ARTE Distribution

How did a failed coup d’état carried out by a handful of generals in July 1936 turn into one of the most brutal civil wars in history? Largely because of General Franco’s rallying who joined the insurgents with Hitler’s support.
For its part, the Republic realized that it was being abandoned by the Western democracies and could only count on the International Brigades - and on the limited, yet very interventionist, support of the USSR. 

Brazil, 1964. With support from the United States government, the first military dictatorship, also referred to as the Fifth Brazilian Republic, was established. Many opponents of the regime fled to Chile. But in 1973, with the support of President Nixon, General Pinochet overthrew Salvador Allende. Right-wing dictatorships across South America launched Operation Condor to coordinate their repression. Carter’s rise to power brought hope: he returned control of the Panama Canal to Panama and allowed the Sandinistas to take power in Nicaragua. But Reagan being elected in 1980, marked the beginning of a new era.

In over a hundred countries worldwide, especially in Europe, but not exclusively, May 1st commemorates the struggles of the labor movement with union marches and celebrations. It is a day of protest that has gradually turned into a public holiday, one of the few in the calendar not rooted in a religious tradition. Yet this date weaves together several (hi)stories at once…

Spring 1939. After 1,000 days of fighting, 400 000 deaths, the guns finally fell silent. But that didn’t mean peace was back in the country. Franco continued his crusade against the Republicans who had dared to oppose his coup. By 1940, over 240 000 prisoners were crammed in concentration camps and between 150 000 and 200 000 people were missing. From then on, state Catholicism governed every aspect of Spanish life. Women were reduced to the roles of wives and mothers, and the babies of Republican women were taken from them. The resistance fighters who had continued the armed struggle against Franco never managed to overthrow him. Franco outlived his allies, Hitler and Mussolini.

In 212 AD, the imperial decree known as the Edict of Caracalla extended Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire. A foundational law of the late Roman Empire, it established the fundamental principles of identity and citizenship. What does this event reveal about third-century Rome? 

Nicaragua then went through a bloody civil war where the Sandinistas and the “Contras”, who were backed by the United States, were opposed. In Panama, Manuel Noriega, a longtime ally of the CIA, turned his country into a drug hub before being overthrown during a US invasion. In Chile, the United States eventually turned its back on General Pinochet. While democracy was gaining ground across the continent, Venezuela was hit by a crisis. In 1992, Hugo Chávez attempted to carry out a coup d’état. Although he failed, he became a popular hero.

The creature of Frankenstein, born from Mary Shelley’s imagination during the summer of 1816 on the shores of Lake Geneva, embodies our deep-seated fear of unchecked scientific progress leading to the dehumanization of the world and of life itself. Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus — a monster novel about self-creation — must not only be read in the shadow of the French Revolution but also through the lens of the Enlightenment’s ideal of political emancipation through knowledge: though "born of darkness," it is equally a child of the Enlightenment. How can a foundational myth of modernity mark a turning point in history?

On August 13, 1521, after a long grueling siege, