Britain, Europe and the wider world

The Wipers Times (2013)

World War I drama based on a true story. An army captain discovers a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium, in 1916, and decides to publish a...

Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days that Shook the World

An introduction to Archduke Franz Ferdinand and the reasons for his assassination.

Context and who was involved | Days that Shook the World

An introduction to the context behind the murder of Franz Ferdinand and the key people involved.

Gavrilo Princip | Days that Shook the World

An introduction to the life and motivations of Gavrilo Princip.

The Archduke is assassinated | Days that Shook the World

Gavrilo Princip assassinates the Archduke and triggers the First World War.

The assassins | Days that Shook the World

The assassins prepare for the murder of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

The bombing attempt | Days that Shook the World

The circumstances of Nedeljko ?abrinovi?'s failed bombing attempt.

This history of The Cenotaph and the grave of the Unknown Warrior | Remembrance Sunday: The Cenotaph

David Dimbleby introduces the iconic Cenotaph and the journey and import...

African American Troops | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga investigates the experiences of African American soldiers in WW1.

Arras | War Walks

A journey through six centuries of warfare. Military historian Richard Holmes reviews the strategic importance of the Battle for Arras in 1940.

The Somme | War Walks

1 July 1916 was the blackest day in the British army's history. Richard Holmes walks the fields where 57,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in just a ...

Mons | War Walks

Military historian Richard Holmes looks at some of history's major battles. This programme follows the British retreat from Mons in 1914.

Battle of Neuve Chapelle | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga discusses the Battle of Neuve Chapelle.

Chinese Labour Corps | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga discusses the experiences of the Chinese labour corp in WW1.

French troops from Sub-Saharan West Africa | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga investigates the WW1 experiences of French troops from Sub-Saharan W...

German Ottoman alliance | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga investigates the German-Ottoman alliance during WW1.

Half Moon Camp | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga discusses the Half Moon Camp, which intended to turn prisoners of war into jihadists.

Indian soldiers in Marseille | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga discusses the experiences of the Indian soldiers arriving in Marseille at the begi...

Martial Races Theory | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga explains the derogatory Martial Race Theory and how it was employed in the British Indian ...

Racism and theories of civilisation | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga discusses the racist values and theories of civilisation propagated by Germ...

The Battle of Tanga | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga discusses the events of the 1914 Battle of Tanga in East Africa.

Witness: The Battle of Verdun

In 1916, French and German armies began one of the most devastating battles of WW1

The Indian Corps and trench warfare | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga discusses the Indian corp experiences of industrialised trench warfare.

The Western Front | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire

David Olusoga visits the location of the Western Front and discusses its context infrastructure.

The end of WW1 | Nazis: A Warning from History

The ideological division of Germany at the end of the First World War.

The end of WW1 | Nazis: A Warning from History

The ideological division of Germany at the end of the First World War.

First world war widows | A House Through Time

Three sisters living at 10 Guinea Street lose their husbands to the first world war.

Opposition to the Weimar Republic | Nazis: A Warning from History

While the Weimar Republic boomed under borrowed money, non-political groups such as the Wandervogel were fo...

Buy on margin | 1929: The Great Crash

An exploration of the use of buy on margin in the twenties in America.

Consumerism and liberty bonds | 1929: The Great Crash

An exploration of the consumerist culture of the roaring twenties in America.

Market manipulation | 1929: The Great Crash

The financial market in America was largely unregulated and some people found ways to take advantage of this.

Roosevelt | 1929: The Great Crash

The beginning of Roosevelt's presidency and his investigation into the crash.

Stocks | 1929: The Great Crash

The twenties in America saw a boom in people buying stocks.

The crash | 1929: The Great Crash

The attempts to prevent the crash as it was happening.

The Day of the Wall Street Crash | 1929: The Great Crash

The beginning of the Wall Street Crash on the 24th October 1929.

The impact of the crash | 1929: The Great Crash

The immediate impact of the Wall Street Crash.

Nazi Olympic Games of 1936 | Great Continental Railway Journeys

Michael Portillo learns how new rail lines were constructed to transport crowds of spectators to the Nazi Oly...

Adolf Hitler's rise to power | Andrew Marr's History of the World

Andrew Marr discusses Hitler's rise to power from the end of the first world war.

Commanding Germany's past | Long Shadow

David Reynolds on Adolf Hitler's attack on the Great War settlement.

German economics and the rise of the Nazis | Nazis: A Warning from History

How unemployment and the German economy in the early 1930's contributed to the popularity of the N...

Freikorps | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

After Germany's defeat in World War One, thousands of ex soldiers formed paramilitary groups called Freikorps to fight the soci...

Chancellor | Nazis: A Warning from History

How Hitler became chancellor of Germany in January 1933.

Chancellor Franz von Papen | Rise of the Nazis

Schleicher encourages Hindenburg to appoint Franz von Papen as Chancellor, who is seen to be easy to manipulate.

How Hitler becomes Chancellor | Rise of the Nazis

A coalition between von Papen and the Nazis lead to Hindenburg finally agreeing to appoint Hitler as Chancellor.

