Histoire | ARTE

Geschichte | ARTE

History | ARTE

Historia | ARTE

Storia | ARTE

In April 1974, left-wing factions in the Portuguese military staged a coup against the authoritarian regime which had been in power for half a century. The uprising was largely peaceful and went down in history as the Carnation Revolution. But the path to a democratic Portugal was not easy and not without obstacles.

Carnations against Dictatorship

On the night of 24 April 1974, a peaceful uprising put an end to the Salazar dictatorship, paving the way for a democratic Portugal.

Portugal

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In 1988, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl travelled to the GDR for a secret visit to several East German cities. This is the story of how the former West-German leader outwitted the Stasi and was able to meet ordinary GDR citizens in at times absurd situations.

The German Chancellor in the GDR

In 1988, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl travelled to the GDR for a secret visit to several East German cities. 

When Helmut Kohl Fooled the Stasi

Various symbols accompany protest movements and social change. But where do their origins lie? The peace sign is universal and yet few people know its origins. The rainbow flag symbolises hope, freedom, and resistance for queer people, while the raised fist is a sign against police violence and racism.

Where do protest symbols come from?

Striking symbols often accompany protest movements and social change. But how were they created?

I Saw the Sign

The Marchioness Casati was admired throughout Europe for her incredible parties and expensive tastes. She was an eccentric patron of the arts, and her face appears again and again in the works of all the notable painters of her day. But she would rip through her inheritance by the age of fifty and end up wondering the streets of London, going though rubbish bins.

The Lost Ones

The Marchioness Casati went from living in a palace to eking out an existence on the streets of London

Luisa Casati, the Ruined Marchioness

Prospector Jakko Isola went to the icy wilderness of northern Finland in the hope of finding gold. What he found instead was inner peace in the beauty and tranquillity of the far North. That is until he finally did uncover gold…

Prospector Jakko Isola went to the icy wilderness of northern Finland in the hope of finding gold. He found enlightenment instead.

Jaakko Isola's Search for Riches

In 1924, a woman entered the capital of Tibet after having travelled thousands of kilometres on foot. It was the first time a foreigner had crossed the border of the sacred city. This mythical feat, one of many by Alexandra David-Néel, made the reputation of this explorer, writer, anarchist, feminist and traveller.

In 1924, a woman entered the capital of Tibet after having travelled thousands of kilometres on foot. It was the first time a foreigner had crossed the border of the sacred city. 

Alexandra David-Neel: An Adventurer in Tibet

On the shores of the Red Sea he was known as the Sea Wolf.  The extraordinary story of the man who had been everything: Writer, sailor, privateer, arms and hashish dealer.

Henry de Monfreid

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Historians reveal the fascinating history of objects: Documents, materials, devices or clothes, everything has a tale to tell.

Making History

In one day in April 1974, the Carnation Revolution in Portugal put an end to the Salazar dictatorship and five centuries of colonisation. This documentary is a blow-by-blow account of this momentous day that marked a turning point in the history of a nation and its people.

A blow-by-blow account of one momentous day that marked a turning point in the history of a nation and its people.

Portugal: April 1974

In north-east Honduras, a team of archaeologists is unearthing the remains of a lost pre-Hispanic culture. This documentary looks at their discoveries and how important they are in revealing the history of pre-Colombian central American civilisations.

In north-east Honduras, a team of archaeologists is unearthing the remains of a lost pre-Hispanic culture

Honduras - A Vanished World

Could the Spanish have conquered Mexico without the help of Malinche, a Native American slave who became Hernan Cortés' translator? Enslaved by the Mayas and then the Spaniards, doomed to be sacrificed, Malinche made herself indispensable by becoming the conquistadors' interpreter.

Malinche vs Moctezuma

Could the Spanish have conquered Mexico without the help of Malinche, a Native American slave who became Hernan Cortés' translator? 

Duels of History

Understanding the European union and how it came to be can seem difficult. Here is an attempt to explain everything in six minutes.

European (De)Construction

Stories of Conflict

How did communist activist Angela Davis become an icon in her relentless fight against Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California? The young African-American became a target for Reagan, who made it his mission to save his country from the "red peril" and wanted her sentenced to death.

