with Allied victory at El Alamein and Russian triumph at Stalingrad. Inside Hitler's Germany the SS gain more power, and in southern Europe the Allies fight their way though Italy

S1E5Apocalypse: The Second World War • 2009 • History

American Allies

The story of the sudden Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the early days of the war in the Pacific. Back in Europe, this episode looks at the bombing offensive against Germany and at the appalling crime of the Holocaust.

S1E4Apocalypse: The Second World War • 2009 • History

Origins of the Holocaust

The story of Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union, of Rommel's war against the British in North Africa and of the horrors of the murder of Russian Jews - sometimes known as the Holocaust by Bullets.

S1E3Apocalypse: The Second World War • 2009 • History

Collapse of France

The story of Hitler's lightning invasion of France and its rapid collapse, of the evacuation from Dunkirk, and of the summer of 1940 when Britain fought on alone. In new digital colour, this episode shows the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.

S1E2Apocalypse: The Second World War • 2009 • History

Hitler's Rise to Power

This first episode covers Hitler's invasion of Poland, when the world stood on the brink of war, and features stunning colourised footage of the catastrophe faced by the Polish army as it was crushed by the Nazi war machine.

S1E1Apocalypse: The Second World War • 2009 • History

Deliverance

All seems lost for the Allies. The Italians are defeated at Caporette, and a Bolshevik Russia pulls out of the war. But the American reinforcements are decisive, and the Allies emerge victorious. The Allies are unable to negotiate an honorable peace agreement, and the Treaty of Versailles, 20 years later, will have disastrous consequences.

S1E5Apocalypse: World War 1 • 2014 • History

Rage

1917. People have had enough of the war. Behind the scenes, uprisings are brewing, like the one that toppled the Tsar in Russia; on the front soldiers begin to mutiny as they did at Chemin des Dames in France. German submarine attacks in the Atlantic will finally pull the Americans into the war, but they arrive too late to help prevent the carnage of the Battle of Passchendaele.

S1E4Apocalypse: World War 1 • 2014 • History

Hell

1916. The war is raging in Europe and stretches from the trenches in France to the Italian Alps and the Balkans, and beyond to the gates of the Eastern world. The conflict becomes industrial, and millions of shells rain down on the battlefields; Verdun and the Somme are the deadliest battles in this second year of the war. Who can stop this infernal machine?

S1E3Apocalypse: World War 1 • 2014 • History

Fear

The French army stops the German advance at the battle of the Marne, while the Germans halt the Russians at Tannenberg on the eastern front. In France, the warring parties dig themselves in for 4 years in the trenches. Soldiers from the colonies come lend a hand to their colonizers and the war becomes global.

S1E2Apocalypse: World War 1 • 2014 • History

Fury

On June 28th, 1914, the assassination of an obscure Austrian archduke in Sarajevo triggers the most disastrous conflict the world has ever known. Germany becomes an enemy to France, invades Belgium, and in September arrives at the gates of Paris.

S1E1Apocalypse: World War 1 • 2014 • History

State of Play

Europe has never experienced such a long period of peace and prosperity as after the Second World War. When the Iron Curtain fell in 1989, the dream of a Europe united in peace and freedom seemed to have finally to become a reality. But the clouds of nationalism have started to gather once again.

S1E6The Story of Europe • 2018 • History

Commonalities and Divisions

Europe was embroiled in near constant conflict for centuries. Violent power struggles between nations and rulers shook the continent. Not until the Enlightenment and the French Revolution of 1789 that a new idea of Europe emerged based on common values: freedom, equality, and fraternalism.

S1E5The Story of Europe • 2018 • History

Acievements and Rewards

Europe's history has many dark sides, but its culture is more than a small gleam of hope, it radiates in many areas far out into the world. The old continent sets standards in art, literature, and science. Starting with the ancient Greeks, Europe produces a number of smart and creative minds.

S1E4The Story of Europe • 2018 • History

Ambitions and Conquests

From the 15th to well into the 20th century, Europeans conquered and dominated the world. On behalf of Spain, Christopher Columbus sought a new sea route to India and instead found a "New World". His discovery was the starting signal for the "Europeanization of the Earth".

S1E3The Story of Europe • 2018 • History

Beliefs and Ideas

Europe has seen Christianity as central to its Western identity. While true, many beliefs and ideas shaping Europe, including Christianity, originate in the Middle East. Long before the birth of Jesus, Judaism spreads across the Roman empire; Muslim Moors dominate the Iberian Peninsula.

S1E2The Story of Europe • 2018 • History

Origins and Identity

Where and when does the history of Europe begin? The traces lead to ancient Greece, more precisely to Crete: Here we not only found the first high culture of the continent, but also the founding myth, to which it owes its name: the kidnapping of the princess Europa by the Greek god Zeus.

S1E1The Story of Europe • 2018 • History

Dunkirk: The Forgotten Heroes

The evacuation of allied troops from the beaches at Dunkirk was rightly celebrated as a great moment in British history. What very few people know, though, is that after Dunkirk tens of thousands of British troops were left in France, fighting for their lives. After the rest of the British army had gone home, the 51st Highland Division were ordered to fight on against the might of Adolf Hitler's war machine. Now, almost 80 years later, the only remaining survivors of that Division tell their extraordinary story for the first time - and probably the last. Using recently declassified secret documents, the full details of their fight for survival and why they were left to fight on in France can now be revealed. It's the story of a desperate battle in the face of overwhelming odds, a remarkable, courageous last stand and the doomed maverick rescue mission launched to save the men of the 51st.

2018 • History

Enemy Allies

German and American soldiers fight together to save French VIP prisoners from Nazi troops.

S1E4Hitler's Last Stand • 2018 • History

Nazi Fortress

Desperate to feed the Allied advance after D-Day, US forces target a deep water port in France during a month long siege against Nazi paratroopers.

S1E2Hitler's Last Stand • 2018 • History

Panzer Fury

The Allies must capture the Abbaye d Ardenne, which guards the city of Caen but is held by a notorious Panzer unit accused of horrific war crimes.

S1E1Hitler's Last Stand • 2018 • History

The Battle of Hastings

In the conclusion, the winds finally change and Duke William leads his vast invasion fleet across the Channel. But King Harold is 300 miles away in the north having defeated the Vikings.

S1E3Europe's Last Warrior Kings • 2018 • History

England under Attack

King Harold of England takes on two invasion forces. First, his brother Tostig attacks the south coast. He is repelled, but there is more to come. Later in the year, a vast Viking invasion force led by King Harald Hardrada of Norway lands in the north.

S1E2Europe's Last Warrior Kings • 2018 • History

Prelude to War

In the premiere, King Edward the Confessor dies without an heir, triggering a bitter race to succeed him as King of England. Earl Harold is on the spot and takes the crown. But in Normandy, Duke William believes the throne has been promised to him.

S1E1Europe's Last Warrior Kings • 2018 • History

Joan of Arc: God's Warrior

Dr Helen Castor explores the life - and death - of Joan of Arc. Joan was an extraordinary figure - a female warrior in an age that believed women couldn't fight, let alone lead an army. But Joan was driven by faith, and today more than ever we are acutely aware of the power of faith to drive actions for good or ill. Since her death, Joan has become an icon for almost everyone - the left and the right, Catholics and Protestants, traditionalists and feminists. But where in all of this is the real Joan - the experiences of a teenage peasant girl who achieved the seemingly impossible? Through an astonishing manuscript, we can hear Joan's own words at her trial, and as Helen unpicks Joan's story and places her back in the world that she inhabited, the real human Joan emerges.

2015 • History

Dunkirk Resist at All Costs

The dramatic story of the defense of France against Hitler's invading army in order to enable the desperate evacuation of over 300K men of the British Expeditionary Force and Allied troops across the English Channel to safety in 1940.

S2E7Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Gutenberg

In the 15th century, an inventor in a workshop in Strasburg came up with a machine that would eventually change the history of the entire world and shake a religion to its core. The choice of the first work to be printed is an astute one: Saint Jerome’s Latin version of the Bible.

S2E6Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

The Olympic Games a Mirror to Society

How did one man succeed in relaunching the Olympic spirit and turn the Games into a global event?

S2E5Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

The Fronde

In the 17th century, a long period of civil war in France and war across Europe, rebellious members of the French Parliament, dubbed The Fronde, defy the monarchy and this defiance does not end well for them...and changes the history of France.

S2E4Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

The Fall of Quebec France Loses America

The battle between the French and English for the French territory of New France hinges on the presence of the British navy. And the Battle on the Plains of Abraham is tipped to Great Britain by the solidly trained soldiers of the British army. This changed the landscape of North America.

S2E3Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Aral a Sea for Cotton

The former Soviet Union collectivized many aspects of agricultural and industrial development in the 1950's. While some efforts were successful, others, like the cotton-growing around the Aral Sea, have proven to be an ecological nightmare.

S2E2Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

Istanbul from One Empire to the Other

Constantinople was a part of the Roman Empire, then became the seat of the Byzantine Empire and then was the imperial city of the Ottoman Empire. Here is the story of the fabled city and its history of power and conflict through the ages.

S2E1Butterfly Effect • 2018 • History

D-Day 6.6.1944: Extended Version

Dramatised documentary, based on the experiences of the soldiers who invaded France in the D-Day Normandy Landings on 6 June 1944 which were instrumental in ending World War II. The planning for the Allied invasion took two years and cost thousands of lives, and involved a deception of breathtaking audacity. D-Day examines the intricate jigsaw, presenting events through the eyes of the men and women who were there, telling their extraordinary stories.

2002 • History

Part 2

In this episode, Ella Al-Shamahi explores the fate of the Neanderthals - asking why they became extinct, and discovering how they live on inside of us today. The programme starts in the caves of Gibraltar, which may have been the last place the Neanderthals survived. Discoveries here have shown the Neanderthals lived a good life - feasting on seafood and wild game. These were a people who were supremely well adapted to their environment. But about 40,000 years ago they disappeared. Why? One of the reasons might have been that they lost out in a physical showdown with modern humans. Ella investigates one of the world's oldest murder mysteries.

S1E2Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors • 2018 • History

Part 1

This first programme in a two-part series investigates what Neanderthals looked like and how they lived in their Ice Age world. It turns out that almost everything we thought we knew about them is wrong. They weren't hunched, grunting, knuckle-dragging ape-men at all. In reality they were faster, smarter, better looking - and much more like us than we ever thought. Our guide is Ella Al-Shamahi, a young, British, rising star in Neanderthal research, with an unusual side-line as a stand-up comic She enlists the skills of Andy Serkis, the global movie star and master of performance capture, best known as Gollum in the Lord of the Rings and Caesar in Planet of the Apes

S1E1Neanderthals: Meet Your Ancestors • 2018 • History

Trade

The finale episode examines an ancient civilization unlike any other, that of the Indus Valley. Rather than imposing order through war or religion, it relied on the free flow of trade. The exchange of goods promoted wealth, co-operation and trust.

4First Civilizations • 2018 • History

Cities

View the birthplace of civilization: the Middle East, site of the world's first villages, towns and cities, from the hills of Turkey to the plains of Iraq. They were crucibles of invention and innovation-turbo-charging the pace of progress.

3First Civilizations • 2018 • History

Religion

In this Episode discover the secret to the stability and cohesion of Ancient Egypt—religion. When people share a core set of beliefs, they are more likely to identify as one. That was true for the first civilizations and it's just as true today.

Part 2First Civilizations • 2018 • History

Civilisations on your Doorstep

From Roman marbles and Egyptian mummies to Renaissance masterpieces and African sculptures, in this special accompanying programme to Civilisations, Mary Beard goes in search of extraordinary works of art from all over the world that can be seen here in Britain.

10/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

The Vital Spark

Simon Schama begins Civilisations with this premise: that it is in art - the play of the creative imagination - that humanity expresses its most essential self: the power to break the tyranny of the humdrum, the grind of everyday.

9/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

The Cult of Progress

If David Olusoga's first film in Civilisations is about the art that followed and reflected early encounters between different cultures, his second explores the artistic reaction to imperialism in the 19th century. David shows the growing ambivalence with which artists reacted to the idea of progress, both intellectual and scientific, that underpinned the imperial mission and followed the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution.

8/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

Radiance

Simon Schama starts his meditation on colour and civilisation with the great Gothic cathedrals of Amiens and Chartres. He then moves to 16th-century Venice...

7/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

First Contact

In the 15th and 16th centuries distant and disparate cultures met, often for the first time. These encounters provoked wonder, awe, bafflement and fear.

6/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

The Triumph of Art

Think Renaissance and you think of Italy. But in the 15th and 16th centuries, the great Islamic empires experienced their own extraordinary cultural flowering.

5/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

The Eye of Faith

Professor Mary Beard broaches the controversial, sometimes dangerous, topic of religion and art. For millennia, art has inspired religion as much as religion has inspired art.

4/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

Picturing Paradise

Simon Schama explores one of our deepest artistic urges - the depiction of nature. Simon discovers that landscape painting is seldom a straightforward description of observed nature - rather it is a projection of dreams and idylls, as well as of escapes and refuges from human turmoil, the elusive paradise on earth.

3/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

How Do We Look

In this episode of Civilisations, Professor Mary Beard explores images of the human body in ancient art, from Mexico and Greece to Egypt and China.

2/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

Second Moment of Creation

A look at the formative role art and imagination have played in the forging of humanity.

1/10Civilisations • 2018 • History

War

Examine the process of "destructive creation"-the idea that fear, rivalry and conflict strengthen community bonds while stimulating an arms race of technological progress. The result is civilization. Ancient Mesoamerica exemplifies this development.

Part 1First Civilizations • 2018 • History

The King and the Emperor: 1515-1558

Child hostages, marriages, battles, and betrayals -- this is the story of Francis I, King of France and Charles V, King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, and the rivalry that engulfed Europe in war. But in the end, did either of them "win"?

S1E4The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2017 • History

The Marriage Game: 1461-1483

Louis XI of France faced a formidable range of enemies when he ascended the throne. English kings and Burgundian dukes had eyes for the monarchy of France. This is the story of how Louis battled, schemed, bribed and even arranged marriages, all in a quest to keep his kingdom.

S1E3The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2017 • History

The Mad King and the Maiden: 1392-1453

In 15th Century France confusion reigns with a king who goes mad, dauphines who die as teenagers, a queen who switches allegiances between rival dukes and multiple assassinations. And then, of course, there was the English king, Henry V, who also claimed the throne of France...

