Myths die hard, and the history of the 20th century is no exception to this rule. Even today, we hold popular beliefs that we take for Evangelical truths. Thus, we believe that Hiroshima caused Japan to surrender, that the Marshall Plan saved Europe, that Adolf Hitler was a military genius, or that Mao Zedong was a necessary evil for China’s modernization. Of course, these judgements contain some truth; but, too broad-stroked to be accurate, they contradict the historical reality by denying its complexity. What if the truth was slightly different? Through an exploration of great national or international myths, this full archive documentary collection revisits the key moments of the 20th century with a new perspective in order to provide a new, smarter and more subtle interpretation, bringing elements to light that have been forgotten or sometimes overshadowed.
In the turbulent formative centuries of early Europe, power-hungry family dynasties fought for domination of the continent.
Examining the life and times of Adolf Hitler and following the full arc of his ascent, tyrannical reign, criminality and undoing.
From the Gilded Age to the present day, the history of modern United States of America has been one of wealth and power concentrated into the hands of a few families with enormous fortunes.
Jonathan Roberge dives into the world of Montréal crime during the 1957-1977 period, when the city saw a prolonged war between the police and bank robbers.
Despite decades of research, many mysteries remain about the ancient Maya. Now, archaeologists are unearthing new clues that transform long held ideas about how these people came to dominate vast areas of Mexico and Central America. Through immense lost monuments, ancient inscriptions and new forensic evidence, this series tracks the Maya from their earliest origins all the way to the present day, unlocking the dark secrets of the rise and fall of the Maya.
Thirty years after the release of his film JFK (1991), filmmaker Oliver Stone reviews recently declassified evidence related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, which took place in Dallas on November 22, 1963.
Dr Xand van Tulleken and archaeologist Raksha Dave tell the brutal story of one of the most bloody and savage conquests in English history.
Historian Bettany Hughes has embarked on an epic, personal journey. Inspired by Homer's The Odyssey, she will sail the unpredictable Mediterranean seas, tracing Odysseus's long journey home. Her mission: to experience what the Greek hero experienced and to uncover truths behind the myths and legends, all while enjoying the delights of ancient Greece today. Follow her 1,700-mile adventure as it takes her to over a dozen islands and 22 historic sites and puts her through two hair-raising storms and even an earthquake.
Who was Homer, and what is the meaning of The Odyssey? In this documentary we follow the footsteps of Ulysses, also known by his Greek name Odysseus—a hero as relevant today as he was nearly three thousand years ago, on a journey across some of the most fascinating landscapes and seascapes of the Mediterranean region. With the help of prominent international scholars, we seek to resolve the questions that still surround one of humanity’s greatest literary works and its enigmatic author.
Between experiments, mutations and recompositions, the teeming story of the surrealist adventure, the most fertile avant-garde of the 20th century, whose centenary we are celebrating this year.
A multimedia course for secondary school and college teachers that examined global patterns through time, seeing history as an integrated whole. Topics were studied in a general chronological order, but each is observed through a thematic lens, showing how people and societies experience both integration and differences.
For centuries, explorers have searched for the Bible’s most sacred religious artefacts. One of the most mysterious of these objects is the famed Ark of the Covenant. The gold-plated wooden chest – one of the most instrumental symbols of faith and God's presence – was believed to house the two tablets bearing the Ten Commandments. The Ark’s exact whereabouts has long puzzled scholars. Where did it go? And why has it remained such a mystery?
An unprecedented look at the decade-long odyssey to land a man on the moon. This documentary pulls back the curtain on the familiar narrative of the moonshot, revealing a fascinating stew of scientific innovation, political calculation, media spectacle, visionary impulses and personal drama.
British show about possible x-files style stories.
A lecture series about the basic problems of flight, explained by visual presentation of flow experiments. As the material of the lectures should be understood by every interested listener, no mathematical or other theoretical knowledge is used for explanation. Every problem is demonstrated by a true-life experiment and purely scientific language is avoided. Each of the lectures deals with a basic problem of flight. The experiments are mostly shown as flow picture but at certain points scale models and flying models are used to ensure easier understanding.