Die Deutschen (2008) | Couchpile

Search movies & TV shows...

Loading...

Die Deutschen (2008) | Couchpile

Season 2 poster

Season 2

10 Episodes

2010

Charlemagne and the Saxons

E01

Charlemagne and the Saxons

11/14/2010·43m

He was already considered the "Father of Europe" by his contemporaries: Charlemagne (probably 748-814). He created a foundation that shaped the continent. Germans and French alike regard the legendary Carolingian as the progenitor.

Frederick II. and the Crusade

E02

Frederick II. and the Crusade

11/16/2010·43m

"The wonder of the world" is what some contemporaries called the Staufer Frederick II (1194-1250), whose empire stretched from Sicily to the North Sea coast. In addition to German, he spoke Italian, French, Greek and Arabic, wrote poetry and philosophy, and wrote a book on falconry. As a small child he already possessed the German royal dignity, his mother, Constance of Sicily, had him crowned monarch there. On German soil, a bitter dispute over the throne was once again raging between the Hohenstaufen and Guelph dynasties. Once again, the princely camp was divided, and the pope got involved.

Hildegard of Bingen and the Power of Women

E03

Hildegard of Bingen and the Power of Women

11/21/2010·43m

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) is the most popular German of the Middle Ages - on a par with the powerful of her time. She was a visionary, a natural scientist, a politician and composer, a theologian, and even the manager of two monasteries she founded. Many of her writings, especially her knowledge of natural medicine, have lost none of their relevance to this day. Others still raise questions. While some suspect in Hildegard's visions a kind of drug intoxication of the herbalists, others see in it a prophetic gift, even a proof of her holiness.

Charles IV. and the Black Death

E04

Charles IV. and the Black Death

11/23/2010·43m

The reign of Charles IV (1316-1378) is one of the most dramatic periods in German history. Around the middle of the 14th century, the plague swept away a third of the Germans. The king who ruled during this terrible time was descended from the Luxembourg dynasty. Charles IV was born in Prague in 1316. His father John had married a Bohemian princess and thus became one of the most powerful men in the empire. In 1346, the ambitious Luxembourger succeeded in having his son Charles elected as counter-king to the incumbent Louis the Bavarian by paying horrendous bribes. Charles' position in the empire was initially weak, but the sudden death of Louis, a few months after the election, changed the situation.

Thomas Müntzer and the Peasants' War

E05

Thomas Müntzer and the Peasants' War

11/28/2010·43m

It was the time of upheaval, the Reformation shook the existing order. In 1521, there was turmoil in Zwickau, Saxony: the young priest Thomas Müntzer (1489-1525), who preached at St. Mary's Church, turned against the ecclesiastical and secular authorities and demanded the God-given right to freedom and equality for all people. Müntzer was not a man of compromise. The church criticism of Luther, whom he had once admired, did not go far enough for him. Not only the papacy but also the secular order based on the estates were a thorn in his side.

Augustus the Strong and Love

E06

Augustus the Strong and Love

11/30/2010·43m

He is considered one of the most enigmatic monarchs of modern times: Elector Friedrich August I of Saxony, known as "August the Strong" (1670 to 1733). His princely self-portrayal was comparable only to that of another European monarch: Louis XIV. August's court was to be in no way inferior to that of the French Sun King. Hundreds of festivities a year, balls, masquerades and animal hatches were organized by the king.

Karl Marx and the Class Struggle

E07

Karl Marx and the Class Struggle

12/5/2010·43m

He is one of the most effective best-selling authors in the history of the world, and yet few have read his work in its entirety. His teachings have become a substitute religion, even though the author never saw himself as a founder of faith, but as a scientific analyst. "I am not a Marxist," flirted Karl Marx (1818-1883), whose work influenced the course of world history like no German since Luther. From the middle of the 20th century, about half of humanity was led by governments that invoked the German thinker.

Ludwig II. and the Bavarians

E08

Ludwig II. and the Bavarians

12/7/2010·43m

Myths and legends surround the figure of Ludwig II of Bavaria (1845-1886), known as the "fairytale king. He shunned politics and devoted himself above all to his rapturous passions: the operas of Richard Wagner and the construction of magnificent castles such as Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. However, Ludwig was by no means just a dreamy dreamer, but pursued clear political goals: he believed in the "Third Germany," in an independent power alongside Prussia and Austria. In the mid-19th century, the federal confederation of small and medium-sized German states was a counter-model to a federal state under Prussian leadership. The vision failed because of the political genius of Otto von Bismarck and the military strength of the Hohenzollern state.