S1E2The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2017 • History

War is Declared: 1328-1364

In the turbulent formative centuries of early Europe, power-hungry family dynasties fought for domination of the continent. The conflicting ambitions of the Plantagenet king of England, Edward III, and the Valois king of France, Philip VI, brought intrigue, war, kidnapping and mayhem to France.

S1E1The Real War of Thrones: The True History of Europe • 2017 • History

Secrets of the 10,000 Year Old Man

Follows the UK's most ambitious and cutting-edge ancient DNA project to date. For the first time, a team of top scientists at the Natural History Museum and University College London have analysed the DNA of Britain's oldest complete skeleton. Known as Cheddar Man, this human male fossil was originally unearthed over 100 years ago in Gough's Cave in Cheddar Gorge, Somerset. Building on the advanced genetic testing of his 10,000-year-old bones, two of the most acclaimed palaeontological model makers in the world, Dutch identical twins Adrie and Alfons Kennis, have recreated Cheddar Man's entire head to give his extraordinary skeleton a real identity for the first time.

Secret History • 2018 • History

Meltdown

Exit strategies are put into action by the members of the inner circle when the Allies surround the capitol and Hitler perishes by his own hand.

10/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

Beginning of the End

As the war fails, the inner circle responds with strategies to save itself, from plotting the Fuhrer's assassination to negotiating with the allies.

9/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

Rise of the Sycophants

At a critical juncture of the war in 1942, Germany's manufacturing capacity is strained and Hitler turns not to a general but architect Albert Speer.

8/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

Rise and Fall of Reinhard Heydrich

SS head Heinrich Himmler orders his deputy Reinhard Heydrich to enact a plan of ethnic cleansing that becomes a blueprint for the Holocaust.

7/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

The Madness of Rudolf Hess

As Germany invades Poland and sparks World War II, loyal Deputy Fuhrer Rudolf Hess tries to reclaim his once lofty status among Hitler's senior staff.

6/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

The Berghof Set

As the country's economy falters, the Nazis plan invasions and a racial purge while the leaders of the inner circle fight to win Hitler's favour.

5/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

The Rise of Antisemitism

Himmler, Goebbels and Goering jockey for position while the Nazis rise to control Germany and plot to launch their vicious antisemitic programs.

4/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

The Fall of Rohm

The stock market crash in the U.S. makes the Nazis seem prescient, but newfound respect means the party must be purged of rivalrous elements.

3/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

Regrouping

Imprisoned and his followers scattered, Hitler in 1923 seems to be finished, until he and Rudolf Hess devise a new strategy and a new path to power

2/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

Heroes and Misfits

War heroes, disaffected workers, a wealthy playwright and an enigmatic veteran named Adolf Hitler create a movement fuelled by mythology and racism.

1/10Hitler's Circle of Evil • 2017 • History

Black Death the Invisible Enemy

A disease that developed and killed within a few days decimates Europe and changes the course of history.

S2E6Butterfly Effect • 2017 • History

Cuba Nuclear Standoff

The Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the defining moments of the mid-twentieth century and of the presidency of John Kennedy. How did the two Cold War powers of the USSR and the USA come to the point of threatening nuclear war?

S2E5Butterfly Effect • 2017 • History

The Gold Rush for a Fistful of Nuggets

Timing is everything, just look at what happened in 1848. How did the finding of gold in Sutter's Mill make an impact on the development of California and the history of the United States?

S2E4Butterfly Effect • 2017 • History

Cortees at the Heart of the Aztec Empire

The encounter between the conquistador and opportunist Hernan Cortes and the indigenous peoples of Central America is one of history's tragic tales of greed, conflict, imperial weakness and superior weaponry.

S2E3Butterfly Effect • 2017 • History

The Suffragettes Battle for the Ballot Box

In late Victorian England, women began to organize to gain the right to vote. The fight for women's suffrage lasted well into the early 20th Century.

S2E2Butterfly Effect • 2017 • History

Great Escape at Dunkirk

As France fell to the German armies in May 1940, 300,000 Allied troops were trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk. Their annihilation seemed certain - a disaster that could have led to Britain's surrender. But then, in a last-minute rescue dramatized in Christopher Nolan's recent film, Royal Navy ships and a flotilla of tiny civilian boats evacuated hundreds of thousands of soldiers to safety across the Channel - the legendary "miracle of Dunkirk." Now, NOVA follows a team of archaeologists, historians, and divers as they recover the remains of ships, planes, and personal effects lost during the epic operation. With access to previously classified files recently released by the UK government, they also uncover the truth behind the myths of Dunkirk - notably, a claim that the Royal Air Force failed to protect the stranded men from the Luftwaffe's constant bombing of the beaches. Featuring an exclusive excavation of a newly-found Spitfire wreck, NOVA debunks the myth and highlights the essential role that the RAF's iconic fighter played in reversing the desperate stakes that played out in the air above the beleaguered men.

NOVA PBS • 2018 • History

Julius Caesar Revealed

Julius Caesar is the most famous Roman of them all: brutal conqueror, dictator and victim of a gruesome assassination on the Ides of March 44 BC. 2,000 years on, he still shapes the world. He has given us some political slogans we still use today (Crossing the Rubicon), his name lives on in the month of July, and there is nothing new about Vladmir Putin's carefully cultivated military image and no real novelty in Donald Trump's tweets and slogans. Mary Beard is on a mission to uncover the real Caesar, and to challenge public perception. She seeks the answers to some big questions. How did he become a one-man ruler of Rome? How did he use spin and PR on his way to the top? Why was he killed? And she asks some equally intriguing little questions. How did he conceal his bald patch? Did he really die, as William Shakespeare put it, with the words Et tu, Brute on his lips? Above all, Mary explores his surprising legacy right up to the present day. Like it or not, Caesar is still present in our everyday lives, our language, and our politics. Many dictators since, not to mention some other less autocratic leaders, have learned the tricks of their trade from Julius Caesar.

2018 • History

Holocaust: The Revenge Plot

In the dying days of World War II, a secret organisation of Holocaust survivors plans a terrible revenge. Six million Jews are dead but, by 1946, just a handful of Nazis face trial. Most of the guilty will never face justice. For many of Hitler's victims, this is not enough. Based on previously unheard recordings and exclusive interviews with those involved - all of whom are over 90 - this documentary tells the story of a remarkable secret group known as The Avengers, who decide to take matters into their own hands. Assembled by the warrior-poet Abba Kovner, their aim is 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life.' Their plan: to murder six million Germans by infiltrating German cities and poisoning the water supply.

Secret History • 2018 • History

The Empire Strikes Back

Alastair Sooke charts the decline and fall of the Roman Empire through some of its hidden and most magical artistic treasures. He travels to Leptis Magna in Libya, shortly after the overthrow of Gaddafi, and finds one of the best preserved Roman cities in the world and the cradle of later Roman art. Sooke discovers glorious mosaics which have never been filmed before but also finds evidence of shocking neglect of Libya's Roman heritage by the Gaddafi regime. His artistic tour takes him to Egypt and the northern frontiers of the empire where he encounters stunning mummy paintings and exquisite silver and glassware. As Rome careered from one crisis to another, official art became more hard boiled and militaristic and an obscure cult called Christianity rose up to seize the mantle of Western art for centuries to come.

S1E3Treasures of Ancient Rome • 2012 • History

Pomp and Perversion

Alastair Sooke follows in the footsteps of Rome's mad, bad and dangerous emperors in the second part of his celebration of Roman art. He dons a wetsuit to explore the underwater remains of the Emperor Claudius's pleasure palace and ventures into the cave where Tiberius held wild parties. He finds their taste in art chimes perfectly with their obsession with sex and violence. The other side of the coin was the bombastic art the Romans are best remembered for - monumental arches and columns that boast about their conquests. Trajan's Column in Rome reads like the storyboard of a modern-day propaganda film. Sooke concludes with the remarkable legacy of the Emperor Hadrian. He gave the world the magnificent Pantheon in Rome - the eternal image of his lover Antinous, the most beautiful boy in the history of art - and a villa in Tivoli where he created one of the most ambitious art collections ever created.

S1E2Treasures of Ancient Rome • 2012 • History

Warts 'n' All

The Romans were brilliant engineers and soldiers, but what isn't as well known is that they also gave us wonderful artistic treasures. In this three-part series, Alastair Sooke argues that the old-fashioned view that the Romans didn't do art is nonsense. He traces how the Romans during the Republic went from being art thieves and copycats to pioneering a new artistic style - warts 'n' all realism. Roman portraits reveal what the great names from history, men like Julius Caesar and Cicero, actually looked like. Modern-day artists demonstrate the ingenious techniques used to create these true to life masterpieces in marble, bronze and paint. We can step back into the Roman world thanks to their invention of the documentary-style marble relief and to a volcano called Vesuvius. Sooke explores the remarkable artistic legacy of Pompeii before showing how Rome's first emperor, Augustus, used the power of art to help forge an empire.

S1E1Treasures of Ancient Rome • 2012 • History

The Long Shadow

Alastair explores the extraordinary afterlife of the Greek masterpieces that changed the course of western culture. Succeeding centuries have found in ancient Greek art inspiration for their own ideals and ambitions. Filming in Italy, Germany, France and Britain, Alastair's investigation includes The Venus of Knidos, the first naked woman in Western art, the bronze horses of St Mark's in Venice which became a pawn in an imperial game and the naked discus thrower, the Discobolus, personally bought by Adolf Hitler and used by him as a symbol of Aryan supremacy.

S1E3Treasures of Ancient Greece • 2015 • History

The Classical Revolution

Alastair unpicks the reasons behind the dazzling revolution that gave birth to classical Greek art, asking how the Greeks got so good so quickly. He travels to the beautiful Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, and to the island of Mozia to see the astonishing charioteer found there in 1979, and marvels at the athletic bodies of the warriors dragged from the seabed - the Riace Bronzes. It was a creative explosion that covered architecture, sculpting in marble, casting in bronze, even painting on vases. Perhaps the most powerful factor was also its greatest legacy - a fascination with the naked human body.

S1E2Treasures of Ancient Greece • 2015 • History

The Age of Heroes

Alastair explores the surprising roots of Greek art, beginning his journey in Crete at the palace of Knossos, legendary home of the Minotaur. He travels to Santorini to the 'Greek Pompeii', and finds gold in the fabled stronghold of Mycenae and dazzling remains from Greece's Dark Ages. Alastair discovers the beginnings of a defining spirit in Greek art, embracing mythology, a passion for symmetry, and an obsession with the human body.

S1E1Treasures of Ancient Greece • 2015 • History

My Human Earth

In the subsequent 65 million years, mammals are part of Europe’s history. Sea mammals conquered the oceans while herds of herbivores crisscrossed the land. It was 600,000 years ago that Homo Heidelbergensis first began hunting. Seen from a geological perspective, human beings have been on the earth for only a few short moments, but within this brief time we have already fundamentally transformed the planet. Rivers have been straightened, forests cleared and roads laid down across the natural habitats of nearly all the earth’s animals.

S1E2300 Million Years: Where Life Began • 2015 • History

The Big Crash

The Big Crash” relates the dramatic history of how the continent of Europe came to be – from the carboniferous period to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. During its long creation process Europe has “traveled” through various climate zones, has been shaped by the elements and transformed by collisions with other continents. Dinosaurs were also at home here – until the Big Crash came.

S1E1300 Million Years: Where Life Began • 2015 • History

A New Dawn

Alastair concludes the epic story of Egyptian art by looking at how, despite political decline, the final era of the Egyptian Empire saw its art enjoy revival and rebirth. From the colossal statues of Rameses II that proclaimed the pharaoh's power to the final flourishes under Queen Cleopatra, Sooke discovers that the subsequent invasions by foreign rulers from the Nubians to Alexander the Great and the Romans produced a new hybrid art full of surprise. He also unearths a seam of astonishing satirical work, produced by ordinary men, that continues to inspire Egypt's graffiti artists today.

S1E3Treasures of Ancient Egypt • 2014 • History

The Golden Age

On a journey through Ancient Egyptian art, Alastair Sooke picks treasures from its most opulent and glittering moment. Starting with troubling psychological portraits of tyrant king Senwosret III and ending with the golden mask of boy king Tutankhamun, Sooke also explores architectural wonders, exquisite tombs and a lost city - site of the greatest artistic revolution in Egypt's history where a new sinuous style was born under King Akhenaten and Queen Nefertiti. Along the way Egyptologists and artists reveal that the golden veneer conceals a touching humanity.

S1E2Treasures of Ancient Egypt • 2014 • History

The Birth of Art

Tracing the origins of Egypt's unique visual style, he treks across the Sahara and travels the Nile to find the rarely-seen art of its earliest peoples. Exploring how this civilisation's art reflected its religion, he looks anew at the Great Pyramid, and the statuary and painting of the Old Kingdom. Sooke is amazed by the technical prowess of ancient artists whose skills confound contemporary craftsmen.

S1E1Treasures of Ancient Egypt • 2014 • History

Race for the World's First Atomic Bomb

The personalities behind the creation of the world's first atomic bomb were as extraordinary, and often as explosive, as the science they were working in. This is the inside-the-barbed-wire story of the men and women who worked on the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos. Through first-hand accounts and never-before-seen interviews, this documentary looks inside the atomic insiders' hearts and minds, their triumphs and failures, their bravery in the face of paralyzing fear and, ultimately, their war-winning and world-changing accomplishments.

2015 • History

Day the Dinosaurs Died

66 million years ago a seven-mile-wide asteroid collided with Earth, triggering a chain of events suspected of ending the dinosaurs' reign. But experts have long debated exactly what happened when the asteroid struck and how the giant beasts met their end. Now, scientists have uncovered compelling new clues about the catastrophe - from New Jersey to the wilds of Patagonia, and an international expedition of scientists has drilled into the impact crater off the coast of Mexico, recovering crucial direct evidence of the searing energy and giant tsunami unleashed by the asteroid. Join NOVA as scientists piece together a chillingly precise unfolding of the Earth's biggest cataclysm, moment by moment. And discover how our early mammalian ancestors managed to survive and repopulate the Earth.

