World History

The volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, A.D. 79, called an abrupt halt to the busy life of the city of Pompeii. Buried under a shower of ash, pumice and volcanic mud, the ancient town played host to a unique disaster of nature, one which preserved as it destroyed.

In 1938 Vienna, anti-Semitism was at its peak. Hitler's army was threatening Austria's border and Max Birnbach knew that he would have to flee Austria or risk certain death as a Jew.

This series chronicles the history of colonialism and the struggle for independence in three African countries - Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe.

This ten-part series on nineteenth and twentieth-century American history uses period graphics and innovative computer animation to make history accessible and exciting for high school, college and adult education students.

Examines the aims and accomplishments of the New Jewel Movement and the reasons for the Fall 1983 U.S. military invasion.

The one person singled out as ultimately responsible for Guevara’s capture was his former lieutenant, Ciro Bustos. His version of those events, combined with interviews with historians, former CIA agents and Bolivian army officers, raises serious questions about how history is written.

This provocative and emotionally unsettling video examines the realities behind the myth of the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), the French author who, charged with numerous sexual offenses, spent half of his adult life in prisons or asylums.

Traces the history of Birobidzhan, the capital of the Soviet Union's Jewish Autonomous Region, from 1928 to the present.

The Brave Man tells the story of the Battle of Brooklyn, one of the bloodiest but least-known conflicts of the War for Independence.

Featuring rare archival footage and interviews with sculptors, art historians, gallery and museum directors, this video examines how monuments connect us with the past, how they are destroyed and new ones raised at times of social cataclysm, and how every turning point in society has begun history anew in a struggle with old monuments.

Filmmaker Steven Bognar documents the story of his father, Bela, who, as a young Hungarian idealist, took up arms against Soviet tanks in the streets of Budapest in 1956.

Predictions of Fire is a revealing study of the controversial and internationally acclaimed Slovenian arts collective NSK, as seen through the lens of 20th century European history.

Chronicles the 500-year history of the Stroganoff family in Russia, showing how the Stroganoffs cultivated their style in everything from architecture, icon painting, and applied art, to home life and even cuisine.

Chronicles the efforts of the newly independent Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to establish a democratic society, to avoid involvement in the ongoing wars in the northern Balkans, and to join the European Community.

Examines the process whereby former colonial territories have gained their independence and the right to govern themselves. Archival footage, interviews and maps trace the changes during the last three decades throughout Africa, Asia, the Carribean and the Pacific.

Weimar: A Modern Day Renaissance City is a celebration of the small town that has capped its triumphant comeback by being recognized as the Culture city of Europe in 1999. This video looks at Weimar's past and present.

Produced in collaboration with a distinguished group of historians, archaeologists, art historians and political scientists, explores the history and cultural heritage of the Middle Eastern world.

This video chronicles the history of the Mayans, the most sophisticated civilization among pre-Columbian societies.

Filmed on location in the People's Republic of China under clandestine conditions, this documentary re-creates the remarkable experience of student leader Zhang Boli after his flight from Beijing in the repressive aftermath of the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy demonstrations in June 1989.

Tibetans in exile discuss the discrimination and human rights abuses their people suffer from the occupying Chinese government. These interviews, filmed in the U.S. and in a Buddhist monastery in Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama's government in exile in Northern India, are blended with historical footage of the Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet, surveillance footage of the brutal Chinese suppression of a major protest by Tibetan monks in 1988, and contemporary footage and photos of life in Dharamsala, the second home for Tibetan refugees.