Rosa Luxemburg and Freedom

E09

Rosa Luxemburg and Freedom

12/12/2010·43m

Since her youth, Rosa Luxemburg was convinced that the world had to change. She wanted to realize her dream of a socialist revolution, first in the SPD and later in the German Communist Party, which she co-founded. But the revolution failed. On November 9, 1918, a revolution did indeed break out in Germany - but it ultimately ended with the adoption of the new Weimar Constitution.

Gustav Stresemann and the Republic

E10

Gustav Stresemann and the Republic

12/14/2010·43m

Gustav Stresemann (1878 - 1929) became Reich Chancellor when the young Weimar Republic was once again plunged into chaos: in the crisis year of 1923. Germany was still suffering the consequences of the lost war and the Treaty of Versailles. France and Belgium occupied the Ruhr region to force billions in reparations and gain control over the important industrial region. Inflation reached its peak. Communist uprisings threatened from the left, and the radical right called for a national dictatorship. Becoming chancellor at such a time was "really political suicide," Stresemann wrote to his wife.

Season 1 poster

Season 1

10 Episodes

2008

Otto and the Empire

E01

Otto and the Empire

10/26/2008·43m

The birth of the Germans. In the struggle of the German tribes against the Hungarians, something like a sense of community emerged under the leadership of King Otto I. By obtaining the imperial dignity, he laid the foundation for a unique system of rule.

Heinrich and the Pope

E02

Heinrich and the Pope

10/28/2008·43m

The walk to Canossa. It is a power struggle such as has never been seen before: King versus Pope. Who is the stronger? It is about power in the kingdom of the Germans and in the Christian West - and about a unique gesture, the like of which has not been seen since: Henry IV's "Walk to Canossa.

Barbarossa and the Lion

E03

Barbarossa and the Lion

11/2/2008·43m

Rivalry in the family. He is the king of the Germans and wants to rule over the Occident as emperor: the Staufer Frederick Barbarossa. His empire extends as far as southern Italy. But his rule is disputed. Powerful rivals challenge the monarch - including his former ally Henry the Lion.

Luther and the Nation

E04

Luther and the Nation

11/4/2008·43m

The reformer and promoter of the German language. At first, he was just a simple monk, a doubting and struggling theologian. He became an epochal figure who united and divided Germans like no other before - without meaning to: Martin Luther.

Wallenstein and the War

E05

Wallenstein and the War

11/9/2008·43m

Genius commander or traitor? It is a battle for religious and political supremacy in the empire and in Europe: Catholics against Protestants. One man is to defeat the supporters of the Reformation for the emperor: the general Albrecht von Wallenstein.

Frederick the Great and the Empress

E06

Frederick the Great and the Empress

11/11/2008·43m

Duel between Prussia and Austria. After the Thirty Years' War, the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation resembled a territorial puzzle. In the absence of a central power, new powers emerged on the periphery: Prussia and Austria.

Napoleon and the Germans

E07

Napoleon and the Germans

11/16/2008·43m

Between freedom and repression. It is a foreign emperor, of all people, who catapults Germany into a national era: France's ruler of the century, Napoleon. His conquests and reforms brought the Germans closer together than ever before. What he succeeds in doing, no one had achieved before: the political awakening of the "German nation.

Robert Blum and the Revolution

E08

Robert Blum and the Revolution

11/18/2008·43m

An unknown hero. A revolution - in Germany? And by no means, as Lenin later smugly told the Germans, with a proper platform ticket in their pocket! In March 1848, good subjects became determined barricade fighters.

Bismarck and the German Empire

E09

Bismarck and the German Empire

11/23/2008·43m

From Small-State Fighter to National Fighter. After the revolution of 1848, the unsuccessful attempt at "unity from below" now came "unity from above. Prussian Prime Minister Otto von Bismarck paved the way for the first German nation state.

Wilhelm and the World

E10

Wilhelm and the World

11/25/2008·43m

A monarch between megalomania and depression. The German Empire at the beginning of the 20th century: too small to rule over others and too big for the balance of power in Europe. Kaiser Wilhelm II wanted to be a world power.