NOVA PBS • 2017 • History

Britain's Nuclear Bomb: The Inside Story

In 1957, Britain exploded its first megaton hydrogen bomb - codenamed Operation Grapple X. It was the culmination of an extraordinary scientific project, which against almost insuperable odds turned Britain into a nuclear superpower. Featuring access to the top-secret nuclear research facility at Aldermaston, the programme features interviews with veterans and scientists who took part in the atomic bomb programme, some speaking for the first time, and newly released footage of the British atomic bomb tests.

2017 • History

Easter Island: Mysteries of a Lost World

The contrast between the majestic statues of Easter Island and the desolation of their surroundings is stark. For decades Easter Island, or Rapa Nui as the islanders call it, has been seen as a warning from history for the planet as a whole - wilfully expend natural resources and the collapse of civilisation is inevitable. But archaeologist Dr Jago Cooper believes this is a disastrous misreading of what happened on Easter Island. He believes that its culture was a success story not a failure, and the real reasons for its ultimate demise were far more shocking. Cooper argues that there is an important lesson that the experience of Easter Island can teach the rest of the world, but it doesn't begin by blaming its inhabitants for their own downfall. This film examines the latest scientific and archaeological evidence to reveal a compelling new narrative, one that sees the famous statues as only part of a complex culture that thrived in isolation. Cooper finds a path between competing theories about what happened to Easter Island to make us see this unique place in a fresh light.

2014 • History

Homo Naledi

Discovered in 2013, new and puzzling finding of small-skulled fossils of Homo Naledi has scientists trying to understand whether Homo Sapiens lived at the same time as Homo Naledi, and how Homo Naledi communities may have lived.

Science Breakthroughs • 2017 • History

The Rebirth of Rome

In the final part of the series Bettany Hughes recalls the time that marked Rome's symbolic break with its 1,000-year pagan past - the day in 337AD that Emperor Constantine the Great was baptised a Christian. It was a moment of profound significance not just for the empire, but for the history of the world and one of its major religions. Constantine was one of the last great Roman emperors to rule over a united empire, giving it a new capital - Constantinople, today known as Istanbul - a city which would one day eclipse Rome as the greatest city on Earth.

S1E8Eight Days That Made Rome • 2017 • History

Theatre of Death

Bettany Hughes explores the day in 80AD when the Colosseum opened its gates for the first time. For new emperor Titus, the spectacular games and events were an opportunity to win over the people and secure his place on the imperial throne, but why did the Romans - cultured and civilised in so many ways - enjoy witnessing such brutality and bloodletting? Bettany travels across the Roman world in a bid to find answers.

S1E7Eight Days That Made Rome • 2017 • History

Boudica's Revenge

Beginning with the day, around 60 AD, when Roman troops invaded Boudica's settlement, flogged her and raped her daughters, Bettany Hughes reveals the stark realities of brutal Roman rule. The outrage provoked the Iceni queen to lead a revolt that came perilously close to ending the Roman occupation of Britannia.

S1E5Eight Days That Made Rome • 2017 • History

Rome's First Emperor

Presenter Bettany Hughes explores the day in 32BC when Octavian, Julius Caesar's adopted son, stole the secret will of Mark Antony, his most dangerous political rival. The document's release gave Octavian crucial support in the civil war that followed and allowed him to establish himself as Rome's first emperor, Augustus.

S1E4Eight Days That Made Rome • 2017 • History

Hannibals Last Stand

Bettany Hughes recalls eight pivotal days that defined the Roman Empire and its establishment as the world's first superpower. She begins by exploring the day in 202BC when Rome defeated the might of Carthage under Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in modern-day Tunisia "Eight Days That Made Rome is a docu-drama that leaves behind the conventional chronologies of Rome's thousand-year history and brings razor-sharp focus to eight days that created, tested and defined its greatness. Each programme works as a stand-alone, as strong in its own right as part of a series and reveals a Rome relevant to us today, with its noblest and darkest instincts still resonating in the world around us."

S1E1Eight Days That Made Rome • 2017 • History

Dawn of Humanity

NOVA and National Geographic present exclusive access to a unique discovery of ancient remains. Located in an almost inaccessible chamber deep in a South African cave, the site required recruiting a special team of experts slender enough to wriggle down a vertical, pitch-dark, seven-inch-wide passage. Most fossil discoveries of human relatives consist of just a handful of bones. But down in this hidden chamber, the team uncovered an unprecedented trove—so far, over 1,500 bones—with the potential to rewrite the story of our origins. They may help fill in a crucial gap in the fossil record and tell us how Homo, the first member of the human family, emerged from ape-like ancestors like the famous Lucy. But how did hundreds of bones end up in the remote chamber? The experts are considering every mind-boggling possibility. Join NOVA on the treacherous descent into this cave of spectacular and enigmatic finds, and discover their startling implications for the saga of what made us human.

NOVA PBS • 2013 • History

Alexander the God King

Alexander, a student of the brilliant philosopher Aristotle, worshiped the god Amun which he believed to be his father. He suffered from epilepsy and was gay, when his partner died he sacrificed all 5,000 inhabitants of a village for him. Alexander's legacy was that a man could be a god, by he has many peoples, cultures and beliefs influenced his vast empire. Alexander the Great had a vision: one civilized world with him as absolute leader! An ambition which had all districts with enormous bloodshed as a result. His craving for power was so great that in our modern world has no equal! While his influence is still noticeable, we know still very little about him. Greek and English archaeologists searching for years for one of the world's greatest mysteries:. the last resting place of Alexander the Great and his golden sarcophagus Alexander The God King is a fascinating journey through time and separate the truth from the legends. The ambition of one man, the course changed our history!

2007 • History

Papa Doc: Haiti's President for Life

Francois Duvalier trained as a medical doctor, but his healing touch was lost as he became the ruthless dictator "Papa Doc". The tools of his tyranny were violence and Voodoo. He killed 30,000 people, and kept a nation in fear of his mystical powers.

10/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Kim: North Korea's Evil Dynasty

North Korea's evil dictator, Kim Jong-il, ruled his country for 17 years without mercy. While personally enriching himself, he let his people starve to death and threatened to bring the world to the brink of a third world war.

9/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Bin Laden: A Terrorist Mastermind

See how Osama bin Laden's journey unfolds; from his roots as a privileged young Saudi boy to becoming the formidable leader of al-Qaeda, and his lifetime commitment to violent jihad against the West, which results in the horrific attacks in 2001.

8/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Mussolini: The Father of Fascism

This is the story of the rise and fall of the man who became a role model to Hitler and some of history's worst dictators of the twentieth century and beyond - Benito Mussolini.

7/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Saddam: The Butcher of Baghdad

The story of Saddam Hussein the sadistic tyrant who rules Iraq with an utter contempt for humanity for 23 years - a man whose cruelty knows no limits and who'll stop at nothing to achieve the power of life and death over millions of people.

6/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Mao: China's Chairman of Death

Mao Zedong, Supreme Leader of Communist China for 30 years, is one of the 20th Century's most ruthless tyrants. His reign of cruelty and revenge, transforms him to a position of authority so great, his personality cult remains to this day.

5/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Tojo: Japan's Razor of Fear

Japanese General, Hideki Tojo is a cold blooded control freak, who takes millions to their deaths in the dirtiest war ever known. This is the story of the dictator responsible for Pearl Harbor, an Asian Holocaust and the torture of thousands of POWs.

4/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Stalin: Russia's Steel Tyrant

For 30 years Joseph Stalin rules the Soviet Union with an iron fist. Anyone who stands in his way will be destroyed.

3/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Hitler: The Benchmark of Terror

Adolf Hitler murders six million Jews and invades peaceful countries brutally killing anyone in his way. But what terrible forces turns a high school dropout into the most evil dictator the world has ever seen?

2/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Gaddafi: Mad Dog of the Middle East

The story of the world's longest serving dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, and his 42 year reign of terror at home in Libya and around the world. His actions are so increasingly insane that President Reagan dubs him The Mad Dog of the Middle East

1/10Evolution of Evil • 2015 • History

Part 4

Why, and how, did the Roman Empire fall? Surveying the massive walls and fortifications of Britain and Germany, she discovers an empire under pressure, struggling to control its borders.

S1E4Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit • 2016 • History

Part 3

In the third episode Mary takes an in-depth look at the question of identity and citizenship within the Roman Empire. What did it mean to be, or to become, Roman, and how did the very different parts of the empire react to Roman rule?

S1E3Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit • 2016 • History

Part 2

In the second episode, Mary Beard explores the physical world of the Roman Empire, and finds surprising parallels with our own world.

S1E2Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit • 2016 • History

Part 1

In this first episode, Mary Beard reaches back to the myths and legends of the origins of Rome to gain an insight into the deep-rooted psyche of the people of Rome - a city born through fratricide and rape.

S1E1Mary Beard's Ultimate Rome: Empire Without Limit • 2016 • History

New Frontiers

Mankind takes on godlike powers: to feed billions of people, reshape the landscape, re-engineer the human body. The greatest power of all was unleashed over Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. Since entering the Atomic Age we’ve been living between eternity and oblivion. But at the same time, we’ve become more connected as a species. 100,000 years ago there were a few thousand hunter-gatherers on the African savannah. Today there are 7 billion of us in every corner of the globe. It’s been an amazing journey.

12/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Speed

The end of the American Civil War allows Mankind to go into overdrive. This is an age of innovation, transformation and mass production. People believe that ‘Anything, everything, is possible.’ Japan goes from feudal society to industrial superpower within 50 years. But progress has its dark side. The demand for rubber devastates Africa. And the desire to build bigger, faster, better leads to a titanic disaster…

11/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Revolutions

Two great revolutions entwine. The American Revolution inspires dreams of political and personal liberty. The Industrial Revolution replaces muscle power with machines, freeing Mankind from nature’s limits. But our oldest foe – disease – thrives in industrial cities. With the American Civil War, the two revolutions collide. The world’s first industrial war, it is a battle to define ‘freedom’.

10/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Pioneers

Mankind embarks on a new age of exploration, and tames the wilderness. In North America, Siberia and Australia, ancient traditions are swept away in the name of commerce and science. Within a hundred years, the irrational fear that produced a witch trial in Salem gives way to a very rational cry for freedom. American revolutionaries confront a mighty empire. The battle for the modern world begins.

9/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Treasure

In the Andes, the Spanish open up the largest silver mine in the world – and mint millions of pesos de ocho (pieces of eight). These coins transform the global economy. They fill the treasure chests of pirates. They fuel a stock market boom. They help pay for the Taj Mahal. As trade booms, millions of people come to the New World as slaves. But a handful of Pilgrims come as pioneers – looking for freedom.

8/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

New World

The Aztecs have built a mighty empire that dominates Central America. But it will be destroyed because of a domino effect. 7,000 miles away in modern-day Turkey, the great trading centre of Constantinople is overrun by an Islamic army. Europeans race to find a new route to the spice-rich East. Instead, Christopher Columbus lands in America – and discovers gold. Within 30 years the Aztecs will be conquered.

7/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Survivors

Gold from Africa kick-starts the rebirth of Europe. Money flows into Venice – creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs willing to take risks. In China, a new weapon – the gun – allows a peasant uprising to unify the country. Chinese innovations inspire Europe – leading to the printing press. Millions of books are printed. One of them will inspire a journey to the New World. America beckons.

6/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Plague

Genghis Khan--the bloodiest warlord in history--sweeps south from Mongolia into China and creates a mighty empire. He leaves 40 million dead bodies in his wake. But a greater killer stalks Mankind--the Plague. Traveling along Mongol trade routes, the disease wreaks havoc in Asia and Europe--the greatest biological disaster in history. But the Americas are unaffected. Here, civilizations flourish in isolation.

5/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Warriors

When Rome is sacked by barbarians, Europe enters a Dark Age. But from the fringes of the old empire, two new forces remake the world. The Arabs, funded by a gold rush, unite under the banner of Islam. The Vikings rejuvenate the cities of Europe, travel to America and become Christian knights. The stage is set for a clash of civilisations - the Crusades.

4/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Empires

In the city of Jerusalem, a man is crucified - Jesus of Nazareth. His death gives birth to a global religion. But Christianity may never have happened without the Roman Empire. A vast network of roads and shipping lanes, it allows goods and ideas to flow across three continents. Jesus’ message transforms Mankind. Today one in three people on the planet are Christians.

3/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Iron Men

A mysterious band of pirates plunders the Mediterranean coast – leaving destruction in its wake. Empires fall, but out of the chaos, we discover iron. Armed with this wonder metal, ordinary folk can overthrow tyrants and build a new world order. From the birth of democracy in Athens, to the creation of the Bible in Babylon – people power reshapes Mankind.

2/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

Inventors

On a unique planet, a unique species takes its first steps: Mankind begins. But it’s a world full of danger. Threatened by extinction, we innovate to survive – discovering fire and farming; building cities and pyramids; inventing trade – and mastering the art of war. From humble beginnings, we become the dominant creature on the planet. Now the future belongs to us…

1/12Mankind: The Story of All of Us • 2012 • History

The Power of the Past

He shows how 20th-century attention turned from civilisation and kings to the search for the common man against a background of science and competing political ideologies.

S1E3Archaeology: A Secret History • 2013 • History

The Search for Civilisation

He shows how discoveries in the 18th and 19th centuries overturned ideas of when and where civilisation began, as empires competed to literally 'own' the past.

S1E2Archaeology: A Secret History • 2013 • History

In the Beginning

He begins by going back 2,000 years to explore how archaeology began by trying to prove a biblical truth - a quest that soon got archaeologists into dangerous water.

S1E1Archaeology: A Secret History • 2013 • History

Octavian, Antony and Cleopatra

After Caesar, Antony and Octavian divided the empire for a time. But there could only be one successor to Caesar. Ten years later, the supreme strategist Octavian waged a critical naval battle, the Battle of Actium, against his former ally, Antony, who now had the backing of Cleopatra.

Part 2The Destiny of Rome: Series 1 • 2011 • History

Avenging Caesar

Marc Antony and Octavian were part of the triumvirate seeking to avenge Caesar. The two leaders managed to combine their forces to punish Brutus and Cassius, Caesar’s assassins, following the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. But how would the ambitions of the two men collide as time went on?

