Timewatch Season 21, Episode 1: The Making of Adolf Hitler

The Mystery of the Iron Bridge

The Iron Bridge is an icon of the Industrial Revolution - the world's first metal structure and an outstanding example of 18th-Century British technical ingenuity. Yet, incredibly, no-one knows how this vast aerial jigsaw spanning the river Severn in Shropshire was actually constructed. Timewatch sets talented young engineer Jamie Hillier the task of solving the mystery.

49 min

Death of the Battleship

The sinking of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in December 1941 is recognised as one of Britain's greatest maritime disasters. Follow a team of military and civilian divers trying to unravel the mystery of why the ships were damaged so catastrophically and sank so fast.

50 min

Kill 'Em All: American War Crimes in Korea

In July 1950, No Gun Ri in Korea witnessed one of the largest civilian massacres in US military history. This film, based on Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, hears from eyewitnesses on both sides of the war and uses recently declassified documents to tell the shocking story.

50 min

Jubilee Day

From the Sex Pistols' trip down the Thames to the royal bonfire in Windsor Great Park, from street parties in Fulham to village fetes in Hampshire and Worcestershire, the Queen's Silver Jubilee was commemorated in very different ways. Timewatch explores the celebrations of June 1977, including a sedan-chair race, a singing landlady, and the BBC's Nationwide Jubilee extravaganza.

50 min

The Queen and Her Lover

Love, greed, murder, rape, and political treachery were ingredients in the doomed 16th-century relationship between Mary, Queen of Scots and her lover, the Earl of Bothwell. Dr Saul David investigates Bothwell's plot to kill Mary's husband, Lord Darnley - was the queen herself involved? Love letters of hotly contested authenticity may hold the key to explaining this extraordinary affair.

50 min

Myths of the Titanic

No maritime tragedy has captured the public's imagination like the sinking of the Titanic. In the week that marks the 90th anniversary of the disaster, rare archive footage, plus location filming in America, Britain, and Northern Ireland, explains why the ship's story still exerts such a fascination.

50 min

Battle for Berlin

Rape, murder, pillage, and destruction ensued when, in early 1945, the Red Army avenged Germany's invasion of Russia some four years earlier. As historian Antony Beevor documents the terrifying nature and scale of the battle, this documentary reveals shocking new evidence.

50 min

Stalin and the Betrayal of Leningrad

Over 1,500,000 people died from starvation and disease when Germany besieged Leningrad for 900 days in one of the Second World War's darkest episodes. But even when the Soviets forced the Germans to surrender, Joseph Stalin secretly purged the city, executed the very people whose bravery had ensured its future and imprisoned their families. The documentary series draws on hitherto classified Russian documents and survivors' testimony to explain the dictator's actions.

50 min

The Myth of Custer's Last Stand

The Little Bighorn in Montana is the site of one of the most famous battles in the history of the American West. For more than a century, flamboyant General George Armstrong Custer has been remembered for his "last stand", when he gave his life defending his troops against native American attack. But as this programme reveals, thanks to long-ignored testimony and archaeological evidence, historians are now dramatically re-evaluating the battle and the myths surrounding it that persist to this day.

50 min

Akhenaten and Nefertiti: The Royal Gods of Egypt

Using dramatic reconstructions and filmed throughout Egypt, this documentary unravels the story of King Akhenaten, the country's heretic monarch, who 3,300 years ago introduced a new religion and demanded to be worshipped like a god. At his side was Queen Nefertiti, one of the greatest iconic figures of the ancient world. What brought this enigmatic couple's reign to a sudden and disastrous halt?

50 min

Murder at Harvard

In 1849 American society was shaken by the grisly news that a prominent and wealthy Bostonian, George Parkman, had been killed and dismembered. The subsequent trial found a Harvard medical professor, John White Webster, guilty of murder, and he was sentenced to death by hanging. Historian Simon Schama investigates the case in the light of ongoing doubts about Webster's guilt, and attempts to solve the celebrated murder mystery once and for all.

50 min

Episode 90