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They say it's over 2000 years old, and more than 4,000 miles long. But even today nobody really knows for sure. The Great Wall of China is one of the world's famous buildings but it is still the least known. British writer and historian William Lindesay has lived in China for twenty years. Exploring the Great Wall has become his lifetime obsession.
Feb 2011
Everyone lies, even several times a day. Although this is considered immoral, it seems to be an ancient natural habit. Animals also tell lies for their own benefit. And not every lie is to be condemned. Some are considered a lubricant for daily coexistence. Scientists are trying to track down liars with lie detectors and thermal imaging cameras.
Sep 2019
The story of the Trojan Horse is probably one of the most famous stories ever told: after ten years of bloody war, the Greek coalition decides to lift the siege and depart, but not before leaving at the gates a huge wooden horse, which the Trojans confidently lead into the city. A few hours later, the once invincible Troy goes up in flames. What exactly happened? Is this myth true or false?
Mar 2021
On June 26, 1813, Austrian Foreign Minister Klemens von Metternich went to meet Napoleon Bonaparte at his headquarters in Dresden, in the Kingdom of Saxony. Although the French emperor still dominated Europe, the disastrous Russian campaign had sapped his military power. Could France continue to count on Austria's support? A nine-hour private meeting would decide the fate of Europe.
May 2021
Artificial intelligence harbors opportunities and risks. What if humans were to build machines that make faster and fairer decisions? Could such a machine make the world a better place - or would it be our downfall? It tells the fictional story of Mari and her husband Tom. In the near future, the lawyer is replaced by an AI: it works more efficiently.
Nov 2021
The Vietnam War was the longest conflict of the 20th century. It was the first time that the media brought a war into our living rooms. This had consequences: Its images are deeply engraved in our memories: the widespread dropping of napalm bombs, the naked girl fleeing screaming from a cloud of fire. This war came to an end on May 1, 1975.
Apr 2015
A portrait of Pope Pius XII (1876-1958), head of the Catholic Church from 1939 until his death, who, during World War II, and while European Jews were being exterminated by the Nazis, was accused of keeping a disconcerting and shameful silence.
Oct 2024
The Egypt of Al-Sisi, risen to power in 2013, is a country marked by violation of human rights, but strategic and commercial interests drive Usa and Europe to turn a blind eye to the violent oppression
Sep 2018
For 1000 years, Christian Byzantium was considered the epitome of faith, power and wealth. But in the end, it sank into violence, resentment, war and catastrophe. Who were these Byzantines? How did Byzantium become the new world power after Rome? And what role did Constantinople play in the emergence of the Christian West?
May 2015
On the 200th anniversary of Karl Marx's birth, the docu-drama paints a multifaceted portrait of the most influential German thinker of modern times. The world-famous actor Mario Adorf embodies the equally contradictory and contradictory world spirit, in the dichotomy of prophetic confidence and fear of failure. An exciting cinematic journey through his life and work.
Apr 2018
Coffee is the second most important commodity in the world after oil. The drink has a long history and what's more, its effect seems to be stimulating in two senses.
Apr 2021
Jun 2017
Germans colonized the land of Namibia, in southern Africa, during a brief period of time, from 1840 to the end of the World War I. The story of the so-called German South West Africa (1884-1915) is hideous; a hidden and silenced account of looting and genocide.
Apr 2019
Around 3,000 BC, the first territorial state in history was created with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt. The empire on the Nile was to exist for 3,000 years. The current section focuses on religion, temple economy and the cult of the dead and examines the reigns of Akhenaten and Ramses II. The culture of Ancient Egypt is characterized by religion, temple economy and the cult of the dead. Two pharaohs play an important role in this context: Akhenaten and Ramses II. When Akhenaten ascended the throne around 1,350 BC, religious customs in Egypt had hardly changed for almost 2,000 years. The influential priesthood was organized hierarchically and the rituals were set out in fixed rituals. The temples are not only the spiritual but also the economic centers of the country.
Apr 2011
Nowadays we associate Johannes Kepler with his famous laws of planetary motion. But the history of his discoveries is a drama of Shakespearian proportions - full of intrigue, passion, depravity and corruption.
Apr 2020
Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx formed one of the most famous duos in world history. In contrast to Marx, however, Engels seems to have fallen into oblivion today. Unjustly so. Moving archive images, documentary footage and graphic novels lead us back to the time of Friedrich Engels, who shaped the Communist movement like no other.
Nov 2020
September 1st, 1939. Nazi Germany invades Poland. The campaign is fast, cruel and ruthless. In these circumstances, how is it that ordinary German soldiers suddenly became vicious killers, terrorizing the local population? Did everyone turn into something worse than wild animals? The true story of the first World War II offensive that marks in the history of infamy the beginning of a carnage and a historical tragedy.
Aug 2019
Hygienic habits are as old as the various human civilizations; but each era establishes its own customs: whether private or public, everywhere and at all times, methods of personal cleanliness have depended on cultural conventions, religious morals, political ideologies and economic interests; because the control of basic hygiene has also been and is one more tool in the infinite exercise of power over the masses.
An exploration of Cologne Cathedral, an emblematic monument and world heritage site. The towering place of worship took over 600 years to complete. Once the tallest building in the world, its ornate facade remains a masterpiece of Gothic architecture - and a reflection of the evolution of Franco-German relations.
Sep 2024
Oceanographers have been gripped by a new spirit of discovery and have undertaken the biggest population census of ocean species ever conducted - a "Census of Marine Life". The quest: to find out when and where it all began. Where did the water come from? How was life created in the oceans? And how did it evolve to the enormous diversity we see today? Join National Geographic as we travel more than 4 billion years into the past to uncover how oceans and marine life came to exist.
Oct 2010