Histoire | ARTE

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History | ARTE

Historia | ARTE

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The major historical events and civilisations that shaped the world

History

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Born in 1888 in Charente, Jean Monnet did not go to university. A cognac merchant, he trained on the job in the City of London. During World War Two, he managed to convince Churchill to merge France and Britain to defeat the Nazis; though the Vichy government refused. When the war ended, his brilliant brain immediately got to work on how to rebuild the continent. He honed the "Monnet method": the art of finding a solution that benefits everyone, with compromises on all sides.

The cognac merchant who became the architect of modern day Europe.

Jean Monnet, The Discrete Father of Europe

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An investigation into a little-known story from the Second World War. Having planned and executed their mass murders, the Nazis meticulously eliminated traces of their crimes against humanity between 1942 and 1944: The so-called Operation 1005.

How the Nazis Covered up their Crimes

The Nazis meticulously eliminated traces of their crimes against humanity between 1942 and 1944: The so-called Operation 1005.

Operation 1005

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

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

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

Making History

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According to the myth, the Greeks managed to enter the city of Troy by building a wooden horse in which was hidden Greek soldiers. How much of this story is based on actual historical events? And if the story is true, was it even a horse?

The Mystery of the Trojan Horse

The  cognac merchant who became the architect of modern day Europe

Some Paleolithic burials are exceptional. Dated around 25,000 BC, they are far more complex and decorative than we usually give the era credit for. Of great beauty, they also trigger the question: who were these individuals buried with so much care and adornment?

Ladies and Princes of the Paleolithic

Dated around 25,000 BC, some Paleolithic burials are complex and decorative

The Nobles of Prehistory

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.

Stories of Conflict

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.

No Pasarán! - Dolores Ibárruri

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

Great Speeches That Made History

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.

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.

Against the Iraq War - Dominique de Villepin

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

Great Speeches that Made History

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. 

Let Europe Arise! - Winston Churchill

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

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.  

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

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.

I Have a Dream - Martin Luther King

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

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

Cyberwarfare

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

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.

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. 

Ludmila, KGB Agent

How Ludmila went from bride to Nazi hunter

Female Spies Tell All

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

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.

Russia, Ukraine and the Future of Crimea

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

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  

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

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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.

The Olympic Games

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? 

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

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.

An Arctic Cold War

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

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?

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?

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.

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?

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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. 

Silence - Joachim Gauck and François Hollande

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

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.

Geneviève: Mum, Wife, Spy

To escape life as a housewife, Geneviève becomes a spy

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.

Yola and Hotel Mossad

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

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.

Joanna, the CIA's Sweetheart

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

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.

Martha Versus Dictator Noriega

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

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, the West German Stasi Mole

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