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10 Episodes 1995 - 1995
Episode 1
60 mins
At the beginning of the twentieth century the world was stable and certain, but unequal. The Paris Exhibition of 1900 symbolizes the optimism of a peaceful age when affluence is rising and people have faith in new technologies like electricity. The United States becomes the most powerful country in the world, destination for many immigrants from Europe. Compulsory education in many countries had led to a literate population exposed to new ideas, leisure and consumerism through newspapers. Trade unions grow in strength and force governments to protect employment conditions for workers, while suffragettes push for votes for women. Revolutions shake the political order in China and Russia. European empires continue to dominate the globe, however signs of dissent appear in India and South Africa, and Japan's victory over Russia in 1905 challenges the belief of white superiority. Nationalism rises in Europe, bringing the continent to conflict in 1914.
Episode 2
The Great War is fought with larger armies and deadlier weapons than ever before, bringing death and carnage on an unprecedented scale to Europe. The bloody Battle of the Somme and the Battle of Verdun fail to break a stalemate on the Western front, and soldiers become increasingly frustrated and demoralized with the war's mounting casualties, poor living conditions and lack of progress. Despite the October Revolution knocking Russia out of the war in 1917, the odds shift against a blockaded Germany with the entry of the United States into the war, and eventually an armistice is signed. The psychological scars of this war would make the public less willing in future to go to war, or trust their leaders. The introductory scene shows soldiers mobilizing at the beginning of the war, grossly under-estimating the destructive power of modern warfare. Interviewees include Karl von Clemm, Edward Smout and Cecil Lewis.
Episode 3
The October Revolution brings forth a new Marxist-Leninist society in what becomes the Soviet Union. Its people, now freed from feudal exploitation and provided with health care and education from the state, have their revolutionary zeal directed towards developing and modernizing their new country. However after Vladimir Lenin's death Joseph Stalin rules with an iron fist - his attempts to collectivize farms leads to the Ukrainian famine and the mass liquidation of kulaks. Stalin grows increasingly paranoid and ruthless, and is responsible for the deaths or expulsion to Siberia of millions of Soviets. The introductory scene explains the events leading up to the 1917 revolution. Interviewees include Anna Larina and Boris Yefimov.
Episode 4
The trauma of the First World War gives Europe no appetite for any further conflicts, but within subsequent two decades the world would return to rearmament and militarism. The Paris Peace Conference introduced the concept of self-determination, leading to the establishment of Czechoslovakia, Poland and Yugoslavia from the former Central Powers. The League of Nations is established to assist in resolving international disputes in an open environment, but fails to receive strong support and is eventually proven impotent in preventing Italy's conquest of Ethiopia. Despite a public push for disarmament, prompted by 'All Quiet on the Western Front' and other reminders of the First World War, few countries make any serious moves. French and British demands for heavy war reparations lead to Germany's economic ruin, but this and other unforeseen consequences of the Treaty of Versailles would result in the emergence of Adolf Hitler. As Germany begins to absorb its neighbors, the rest of Europe mobilizes, and the moral utility of pacifism is questioned. The introductory scene shows Armistice Day. Interviewees include Lord Soper.
Episode 5
Henry Ford uses Taylorism, division of labor and the assembly line to manufacture automobiles, and other industries in the United States, as Britain, France, Italy, the Soviet Union and elsewhere follow his example. The productivity dividends that are gained allow American workers to enjoy high pay and affordable consumer goods as compensation. However workers become increasingly frustrated by the physically demanding and alienating aspects of the assembly line (depicted in 'Modern Times', 'Brave New World' and 'À nous la liberté'). The Great Depression weakens worker bargaining power, but after a series of strikes in the 1930s and 1940s trade unions emerge victorious, and instruments like the Matignon Agreements in France are established to buttress workers' rights.