Part 1The Destiny of Rome: Series 1 • 2011 • History

Visualizing Atomic Deaths

Many people believe the Hiroshima atomic bomb instantly incinerated nearly everyone in the Japanese city. That was true at ground zero, but not everywhere. Hiroshima government officials have been tirelessly collecting records on those killed to find out how they died. Using this "big data", NHK created a visualization of the movements of the 557,000 victims of the 6th August 1945 attack. Some did indeed perish instantly. Others burned to death in collapsed buildings. But what about the people who died in a strange "donut zone of death" days after the bombing and in areas more than 2 kilometers from ground zero? This documentary goes beyond big data to provide heart-rending accounts from people close to victims and survivors, revealing the true story of what happened on that dark day more than 70 years ago.

2017 • History

Churchill's First World War

Drama-documentary about Winston Churchill's extraordinary experiences during the Great War, with intimate letters to his wife Clementine allowing the story to be told largely in his own words. Just 39 and at the peak of his powers running the Royal Navy, Churchill in 1914 dreamt of Napoleonic glory, but suffered a catastrophic fall into disgrace and humiliation over the Dardanelles disaster. The film follows his road to redemption, beginning in the trenches of Flanders in 1916, revealing how he became the 'godfather' of the tank and his forgotten contribution to final victory in 1918 as Minister of Munitions. Dark political intrigue, a passionate love story and remarkable military adventures on land, sea and air combine to show how the Churchill of 1940 was shaped and forged by his experience of the First World War.

2013 • History

Egypt's Great Pyramid: The New Evidence

Egypt's Great Pyramid may be humanity's greatest achievement: a skyscraper of stone built without computers or complex machinery. This super-sized tomb has fascinated historians and archaeologists for centuries, but exactly how the ancient Egyptians finished the monument and fitted its two and a half million blocks in a quarter of a century has long remained an enigma. Today the secrets of the pyramid are finally being revealed thanks to a series of new findings. At the foot of the monument, archaeologists are uncovering the last surviving relic of the pharaoh Khufu, whose tomb it is: a huge ceremonial boat buried in flat-pack form for more than 4500 years. It's a clue that points to the important role that ships and water could have played in the pyramids' construction. This documentary follows investigations that reveal how strong the link between pyramids and boats is. It's a story of more than how Egypt built a pyramid: it's about how the pyramid helped build the modern world.

2017 • History

Dunkirk: The new Evidence

It's known as the Miracle of Dunkirk: in May 1940, approximately 340,000 Allied troops were trapped with their backs to the sea. Sitting ducks, the troops were subjected to an endless barrage of bombs and bullets as the Luftwaffe apparently bombed at will. The situation seemed hopeless. Then a fleet of ships appeared on the horizon, mostly sent by the Royal Navy but joined by smaller craft captained by plucky civilians. The soldiers were rescued from the beaches and taken safely back to Britain. They would later return to win the war. But behind the Miracle of Dunkirk there's another, hidden story. Soldiers and mariners, angry that they'd apparently been left undefended against the Luftwaffe, blamed the RAF. Historians have long viewed Dunkirk as the RAF's poorest hour. But now, recently released MoD files reveal that, far from being absent, the RAF were suffering massive losses supporting the evacuation.

Secret History • 2017 • History

The Hittites

This is the glorious story of the Hittites - the most powerful people in the Near East of their time. Narrated by Academy Award winner Jeremy Irons, "The Hittites" brings the fascinating history of this mighty empire to life with expert interviews, stunning cinematography, dramatic reenactments, and visual effects. Highlights include a breathtaking recreation of the controversial battle of Kadesh that decimated the armies of Egypt's Pharaoh Ramesses II. Based on the actual words of the Hittites, deciphered from ancient clay tablets excavated in the 20th century, their story unfolds as beautifully as it written almost 3500 years earlier.

2003 • History

Decoding Neanderthals

Over 60,000 years ago, the first modern humans—people physically identical to us today—left their African homeland and entered Europe, then a bleak and inhospitable continent in the grip of the Ice Age. But when they arrived, they were not alone: the stocky, powerfully built Neanderthals had already been living there for hundred of thousands of years. So what happened when the first modern humans encountered the Neanderthals? Did we make love or war?

2013 • History

Secrets of Underground London

Unearth over 2000 years of history deep below the streets of London On the surface, London is a buzzing, modern metropolis--but underneath lies a secret, hidden world, all but forgotten by the millions of people above. Secrets of Underground London uncovers 2000 years of subterranean history: a world of ancient caves and perfectly preserved Roman remains; mysterious rivers and gruesome plague pits; impenetrable vaults and top-secret bunkers. As we dig deep, we'll unearth some of the most extraordinary stories of the darkest side of the city.

2014 • History

Viking Women & Ragnar and his Sons

Vikings cast members Katheryn Winnick and Alyssa Sutherland join leading experts in an investigation of the different roles women played within Norse society-and they are surprised at what they discover and in Ragnar and His Sons,Vikings creator Michael Hirst, actor Clive Standen and a host of experts sort through historic accounts, Icelandic sagas and archaeological discoveries to gain insight into the real lives of Ragnar Lothbrok and his famous sons.

S1E2Real Vikings • 2016 • History

Age of Invasion & Rise of the Pagans

Actor Clive Standon travels across Europe with Viking experts to discover how the Vikings were able to invade England and France. In Rise of the Pagans,Vikings actors Clive Standen and Maude Hirst travel to Scandinavia to explore the pagan beliefs and warrior culture of the Vikings-and dispel myths about their violent society.

S1E1Real Vikings • 2016 • History

The Vikings: Foe or Friend?

On June 8th 793 Europe changed, forever. The famous monastery at Lindisfarne on the Northumbrian coast was suddenly attacked and looted by seafaring Scandinavians. The Viking Age had begun. Professor Alice Roberts examines how dramatically the story of the Vikings has changed on TV since the 1960s. She investigates how our focus has shifted from viewing them as brutal, pagan barbarians to pioneering traders, able to integrate into multiple cultures. We also discover that without their naval technology we would never have heard of the Vikings, how their huge trading empire spread, and their surprising legacy in the modern world.

A Timewatch Guide • 2017 • History

Birth of Rock

Elvis Presley paid $4 to record two songs for his mother and the rest, as they say, is history. But without Elvis, would rock and roll have gone the same route? And how have the many iterations of rock and roll developed and changed our taste and culture since the 1950's?

S1E12Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

The Internet

What if the source codes for the internet had remained with the US military, rather than being released to the world? How did our lives of unfettered internet access become a reality?

S1E11Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Rome vs Barbarians

The untimely death of the Roman Emperor of the Western Empire and the poor decisions of the Roman Emperor of the Eastern Empire change the fortunes of the Roman Army in their battle with the Goths. And this changes the future of Europe.

S1E10Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Einstein and the Manhattan Project

A famous scientist wrote to the President of the United States, and the face of war, and our world, was changed forever. How and why did humanity develop a weapon capable of almost total destruction?

S1E9Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Samurai

The shape of Japan's internal politics and the country's response to external influences for centuries can be traced back to the choices of two warlords and a decisive battle. What was the Edo Period and how did it mold Japanese society?

S1E8Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Chernobyl

The decisions of only a handful of individuals determined the course of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. What transpired over a few hours would have an impact on the local community, Russia, Europe and the globe.

S1E7Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Ghengis Khan

How did the events of his childhood shape the man who would become Genghis Khan? What impact did the Mongol invasions have on the history of Asia and on the psyche of Europe?

S1E6Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Confucius and China

The choices that Kong Qui, known in the West as Confucius, made during his career as a civil servant and administrator influenced an entire civilization. What if Kong Qui had been as opportunistic and corrupt as other officials? How might the fate of China and its worldview be changed?

S1E5Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

King Philippe of France and Richard the Lionheart of England

A series of battles in France had an impact on modern day Europe and the fates of three countries down to our modern century. What might have happened if Richard the Lionheart had not been wounded? Or Philippe Auguste of France had fled the battlefield?

S1E4Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Martin Luther King Jr

What would the Civil Rights movement in the USA have been like if Martin Luther King, Jr. had not been motivating change? How does the legacy of the American Civil War still affect the American democracy?

S1E3Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Race to the Moon

What is the future of the human presence in space? How might things be different if there had not been a Cold War and a Space Race? What does humanity gain by venturing into our solar system...and beyond?

S1E2Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

Alexander Becomes Great

What if Alexander had not died at the age of 32? What if he had listened to advisors and returned to Macedonia instead of going on his worldwide conquest? How does the legacy of ideals and leadership left from Alexander's time resonate today?

S1E1Butterfly Effect • 2016 • History

First Man

Which of the great primates of 25 million years ago is our common ancestor? Is it pierolapithecus? Follow the journey of primates developing into Homo erectus and then to Homo sapiens through the millions of years of evolution and the thousands of miles of migrations.

2017 • History

Conquest & Collapse

The Bronze Age had the first large urban centers, powerful kingdoms and armies, writing, and trade routes across vast areas. What led to the collapse of the city-state entities and the end of the Bronze Age? Possibly a perfect storm of uncontrollable factors that are still being researched.

S1E3Bronze Age • 2016 • History

Masters of Trade

Trade, and in particular trade in luxury goods, drove the commerce economies of the Bronze Age. This is the time when the first super powers in history, Egypt and Mesopotamia, emerge and dominate the "world" stage of the Mediterranean and Aegean seas and surrounding areas.

S1E2Bronze Age • 2016 • History

Rise of Civilization

In the region that includes the Mediterranean, the Aegean, Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Bronze Age arrived about 3000 BC and lasted nearly 2000 years. What singled out this period and the new societies and cities that emerged? The development of formal writing is one among several important factors.

S1E1Bronze Age • 2016 • History

A new Chronology

After examining the evidence presented in the series, it seems clear the dates given by traditional Egyptology don t fit. Carefully considering cycles of time through gold, silver, bronze and iron ages of Plato's Great Year, a new chronology emerges that illuminates Ancient Egypt.

S1E5The Pyramid Code • 2010 • History

The Empowered Human

The empowered human proposes that the pyramid builders were living in a Golden Age. They had more refined senses, and experienced higher levels of consciousness, which gave them superior abilities to those we have today. The sacred feminine was honored and existed in balance with the masculine.

S1E4The Pyramid Code • 2010 • History

Sacred Cosmology

Deciphering the meaning of strange symbols in Egyptian art gives insight into ancient knowledge of sacred cosmology. A new way of interpreting hieroglyphics is presented, indicating that the ancients had sophisticated understanding of physics, biology and celestial mechanics. The team goes on an expedition into the open desert in search of a remote site of extreme antiquity called nabta playa. Here, Neolithic stone circles were found marking the motion of the same stars as were tracked in pharonic civilization. The possible connection is discussed.

S1E3The Pyramid Code • 2010 • History

High Level Technology

In this episode, evidence that the Ancient Egyptians used high level technology to construct pyramids and temples is shown. Scientists discuss the source of this power and its application in the ancient world. Our science is just beginning to grasp what the ancients clearly understood.

S1E2The Pyramid Code • 2010 • History

The Band of Peace

This episode raises questions about the purpose of the pyramids, challenging the story traditional Egyptology tells. See rare footage of six distinct pyramid sites near the Great Pyramid, with evidence of superior technology and sophisticated knowledge of science and the cosmos.

S1E1The Pyramid Code • 2010 • History

Industrial Revolution and Modern Warfare

The Industrial Revolution and the rise of modern warfare have roots in the depths of time—in the natural process that enriches the soil. How do prehistoric forests link to the development of steam engines, and the rise of modern industry?

S1E3Deep Time History • 2016 • History

Age of Discovery

Columbus has no idea that because of Earth’s geology and geography he won't get to his destination…or how that epic failure will make his voyage one of the most influential expeditions in the history of humankind. Let's add an asteroid hitting the earth billions of years ago and connect the dots...

S1E2Deep Time History • 2016 • History

Rise of Civilization

About 8,000 BC, in a few select places some people begin to experiment with a new way of harvesting energy. They’re growing their own crops. An act so simple, it’s hard to believe it will kick start a revolution. But it will. These are the first seeds, literally, of the rise of civilization.

S1E1Deep Time History • 2016 • History

The Road Ahead

Transportation turned society inside out. Engines and animals powered the rise of civilization, driving humanity forward into the modern world.

S1E8Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

Into the Unknown

Exploration has created and defined our modern world. Humanity's primal curiosity has sparked new inventions and revealed the mysteries of the universe.

S1E7Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

Building the Future

This is the story of how humans built a world of their own design. From bone huts to skyscrapers, shelter inspired new technologies and societies.

S1E6Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

Progress of War

War brings out the best and worst in humanity. It has revolutionized medicine, transportation and communication, and changed how we live and how we think.

S1E5Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

Writing on the Wall

If knowledge is power, communication is the jet fuel, the delivery system, the gift we give each other that links the modern world. But it has a dark side.

S1E4Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

The Power of Money

From a simple act of trade to today's global economy, the meaning of money and what we value changes as civilization evolves.

S1E3Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

Cheating Death

Microscopic armies have waged war on humanity for thousands of years. Medicine is our great weapon to fight back against invisible, unthinkable death.

S1E2Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

Spark of Civilization

Harnessing fire is the ultimate origin event that made us modern. Fire allowed us to create, to destroy and to transform, but also taught us hard lessons.

S1E1Origins: The Journey of Humankind • 2017 • History

Gladiators: Back from the Dead

Up to one million gladiators are thought to have died in arenas across the Roman Empire. Seventy-five were recently found in a single cemetery in York. Two thousand years ago, York was a Roman stronghold, a staging ground for the push against the Scots. Apart from ancient Italy, Roman Britain had the highest density of gladiatorial arenas in Europe. As part of a routine building inspection in the outskirts of York, archaeologists discover an ancient Roman burial site. It soon became apparent the find was anything but routine. Of total 80, 75 of the skeletons were men, a much higher majority than would be expected in a family grave site. The height, build and signs of musculature made the men much bigger than that of the average Roman man. A closer inspection of the bones also revealed a number of cut marks and fractures, evidence the men were no strangers to violence. Most disturbing of all most of the men had been brutally decapitated. Could the men be gladiators?

2010 • History

The Real Cleopatra

Cleopatra was one of the most famous women who ever lived, yet she remains an enigma as most of her world has long since vanished. Roman sources portray her as a seductress but by examining evidence from all over Egypt a different picture emerges. With drama and CGI we bring back to life some of amazing monuments that made her city of Alexandria great and construct a new 3D image of the woman herself.