Reflections on Hitler's rise to power | Rise of the Nazis

Hitler was finally appointed Chancellor in 1933, in a move that marked the downfall of German democracy.

Scheming General von Schleicher | Rise of the Nazis

Aristocratic general Kurt von Schleicher plots to replace the current chancellor by creating a right wing coalition with ...

Stormtroopers | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

Following fears that the Stormtroopers were out of control, in June 1934, Hitler executed members of the party that dispute...

The SA and the appeal of the Nazis | Rise of the Nazis

Von Schleicher persuades Hindenburg to bring forward elections in order to harness the power of the SA, but underestim...

Beer Hall Putsch | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

On the 9th of November 1923 Hitler lead an uprising, which led to violence when the police intervened.

Mein Kampf | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

The ideological backing to Hitler's Mein Kampf.

Beginnings of the Nazi Party | Hitler's Rise: The Colour Films

Footage from Hitler's rise to power has been transformed into colour using digital techniques. Here, the begin...

Falsified History | Hitler's Rise: The Colour Films

Footage from Hitler's rise to power has been transformed into colour using digital techniques. This clip explores the con...

Mein Kampf | Hitler's Rise: The Colour Films

Footage from Hitler's rise to power has been transformed into colour using digital techniques. This clip explores how Hitler's b...

Hitler's Image | Hitler's Rise: The Colour Films

Footage from Hitler's rise to power has been transformed into colour using digital techniques. In this clip, how Hitler use...

The Spread of the Nazi Party | Hitler's Rise: The Colour Films

Footage from Hitler's rise to power has been transformed into colour using digital techniques. In this clip, t...

The Treaty of Versailles | Hitler's Rise: The Colour Films

Footage from Hitler's rise to power has been transformed into colour using digital techniques. This clip shows how...

The Night of the Amazons | Nazis: A Warning from History

Annually in the 1930's, the Nazi's held a propaganda event called The Nights of the Amazons.

Internal criticism | Nazis: A Warning from History

The severe punishments for German's who criticised the Nazi regime.

Political prisoners and concentration camps | Nazis: A Warning from History

When Hitler first became Chancellor of Germany, political opponents were rounded up and put in co...

Hitler's leadership | Nazis: A Warning from History

The truth behind the image of decisive order and leadership that Hitler projected.

Hitler's private offices | Nazis: A Warning from History

Under the new Grand Reich Chancellery Hitler's working life was organised into five private offices.

Rise of the dictatorship | Rise of the Nazis

It's taken Hitler and the Nazi party just six months to destroy democracy and establish the new dictatorship.

The Reichstag fire and the Enabling Act | Rise of the Nazis

Goring blames the communists for the Reichstag fire, giving Rohm and the SA an excuse to arrest what is left of t...

The Gestapo | Nazis: A Warning from History

A look at how the Gestapo relied on the constant surveillance of the German public.

Himmler and the SS | Rise of the Nazis

Himmler and the black shirts (the SS) arrest thousands of political prisoners, and open the first 're-education' camp in Dachau.

The creation of the Gestapo | Rise of the Nazis

Himmler and Goring fight for control of the newly formed Gestapo, responsible for the preventative arrest of Jews, political ...

Hitler and Religion | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

Hitler's relationship with the Church.

Unifying Germany | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

How Hitler managed to gain the support of the majority of the German public.

Arriving at Auschwitz | Auschwitz Untold: In Colour

Footage from Auschwitz has been changed into colour using digital techniques. Survivors talk about their arrival at the c...

Life and Death at Auschwitz | Auschwitz Untold: In Colour

Footage from Auschwitz has been changed into colour using digital techniques. Survivors talk about their experienc...

Rows of Five | Auschwitz Untold: In Colour

Footage from Auschwitz has been changed into colour using digital techniques. Survivors talk about how prisoners were sorted and c...

Bernhard's story | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

The story of Bernhard, a young Jewish man from Frankfurt, who died at Dachau concentration camp in 1942.

Frankfurt's Jewish community | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

A historian talks about how life changed for Frankfurt's Jewish community after Hitler came to power.

The aftermath of Kristallnacht | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

Psychologist Bernie Graham finds out what happened to his grandparents in Frankfurt after the Kristallnacht ...

Auschwitz | Nazis: A Warning from History

A first person account of Auschwitz concentration camp.

Disability in Nazi Germany | Nazis: A Warning from History

The development of Nazi policies of killing children born with disabilities.

Forced labour | Nazis: A Warning from History

Racist ideologies that projected German's as the master race relied on forced labour from people they considered to be 'inferio...

Jewish ghettos in Poland | Nazis: A Warning from History

First person accounts of the Jewish ghettos in German-occupied Poland.

The Jewish Question | Nazis: A Warning from History

The steps taken by the Nazis to evacuate and exterminate Jewish people in Western Europe.

The Night of the Broken Glass | Nazis: A Warning from History

Kristallnacht or The Night of the Broken Glass took place in November 1938, in which SA paramilitary forces and...

