Götz Aly

The spectrum of topics ranges from political history with a focus on contemporary history (especially National Socialism and post-war history) to cultural history and social history. In addition, ZDF-History also regularly deals with pre-modern history, art and cultural history.

A 30-minute weekly cultural magazine program. The head of aspekte, Wolgang Herles, describes the program as follows: "For 40 years, "aspekte" has repeatedly set out to enrich television with cultural contrasts. "aspekte" understands culture not as the sum of facts and events, but as the taste, the sound, the rhythms of the times. It has proven itself as a journal of true luxury and fashions as well as an instrument of public education and information."

It was arguably the deadliest conference in human history. The topic: plans to murder 11 million Jews in Europe. The participants were not psychopaths, but educated men from the SS, police, administration and ministries. The invitation to the meeting at Wannsee came from Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Reich Security Main Office. The Wehrmacht's campaigns of conquest in Eastern Europe marked the beginning of the systematic murder of Jews in Poland and the Soviet Union. In mid-September 1941, Hitler made the decision to deport all Jews from Germany to the East. Although there had been transports before, Hitler's order represented a further escalation in the murderous decision-making process. Persecution and discrimination had been part of everyday life since 1933. But as a result, the living conditions for the Jews in the Third Reich became even more difficult, among them the Berlin Jew Margot Friedländer, born in 1921, and the Chotzen family.

Using first-hand accounts, award-winning filmmaker Michael Verhoeven goes on a search to unearth evidence documenting one of the greatest robberies in human history.

Between 1933 and 1945 roughly 1200 films were made in Germany, of which 300 were banned by the Allied forces. Today, around 40 films, called "Vorbehaltsfilme", are locked away from the public with an uncertain future. Should they be re-released, destroyed, or continue to be neglected? Verbotene Filme takes a closer look at some of these forbidden films.

A reckoning of Nazi Germany’s planned execution of its own citizens with physical and mental disabilities whom they deemed useless to their society.

How was Adolf Hitler able to count on the German public even in the face of unspeakable suffering and impending doom? Evocative and previously unseen private archive footage, much of it in colour, shows life in Nazi Germany from 1933 onwards till the end of the Nazi regime in 1945. This documentary is a revealing portrait of the German people, how they lived and perceived the world, under Hitler.