History Specials

In 1898, a Minnesota farmer clearing trees from his field uprooted a large stone covered with mysterious runes that tell a story of land acquisition and murder.

The shadow of war between Christian and Muslim hangs over us today, but it is a war that began nearly a thousand years ago. By the close of the 11th century, Jerusalem had been in Muslim hands for over 400 years. In 1095 Pope Urban II launched an unprecedented military campaign to seize it back--a "Crusade" to purge the Holy Land of "the infidel". Over 60,000 Christian warriors would journey 3000 miles and for almost three years to reclaim the Holy City in the name of God. But their adversaries, the Turkish warlords of the Middle East would resist them every step of the way. In a series of epic battles and bloody massacres, tens of thousands would die as the crusaders inched ever closer towards Jerusalem.

In 1099 the Crusaders took Jerusalem in the bloodiest of battles, wrenching it back from the Muslims for the first time in 400 years. But, over the decades that followed, the Islamic world dreamed of fighting back. In 1144 the Muslims seized the city of Edessa from the Christians. The news reverberated back to Europe, and the Pope called for a Second Crusade. But this Crusade was a disaster. It failed to expand the Christian empire, and strengthened the resolve of the Muslims. Under their great leader, Saladin, the Muslim swept through the Christian Kingdom taking town after town. In 1187 he took Jerusalem. This shocked the west into responding, with a Third Crusade. Led by Richard the Lionheart they defeated Saladin and marched on Jerusalem. Richard failed to take the city and the Third Crusade failed.

In May 2010, the Shroud of Turin will be put on public display for the first time in ten years. The Real Face of Jesus? documents a team of graphic artists as it uses cutting-edge 3D software to bring this holy relic, which many believe Jesus Christ was buried in, to life unveiling the most accurate image of Jesus Christ ever seen.

All warfare is based on deception. Therefore, when capable of attacking, feign incapacity; when active in moving troops, feign inactivity. When near the enemy, make it seem that you are far away; when far away, make it seem that you are near." - Sun Tzu Sun Tzu was the Nostradamus of warfare and his book Art of War, written 2,400 years ago, is still the ultimate how-to guide for winning at war. This feature-length HISTORY special weaves together the epic story of Sun Tzu himself, and a war that occurred soon after his death in which a city was saved using his tactics, paving the way toward the unification of China. Art of War is an emotional, epic and ultimately visual understanding of Sun Tzu's lessons, telling the story of other great battles in history, from Rome to the Civil War, WWII and the present day, that help to illustrate that on the battlefields of war, people who understand strategy are the most dangerous weapons of all.

Go back to a time before the invention of artificial light and experience a world petrified in the pitch of darkness...when fear ruled the night. Throughout the ages, real and imagined terror existed in the absence of light, and night time was anything but relaxing between the brutal bandits and horrors ...

A strip of land fought over for centuries by England and Spain creates a nightmare of historic proportion for airline pilots. Gibraltar Airport's powerful winds and short runway --complete with ground traffic -- make it one of the world's most treacherous.

A unique perspective on the rise of Nazi Germany and how millions of people were so vulnerable to fascism, told through rare and never-before-seen amateur films shot by the Germans who were there.

How did the Germans experience the Allied victory in WWII? Rarely-and never-before-seen amateur films recount the catastrophic downfall of the Third Reich through the eyes of the people who lived it: the Germans themselves.

We Americans like to think we know our President. We followed him during the campaign, invited him into our living rooms during countless televised appearances and even learned about his cholesterol count after each annual physical at Bethesda.

Throughout history, mankind's ingenuity has pursued better ways to kill enemies and win wars. But hidden by our more famous inventions lie some highly unusual, sometimes unbelievable efforts. This special reveals the most absurd, ridiculous and radical examples of warfare ever recorded. Runtime:

According to the Bible, Jesus Christ spent 40 days on Earth after his resurrection that first Easter Sunday. Yet the New Testament devotes only a few paragraphs to this pivotal time period. What did Jesus do and say during those incredible 40 days, and can his words then contain his most important teachings now?

Get inside the world of cons as Paul Wilson, aka the "World's Greatest Con Man," exposes the complicated schemes and straightforward hustles that have plagued unsuspecting people throughout history, showing how many of these scams survived - and evolved to be brutally effective with the help of modern technology.

From the early cave dwellers who first stumbled upon psychedelic mushrooms to the over 6000-year-old tradition of opium cultivation in the East to a modern pharmaceutical industry with over 24,000 drugs on the market, drugs have played a role in our lives since well before recorded human history.

Most people believe zombies are a recent phenomenon that grew out of comic books, movies and TV. The truth is very different. This two-hour special explores the real story of zombies beginning at the dawn of civilization and continuing right through to today. The first written reference to zombies can be found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, mankind's oldest work of literature.

