Hitler's Rise to Power • 2009 • episode "S1E1" • Apocalypse: The Second World War

56:39

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...

S1E2 • Gulag: The Story • 2019 • History

132:03

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

44:11

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".

S1E5 • Apocalypse: War of Worlds 1945-1991 • 2019 • History

59:12

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.

S1E2 • Expedition: Black Sea Wrecks • 2018 • History

113:20

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.

S1E2 • New York: A Documentary Film • 1999 • History

25:15

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.

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