Treblinka | Nazis: A Warning from History

The remains of Treblinka extermination camp.

Auschwitz | The Last Survivors

Holocaust survivors talk about their memories of Auschwitz.

Maurice's story | The Last Survivors

The sculptor Maurice Blik tells the story of his younger sister who died in Belsen concentration camp. Contains upsetting images.

Memories of Dachau | The Last Survivors

A Holocaust survivor living in Britain talks about his time in Dachau and how the experience affected his life.

School photo | The Last Survivors

A Holocaust survivor from Prague talks about the classmates in his school photo whose stories he has spent years tracing.

Stories of survival | The Last Survivors

Holocaust survivors tell the stories of how they survived the Holocaust.

Rinder's Family in Poland | Who Do You Think You Are?

Robert Rinder visits the first ghetto in Nazi occupied Europe.

Schlieben Camp | Who Do You Think You Are?

Robert Rinder visits the Nazi Schlieben Camp and discusses the conditions of life there.

Camp Westerbork | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

Two sisters visit Westerbork concentration camp to find out what happened to their great-aunt.

A Jewish family in Vichy France | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

The daughter of a Holocaust survivor meets a man whose family sheltered her mother during round ups of Jews...

Divenishok's Jewish community | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

Robert Rinder learns about his family's life before and during the Second World War in the Lithuanian town of...

Elsa's story | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

The story of Elsa, a Dutch Jewish dancer, who was arrested during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

The last survivor of Treblinka | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

Robert Rinder meets Leon Rytz, the last surviving prisoner at Treblinka extermination camp.

Treblinka extermination camp | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

Robert Rinder visits Treblinka extermination camp and hears about the last moments of Jews who were killed there.

The Path Towards Auschwitz | Auschwitz Untold: In Colour

Footage from Auschwitz has been changed into colour using digital techniques. In this clip, a brief outlining of th...

The Voranava Massacre | My Family, The Holocaust and Me

Robert Rinder visits Voranava in Belarus, the site of a massacre where thousands of Jews, including his own family, w...

Poland | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

The brutality of the Nazi occupation in Poland.

Invading the Soviet Union | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

In June 1941 Germany launched it's largest invasion into the Soviet Union.

Russian winter | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

Hitler shows little compassion for German soldiers stuck in Russia during the winter.

Stalingrad | The Dark Charisma of Adolf Hitler

The German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad.

Political prisoners and concentration camps | Nazis: A Warning from History

When Hitler first became Chancellor of Germany, political opponents were rounded up and put in co...

Dunkirk | War Walks

Professor Richard Holmes walks the French beaches and breakwaters from which thousands of British troops escaped capture in May 1940. German tanks had ov...

Dunkirk: The Forgotten Heroes

The untold story of the British troops who were left in France when Dunkirk was evacuated

The Essay: British War Films of the 50s: Dunkirk

Simon Heffer on one of the last and best-loved films of the post WWII era: Dunkirk.

War and Words: Dunkirk and the Fall of Paris

The German army forces the epic retreat of Dunkirk as Paris falls to Hitler’s forces.

Blitz experience | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

Survivors share their experiences of the Blitz in Hull. Contains some strong language.

Blitz surveys | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

Government scientist Professor Solly Zuckerman was put in charge of conducting surveys about the impact of the Blitz on...

Blitz | War Walks

Richard Holmes traces the events of a night of the Blitz, from the sector control room where the incoming raiders were plotted through to the efforts to sa...

Black Saturday | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

Survivor accounts of the Black Saturday bombing on East London.

Bristol Blitz | A House Through Time

Guinea street was targeted in the Bristol Blitz, due to its close proximity to the docks.

Bristol Blitz | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

Luftwaffe bombing tactics for the Bristol Blitz. First the Luftwaffe would send elite pathfinders with flares and incen...

Bristol bomb shelters | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

Inadequate shelters forced Bristolians to seek shelter in disused railway tunnels.

Clydeside Blitz | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

Clydeside was almost entirely destroyed in the Blitz.

Government censorship | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

The Ministry of Information had strict control over the press which caused a lot of resentment in Bristol.

Henry Willink | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

After the Blitz, the government appointed Henry Willink as a special commissioner for the homeless in London.

Hull | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

Hull became a target for the Luftwaffe during the Blitz.

Inadequate preparation for the Blitz | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

The inadequate preparations put in place for this new type of warfare.

Incendiary bomb | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

An exploration of the incendiary bomb used by the Luftwaffe.

Industry in Clydebank | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

The role that the industry in Clydebank played in the war effort.

Mass Observation | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

The Ministry of Information contracted Mass Observation to gather information about the morale of Bristol, from the ...

Photographs of the Blitz | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

The photojournalist Jim Facey's photographs are a unique record of the Bristol Blitz.

RAF Carpet bombing | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

Government scientist Professor Solly Zuckerman's psychological surveys were used to decide whether to carpet bomb ...

Unexploded bombs | Blitz: The Bombs That Changed Britain

The impact of an unexploded bomb.