Part 8Egypt Unwrapped • 2008 • History

Mystery of the Screaming Man

Over 100 years ago an unidentified mummy was found lying alongside some of the most famous pharaohs in Egyptian history but his face is locked in an eternal scream. In 1881, a bizarre mummy was unwrapped by a team of Victorian Egyptologists. Known today as the Screaming Man or Man E, he was very different from previously discovered royal mummies. What caused this mans haunting expression? Why wasn't he mummified according to custom? Find out what makes him different: Unknown Man E is nameless and, according to Egyptian beliefs, unable to move on to the afterlife because his body, wrapping, and coffin were left completely unmarked.

Part 7Egypt Unwrapped • 2008 • History

The Scorpion King

The Scorpion King was a mythical Egyptian ruler who predated the pharaohs. Recent developments, such as the excavation of the king's tomb, have revealed surprising new details about early Egyptian civilization. This program details the continuing research into the earliest period of Egyptian history that was inspired originally by discoveries such as the Narmer palette and the Scorpion mace head. The combined efforts of a number of archaeologists have pushed the boundaries of Egyptian civilization back into a period previously considered prehistoric. As a result some of the most fundamental beliefs about Egyptian civilization require a re-think. Is there more behind the mythical and violent leader known simply as the Scorpion King? New evidence suggests that his achievements may have layed the foundations of Egypt. Learn more about the king who likely united ancient Egypt, organized the world's earliest phonetic writing system, and inspired the creation of the pyramids.

Part 6Egypt Unwrapped • 2008 • History

Alexander the Great's Lost Tomb

The search for the tomb of the greatest warrior who ever lived is a 2000-year-old mystery. The film searches all over Egypt and beyond and discovers how his body has been used as a political tool throughout the ages. Drama and CGI bring Alexander back to life and as we follow the clues we finally may have solved the mystery.

Part 5Egypt Unwrapped • 2008 • History

Secrets of the Sphinx

Was the Sphinx originally built with a lion's head and later remodeled? Dr. Zahi Hawass presents the latest theories and evidence in the mystery of the Sphinx. Egypt is a land filled with hidden treasures, buried secrets, and centuries of old mysteries left unsolved. Perhaps the greatest of these is the Sphinx, no one knows for sure who built it, or when. This Sphinx, a lion with the face of a pharaoh, towers above the Giza Plateau. It is a four-and-half thousand -year old puzzle, but now the latest science is offering new clues.

Part 3Egypt Unwrapped • 2008 • History

The Real Ramses

There is one Egyptian pharaoh who towers above the rest: Ramesses II. A formidable warrior, builder, lover and statesman, he declared himself a living god. Archeologists look again at Ramesses, in the hope of finding out more and explores his claim to be called the "Great". This instalment charts the life of Rameses II, the longest-lived pharaoh, who is widely regarded as Egypt's greatest ruler. New discoveries have shed more light on the king's successful reign, while Egyptologists continue to debate the nature of his character and the political, military and religious achievements of Rameses II.

Part 2Egypt Unwrapped • 2008 • History

Secrets of the Valley of the Kings

Built over 500 years, spanning nearly two and a half miles and holding 63 tombs, Egypt's Valley of the Kings is a staggering, complex set of enigmas locked beneath the sands for 3,500 years. What drove Egypt's greatest pharaohs to seek out this secluded valley? How did the ancient craftsmen achieve such feats of engineering? And why was this sacred site finally abandoned? Join National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Zahi Hawass and a team of experts as they uncover new evidence about how early engineers were able to construct the elaborate structures of tombs and chambers.

Part 1Egypt Unwrapped • 2008 • History

The Atlantic Age / Commerce and the Clash of Civilizations

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the impact of the Atlantic trading world, giving rise to powerful new kingdoms, but also transatlantic slave trade. Learn of the revolutionary movements of the 18th & early 19th centuries, including the advent of the Sokoto Caliphate. In the final part Henry Louis Gates, Jr. explores the dynamism of 19th century Africa, the “Scramble” by European powers for its riches, and the defiant and successful stand of uncolonized Ethiopia.

Part 5 and 6Africa's Great Civilizations • 2017 • History

Empires of Gold / Cities

Henry Louis Gates, Jr. uncovers the complex trade networks and advanced educational institutions that transformed early north and West Africa from deserted lands into the continent’s wealthiest kingdoms and learning epicentres. In Part 4 Gates explores the power of Africa’s greatest ancient cities, including Kilwa, Great Zimbabwe and Benin City, whose wealth, art and industrious successes attracted new European interest and interaction along the continent’s east and west coasts.

Part 3 and 4Africa's Great Civilizations • 2017 • History

Origins / The Cross and the Crescent

Parts 1 and 2. Henry Louis Gates Jr. explores Africa's rich history. Journey with Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to Kenya, Egypt and beyond as he discovers the origins of man, the formation of early human societies and the creation of significant cultural and scientific achievements on the African continent. In part 2: Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. charts the ancient rise of Christianity & Islam, whose economic & cultural influence stretched from Egypt to Ethiopia. Learn of African religious figures like King Lalibela, an Ethiopian saint, and Menelik, bringer of the Ark of the Covenant.

Part 1 and 2Africa's Great Civilizations • 2017 • History

The Human Family Tree

Dr Spencer Wells retraces the footsteps of 200 random New Yorkers and proves they are all cousins. On a single day on a single street, with the DNA of just a couple of hundred random people, National Geographic Channel sets out to trace the ancestral footsteps of all humanity. Narrated by Kevin Bacon, The Human Family Tree travels to one of the most diverse corners of the world -- Queens, N.Y. -- to demonstrate how we all share common ancestors who embarked on very different journeys. The goal: to retrace our ancestral footprints and prove we are all cousins in the "family of man." Regardless of race, nationality or religion, all of us can trace our ancient origin back to the cradle of humanity, East Africa. What did our collective journey look like, and where did it take your specific ancestors? At what point in our past did we first cross paths with the supposed strangers living in our neighborhood? Now, in The Human Family Tree, the people of this quintessential American melting pot find out that their connections go much deeper than a common ZIP code. Cutting edge science, coupled with a cast of New Yorkers – each with their own unique genetic history - will help paint a picture of these amazing journeys. Ultimately, Man's First Migrations answers some of humanity's most burning questions, such as who we are and where we come from, and forces us to change how we think not only about our relationships with our neighbours, but ourselves.

Naked Science • 2010 • History

City of Man, City of God

Richard Miles explores the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, which at the height of its power, extended the benefits of its civilisation to a staggering 60 million subjects and citizens, from Hadrian's Wall to the banks of the Euphrates. The archaeologist and historian also learns how the expansion of Christianity filled a gap left by the Roman multi-god belief system, eventually leading to the instalment of Constantine as the first Christian emperor

S1E6Ancient Worlds • 2010 • History

Republic of Virtue

How did an insignificant cluster of Latin hill villages on the edge of the civilised world become the greatest empire the world has known? In the fifth programme of the series, archaeologist and historian Richard Miles examines the phenomenon of the Roman Republic, from its fratricidal mythical beginnings, with the legend of Romulus and Remus, to the all too real violence of its end, dragged to destruction by war lords like Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar. Travelling to Sicily and North Africa, Richard tells the story of Rome's century-long struggle for dominance with the other great regional power, Carthage. It was a struggle that would end with the total destruction of this formidable enemy and the transformation of landlubber Rome into a seapower, and the Republic into an Empire. But with no-one left to beat, the only enemy that Rome had left was itself.

S1E5Ancient Worlds • 2010 • History

Return of the King

In Richard Miles's epic story of civilization, there have been plenty of examples of the great men of history, but none came close to the legend of Alexander of Macedon, known to us as 'the Great'. Uniting the fractious Greek city-states, he led them on a crusade against the old enemy, Persia, and in little more than a decade created an empire that stretched from Egypt in the west to Afghanistan in the east. But it was Alexander's successors, the Hellenistic Kings, who had to make sense of the legacy of this charismatic adventurer. By knuckling down to the hard graft of politics, taxation and public works, they created something far more enduring than a mere legend - they built a civilization. Richard traces Alexander's battle-scarred route through Turkey, Syria and Lebanon to Egypt and ultimately to the western Punjab, Pakistan, where he discovers fascinating traces of a city where Greek west and Buddhist east were united in an intriguing new way.

S1E4Ancient Worlds • 2010 • History

The Greek Thing

Richard Miles explores the power and the paradox of the 'Greek Thing' - a blossoming in art, philosophy and science that went hand in hand with political discord, social injustice and endless war. He paints a fascinating picture of the internal and external pressures that fuelled this unique political and social experiment, one that would pioneer many of the political systems that we still live with today, from oligarchy to tyranny, from totalitarianism to democracy.

S1E3Ancient Worlds • 2010 • History

The Age of Iron

Archaeologist and historian Richard Miles looks at the winners, losers and survivors of the great Bronze Age collapse, a regional catastrophe that wiped out the hard-won achievements of civilisation in the eastern Mediterranean about 3,000 years ago. In the new age of iron, civilisation would re-emerge, tempered in the flames of conflict, tougher and more resilient than ever before.

S1E2Ancient Worlds • 2010 • History

Come Together

Archaeologist and historian Richard Miles explores the roots of one of the most profound innovations in the human story - civilisation - in the first episode of an epic series that runs from the creation of the first cities in Mesopotamia some 6,000 years ago, to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. Starting in Uruk, the 'mother of all cities', in southern Iraq, Richard travels to Syria, Egypt, Anatolia and Greece, tracing the birth and development of technology and culture.

S1E1Ancient Worlds • 2010 • History

Queen Boudicca

The Roman army turns its attention to an island of rich resources, powerful tribes and druids, and advanced military equipment - Britain. This episode tells the story of the Celts' last stand against the Roman army - a revolt led by another great leader, the warrior queen Boudicca.

S1E3The Celts: Blood, Iron, and Sacrifice • 2015 • History

Rise and Fall

In episode two, we discover the golden age of the La Tene Celtic warrior and reveal how their world extended as far as central Turkey. But by the middle of the first century BC, the Celts were under threat from an expanding Roman Empire, and the Gallic warrior Vercingetorix would challenge Julius Caesar in an epic battle that would shape the future of Europe.

S1E2The Celts: Blood, Iron, and Sacrifice • 2015 • History

The Origins of the Celts

In the first episode, we see the origins of the Celts in the Alps of central Europe and relive the moment of first contact with the Romans in a pitched battle just north of Rome - a battle that the Celts won and that left the imperial city devastated.

S1E1The Celts: Blood, Iron, and Sacrifice • 2015 • History

Rome's Invisible City

With the help of a team of experts and the latest in 3D scanning technology, Alexander Armstrong, along with Dr Michael Scott, explores the hidden underground treasures that made Rome the powerhouse of the ancient world. In his favourite city, he uncovers a lost subterranean world that helped build and run the world's first metropolis and its empire. From the secret underground world of the Colosseum to the aqueducts and sewers that supplied and cleansed it, and from the mysterious cults that sustained it spiritually to the final resting places of Rome's dead, Xander discovers the underground networks that serviced the remarkable world above.

2015 • History

Part 2

Historian Michael Scott continues his journey through Sicily, tracing the island's story through the arrival of the Muslim Arabs and then the Normans - times in which religious and cultural tolerance was the order of the day. Michael explores the dark days of the Spanish inquisition and then delves into the modern world - the unification with Italy and the rise of the Mafia. Today, Sicily faces a new challenge. The island is on the frontline of Europe's migrant crisis but the Sicilian response, formed in part by their own turbulent history, may well surprise many northern Europeans.

S1E2Sicily: The Wonder of the Mediterranean • 2017 • History

Part 1

Historian Michael Scott begins his journey through Sicily on the slopes of Mount Etna, Europe's largest active volcano. For the ancient Greeks, the island was a land of gods and monsters - a dangerous and unpredictable world. Michael discovers how 3,000 years ago, the Greeks began to settle on Sicily's east coast - planting their olives and vines and building great city states that soon came to rival even Athens itself. He learns how great battles were fought between the Greeks and the Carthaginians for control of the island. How the Romans made it their first foreign colony and stripped Sicily of its forests to plant vast fields of grain.

S1E1Sicily: The Wonder of the Mediterranean • 2017 • History

The Place Where Time Began

Jago explores the ancient civilisation of Teotihuacan that exploded into a position of dominance in the ancient Americas almost 2,000 years ago. For hundred of years this great city state was the biggest in the New World. Its rulers built monumental pyramids and temples and then went on to build a vast empire that was maintained through force. Yet the identity of the people who led this civilisation remains a mystery.

S1E4Lost Kingdoms of Central America • 2014 • History

Between Oceans and Empires

Jago explores the forgotten people of ancient Costa Rica, who built a series of spectacular settlements amongst the rivers and volcanoes of central America and whose enigmatic legacy - including hundreds of mysterious, giant stone spheres - is only now being unravelled by archaeologists.

S1E3Lost Kingdoms of Central America • 2014 • History

The People who Greeted Columbus

The Taino people of the Caribbean were the first people of the Americas to greet Christopher Columbus. But, as Jago reveals, they had a multicultural society complete with drug-infused rituals, strange skulls and amazing navigation. In deep caverns and turquoise seas, Jago uncovers their hidden history.

S1E2Lost Kingdoms of Central America • 2014 • History

Kingdom of the Jaguar

Jago begins by journeying through southern Mexico to investigate the rise and fall of America's oldest civilisation, the Olmec, who thrived over 3,000 years ago. He encounters colossal stone heads and the oldest rubber balls in the world and descends deep inside an ancient cave network in search of a were-jaguar.

S1E1Lost Kingdoms of Central America • 2014 • History

The Greatest Tomb on Earth: Secrets of Ancient China

From the depths of the greatest tomb on earth comes an epic new story that could rewrite history, revealing for the first time the true origin of one of the world's most powerful nations: China. In this landmark film, historian Dan Snow, physical anthropologist Dr Alice Roberts and scientist and explorer Dr Albert Lin investigate a series of earth-shattering discoveries at the mighty tomb guarded by the Terracotta Warriors, a site two hundred times bigger than Egypt's Valley of the Kings and the final resting place of China's first emperor. Mobilising the latest technology, delving into some of the oldest texts, enlisting world experts and employing forensic science, together the three reveal an explosive secret from the foundations of the Chinese empire.

