Histoire | ARTE

Geschichte | ARTE

History | ARTE

Historia | ARTE

Storia | ARTE

The major historical events and civilisations that shaped the world

History

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The greatest turning points in history often came down to one seemingly insignificant event. This series asks: but what if it never happened?

History at a Crossroads

Turning Points

Current Highlights

collections

A focus on Irish history from the struggle for independence to the pain of partition and the tragedy of the Great Famine.

Independence and Partition

Irish History

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

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

Making History

They aren't Bond Girls. They're girl Bonds.

Female Spies Tell All

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.

Stories of the Forgotten

The Lost Ones

A light-hearted look at stories of conflict in international affairs from the Crimean crisis, North Korean nuclear threats and Trump's ever-present tweets.

A light-hearted look at stories of conflict in international affairs from the Crimean crisis to Northern Ireland, North Korean nuclear threats to Donald Trump..

Stories of Conflict

Collections

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Playlists

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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 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

He was both the most adored and the most feared of the Italian aviation aces during the Great War. Addicted to risk, he joined the utopian enclave of Fiume in 1919, with commander Gabriele d'Annunzio. Guido Keller, the dandy, the eccentric, took part in the spectacular and delirious experiment of creating a dream society.

He was both the most adored and the most feared of the Italian aviation aces during the Great War and he took part in the spectacular and delirious experiment of the Free State of Fiume.

Guido Keller: The Activist Aviator

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

A History in 7 Minutes

Northern Ireland: Colonisation to Brexit

20th Century

Civilisations

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This is the story of death and survival, exclusion and hope told by those who lived through it. 40 years ago an HIV infection seemed like a death sentence. When the first patients fell ill with high fever, pneumonia and fungal infections in the early 1980s, doctors were at a loss. Most of those affected were gay men, but the cause of the mystery illness escaped them.
After much protests and medical advancements, the stigma of HIV has lessened but the virus is still with us.

Silence = Death

This is the story of death and survival, exclusion and hope told by those who lived through it.

40 Years of AIDS

In the aftermath of Franco's coup d'etat in 1936, Dolores Ibarruri took to the radio waves to call for resistance. Her famous phrase - No Pasarán - became a rallying call to action and continues to be used today.

Great Speeches That Made History

In the aftermath of Franco's coup d'etat in 1936, Dolores Ibarruri took to the radio waves to call for resistance

No Pasarán! - Dolores Ibárruri

On February 14, 2003, in the UN Security Council, Dominique de Villepin refused ratify the Iraq war. He spoke on  behalf of peace and on behalf of the Iraqi people. But his warnings were never heeded and they still ring true today.

Great Speeches that Made History

On February 14, 2003, in the UN Security Council, Dominique de Villepin refused ratify the Iraq war

Against the Iraq War - Dominique de Villepin

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was in the worst place at the worst time twice over. On August 6, 1945, he was working in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb exploded over the city. Traumatised by the apocalyptic experience, he just wanted to go back home to his family. Except home was Nagasaki. 

Tsutomu Yamaguchi was traumatised by Hiroshima, and went back home as soon as he could. Except home was Nagasaki. 

Yamaguchi, Survivor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On September 19, 1946, at the University of Zurich, Winston Churchill delivered one of his most famous speeches. He advocated for a United States of Europe and for forgiveness between France and Germany. He warned that the horrors of the past could still be repeated without fundamental change. 

Who came up with the term United States of Europe? The answer might surprise you...

Let Europe Arise! - Winston Churchill

A talented tennis player winning the US and French Opens, Gottfried von Cramm was such a champion that Hitler wanted to make him the poster boy for the Nazis. But von Cramm had other ideas.

Homosexual and anti-Nazi, von Cramm was an outstanding tennis player detested by Hitler.

Gottfried von Cramm, The Nazi Tennis Darling

One summer day in 1963, 250,000 people marched to Capitol Hill to demand equal rights between black and white Americans. Martin Luther King, speaking at the event, orginally hadn't intended to talk about his dream. But at the very last moment, he did. And the result was legendary.

