During the 1970s the Middle East was a battleground for the Cold War; liberal pro-Western forces battled with pro-Soviet Arab Nationalists and Baathists.
But in 1979 a series of events – the Iranian Revolution, Egypt’s peace with Israel, the Mecca Mosque Siege, and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan – contributed to a radical change in the mind-set of the region and its leaders.
It was the start of the meteoric rise of radical Islam.
Terror of the World: The story of a deadly war that intertwines Germany, Poland, Japan, Italy and Spain, and the remorseless development of weapons and bombers.
The Second World War In Colour [1999] is a three-part documentary which reveals hours of previously unseen colour film of World War II. As almost all newsreel film was shot in black and white, this DVD offers a completely new portrait of the war. Dramatic colour footage from as early as 1933 shows home movies of Adolf Hitler and his cohorts, the devastation wrought by the Blitzkrieg, life on the home front, D-Day and the Allied invasion of France, British bombers defying German fighters, the horror of the Holocaust that troops met as they entered Germany, and the jubilation of the final Allied victory. With John Thaw's narration intercut with spoken accounts from the letters and diaries of those who fought, those who survived, and those the war claimed as victims, this documentary is an extraordinary remembrance of a monumental time in world history.
The two-part documentary Crime in Post-War Germany shows how strained life was between 1945 and 1949 in the four occupied zones. Using the example of individual, particularly serious criminal cases, like in Dresden where a wood collector comes across the severed legs of a person or in Hamburg, where the so-called rubble murders terrify the whole city.
Michael Portillo charts the War of Independence in Ireland, following the journey from the Peace Conference in Versailles to the historic ceasefire in 1921.
This 6-hour documentary series recalls one of the most thrilling races in history, between three icons, super powers and ideologies that came together to overcome a greater evil and achieve VE Day. Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin find themselves in an uneasy alliance, fraught with power-struggles, false promises and deadly suspicions of each other. The series paints an in-depth picture of the race to power and victory during the war, to reach VE Day.
It is customary to give every new government 100 days to draw an initial summary of its work, its successes, its failures, its prospects. A “grace period” that also applied to Chancellor Adolf Hitler. However, he uses them more radically for his goals than anyone before him. This is what this series tells about – as a canon of contemporary voices. Diary entries from all over Germany document different perspectives, perceptions and very private things. How can a civilized country, a democratic state, turn into a brutal dictatorship in just a few weeks?
Historian Lucy Worsley debunks popular myths and royal as well as anti-royal propaganda about key events from British royal history including the English Reformation, the attack of the Spanish Armada and Queen Anne's forgotten legacy.
The Great Nerf War is a web series created by SaulsburyStStudios, premering in 2011.
The premise of the series features an Alternate Universe Civil War between the Peace-Bull and the Belligerwitch, where the primary weapons used are Nerf guns. The series has a serious outlook, but it has a fair amount of funny moments from both factions.
The Drum is an Australian current affairs and news analysis program which appears on ABC News 24 weekdays at 6:05pm. The program is presented by Steve Cannane. It was formerly hosted by Chris Uhlmann and has been hosted by Annabel Crabb. The main fill in hosts are Peter Lloyd, Tim Palmer and Peter Wilkins.
The program follows on from The Drum website which offers blogs and discussions from various commentators. Regular contributors include Annabel Crabb, Barrie Cassidy, Leigh Sales, Jonathan Green, Michael Brissenden, Alan Kohler, Madonna King, Antony Green, Ben Knight, Dominic Knight, Craig Murtrie, Rhys Muldoon and Jeff Waters. In addition there have been many more guest contributors.
Two-part documentary following World War I's biggest archaeological dig, taking place at Messines in Belgium, uncovering some of the best-preserved trenches, bunkers and tunnels ever discovered on the Western Front and revealing the realities of trench warfare, a Christmas football match and poison gas.
As commanders from the great battles of WWII go head-to-head on the battlefield, they attempt to outwit and outfight each other with strategic moves in a game of skill, bluff and counterbluff. With the lives of thousands of men at risk, the generals’ reputations hanging in the balance, the stakes are impossibly high and the pressure is on.