2016 • History

The Teotihuacan Enigma

For the first time, we are able to show full details of the excavation of a hidden tunnel, sealed and forgotten for 1,800 years, beneath a pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico. The ongoing excavation is producing a flood of discoveries that are not only shedding fresh light on the religious and intellectual life of the people who lived here, but also radically changing the way we think civilization began.

2014 • History

The rise of a Napoleonic Empire

The transformation of a political leader of the French to Emperor and global statesman, from a son of the French Revolution to husband of the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, the most powerful, conservative, monarchist nation on earth. It features the Battle of Austerlitz, one of the greatest military encounters of the 19th century, the rise of a Napoleonic Empire - at its peak numbered over 40 million people - and the supreme meritocracy that was the Napoleonic regime.

S1E2Napoleon • 2015 • History

The rise of Napoleon

From lowly Corsican Army officer to first consul of France, this episode charts the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte to leader of the French nation in the late 1790s. It tells of Napoleon's military triumphs in Italy, Eqypt and against anti-revolutionaries on the streets of Paris, his marriage to Josephine Beauharnais and leadership of the military coup of 1799 that swept him into power.

S1E1Napoleon • 2015 • History

Part Two

By 1800 the East India Company had grown from a tiny band of merchants into a colossal trading empire. But scandal and corruption in the 18th century had led to a curtailment of its powers by the British government. The state now controlled the company's affairs in India and, throughout the 19th century, would chip away at its remaining powers and trading privileges. The company was transformed from a trading enterprise into the rulers of India, and governed vast swathes of the subcontinent on behalf of the British Crown. Its territory expanded enormously and an empire was born. As the company traded opium to a reluctant Chinese Empire, in India a dangerous chasm opened up between the British rulers and the Indian people. Alienated and disaffected, significant numbers of the company's massive army of Indian soldiers finally revolted and the Company's handling of the mutiny was its final undoing. In 1858 British India passed into Queen Victoria's hands and the Raj was born.

S1E2The Birth of Empire: The East India Company • 2014 • History

Part One

400 years ago British merchants landed on the coast of India and founded a trading post to export goods to London. Over the next 200 years, their tiny business grew into a commercial titan. Using the letters and diaries of the men and women who were there, this documentary tells the story of the East India Company, which revolutionised the British lifestyle, sparked a new age of speculation and profit and by accident created one of the most powerful empires in history. Yet inexorable rise ended in ignominy. Dogged by allegations of greed, corruption and corporate excess, by the 1770s the company's reputation was in tatters. Blamed for turning its back as millions died in the Bengal famine, and thrown into crisis by a credit crunch in Britain, the world's most powerful company had run out of cash, sparking a government intervention.

S1E1The Birth of Empire: The East India Company • 2014 • History

Doing Good

In the final part of his personal account of Britain's empire, Jeremy Paxman tells the extraordinary story of how a desire for conquest became a mission to improve the rest of mankind, especially in Africa, and how that mission shaded into an unquestioning belief that Britain could - and should - rule the world. In Central Africa, he travels in the footsteps of David Livingstone who, though a failure as a missionary, became a legendary figure - the patron saint of empire who started a flood of missionaries to the so-called 'Dark Continent'. In South Africa, Paxman tells the story of Cecil Rhodes, a man with a different sort of mission, who believed in the white man's right to rule the world, laying down the foundations for apartheid. The journey ends in Kenya, where conflict between white settlers and the African population brought bloodshed, torture and eventual withdrawal.

S1E5Empire • 2012 • History

Making a Fortune

Jeremy Paxman continues his personal account of Britain's empire, looking at how the empire began as a pirates' treasure hunt, grew into an informal empire based on trade and developed into a global financial network. He travels from Jamaica, where sugar made plantation owners rich on the backs of African slaves, to Calcutta, where British traders became the new princes of India. Jeremy then heads to Hong Kong, where British-supplied opium threatened to turn the Chinese into a nation of drug addicts - leading to the brutal opium wars, in which Britain triumphed and took the island of Hong Kong as booty. Unfair trading helped spark the independence movement in India, led by Mahatma Gandhi; in a former cotton spinning town in Lancashire, Jeremy meets two women who remember Gandhi's extraordinary visit in 1931.

S1E4Empire • 2012 • History

Making Ourselves at Home

He continues his personal account of Britain's empire by looking at how traders, conquerors and settlers spread the British way of doing things around the world - in particular how they created a very British idea of home. He begins in India, where early traders wore Indian costume and took Indian wives. Their descendants still cherish their mixed heritage. Victorian values put a stop to that as inter racial mixing became taboo. In Singapore he visits a club where British colonials gathered together, in Canada he finds a town whose inhabitants are still fiercely proud of the traditions of their Scottish ancestors, in Kenya he meets the descendants of the first white settlers - men whose presence came to be bitterly resented as pressure for African independence grew. And he traces the story of an Indian family in Leicester whose migrations have been determined by the changing fortunes of the British empire.

S1E2Empire • 2012 • History

A Taste for Power

In the first programme, he asks how such a small country got such a big head, and how a tiny island in the North Atlantic came to rule over a quarter of the world's population. He travels to India, where local soldiers and local maharajahs helped a handful of British traders to take over vast areas of land. Spectacular displays of imperial power dazzled subject peoples and developed a cult of Queen Victoria as Empress, mother and virtual God. In Egypt, Jeremy explores the bit of Empire that never was, as Britain's temporary peace-keeping visit turned into a seventy year occupation. He travels to the desert where Lawrence of Arabia brought a touch of romance to the grim struggle of the First World War. As Britain came to believe it could solve the world's problems, he tells the story of the triumphant conquest of Palestine by Imperial troops - and Britain's role in a conflict that haunts the Middle East to this day.

S1E1Empire • 2012 • History

Agents of God: 1415-1453

Henry V has claimed the French crown for his heirs, but to secure it the English must conquer all of France. Potent French resistance comes in the most unlikely form of an illiterate, young peasant girl - Joan of Arc.

S1E3Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War • 2013 • History

Breaking the Bonds: 1360-1415

England, wracked by plague and revolt, loses the upper hand until Henry V, determined to prove his right to be king, turns the tide at the battle of Agincourt.

S1E2Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War • 2013 • History

Trouble in the Family: 1337-1360

Edward III rips up the medieval rule book and crushes the flower of French knighthood at the Battle of Crecy with his low-born archers. His son, the Black Prince, conducts a campaign of terror, helping to bring France to her knees.

S1E1Chivalry and Betrayal: The Hundred Years War • 2013 • History

The Last Battle of the Vikings

Nowhere in the British Isles was the Viking connection longer-lasting or deeper than in Scotland. Hundreds of years after their first hit-and-run raids, the Norsemen still dominated huge swathes of the country. But storm clouds were gathering. In 1263 the Norwegian king Haakon IV assembled a fleet of 120 longships to counter Scottish raids on the Norse Hebrides. It was a force comparable in size to the Spanish Armada over three centuries later. But like the Armada, the Norse fleet was eventually defeated by a powerful storm. Driven ashore near present-day Largs, the beleaguered Norsemen were attacked by a Scottish army. The outcome of this vicious encounter would mark the beginning of the end of Norse power in Scotland. Marine archeologist Dr Jon Henderson tells the incredible story of the Norsemen in Scotland. Visiting fascinating archeological sites across Scotland and Norway, he reveals that, although the battle at Largs marked the end of an era for the Norsemen, their presence continued to shape the identity and culture of the Scottish nation to the present day.

2012 • History

Sick Man of Europe

Our third and final episode looks at the Ottoman Empire’s slow decline in the face of Russian expansion and explores the complex alliances it would forge with European powers in an effort to survive. The map of Europe would be radically redrawn and the Ottoman Empire would come to a humiliating end, giving birth to the modern Turkish Republic.

S1E3Ottomans Versus Christians: Battle for Europe • 2016 • History

Vienna the Golden Apple

In episode two we explore the Ottoman Empire’s Golden Age and chart the height of its expansion into Europe, climaxing with the 1683 siege of Vienna. The episode opens in Istanbul where Presenter Julian Davison explores the reign of the Empire’s most successful Sultan, Sulieman the Magnificent. A sophisticated ruler, Sulieman not only encouraged artistic and architectural achievement but helped to organise and unify the wide range of cultures and religions across his growing empire.

S1E2Ottomans Versus Christians: Battle for Europe • 2016 • History

Dream of Empire

In this first episode we follow the Ottomans rise from obscure beginnings as a nomadic tribe in Anatolia to their game changing conquest of the famed Byzantine capitol of Orthodox Christianity, Constantinople. Julian’s journey begins in Bursa, the Ottomans first capitol city and one of Turkey’s historical gems, where he explores the wealth of early Ottoman architecture and examines the legends, cultural traditions and unique circumstances that helped give birth to an empire.

S1E1Ottomans Versus Christians: Battle for Europe • 2016 • History

Pompeii: With Michael Buerk

Documentary `resurrecting' the city buried under volcanic ash almost 2,000 years ago with the aid of CGI. Michael Buerk takes viewers through 24 hours in the area, from the commute to work in the morning, to brutal sports at noon and a plenitude of vices by night.

2016 • History

Pomp and Perversion

Alastair Sooke follows in the footsteps of Rome's mad, bad and dangerous emperors in the second part of his celebration of Roman art. He dons a wetsuit to explore the underwater remains of the Emperor Claudius's pleasure palace and ventures into the cave where Tiberius held wild parties. He finds their taste in art chimes perfectly with their obsession with sex and violence. The other side of the coin was the bombastic art the Romans are best remembered for - monumental arches and columns that boast about their conquests. Trajan's Column in Rome reads like the storyboard of a modern-day propaganda film. Sooke concludes with the remarkable legacy of the Emperor Hadrian. He gave the world the magnificent Pantheon in Rome - the eternal image of his lover Antinous, the most beautiful boy in the history of art - and a villa in Tivoli where he created one of the most ambitious art collections ever created.

S1E2The Treasures of Ancient Rome • 2012 • History

Warts 'n' All

The Romans were brilliant engineers and soldiers, but what isn't as well known is that they also gave us wonderful artistic treasures. In this three-part series, Alastair Sooke argues that the old-fashioned view that the Romans didn't do art is nonsense. He traces how the Romans during the Republic went from being art thieves and copycats to pioneering a new artistic style - warts 'n' all realism. Roman portraits reveal what the great names from history, men like Julius Caesar and Cicero, actually looked like. Modern-day artists demonstrate the ingenious techniques used to create these true to life masterpieces in marble, bronze and paint. We can step back into the Roman world thanks to their invention of the documentary-style marble relief and to a volcano called Vesuvius. Sooke explores the remarkable artistic legacy of Pompeii before showing how Rome's first emperor, Augustus, used the power of art to help forge an empire.

S1E1The Treasures of Ancient Rome • 2012 • History

Kingdom of the Desert

In the spectacular deserts of coastal Peru, archaeologist Dr Jago Cooper explores the dramatic rise and fall of Chimor, the first empire of South America. His journey begins among the ruins of a vast lost city once home to an all-powerful monarchy, whose subjects transformed the desert landscape, created gold and silver treasures and believed so strongly in the power of their gods that they made the most shocking of sacrifices. Chimor thrived despite facing some of the most extreme climate conditions in the world, but not even this powerful empire could withstand the forces that eventually destroyed it.

S1E4Lost Kingdoms of South America • 2013 • History

Lands of Gold

Through the mountains and jungles of Colombia, Cooper goes in search of the truth behind one of the greatest stories ever told - the legend of El Dorado. His journey takes him from Bogota to the Caribbean coast, through territories once dominated by two cultures, the Muisca and the Tairona, who flourished for centuries before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. Cooper reveals forgotten peoples who valued gold in a way the Western world still struggles to understand, travelling to an astonishing lost city and meeting the last survivors of an ancient civilisation.

S1E3Lost Kingdoms of South America • 2013 • History

Stone at the Centre

Deep in the Bolivian Andes at the height of 13,000ft stands Tiwanaku, the awe-inspiring ruins of a monolithic temple city. Built by a civilisation who dominated a vast swathe of South America, it was abandoned 1,000 years ago. For centuries it has been a mystery - how did a civilisation flourish at such an altitude and why did it vanish? Jago Cooper journeys through Bolivia's spectacular landscape to investigate the origins of Tiwanaku and finds evidence of an ancient people with amazing understanding of their environment, whose religion was based on collective effort and ritual beer drinking.

S1E2Lost Kingdoms of South America • 2013 • History

People of the Clouds

He begins with an epic journey into the remote Peruvian Andes in search of the mysterious Chachapoya people. Once numbering half a million, they were known as the 'People of the Clouds'. Dr Cooper reveals how they developed sophisticated methods of recording stories, traded in exotic goods found hundreds of miles from their territory, and had funeral traditions that challenge assumptions about ancient human behaviour. His search for evidence takes him to astonishing cliff tombs untouched for 500 years and one of the most spectacular fortresses in South America, where the fate of the Chachapoya is revealed.

S1E1Lost Kingdoms of South America • 2013 • History

Rome

Rome was the world's first ancient megacity. At a time when few towns could number more than 10,000 inhabitants, more than a million lived in Rome. But in a world without modern technology, how on earth did the Romans do it? How did they feed their burgeoning population, how did they house them, and how did they get them into town without buses or trains? How on earth did the Romans make their great city work? In the final episode of the series, Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill takes us up ancient tower blocks, down ancient sewers, and above 2,000-year-old harbour basins still filled with water, to find out. He reveals how this city surpassed all those from the ancient world that had gone before. Last but not least, Professor Wallace-Hadrill uncovers the secret of Rome's success - the planning still captured on pieces of an 1,800-year-old marble map of the city, a map which shows that astonishingly, in many places, the street plan of Ancient Rome mirrors that of the city today in exact detail.

S1E2Building the Ancient City: Athens and Rome • 2015 • History

Athens

In the opening episode of the series, Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill takes us on a journey across stunning locations in Greece and Italy to find out how Athens gave birth to the idea of a city run by free citizens 2,500 years ago. Every aspect of daily life from defence to waste disposal was controlled not by a king, but by the Athenians themselves. Ultimately, this radical new system would define a way of life and the Athenians would give it a name.