Great Speeches that Changed History

Martin Luther King, speaking at the event, orginally hadn't intended to talk about his dream. But at the very last moment, he did. And the result was legendary. 

I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King

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

Séraphine de Senlis is one of the most important French painters of naïve painting. She was an uneducated woman who earned a living as a cleaning lady. But one day a vision from God told her to pick up a paint brush. Entirely self-taught, from then on she painted incessantly until her mental illness took over. She died in 1942 in a mental hospital.

Séraphine de Senlis was an uneducated cleaning woman until one day a vision from God told her to start painting

Séraphine de Senlis, The Painter's Delirium

Crimea has changed hands many times over the centuries. And under President Putin, it has had its last, perhaps definitive, switch. But this has huge consequences for the West and neighbouring countries. Not since World War Two have national boundaries been redrawn using force.

Crimea has changed hands many times over the centuries. And under President Putin, it has had perhaps its last switch.

Russia, Ukraine and the Future of Crimea

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

Geneviève is one of the first female analysts of the DST, the French counterintelligence service. In the 1970s, she spent her days cataloging Soviet diplomats present in France. It's slow, meticulous work: this is the reality of intelligence gathering. She must also balance the demands of her career with the expectations of her husband and family.

To escape life as a housewife, Geneviève becomes a spy

Geneviève: Mum, Wife, Spy

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

Victor Lustig was a brazen liar who loved the high life. In 1925, he pulled off the biggest con of all - literally. Convincing a group of industrialists that he was selling the Eiffel tower for scrap metal, he skipped town with the downpayment in his pocket. But his life of crime eventually catches up with him. 

Victor Lustig was a brazen liar who loved the high life. In 1925, he pulled off the biggest con of all - literally

Victor Lustig, the Con Artist Who Sold the Eiffel Tower

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.

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.

India vs Pakistan

A coming together of nations in peaceful competition, respect and harmony? Or a ruthless geopolitical tussle for the top spot where doping becomes the norm? A history of the Olympic games in 5 minutes.

A coming together of nations in peaceful competition, respect and harmony? Or a ruthless geopolitical tussle for the top spot where doping becomes the norm? 

The Olympic Games

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.

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

Saudi Arabia Versus Iran

Alma Mahler was a central figure of the Viennese art, literature and music scene in the early 20th century. She is considered a femme fatale who charmed many of the great artists of her day. But her own art - her music composition - was forbidden by Gustav Mahler, her first husband. She complied with his edict, but abandoning music for the sake of her marriage left her bitter and twisted. 

Alma Mahler's husband forbade her to compose, so she lived the rest of her life with the void music left behind

Alma Mahler, Frustrated Conductor

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

Cyberwarfare

Forget about polar bears and their pristine icy wilderness. As the icecap melts with climate change the arctic is becoming a strategic region for maritime traffic, oil and gas.

As the icecap melts with climate change the arctic is becoming a strategic region for maritime traffic, oil and gas.

An Arctic Cold War

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 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

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.

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

China Takes Centre Stage

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?

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.

The Manufacturing of Consent

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

Terrorism - Our Old Friend

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

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

Trump: Let’s Tweet Again

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

Ahed Tamimi grew up in a small village in occupied Palestine, and protest was in her blood. She had grown up yelling at Israeli soldiers and demonstrating for a free Palestine. So the day that soliders showed up on her family’s property, she didn’t hesitate : she marched up to them and slapped them. Her anger would land her in prison and make her an icon of the resistance.

Domino Effect (4/4)

The viral slap that put a teenager in prison and made her a global icon

Ahed Tamimi, the Kid Activist

Joachim Roncin is the artist behind the iconic black and white image ‘Je Suis Charlie’. He was in the middle of an editorial meeting at Stylist when alerts started to come through: a fellow magazine, Charlie Hebdo, had been wiped out in a bloody massacre. Joachim’s image captured the pain of a nation.

Domino Effect (3/4)

Joachim Roncin was behind the iconic black and white image ‘Je Suis Charlie’ that captured a nation's pain

Joachim Roncin, the Mind Behind "Je suis Charlie"

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On 4th September 2013, Presidents François Hollande and Joachim Gauck went to the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, the site of a Nazi massacre. From the ashes of this atrocity, a partnership of peace and friendship must arise. 

