Communism

In 1989 an entire way of life ended for millions behind the Iron Curtain. Combining 1st hand testimony with extensive archive footage, this 3 part series recreates and examines the world that disappeared twenty years ago - the lost world of communism. See unique archive and personal testimony from those who lived behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Romania. The personal stories of dissident leaders, artists, athletes, entertainers, members of the communist elite, secret police and 'ordinary' citizens evoke the moods, and experiences across 4 decades of a now lost world of communism.

Recently unearthed propaganda films and grim archival photos reveal the hidden truth about the political system that has spread to all the continents of the world, affecting four generations of mankind over the past seven decades and standing in stark contrast to the principals of capitalism. Dubbed the "The Red Church" by some due to the near religious fervor displayed by some followers, Communism still stands as one of the most controversial political systems on the planet.

A chronicle of the most consequential events of 1989, which saw the rise of radicalism, the intensification of tabloid news culture, the birth of the internet, and diverse voices gaining unprecedented traction.

Historian Dominic Sandbrook takes us back to the strange years of the Cold War.

If anything defined the 20th century as the age of anxiety, it's the Cold War with its ultimate no-win nuclear endgame. While conflicts in Korea and Vietnam dragged on, providing the traditional images of modern warfare, some of the conflict's most dangerous battles were invisible–tactical, intellectual, and fought primarily in the minds and war rooms of U.S. and Soviet leaders: Kennedy, Krushchev, Castro, Kissinger, Gorbachev, and Reagan.

Karl Marx (1818-83) remains a towering figure in modern social, cultural and polititical theory. His revolutionary views on power and social relationships have influenced many generations of radicals and critical thinkers.

The Red Bomb chronicles Russia's staggering transformation from lagging also-ran into nuclear superpower, as the USA and USSR battled it out for possession of the ultimate weapon. 90-year-old Yuly Khariton is a reclusive man with gentle eyes, who appears to spends many an evening lost in thought, as his female companion plays old songs on the piano. But Khariton's simple lifestyle belies his unbelievable past, and the part he played in the nuclear arms race – a vast and complex web of intrigue that was the crux of the Cold War.

"They tortured and killed on an unimaginable scale, yet survived WWII: many Nazi war criminals fled before the Allied troops, many slinked off to a new life in South America. But the truth is, the Allies were less interested in morality and justice than in staving off the advance of communism, as represented by the Soviet Union.

2019 marks the 30th year since the fall of the Berlin Wall and, ostensibly, the end of the Cold War. In light of this, Rich Hall embarks on an examination of the relationship between the West and the East, America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

This series looks at the many people who chose to collaborate with the Nazis. It is at times, uncomfortable viewing, but it's also totally absorbing too. It’s a simple question. “How could they have done it?” How could anyone have collaborated with the Nazis? And yet so many did. From Pierre Laval in France to Chaim Rumkowski, who ran the Jewish administration in the Lodz ghetto, from Quisling to the IRA, from the 1600 Belgians who served in the SS to the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem - all worked with the Nazis.