Angela Davis vs Ronald Reagan

In her battle against Ronald Reagan, activist Angela Davis became the icon of an entire generation.

Today every nation wants their very own nuclear programme. The Islamic Republic of Iran claimed to be developing nuclear energy for peaceful means whereas many Western nations thought otherwise. However, everything was running smoothly until a certain American president came along.

Iran's Nuclear Programme

For 35 years President Tito kept Yugoslavia’s diverse population living in peace. But after the fall of communism thinks started to fall apart.

Yugoslavia: War of the Exes

For 35 years President Tito kept Yugoslavia’s diverse population living in peace. But after the fall of communism thinks started to fall apart.  

Why does the figure of revolutionary socialist Rosa Luxemburg continue to shine whilst Friedrich Ebert, Social Democrat and President of the Weimar Republic, remains a traitor to the German people?

Rosa Luxembourg vs. Friedrich Ebert

Friedrich Ebert and Rosa Luxemburg comrades on the left - and yet became bitter enemies.

The Lost Ones are stories of people who were born in the wrong place at the wrong time. Their individual fates give insight into big, dramatic events in world history.

The Lost Ones are stories of people who were born in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The United Nations, on paper, was a great idea: bringing all the states of the world together to ban war was daring. But in practice, things are very different. Power is concentrated in just five countries, with the 188 others having little say. Is the UN fit for purpose?

Is the UN in its Death Throes?

Turkey is often seen as a bridge between East and West. But at the moment this bridge seems unstable with war in the Middle East, a refugee crisis, and an increasingly bellicose president Erdogan. Understanding Turkey today in five minutes.

Turkey and its Neighbours

Did French Queen Marie-Antoinette really betray her adopted country? And was Robespierre a dictator or a democrat?

Marie-Antoinette vs Maximilien Robespierre

Did the sentencing to death of Jiang Qing, the widow of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, enable the Chinese Communist Party led by Deng Xiaoping to absolve itself of the crimes of the Great Helmsman? Accused of counter-revolutionary crimes after Mao's death, she embodied the hard left of the Chinese Communist Party, which Deng is determined to get rid of to make way for his modernisation plan

Jiang Qing vs Deng Xiaoping

Jiang Qing represented the old ways of the Chinese Communist Party, so she had to go.

Since the Elysée Treaty of friendship was signed between France and Germany in January 1962, the two countries have built ever closer ties. In this intimate documentary, individual Germans from both east and west share their experiences of French culture in the post-war era.

In this intimate documentary, individual Germans from both east and west share their experiences of French culture in the post-war era.

How the Germans Learned to Love France

With independence came partition, as the new nations of India and Pakistan came into being as British rule ended. But these young nations quickly came to blows and the contested region of Kashmir was stuck right in the middle.

India vs Pakistan

With independence came partition, as the news nations of India and Pakistan came into being as British rule ended. But these young nations quickly came to blows and the contested region of Kashmir was stuck right in the middle.

From the first English colonisation to the latest difficult negotiations over the British-Irish border, the story of the Northern Irish conflict

Ireland: Colonisation to Brexit

From the first English colonisation to the latest difficult negotiations over the British-Irish border, the story of the Northern Irish conflict.

In 1913, Camille Claudel, one of the most acclaimed artists of her time, was committed to a psychiatric asylum for insanity. She accused world-famous sculptor Auguste Rodin of persecuting her. They had enjoyed a passionate relationship, but things had turned sour, and she blamed him for all her problems and accused him of trying to steal her works.

Camille Claudel vs Auguste Rodin

Sculptors Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel had a passionate affair, but things turned sour.

Forget bombardments, skirmishes, ambushes and attacks: The future of warfare is online.

Cyberwarfare

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In Groß-Umstadt, a small town in the Oberwald region of central Germany, a community of Portuguese workers arrived in the 1960s. Legend has it that a young Portuguese man was travelling through the area in 1962 when his motorbike broke down… and he never left, becoming the first Portuguese person to settle there. This documentary looks at the immigrant story between Portugal and Germany.

