HISTORY

HISTORY / RELIGION

LUTHER’S CRIME

2017 is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s nailing of his Ninety-Five Theses to the doors of the Castle Church of Wittenberg, Germany. Join us on a journey back to the mysterious events that took place 500 years ago! When Martin Luther protested to his superiors against the sale of indulgences in 1517 by publishing his sensational Ninety-Five Theses, he was just an unimportant monk in Germany, where both geopolitically and economically he was on the margins of world events. […]
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HISTORY

JUNIOR AND THE SWAN

Almost ten years after the fall of the Wall, three US citizens are convicted of spying for East Germany. What motivation did these three agents have, and why did they believe they were fighting for a just cause? October 1998. In the last Cold War spy trial, three US citizens were convicted of working as agents for East Germany: Kurt Stand (“Junior”), his wife Theresa Squillacote (“Swan”), and James Clark (“the Professor”). The verdict ended their long careers as “Kundschafter”. […]
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HISTORY

STALIN’S DEATH – THE END OF AN ERA

Stalin’s death marked a unique historical turning point in the mid-20th century. For the first time ever, Stalin’s last body double tells his incredible story. March 5, 1953. Stalin is dead. One day later, he is lying in state in an open coffin as more than 1.5 million mourners make their way through the streets of Moscow to pay their last respects. This film recounts the events of the last days of Stalin’s life and tells the story of his […]
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FEATURE DOCUMENTARY / HISTORY / HUMAN INTEREST / SPORTS

TEMPLE OF EMOTIONS – THE MARACANÃ STADIUM IN RIO DE JANEIRO

FIFA World Cup 2014: All eyes are on Brazil – and on the legendary Maracanã, one of the largest stadiums in the world. Built for the 1950 World Cup, the Maracanã was designed to be the stage upon which Brazil – confident of victory – was to present itself to the world. But Brazil lost 2-1 to outsiders Uruguay before the Maracanã crowd, plunging the country into a deep depression. 64 years later, the country has the unique opportunity to […]
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FEATURE DOCUMENTARY / HISTORY / HUMAN INTEREST / SOCIETY

THE ARYANS

Racist campaigns around the world are increasingly associated with the term Aryans. But who were the Aryans really? A personal journey into the madness of racism. A documentary about right-wing movements worldwide – and their completely incorrect interpretation of “Aryanism” – a phenomenon which began with French philosopher Gobineau and continued with the Nazis. Filmmaker Mo Asumang embarks on a journey into the abyss of political evil and finds out that the Aryans originally come from an area which now […]
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DOCUDRAMA / FEATURE DOCUMENTARY / HISTORY

A BLIND HERO

Otto Weidt manages to keep his employees – most of them Jewish and most of them blind – from the clutches of the Nazis. When his secretary is deported to Auschwitz, he embarks on a journey to free her. This docudrama tells of “unsung Schindler” Otto Weidt, who saved Jews from the Nazi death camps. In the 1940s, Berlin brush and broom manufacturer Otto Weidt uses cunning and payoffs to save his staff, most of them Jewish and most of […]
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ART / HISTORY

HITLER’S MADONNA

During the final days of WWII a drama took place at the salt mine of Altaussee in Austria. Serving as a huge repository for priceless art stolen by the Nazis, eight bombs threatened to destroy the mine. Who rescued the thousands of paintings? While the Nazis were in power, they plundered cultural property from every territory they occupied. This was conducted in a systematic manner with organisations specifically created to determine which public and private collections were most […]
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CULTURE / DOCUDRAMA / HISTORY

BARON MUNCHAUSEN

The greatest liar of all times, Baron Munchausen, fell prey to a plot of lies himself. While his stories have become world literature and defined his public image as the ‚Baron of Lies‘, hardly anybody knows the real Munchausen and his tragic fate. Having experienced the splendid life at the Russian tsar’s court, the Baron – back in Germany – bemoans his fate as an aristocrat of rather modest means. The only comfort to him: his adventures, which he embroiders […]
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ART / CULTURE / HISTORY

THE NAKED SHAKESPEARE

Who was Shakespeare? We look at the stories and the controversy surrounding the identity of the greatest writer of all time. Over the course of the last centuries, a rumour has established itself as fact: that a merchant from Stratford-upon-Avon by the name of William Shakespeare is the author. However, no handwritten texts have survived, no letters, not even references to his writings from that time. Mark Twain, Henry James and Vladimir Nabokov did not believe that the man from […]
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ARCHITECTURE / HISTORY

HITLER’S OFFICE

This is where Hitler planned his war and where it ended with his death in the bunker: The New Reich Chancellery in Berlin. It was Hitler’s official residence, office and bunker; from here he planned the war and here it ended with his death – the New Reich Chancellery in Berlin. “He who enters the Reich Chancellery must feel that he is in the presence of the Lords of the World.” This was the only condition that Adolf Hitler set […]
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HISTORY / RELIGION

THE THREE MAGI

In the story of the Nativity they are the most fairy-tale like characters of all: The Magi, the Three Wise Men from the East. In the 3rd century, a comprehensive legend formed around them, their number, the fact that they are kings and – in the 6th century – even their names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. One of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world was built in their honour: Cologne Cathedral. Legend has it that their bones rest here […]
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