Origins and Identity • 2018 • episode "S1E1" • The Story of Europe

Category: History

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.

Make a donation

Buy a brother a hot coffee? Or a cold beer?

Hope you're finding these documentaries fascinating and eye-opening. It's just me, working hard behind the scenes to bring you this enriching content.

Running and maintaining a website like this takes time and resources. That's why I'm reaching out to you. If you appreciate what I do and would like to support my efforts, would you consider "buying me a coffee"?

Donation addresses

BTC: bc1q8ldskxh4x9qnddhcrgcun8rtvddeldm2a07r2v

ETH: 0x5CCAAA1afc5c5D814129d99277dDb5A979672116

With your donation through , you can show your appreciation and help me keep this project going. Every contribution, no matter how small, makes a significant impact. It goes directly towards covering server costs.

The Story of Europe • 2018 • 6 episodes •

Origins and Identity

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.

2018 • History

Beliefs and Ideas

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.

2018 • History

Ambitions and Conquests

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".

2018 • History

Acievements and Rewards

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.

2018 • History

Commonalities and Divisions

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.

2018 • 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.

2018 • History

You might also like

Part 3: In Memory of the Vanquished (1922-1945)

Part 3: In Memory of the Vanquished (1922-1945)

By assassinating nearly a third of Europe's workers in some countries, World War 1 reduced the militant mass to silence. But it was above all the repressive measures of the major democracies that, from deportations to executions, dealt a blow to the anarchist movement. In this fertile inter-war period, where capitalism gave birth to its two foul beasts, Stalinism and fascism, more than ever before, anarchism continued to be the only force of resistance for the people, in the face of the totalitarian hydra that was increasingly generalising theft and industrialising death. From Boston to Barcelona, from Tokyo to Paris, anarchism was to lead a struggle on all fronts. It was eventually in Spain, during the course of a war resembling a revolution that the movement finally came within reach of utopia.

S1E3 • No Gods, No Masters: A History of Anarchism • 2016 • 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.

S1E1 • World War II: Race to Victory • 2020 • History

Human

Human (BBC, 2025) is a landmark documentary exploring the extraordinary story of Homo sapiens — how we evolved, adapted, and spread across the globe. Using cutting-edge science, stunning visuals, and expert insights, the series unravels the mysteries of our species’ survival, from early human ancestors to the complex societies we live in today. It’s a powerful journey through time that reveals what makes us truly human. Chapters: 1: The First of Us 2: Into the Unknown 3: Last Humans Standing 4: Discovering the Americas 5: A Great Gamble

2025 • History

The War of the World/Lightning War

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.

S1E1 • World War II in Numbers • 2019 • History

Pompeii: With Michael Buerk

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

The Last Battle of the Vikings

The Last Battle of the Vikings

The year is 1066 and the Vikings are no longer engaged in coastal raids and pillaging monasteries, but in a fight for the throne of England. The Norman Duke William is determined to take the island. In this final episode we will discover what novel tactics William used and how he managed to conquer England once and for all. This is a tumultuous and historic event, and it will also be the last battle of the Vikings.

S1E4 • The Last Journey of the Vikings • 2019 • History