S1E1Building the Ancient City: Athens and Rome • 2015 • History

The Age of Revolution

'Revolution', Michael Wood observes, 'has been a fact of life in Chinese history'. Between 1850 and 1950, three cataclysmic revolutions shook China to the core, but out of them, today's China emerged.

S1E6The Story of China • 2016 • History

The Last Empire

China's last empire, the Qing, lasted from 1644 to 1912. It began in violence and war as the Manchus swept down from the north, but invaders became emperors, with three generations of one family ruling the country. Among them, Michael Wood argues, was China's greatest emperor - Kangxi.

S1E5The Story of China • 2016 • History

The Ming

The tale of one of China's most famous dynasties begins with the amazing story of Hongwu, a peasant rebel who founded one of greatest eras in Chinese history.

S1E4The Story of China • 2016 • History

The Golden Age

The tale of what's broadly considered China's most creative dynasty - the Song (960-1279). Michael Wood heads to the city of Kaifeng, the greatest city in the world before the 19th century.

S1E3The Story of China • 2016 • History

Silk Roads and China Ships

Michael Wood tells the tale of China's first great international age under the Tang Dynasty (618-907). He travels along the Silk Road to the bazaars of central Asia and into India on the track of the Chinese monk who brought Buddhism back to China.

S1E2The Story of China • 2016 • History

Ancestors

Historian Michael Wood looks back at the start of China's history from the creation legend to the first 3 recorded dynasties Xia, Shang and Zhou, to the unification of 7 states under Qin Shi Huang. The name China comes from this Qin Dynasty, although the Chinese people refer to themselves as The Han.

S1E1The Story of China • 2016 • History

Nation

Simon explores Spain's golden age under Philip II through to the Spanish Civil War and dictatorship under Franco, from which Spain has emerged as a modern democratic monarchy.

S1E3Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain • 2015 • History

Reconquest

Simon uncovers the truth about Spain's hero El Cid. He also investigates the horror of the Spanish Inquisition and in the process discovers an unsettling story about one of his own ancestors.

S1E2Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain • 2015 • History

Conquest

Simon explores the early years of the country, its emergence as the battleground of empires and its golden age under the Cordoba Caliphate.

S1E1Blood and Gold: The Making of Spain • 2015 • History

Inside World War II

Day by day. Hour by hour. Second by second. This is the story of last century's bloodiest conflict told in a concise and compelling 3 hour special. Including personal accounts, strategic analysis and rare footage, Inside WWII provides a new and intimate perspective on the experience of war. A soldier's duty is not to reason why; a soldier's duty is to do or die. Inside World War II is the story of the doing and the dying … in the defining conflict of the 20th century. From the producers of the critically acclaimed specials Inside 9/11 and Inside the Vietnam War comes a three-hour television event that provides a detailed visual timeline of this complex war, with personal, in-depth stories from veterans who fought in one of the deadliest conflicts in human history. Inside World War II combines archival footage with more than 50 testimonies from American, British, German and Soviet servicemen; a former member of the Hitler Youth; and Jewish and black Germans who endured persecution under Hitler's reign. Viewers hear from America's first Japanese American senator, Daniel Inouye, in one of his final interviews before passing away, as he describes with haunting candor what it was like to kill someone during battle. "He had on this German hat, so I told the men, 'That's mine.' He was not only my first, but when I think back, I think back with horror because I was proud." Inouye, a Medal of Honor recipient for his service in World War II, goes on to say, "You don't forget the horrors of the war." The explosive first hour of Inside World War II begins in pre-war Germany at the 1936 Olympics, with American distance runner Louis Zamperini describing in an original, never-before-seen interview what it was like to meet Adolf Hitler. "His face, his mustache, the way he combed his hair. I mean he looked like somebody purposely did cosmetics on him for a comedy. He was, to us, a dangerous comedian." The second hour explores the attitudes of soldiers fresh from battle, including Harold Brown, an original Tuskegee Airman who recalls what it was like to fly next to and protect long-range bombers, and Paratrooper Earl McClung, who shares a harrowing tale of being stranded behind enemy lines. Author Benjamin Patton also explains how his grandfather General Patton commanded a ghost army to mislead the enemy, "He was commanding a fictitious Army group that was made up of inflatable tanks and cardboard vehicles, and tents," while General Eisenhower stormed the beaches of Normandy. Inside World War II culminates with the dramatic events of 1945, from Hitler's suicide to the revelation of Nazi concentration camps. And we'll hear Col. Paul Tibbets address the media after dropping the world's first wartime atomic bomb: "We saw this cloud of boiling dust and debris below us with this tremendous mushroom on top. Beneath that was hidden the ruins of the city of Hiroshima." As Lt. Lynn "Buck" Compton, 101st Airborne, US Army (Ret.), in the last interview he gave before his death last year, concludes, "I'm glad I did it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. Not that it was fun, but I think of it as it's a part of my life. And just lucky that I lived through it."

2012 • History

Murder in the Roman Empire

An ancient murder mystery plays out like an episode of C.S.I. When human bones are found hidden under the floor of an old army barracks, a homicide detective is called in to examine the evidence. Preliminary observations indicate the victim may have been bound and killed with blunt force trauma to the skull. The culprit must be found and brought to justice. But there is one key problem: The victim died nearly 1,800 years ago. British investigators discover bones hidden under the floor of an old army barracks near the Scotland border. Solving the mystery of who murdered a 10-year old child in 213 AD, Murder in the Roman Empire delves into the life of an ancient Roman garrison using forensics, archaeology, and criminal investigation. Could an individual soldier have taken advantage of deserted barracks to hide his crime? Or was there collusion among a group of soldiers?

2011 • History

The Nazi Games - Berlin 1936

The film chronicles the story of how the Nazis and the IOC turned, to their mutual benefit, a small sports event into the modern Olympics. The grand themes and controversial issues from the 1936 Games have continued to this day: Monumentality, budget overruns, collusion with authoritarian regimes, corruption and sometimes even bribery. Featuring never before seen archival footage and new research, The Nazi Games reveals how the Olympics as we have come to know them were shaped by the collaboration of interests between Hitler and ambitious Olympic gentlemen. After initial distrust, both the IOC and the Nazis found common ground in turning the 1936 Games into the biggest Olympic show the world has ever seen.

2016 • History

The Revelation of the Pyramids

Narrated by Brian Cox, Revelation of the Pyramids takes an in-depth look into one of Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Pyramids of Egypt. For centuries, the Great Pyramids have fascinated Mankind; every year brings a batch of new theories, from the plausible to the absolutely bizarre. One lone seeker, after more than thirty-seven years of study and research, has at last managed first to understand and then to prove what lies behind this greatest of archaeological mysteries: a message of paramount importance for all mankind, through time and space. Its key - and its heart - are the Great Pyramids of Egypt. From China to Peru, from Egypt to Mexico, throughout the Middle East - through the world's oldest, most enigmatic and often most beautiful sites - the director has spent six years of investigation, guided by his anonymous informant, verifying his discoveries one by one, and meeting the planet's most eminent scientific and technical specialists. The result will shake the history of mankind as it is taught to its very core, and revolutionize Egyptology entirely. A great odyssey along a breathtaking route rich in staggering imagery, an extraordinary scientific leap and finally a revelation as unexpected as it is spectacular: the message bequeathed to future generations by these mysterious builders.

2010 • History

Europe

When Homo sapiens turned up in prehistoric Europe, they ran into the Neanderthals. The two types of human were similar enough to interbreed — and both created artifacts of similar complexity. But as more and more Homo sapiens moved into Europe, the balance of power shifted. Neanderthals were overwhelmed. Ever since, we’ve had Europe and the rest of the world to ourselves.

Part 5First Peoples • 2015 • History

Australia

When Homo sapiens arrived in Australia, they were, for the first time, truly alone, surrounded by wildly different flora and fauna. How did they survive and populate a continent? There is a close cultural and genetic link between the First Australians and modern-day Aborigines. The ancient and modern story intersect here as nowhere else in the world. The secret to this continuity is diversity. Intuitively, they found the right balance between being separate and connected.

Part 4First Peoples • 2015 • History

Asia

What happened when early humans ventured out of Africa and into Asia? Where did they go and whom did they meet along the way? The latest evidence suggests they left far earlier than previously thought and interbred with other types of ancient human - Homo erectus, Neanderthals and also the Denisovans, whose existence was established only five years ago when geneticists extracted DNA from a tiny fragment of finger bone. Because these ancient humans mated with our ancestors, their genes have found a home in our DNA. More than that, they’ve helped us survive and thrive.

Part 3First Peoples • 2015 • History

Africa

Around 200,000 years ago, a new species, Homo sapiens, appeared on the African landscape. While scientists have imagined eastern Africa as a real-life Garden of Eden, the latest research suggests humans evolved in many places across the continent at the same time. DNA from a 19th-century African-American slave is forcing geneticists to re-think the origins of our species. The theory is that our ancestors met, mated and hybridized with other human types in Africa — creating ever greater diversity within our species.

Part 2First Peoples • 2015 • History

Americas

As early humans spread out across the world, their toughest challenge was colonizing the Americas — because a huge ice sheet blocked the route. It has long been thought that the pioneers, known as Clovis people, arrived about 13,000 years ago, but an underwater discovery in Mexico suggests people arrived earlier than previously thought — and by boat, not on foot. How closely related were these First Americans to today’s Native Americans? It’s a controversial matter, focused on Kennewick Man. Few other skeletons engender such strong feelings.

Part 1First Peoples • 2015 • History

Part 2

We explore the legacies of the Ancient Greeks, what they have given us today, and asks why these legacies have lasted through time. Democracy, art, architecture, philosophy, science, sport, theatre - all can be traced back to ancient Greece. Travelling across the ancient Greek world, from Athens to Olympia, Macedon, Turkey and Sicily, Michael discovers why the ancient Greeks were so successful, why their culture and way of life spread across continents and through time and why they still have such a powerful hold over our imaginations today.

S1E2Who Were the Greeks? • 2013 • History

Part 1

We visit ancient cities and battlefields, great ruins and wild countryside, all in his search to uncover how the ancient Greeks thought and lived. What he finds is that ancient Greece was a seething tornado of strange, unsettling and downright outrageous customs and beliefs, inhabited by a people who could be as brutal as they were brilliant.

S1E1Who Were the Greeks? • 2013 • History

The Men of the North

In the final episode, Waldemar looks towards the north of Europe. The Carolingians saw themselves as successors to Rome, reflected in their art. Elsewhere, the Vikings were constructing long ships with intricate decoration and marking their territory with powerful rune stones. And on the British Isles, the Irish and Anglo-Saxons were creating unique works of manuscript illumination and remarkable jewellery.

Part 4The Dark Ages: An Age of Light • 2012 • History

What the Barbarians Did for Us

The 'Barbarians' are often blamed for the collapse of the Roman Empire, but in reality they were fascinating civilisations that produced magnificent art. Focusing on the Huns, Vandals and Goths, Waldemar follows each tribe's journey across Europe and discovers the incredible art they produced along the way.

Part 2The Dark Ages: An Age of Light • 2012 • History

The Clash of the Gods

Waldemar looks at how Christianity emerged into the Roman Empire as an artistic force in the third and fourth centuries. But with no description of Jesus in the Bible, how were Christians to represent their God? He explores how Christian artists drew on images of ancient gods for inspiration and developed new forms of architecture to contain their art.

Part 1The Dark Ages: An Age of Light • 2012 • History

Revenge

Arminius unites the tribes and engineers an ambush attack to drive Rome out of Germania; Boudica unleashes bloody vengeance on the Empire; Rome's betrayal of the Goths ends in an apocalyptic clash.

Part 3Barbarians Rising • 2016 • History

Rebellion

Rome brings its enemies inside its borders as the age of Empire begins; Spartacus leads a slave uprising that threatens Rome on its own turf; Arminius, Germania's native son raised as a Roman, must choose a side in the fight for freedom.

Part 2Barbarians Rising • 2016 • History

Resistance

Series premiere of a docudrama that chronicles the rebel tribes that brought down the Roman Empire. In the opener, An epic 700-year battle for freedom begins as the barbarians rise against Rome; Hannibal builds a rebel alliance and conquers the Alps; the shepherd Viriathus unleashes a wave of resistance to save his people from destruction.

Part 1Barbarians Rising • 2016 • History

Confucius

Bettany Hughes' series exploring the lives and teachings of influential ancient philosophers draws to a close with a profile of Confucius, who is credited as the first Chinese thinker to take a systematic philosophical approach to issues of social, political and ethical importance. Born during the chaotic Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history, Confucius believed that harmony could be promoted and achieved through the examples of sage rulers. He was also a innovative teacher, and tried to instill his principles of moral excellence in China's elite, but died without seeing his vision for his nation come to pass. However, his philosophies would eventually form the bedrock of Chinese culture, with many of his principles of tradition surviving to this day.

Part 3Genius of the Ancient World • 2015 • History

Socrates

Bettany Hughes' series profiling the most celebrated thinkers of the Ancient world continues as she turns her attention to Socrates. Heading to Greece, she details how the Athenian philosopher secured a reputation as an influential maverick. She also highlights how his contributions as one of the founders of Western philosophy did not please his detractors, as his outspoken defence of his beliefs ultimately led to his execution.

Part 2Genius of the Ancient World • 2015 • History

Buddha

Historian Bettany Hughes investigates the ideas of ancient philosophers, starting with the Indian nobleman Siddhartha Gautama, more popularly known as Buddha. Thought to have been lived and tought between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, the sage and holy man inspired a diverse belief system that influences the lives of millions of people to this day. She travels to India, where Buddha experienced the challenging ideas and extreme methods of wandering `truth seekers', after he had abandoned his family and homeland in the Himalayas to embark on his philosophical quest to find a solution to human suffering.

Part 1Genius of the Ancient World • 2015 • History

Capital of a New Empire

Simon discovers surprises in Istanbul as it rose to become the imperial capital and Islam's most powerful city. Visiting the great mosques and palaces built by the Ottoman emperors, he tells the stories behind them - of royal concubines, murderous bodyguards and sultans both the powerful and the depraved. He shows how the Christians, Muslims and Jews of the city once co-existed before the waves of nationalist rebellions brought the Ottoman empire to its knees. In the 20th century the ancient capital was once more transformed by the new secular vision of Ataturk.

