History

Video documentaries about history of the world

Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 3

Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 3

History / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 3 – The final episode of a three-part drama-documentary series telling the story of how England came within a whisker of disaster in summer 1588. Newly discovered documents reveal a remarkable web of misunderstandings that stopped the Spanish from invading, and show how the English victory forged the reputation of Elizabeth.     Three-part documentary about the sinking of the Spanish Armada, featuring dramatic reconstructions and information gleaned from recently recovered documents. Dan Snow boards a yacht on the English channel to get a sense of the naval battle, revealing how tensions between […]

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Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 2

Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 2

History / 4 minutes of reading / / By

Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 2: Dan Snow relives fierce sea battles and looks behind the scenes in the court of Elizabeth I as the Spanish fleet prepares for invasion.     In the second part of a major three-part drama-documentary series, Anita Dobson stars as Elizabeth I, and Dan Snow takes to the sea to tell the story of how England came within a whisker of disaster in summer 1588. Using newly discovered documents, Dan relives the fierce battles at sea and we go behind the scenes in the royal court of Elizabeth as the Spanish fleet

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Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 1

Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 1

History / 4 minutes of reading / / By

Armada: 12 Days to Save England episode 1 – In the first part of a major three-part drama documentary series, Anita Dobson stars as Elizabeth I, and Dan Snow takes to the sea to tell the story of how England came within a whisker of disaster in summer 1588. Newly discovered documents take us right inside the Spanish Armada for the very first time and reveal a missed opportunity that could have spelled the end of Tudor England.     Three-part documentary about the sinking of the Spanish Armada, featuring dramatic reconstructions and information gleaned from recently recovered documents. Dan

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Spectres of the Shoah

Spectres of the Shoah

History / 2 minutes of reading / / By

Spectres of the Shoah is a 2015 documentary-short film exploring the life and work of French director Claude Lanzmann. The film was written, directed, and produced by British filmmaker and journalist Adam Benzine.       In 1973, Claude Lanzmann started shooting Shoah, a nearly 10-hour film that many regard as the most important ever made about the Holocaust. The Frenchman worked for a full 12 years on the documentary, which was commissioned by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But making Shoah left its mark on Lanzmann. He filmed 200 hours of material in 14 countries, before spending five years

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Hitler's Secret Weapons Manager

Hitler’s Secret Weapons Manager

History / 4 minutes of reading / / By

Hitler’s Secret Weapons Manager: When SS General Hans Kammler, a key figure in the Nazis’ secret weapons programme, vanished in 1945 he was said to have taken his own life. Yet recently discovered documents cast doubt on this claim. ZDF History shows evidence of this for the first time. A US Air Force Secret Service document dated May 30, 1945 lists a number of high-ranking German prisoners of war who are available for interrogation: alongside Albert Speer and Hermann Goering, Hans Kammler is also included – three weeks after his alleged death.       In November 1945, the intelligence

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The China Century episode 5

The China Century episode 5

History / 2 minutes of reading / / By

The China Century episode 5: The world’s greatest rivalry began with hope and idealism. What went wrong? The forces that have powered China’s rise are rarely explored, while the lives of Chinese people barely get a mention. Beyond the headlines what do we really know about China and its 1.4 billion citizens?     An in-depth examination of China’s place in world politics and the global economy, from a face-off with America to its clampdown in Hong Kong and hacking and surveillance.   The China Century episode 5   China, officially the People’s Republic of China, is a country in

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The China Century episode 4

The China Century episode 4

History / 2 minutes of reading / / By

The China Century episode 4: After 150 years of British occupation, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. We examine how the territory has always been defined by the contest of influence between China and the West and how that tension plays out today.     The forces that have powered China’s rise are rarely explored, while the lives of Chinese people barely get a mention. Beyond the headlines what do we really know about China and its 1.4 billion citizens? An in-depth examination of China’s place in world politics and the global economy, from a face-off with America

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The China Century episode 3

The China Century episode 3

History / 2 minutes of reading / / By

The China Century episode 3: China’s return to imperial power after a century of humiliation. The forces that have powered China’s rise are rarely explored, while the lives of Chinese people barely get a mention. Beyond the headlines what do we really know about China and its 1.4 billion citizens?     An in-depth examination of China’s place in world politics and the global economy, from a face-off with America to its clampdown in Hong Kong and hacking and surveillance. The China Century episode 3   China, officially the People’s Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It

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The China Century episode 2

The China Century episode 2

History / 2 minutes of reading / / By

The China Century episode 2: The story of China’s meteoric economic growth and its earth-shattering repercussions. The forces that have powered China’s rise are rarely explored, while the lives of Chinese people barely get a mention. Beyond the headlines what do we really know about China and its 1.4 billion citizens?     An in-depth examination of China’s place in world politics and the global economy, from a face-off with America to its clampdown in Hong Kong and hacking and surveillance.   The China Century episode 2   China, officially the People’s Republic of China, is a country in East

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The China Century episode 1

The China Century episode 1

History / 3 minutes of reading / / By

The China Century episode 1:  Chinese President Xi Jinping understands the greatest threat to the authoritarian state is not an invading army but the free minds of its people. This episode explores the fight for freedom of thought in China. How do you control the beliefs and desires of a population as vast and diverse as China’s?     In his first address as president, Xi Jinping declares the new vision of the people: The China Dream. Never before in the history of Communist Party rhetoric has the word ‘dream’ been uttered by a leader. Why now? What is The

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Guns Germs And Steel episode 3

Guns Germs And Steel episode 3

History / 3 minutes of reading / / By

Guns Germs And Steel episode 3: So far, Jared Diamond has demonstrated how geography favoured one group of people – Europeans – endowing them with agents of conquest ahead of their rivals around the world. Guns, germs and steel allowed Europeans to colonize vast tracts of the globe – but what happened when this all-conquering package arrived in Africa, the birthplace of humanity?     Jared’s journey begins on a steam train in Cape Town, designed to carry civilization to the heart of the so-called ‘dark continent’. In the Cape, Jared discovers a landscape and way of life that feels

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Guns Germs And Steel episode 2

Guns Germs And Steel episode 2

History / 2 minutes of reading / / By

Guns Germs And Steel episode 2: On November 15th 1532, 168 Spanish conquistadors arrive in the holy city of Cajamarca, at the heart of the Inca Empire, in Peru. They are exhausted, outnumbered and terrified ? ahead of them are camped 80,000 Inca troops and the entourage of the Emperor himself. Yet, within just 24 hours, more than 7,000 Inca warriors lie slaughtered; the Emperor languishes in chains; and the victorious Europeans begin a reign of colonial terror which will sweep through the entire American continent.*     Why was the balance of power so unequal between the Old World,

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