Mao: China's Chairman of Death • 2015 • episode "5/10" Evolution of Evil

Category: History

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.

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Evolution of Evil • 2015 • 10 episodes •

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

2015 • 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.

2015 • History

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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

The End of History

A new Russian leader emerges, and the republics seek independence. As the Soviet Union dissolves, several powers sign a landmark treaty on nuclear arms.

S1E7Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War • 2024 • 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

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

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

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