Part 3Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities • 2013 • History

From Constantinople to Istanbul

Simon explores modern Istanbul in search of the last desperate centuries of Christian Byzantium, in which the once glorious city was buffeted by enemies in both East and West, and yet still produced a golden artistic renaissance. This is story of the Christian crusaders who destroyed the city, and the Ottoman Muslims who restored it to life as an imperial capital after the epic siege of 1453.

Part 2Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities • 2013 • History

From Byzantium to Constantinople

Simon uncovers the city's ancient Greek roots, maps its transformation into the imperial capital of a Christian Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great and reveals how ecclesiastical clashes forced Eastern and Western Churches apart.

Part 1Byzantium: A Tale of Three Cities • 2013 • History

The Two Thousand Year Old Computer

In 1901, a group of divers excavating an ancient Roman shipwreck near the island of Antikythera, off the southern coast of Greece, found a mysterious object - a lump of calcified stone that contained within it several gearwheels welded together after years under the sea. The 2,000-year-old object, no bigger than a modern laptop, is now regarded as the world's oldest computer, devised to predict solar eclipses and, according to recent findings, calculate the timing of the ancient Olympics. Following the efforts of an international team of scientists, the mysteries of the Antikythera Mechanism are uncovered, revealing surprising and awe-inspiring details of the object that continues to mystify

2012 • History

Part 3

Neil Oliver reveals the truth behind the legend of the Vikings. (Part 3.) Neil explores how the Viking Age finally ended, tracing the Norse voyages of discovery, the first Danish kings, and the Christian conversions that opened the door to European high society. He also uncovers the truth about England's King Canute - he was not an arrogant leader who thought he could hold back the waves, but the Viking ruler of an entire empire of the north and an early adopter of European standardisation.

S1E3Vikings • 2012 • History

Part 2

Neil Oliver reveals the truth behind the legend of the Vikings. (Part 2.) Neil Oliver heads out from the Scandinavian homelands to Russia, Turkey and Ireland to trace the beginnings of a vast trading empire that handled Chinese silks as adeptly as Pictish slaves. Neil discovers a world of 'starry-eyed maidens' and Buddhist statues that are a world away from our British experience of axe-wielding warriors, although it turns out that there were quite a few of those as well.

S1E2Vikings • 2012 • History

Part 1

Neil Oliver reveals the truth behind the legend of the Vikings. (Part 1.) Neil begins by discovering the mysterious world of the Vikings' prehistoric ancestors. The remains of weapon-filled war boats, long-haired Bronze Age farmers, and the Swedish site of a royal palace and gruesome pagan ritual conjure up an ancient past from which the Viking Age was to suddenly erupt.

S1E1Vikings • 2012 • History

Mustafa Kemal-Ataturk

Rageh Omaar explains how the collapse of this Islamic super-power following the first World War left problems that still exist in Europe and the Middle East today. From its capital in Istanbul the Ottoman Empire matched the glories of Ancient Rome. Yet its achievements have been largely lost in the trauma of its last few years. Brutality, massacres and the carve-up of former Ottoman lands created a legacy of tension and conflict that continue to this day. The heartland of the former empire - modern day Turkey - turned its back on its Islamic, Ottoman past. It underwent a social revolution led by military commander and secular visionary Mustafa Kemal-Ataturk. So why is Ottomanism back on the political agenda? And why are many politicians in the West hoping that Turkey can provide a role model as a modern, Islamic democracy?

S1E3The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors • 2013 • History

Suleiman the Magnificent and Abdul Hamid II

Continuing his fascinating journey to rediscover the central role played by the Ottoman empire in Europe and the Middle East, Rageh Omaar explores the huge contrasts in the times of two very different Ottoman sultans. The most famous Suleiman the Magnificent in the golden age of the 16th century and the troubled reign of Abdul Hamid II in the 19th century when the Ottomans were dubbed 'the Sick Man of Europe'. Rageh examines the cultural legacy as well as the physical, religious and political architecture of Ottoman rule to find out what a Muslim world run from Europe was really like. It reveals the backdrop to the relationship between Islam and Europe today, how the Ottomans became central in the power politics of Europe and what could have happened had they succeeded in their successive bids to seize Vienna, then a key European capital.

S1E2The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors • 2013 • History

Roots of the Ottomans

In this first episode, the unlikely roots of the Ottomans are revealed. From nomadic horsemen, in a rural backwater of modern day Turkey, they became rulers of a vast empire spanning three continents. At an incredible speed they came to rule over Baghdad and Cairo in the south, where they controlled the holiest sites of Islam - Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem, and they reached deep into Europe.

S1E1The Ottomans: Europe's Muslim Emperors • 2013 • History

Age of Extremes

Andrew Marr sets off on an epic journey through 70,000 years of human history. Using dramatic reconstructions, documentary filming around the world and cutting-edge computer graphics, he reveals the decisive moments that shaped the world we live in today, telling stories we thought we knew and others we were never told. (Part 8: Age of Extremes) Andrew Marr brings the story right up to date with the twentieth century. Marr suggests that humanity found itself propelled forward by our technological brilliance but limited by the consequences of our political idiocy. The decisions we make in the next 50 years, he argues, may well decide our fate. For Marr, the most interesting part of human history lies just ahead.

S1E8Andrew Marr's History of the World • 2012 • History

Age of Industry

Andrew Marr sets off on an epic journey through 70,000 years of human history. Using dramatic reconstructions, documentary filming around the world and cutting-edge computer graphics, he reveals the decisive moments that shaped the world we live in today, telling stories we thought we knew and others we were never told. (Part 7: Age of Industry) Andrew Marr tells how Britain's Industrial Revolution created the modern world. The old agricultural order of aristocratic landowners, serfs and peasant farmers was replaced by a new world of machines, cities and industrialists. Across the world, many resisted this sweeping change. From China to America, Russia to Japan, bitter battles were fought between the modernisers and those who rejected the new way of life. In Europe, new industrial powers competed with each other to create vast empires which dominated the world. But this intense competition would lead to the industrial-scale slaughter and destruction of the First World War.

S1E7Andrew Marr's History of the World • 2012 • History

Revolution

Andrew Marr sets off on an epic journey through 70,000 years of human history. Using dramatic reconstructions, documentary filming around the world and cutting-edge computer graphics, he reveals the decisive moments that shaped the world we live in today, telling stories we thought we knew and others we were never told. (Part 6: Revolution) Andrew Marr explores the Age of Revolution. In the 17th and 18th centuries, people across the world rose up in the name of freedom and equality against the power of the church and monarchy. In America, people fought a war to be free from British rule. In France, bloody revolution saw the king and aristocracy deposed. And in Haiti, the slaves revolted against their masters. The world was also gripped by a scientific revolution, sweeping away old dogmas and superstition. Galileo revolutionized the way we saw humanity's place in the universe, while Edward Jenner used science to help save the lives of millions.

S1E6Andrew Marr's History of the World • 2012 • History

Into the Light

Andrew Marr sets off on an epic journey through 70,000 years of human history. Using dramatic reconstructions, documentary filming around the world and cutting-edge computer graphics, he reveals the decisive moments that shaped the world we live in today, telling stories we thought we knew and others we were never told. (Part 4: Into the Light) Andrew Marr reaches the Middle Ages. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Europe was little more than a muddy backwater. Vikings explored and pillaged from Northern Europe to North America. But they also laid the foundations of powerful new trading states - including Russia. This was also the Golden Age of Islam, and the knowledge of ancient civilisations from India, Persia and Greece was built upon by Islamic scholars in Baghdad's House of Wisdom. By exploring the conquests of Genghis Khan, the adventures of Marco Polo and the extraordinary story of an African King - the wealthiest who ever lived - Marr finds out how Europe emerged from the so-called 'Dark Ages' and used influences from around the world to rise again with the Renaissance.

S1E4Andrew Marr's History of the World • 2012 • History

The Word and the Sword

Andrew Marr sets off on an epic journey through 70,000 years of human history. Using dramatic reconstructions, documentary filming around the world and cutting-edge computer graphics, he reveals the decisive moments that shaped the world we live in today, telling stories we thought we knew and others we were never told. (Part 3: The Word and the Sword) Andrew Marr plunges into the spiritual revolutions that shook the world between 300 BC and 700 AD. This was an age that saw the bloody prince Ashoka turn to Buddhism in India, the ill-fated union of Julius Caesar and Egypt's Cleopatra, the unstoppable rise of Christianity across the Roman Empire and the dramatic spread of Islam from Spain to Central Asia. But the most potent human force on the planet came from the combination of faith and military power as both Christianity and Islam created new empires of 'the word and the sword'.

S1E3Andrew Marr's History of the World • 2012 • History

Age of Empire

Andrew Marr sets off on an epic journey through 70,000 years of human history. Using dramatic reconstructions, documentary filming around the world and cutting-edge computer graphics, he reveals the decisive moments that shaped the world we live in today, telling stories we thought we knew and others we were never told. (Part 2: Age of Empire) Andrew Marr tells the story of the first empires which laid the foundations for the modern world. From the Assyrians to Alexander the Great, conquerors rampaged across the Middle East and vicious wars were fought all the way from China to the Mediterranean. But this time of chaos and destruction also brought enormous progress and inspired human development. In the Middle East, the Phoenicians invented the alphabet, and one of the most powerful ideas in world history emerged: the belief in just one God. In India, the Buddha offered a radical alternative to empire building - a way of living that had no place for violence or hierarchy and was open to everyone. Great thinkers from Socrates to Confucius proposed new ideas about how to rule more wisely and live in a better society. And in Greece, democracy was born - the greatest political experiment of all. But within just a few years, its future would be under threat from invasion by an empire in the east...

S1E2Andrew Marr's History of the World • 2012 • History

Survival

Andrew Marr sets off on an epic journey through 70,000 years of human history. Using dramatic reconstructions, documentary filming around the world and cutting-edge computer graphics, he reveals the decisive moments that shaped the world we live in today, telling stories we thought we knew and others we were never told. (Part 1: Survival) Starting with our earliest beginnings in Africa, Marr traces the story of our nomadic ancestors as they spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers and townspeople. He uncovers extraordinary hand-prints left in European caves nearly 30,000 years ago and shows how human ingenuity led to inventions which are still with us today. He also discovers how the first civilisations were driven to extremes to try to overcome the forces of nature, adapting and surviving against the odds, and reveals how everyday life in ancient Egypt had more in common with today's soap operas than might be imagined.

S1E1Andrew Marr's History of the World • 2012 • History

The Vikings Uncovered

Dan Snow uncovers the lost Vikings in America with space archaeologist Dr Sarah Parcak. Sarah uses satellites 383 miles above the earth to spot ruins as small as 30cm buried beneath the surface. As Sarah searches for Viking sites from Britain to America, Dan explores how they voyaged thousands of miles when most ships never left the shoreline. He also tracks their expansion west, first as raiders and then as settlers and traders throughout Britain and beyond to Iceland and Greenland. In North America they excavate what could be the most westerly Viking settlement ever discovered.

2016 • History

The Fall

In these two 2-hour specials, HISTORY channel digs deep beneath the surface of our collective understanding of the Third Reich to unearth what we don't know about the individuals who comprised one of the most fascinating and complex regimes of recent history. Part 2: The Fall How did the Germans experience the Allied victory in WWII? Rarely-and never-before-seen amateur films recount the catastrophic downfall of the Third Reich through the eyes of the people who lived it: the Germans themselves.

S1E2Third Reich: The Rise and Fall • 2010 • History

One Day in Auschwitz

Auschwitz-Birkenau was designed to kill. Four gas chambers murdered thousands at a time, belching out smoke and human ashes. Starvation, thirst, disease, and hard labor reduced the average lifespan to less than three months. More than 1-million people perished in the largest German Nazi concentration and extermination camp. Seventy years after her liberation, Kitty Hart-Moxon makes a final return to Auschwitz-Birkenau to walk among the crumbling memorial with students Natalia and Lydia, who, at 16, are the same age now as she was then.

2015 • History

The History and Future of Everything -- Time

Time makes sense in small pieces. But when you look at huge stretches of time, it's almost impossible to wrap your head around things.

In a Nutshell • 2015 • History

Ep. 2

This film tells the story of the last year of the war in Europe, from the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944 to the dual German surrender, first in Reims then Berlin, in May 1945. Eleven months of unprecedented combat.

S1E2Hitler's Last Year • 2015 • History

Ep. 1

This film tells the story of the last year of the war in Europe, from the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944 to the dual German surrender, first in Reims then Berlin, in May 1945. Eleven months of unprecedented combat.

S1E1Hitler's Last Year • 2015 • History

Rockefeller: The Richest American Who Ever Lived

Was America's first billionaire, John D. Rockefeller, a greedy robber baron, a generous philanthropist, or both? And did the oil tycoon exploit America's poor or give them access to much-needed energy? Historian and Hillsdale College professor Burt Folsom, author of "The Myth of the Robber Barons," reveals the truth about the Rockefeller empire.

PragerU • 2015 • History

The Fallen of World War II

An animated data-driven documentary about war and peace, The Fallen of World War II looks at the human cost of the second World War and sizes up the numbers to other wars in history, including trends in recent conflicts. Visit fallen.io for the interactive version and more information.

History

North Korea Undercover

North Korea is like no other tyranny on earth. It is Orwell's 1984 made reality. The regime controls the flow of information to its citizens, pouring relentless propaganda through omnipresent loud speakers. Free speech is an illusion: one word out of line and the gulag awaits. State spies are everywhere, ready to punish disloyalty and the slightest sign of discontent.

History

Genghis Khan

He was a man who combined the savagery of a real-life Conan the Barbarian with the sheer tactical genius of Napoleon, a man from the outermost reaches of Asia whose armies ultimately stood poised to conquer Europe. His name was Genghis Khan.

History

The history of our world in 18 minutes

Backed by stunning illustrations, David Christian narrates a complete history of the universe, from the Big Bang to the Internet, in a riveting 18 minutes.

History

The History of Keeping Time

Where did time-telling come from? What are time zones and why are there so many of them? Get the answers to these questions and more in this journey through the history of time -- from sundials to hourglasses to modern clocks.

TED-EdHistory

World War II: Crash Course

World War II was one of the definitive events of the 20th century, if not all of human history. John Green takes a look at the causes of World War II, the key event, as well as, both the short and long term effects of the war. For those interested in looking at World War II from a world perspective, this video focuses on the war before United States involvement.

2012 • History