The story of post-war Portuguese migration to the small town of Groß-Umstadt in central Germany.

The First Portuguese in a German Town

"Somewhere over the Rainbow”... The song created for Judy Garland in the film "The Wizard of Oz" became the anthem of the American gay community in the 1970s. The rainbow flag did not appear until the end of the decade, under the impetus of the American artist and activist Gilbert Baker.

The Pride Flag

Appearing in the 1970s, the rainbow flag symbolised the LGBT movement.

The 1968 Olympic Games were marked by a powerful image: Tommie Smith and John Carlos, two black athletes raised their fists in protest against the oppression of African-Americans in the United States. More than fifty years later, the gesture of the raised fist has been taken up by the Black Lives Matter movement. But where does the raised fist originate?

Black Lives Matter

The raised fist has become associated with Black Lives matter movement, but where did it originate?

At a concert in 1992 paying tribute to Freddy Mercury, who had died of AIDS a few months earlier, many famous artists wore a red ribbon. It soon became an international symbol of solidarity with people living with HIV/AIDS.

Red Ribbon

April 1992: At a concert paying tribute to Freddy Mercury, who had died from AIDS, many famous artists wore a red ribbon.

The Anonymous collective became famous through its acts of civil disobedience. But what is the real story behind the creepy smiling masks worn by its activists?

Anonymous

A circle with three intersecting lines: the emblematic logo of nuclear disarmament and the hippy movement, the peace sign is one of the most famous in the world. But its inventor, activist and graphic designer Gerald Holtom has remained a little-known figure.

Peace

Originally designed as a symbol for nuclear disarmament, it is now a widely recognised sign of peace.

How did a simple tennis match between a woman, tennis star Billie Jean King, and a man, ex-player Bobby Riggs, become a television phenomenon and change the face of women's sport?

Billie Jean King vs Bobby Riggs

Two thousand years after the fact, can we really say that Messalina and Agrippina, two empresses of Roman antiquity, were the criminals and depraved women described by chroniclers of the time?

Messalina vs Agrippina

Were the two empresses of Roman antiquity really the criminals and depraved women described by chroniclers of the time?

Why is Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, still viewed as a Machiavellian manipulator? By marrying into the family her father wanted to forge an alliance with, she became forever associated with the worst scandals of Renaissance Italy.

Lucrezia Borgia vs Pope Alexander VI

Why is Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI, still viewed as a Machiavellian manipulator? 

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You might think that North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un is just a crazy overweight man with glasses. But there is method to Rocketman’s madness and its running rings around the United States.

Why Rocketman Builds Them

Today, China is the second largest economic power in the world. But China's ambition doesn't seem to be global conquest: instead, it wants to ensure the submission of its neighbours.

China Takes Centre Stage

Today, China is the second largest economic power in the world. What does that mean for its neighbours?

Tensions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran are nothing new. For starters, there's the religious differences, with Sunni Saudis on one side and Shiite Iranians on the other. And now, as they vie for regional influence, proxy conflicts are fought in other lands.

Saudi Arabia Versus Iran

The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran are an ongoing source of tension in the region. Here's your five minute recap  

After 40 years of rule by Colonel Gaddafi, the military intervention by France, Britain and the USA in 2011 led to his downfall. What followed did not exactly go to plan. Or rather, there was no plan.

Libya: Sons of Anarchy

Tweeting has become a communication shortcut, disrupting traditional diplomacy. But does a free-tweeting Donald Trump represent a threat to world peace?

Trump: Let’s Tweet Again

Does a free-tweeting Donald Trump represent a threat to world peace?

Terrorism has been around much longer than radical Islam with nation states having always struggled to define what it is and how to tackle it. This episode will try just that in five minutes.

Terrorism - Our Old Friend

Terrorism has been around much longer than radical Islam with nation states having always struggled to define what it is and how to tackle it.

Everyone agrees that war is terrible and yet somehow conflicts continue and soldiers around the world are sent off to kill and be killed. How do governments convince their electorates that war is a necessary evil? One word: PR.