Last Watched

"World War I"  Sort by

Dream and Machine

   2010    Art
Andrew Graham-Dixon continues his exploration of German art by looking at the tumultuous 19th and early 20th centuries, and how artists were at the forefront of Germany's drive to become a single nation. Andrew travels to the north and the coastal town of Griefswald, the birthplace of Caspar David Friedrich, the most influential of the German Romantics, to discover how the Baltic coast impacted his mysterious paintings of the German landscape. He also visits Berlin and explores the art of the powerful Prussian state, which would spearhead the unification of Germany in 1871. The episode ends with the outbreak of World War I and the attempts of the artists Franz Marc and Otto Dix to rationalise the catastrophic experiences of the world's first technological war, a war driven by the Prussian innovations.
Series: The Art of Germany

To the Bitter End

   2007    History
The determination of the German forces to keep on fighting in the face of defeat had disastrous consequences. After the Allied landings in the summer of 1944, the Wehrmacht was on the defensive on all fronts. It was clear to the German generals interned at Trent Park that Germany would soon lose the war. In mid-1944, Gerhard Graf von Schwerin chose to use common sense instead of blindly obeying Hitler's orders. He decided to surrender the city of Aachen to the US army to avoid bloodshed. Other commanders such as Field Marshal Ferdinand Schorner kept on pushing their soldiers to give their all. Despite being outnumbered by the Soviet forces, Schorner forced his soldiers to hold out in Sworbe, a 200 square kilometre peninsula on the coast of Estonia. Thousands of soldiers died. Yet Schorner's attitude and the urging by Hitler and Goebbels to hold out were accepted by a large number of young soldiers. By April 1944, the Ruhr pocket was completely surrounded, yet Field Marshal Model refused to surrender, so that 1.2 million German soldiers and a large number of Allied soldiers died between January and May 1945.
Series: The Wehrmacht

Deliverance

   2014    History
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 honourable peace agreement, and the Treaty of Versailles, 20 years later, will have disastrous
Series: Apocalypse: World War 1

Audrey Hepburn: The Fairest Lady

   1997    Art
Audrey Hepburn was a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century and one of the most beloved actresses of all time. She enchanted the world with elegance and innocent charm, and portrayed some of the most memorable characters in film. Although she was one of the few actresses to win an Emmy, Tony, Grammy, and Academy Award, Audrey was modest about her talents, often claiming she had no acting technique. She redefined glamour with elfin features and a waif-like figure that inspired timeless designs by Hubert de Givenchy.Raised in the Netherlands during World War II, Audrey never forgot her own struggles during the German occupation and dedicated her later years to helping needy children around the world, becoming an International Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and traveling around the world to provide aid. Audrey Hepburn is remembered as a natural talent, a timeless beauty and a great humanitarian.

The Man Who Cracked the Nazi Code

       History
One of the main battles of the Second World War took place inside the brain of a mathematician called Alan Turing. During the war, the allies' key objective was to crack the German army's encrypted communications code. Without a doubt, the key player in the game was this interdisciplinary scientist and a long-forgotten hero.
Alan Turing's breakthroughs, his story and tragic destiny, gives us a chance to look at the Second World War from a different angle.

Hell

   2014    History
1916. The war is raging in Europe and stretches from the trenches in France to the Italian Alps and the Balkans, and beyond to the gates of the Eastern world. The conflict becomes industrial, and millions of shells rain down on the battlefields; Verdun and the Somme are the deadliest battles in this second year of the war. Who can stop this infernal machine?
Series: Apocalypse: World War 1
Planet Earth

Planet Earth

2007  Nature
Reel Rock

Reel Rock

2014  Culture
Human Planet

Human Planet

2011  Culture
Mind Field Season 1

Mind Field Season 1

2017  Medicine
Leaving Neverland

Leaving Neverland

2019  Culture
Absolute Zero

Absolute Zero

2007  Technology