episodes
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1.
The Empire State Story
Opened 70 years ago, the Empire State Building remains one of the enduring symbols of New York City. Tonight's programme explores its colourful - and tragic - history. NEW SEASON 1/6.
- 2. Himmler, Hitler, and the End of the Reich Heinrich Himmler was regarded as Hitler's most loyal henchman. But in the last days of the war, his role in a plot to make peace with the west emerged: the final act of a fascinating drama of double-d...
- 3. The King's Servant Hollywood's portrayal of Thomas More, Henry VIII's Lord Chancellor, is that of a saint but in truth he was a much more complex and interesting man. This drama-documentary, presented by Professor John...
- 4. Nero's Golden House Ten years into his reign, the notorious emperor Nero attempted to build the largest palace the Romans would ever see, the Domus Aurea or "Golden House". What remains of the building today lies alongsi...
- 5. Public Enemy Number One During the Great Depression the American public looked for real-life anti-heroes to match the gangster movies - and found one in John Dillinger. A desperado, a bank robber, a bad man no jail could hol...
- 6. Hitler, Churchill, and the Paratroopers In 1941 the first large-scale paratroop attack took place when Hitler ordered the invasion of Crete. Within a week Churchill gave the order to evacuate the island, but the two leaders' interpretations...
- 7. The Last Surrender For Japanese officer Hiroo Onoda, the Second World War continued until 1974. Now 78 years old and living in Brazil, Onoda tells how he finally accepted defeat and emerged from the Philippine jungle. N...
- 8. Debutantes Archive footage and interviews, with among others the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, help recapture the balls, dresses, romances, and broken hearts that made up the glitz and the glamour of the debut...
- 9. Strangeways Revisited Rex Bloomstein returns to find out what happened to some of the prisoners featured in the award-winning documentary series he made 21 years ago. 3/6.
- 10. Scharnhorst A documentary examining the mystery behind the demise in December 1943 of Germany's supposedly unsinkable warship, and a look at the current quest to detect the wreck by Norway's navy. 4/6.
- 11. Roman Soldiers to Be Following guidelines described by the ancient author Vegetius nearly 2000 years ago, and supervised by historian Kate Gilliver, nine volunteers must learn from scratch to endure the harsh regime of th...
- 12. Bombing Germany Towards the end of the Second World War, many German towns with minimal strategic or industrial importance suffered "saturation bombing". The historical strand throws new light on the political decisi...