Masters of Trade • 2016 • episode "S1E2" • Bronze Age

73:37

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

25:15

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.

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

52:00

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.

S1E5 • Apocalypse: World War 1 • 2014 • History

51:08

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

13/13 • The Hitler Chronicles • 2018 • History

59:12

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.

8/10 • Civilisations • 2018 • History

46:59

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.

S1E4 • Apocalypse: The Second World War • 2009 • History