Episode 6
The cinema excites, inspires and influences people seeking escape from their usually dull lives. Hollywood booms in the 1920s, and its movies dominate European screens after the Second World War, bringing alluring images of America. Censorship is introduced after concerns are raised of cinema's perceived affect on morals. Television will however cut short cinema's future, in the west. Clips shown come from silent films (Salome, Raja Harishchandra, Cinderella, Son of the Sheik, Sherlock Jr. and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), musicals (Achut Kanya, Sing As We Go, Flying Down to Rio, The Stars Shine, On the Town, Chandralekha and Mother India), propaganda films (Earth, The Sea Hawk; Know Your Enemy: Japan, The Fall of Berlin and Luciano Serra pilota), and films with allegorical messages (Les Visiteurs du Soir, Ladri di biciclette and Meet Mr. Lucifer). The introductory scene shows audience observing the first sound film, The Jazz Singer.
Episode 7
The economic boom of the roaring twenties comes to a sudden halt in 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression. In the years after, a demoralized army of 13 million unemployed Americans are left idle. As incomes and trade are reduced, the recession spreads to the Jarrow shipyards and the nitrate and copper mines of Chile. In afflicted countries there are attentive audiences to solutions proffered by the extreme left and right to fixing a problem apparently caused by the market economy, although Sweden adopts a novel approach through establishing the welfare state. President Hoover's crackdown on the Bonus Army, a large group of protesting unemployed veterans in Washington, leads to his political demise. His replacement, President Roosevelt, confronts the problem by initiating ambitious public works programs, which helps stimulate the economy. Britain's economy comes out of recession in the late 1930s, thanks to the need to build up its Navy against a looming threat from Germany. One legacy of the breadline is that people will now demand action from their governments to intervene in the market. The opening scene shows the Wall Street crash.
Episode 8
Once an amateur pursuit, sport becomes larger and more competitive to satisfy the public's need for excitement and identity. Communities unite behind favored sporting clubs, as are entire countries that support their national teams against rivals. From the 1908 Olympics onwards, countries increasingly stake national pride on the successes of their athletes. Football, tennis, boxing and baseball attract millions of fans, and in turn are increasingly commercialized for a wider audience. Nazi Germany seeks to exploit the 1936 Berlin Olympics and the Joe Louis vs. Max Schmeling bouts for propaganda purposes, with mixed results. The introductory scene shows the 1930 FIFA World Cup, won by Uruguay against its arch-rival Argentina. Interviewees include Eddie Futch, Robert Mitchell, Helen Stephens and Fritz Schilgen.
Episode 9
The Third Reich brings barbarity to the modern era. Germany is rebuilt through huge public works programs, winning Hitler adulation from a once humiliated, impoverished and unemployed German people. Radio and mass rallies become important tools for propaganda, to eulogize the Germans as a 'master race'. The Nazis also use ancient jealousies to demonize the Jews, who had a strong presence in the professions and arts. Roma, the mentally handicapped and other groups are also targeted. The Nuremburg Laws and other measures are used to progressively discriminate against and dehumanize Jews. Persecution of the Jews intensifies after Anschluss and Kristallnacht, and after the commencement of war the Final Solution is implemented. The mass murder of Jews and other people is carried out at first by mobile killing groups (Einsatzgruppen) in occupied territories, and then on an industrialized scale through extermination camps. The introductory scene shows the celebratory march by the Sturmabteilung when Hitler wins power in Germany.
Episode 10
The Second World War enmeshes civilians in the horrors of war on an unprecedented scale. Germany and Japan, in seeking living space, kill and enslave entire populations in the Soviet Union and Asia respectively. Initially considered barbarous, people begin to accept as fair game the aerial bombing of civilian populations, and escalating calls for retaliation bring destruction to cities including Plymouth, Hamburg and Tokyo. Civilians are also in the front line in the Siege of Leningrad, but despite hardships its orchestra manages to perform Shostakovich's Symphony No. 7. The mobilization of civilians in the United States and elsewhere gives the allies quantitative superiority in the production of armaments, and ultimately victory. The introductory scene shows prescient footage of aerial bombing in the 1936 film Things to Come.