A two-hour portrait of the evolution of the Holocaust--from the early days of persecution in Nazi Germany to the final days of wanton annihilation. This special travels through the archives of Eastern Europe, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C., and the restoration labs of Yad Vashem in Israel tell the story of persecution, theft and murder through artifacts, rarely seen photographs and motion picture footage. Experts from across the globe illuminate what it took to systematically implement the destruction of millions of people.

Haven, graveyard, legend and lore. History was made and lies buried on Pirate Island - the coral ringed Isle Saint Marie off the coast of Madagascar that sheltered the world's most ruthless 18th century pirates. This real Treasure Island was home for pirates like Captain Kidd, who continue to capture our modern day imagination, and sailed from this very real place in history.

Discover the untold story of the events that occurred immediately after President Roosevelt received the call that Pearl Harbor had been attacked. New evidence from the FDR Library reveals the true panic that gripped the White House and shook the nation.

Who was the first U.S. President from New York? What pre-Revolutionary event involved an unauthorized boarding of the Dartmouth, the Eleanor, and the Beaver? This school year, thousands of students from across the U.S. faced tough questions like these in the first annual National History Bee Competition. The top scorers qualified for a two-day National Championship held in Washington, D.C., where one young scholar walked away with a $50,000 scholarship and a national championship title. HISTORY will air the final rounds of this first-ever, fast-paced competition, in which students will race to demonstrate their knowledge of history from a wide array of eras and disciplines.

On the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the once "unsinkable" ship, HISTORY illustrates in CGI what happened structurally to the RMS Titanic, minute by minute, after the collision. For the first time, the entire ship and debris field is made visible in stunning HD and 3D-HD, dramatically underscoring this ...

The world changed irrevocably on 9/11. HISTORY shows us how. Following in the storytelling tradition of the Emmy Award-winning 102 Minutes That Changed America, 9/11: The Days After chronicles not only the hours, days and weeks after the worst terrorist attack in American history, but also the decade that followed. Beginning on September 12, 2001 - a Wednesday unlike any other - the special uses rarely seen and unexpected archival material from around the world to capture the themes that define us after the attacks and demonstrates how our lives were forever cleaved into "before 9/11" and "after."

This spectacular two-hour special delivers the tipping points of World War II as you've never seen them before. The key editorial feature of the program is an all-seeing CGI eye; bringing a new visual approach to the biggest conflict of all time.

Across borders, cultures and time, food is one thing that all people share. And from the time of the caveman to today's spaceman we like our food to go. While the burger and fries reign supreme in the world of fast food, grub on the go has taken us way past the drive-thru. Quick eats like beef jerky have allowed us to explore new frontiers and pocket-sized portables like protein bars enable us to push our bodies to the limit, no matter the conditions. Fueled by pizza, we have burned the midnight oil, and from the battleground (MREs) to the final frontier (space food,) food is always along for the ride. This is the countdown of fast foods that takes us back, propels us forward, and sometimes even gazes into the future (the fortune cookie.)

Our lives are so full of stuff these days that the average object is instantly forgettable. But, when fate and history combine, even the simplest of objects become infused with destiny--so much so that they actually change the world.

As we look at the world around us, we think we're seeing things as they really are. But in fact, our human senses can only perceive less than 1% of what's actually there. The rest is invisible. Every day, unseen rays and waves bombard us.

This 2-hour special, narrated by Deon Cole, gives a fresh perspective of the black movement in America, from Emancipation to the Civil Rights era. The special uses first-hand accounts, rare audio recordings, never-before-seen archival footage, and home movies to chronicle African American life as lived by regular people, in their own words, through 150 years of social upheaval.

This countdown special reveals the weapons, inventions and vehicles that shaped and decided World War II. Counting down from 10 to 1, we ll provide an expert-led analysis of key game changers, from every theatre of the war.

From the catapult to the stealth fighter, the most basic and the most complex weapons alike have changed the course of history--and with it, our world.

Valued for its permanence, beauty and scarcity, people will lie, cheat, steal and kill in the name of gold. To finance the Third Reich, the Nazis went after the gold of Europe. Allied countries stored their gold offshore to keep it safe.

How do you honor the memory and legacy of over 3,000 lives lost to the terror attacks of 9/11? That is the challenge facing the creators of the National 9/11 Memorial Museum, opening in 2014.

What is life really like in the American mafia? How do you get in, get made and make money? What happens when you get in too deep? This two-hour special takes viewers on a step-by-step journey through the world's most famous criminal organization as lived by one of its most notorious members. It will answer all these questions and more by turning to the ultimate authority: former Colombo family captain Michael Franzese.