On 4th September 2013, Presidents François Hollande and Joachim Gauck went to the village of Oradour-sur-Glane, the site of a Nazi massacre

Silence - Joachim Gauck and François Hollande

Gabriele fell in love with a Stasi officer and soon realised to keep him, she'd have to spy for him. But even after they broke up, she continued working for East Germany for ideological reasons, even refusing payment. She delivered thousands of documents to the East.

Gabriele fell in love with a Stasi officer and soon realised to keep him, she'd have to spy for him

Gabriele, the West German Stasi Mole

In the 1970s, Israel offered to accept Falacha Jews from Ethiopia who were facing persecution. But their government refused to let them leave. So Mossad agents set up a hotel as a cover for their underground people smuggling operation. They manage to evacuate thousands of Falacha Jews to the safety of Israel. Yola was the manager of this hotel.

The story of how Yola ran a hotel as a cover for a people smuggling operation

Yola and Hotel Mossad

Jonna Mendez and her husband Tony are CIA celebrities. In 1989, one of the CIA's best Russian moles was on the cusp of being discovered by the USSR. The Mendez couple were sent to Moscow to coordinate the extraction of the mole and his wife.

How Jonna Mendez and her husband snuck a prized asset right out from under the noses of USSR intelligence

Joanna, the CIA's Sweetheart

In 1989, the American army invaded Panama. Manuel Noriega, Panama's dictator, went into hiding. Martha, a field officer at the Military Intelligence Agency, was sent to track him down.

The story of how one fateful visit to the hair salon brought down a dictator

Martha Versus Dictator Noriega

A few days before their marriage, Ludmila's fiancé admits to her that he works for the KGB and that he's leaving to go live in Argentina under a false identity. If she wants to stay with him, she has to become a spy as well. After two years of training, she joins him in Buenos Aires, where the couple tracks down SS officials who fled to Latin America after the fall of Nazi Germany. 

How Ludmila went from bride to Nazi hunter

Ludmila, KGB Agent

Basile Zaharoff is one of the richest people of his time. The enigmatic, unscrupulous businessman led many lives. He was a tourist guide in Constantinople, artillery officer, bank clerk in Egypt and a diplomat. But most of all, he was an arms dealer who, as Europe's merchant of death, made a killing supplying both sides with the means to kill. 

Basile Zaharoff was an arms dealer who made a killing 

Basile Zaharoff, The Merchant of Death

In 1917, a young American journalist was sent to Russia to report on the revolution. In Petrograd, John Reed witnessed as much of the turmoil as he could and kept detailed records, which eventually become his famous book Ten Days That Shook the World. But the socialist dream turned sour, and Reed's life was as brief as it was brilliant. 

John Reed's experiences of the Russian revolution eventually become his famous book Ten Days That Shook the World

John Reed, American Witness to the Russian Revolution

Yukio Mishima is one of the most important authors of his generation. In his work, he dealt with the relationship between art and the body, and his own body's inevitable decline haunted him. At the age of 45, he committed suicide by Harakiri in front of a shocked and fascinated crowd.

Yukio Mishima is one of the most important authors of his generation

Yukio Mishima: Writer Until Death

Leonore Heinz worked in the 1950s as a secretary at the Foreign Office in Bonn where she met the charming Heinz Sütterlin. They got married. He asked her, under the guise of being afraid of the Cold War, to smuggle documents out of her office for him to look at. She complied, suspecting nothing. But eventually the ruse was discovered: he's a KGB spy. She was devastated. 

The Foreign Office secretary Leonore Heinz unwittingly married a KGB spy and aided him in his espoinage 

Leonore Heinz, Unwitting Spy

The French naval officer Benjamin Ullmo got addicted to opium in Vietnam in the early 20th century. Back in France, he continued to indulge his addiction and to meet the demands of a lover with expensive taste. In spiralling debt, he decided to steal confidential documents to blackmail the navy with. .

Addicted to opium and overwhelmed with debt, one navy officer came up with a desperate scheme 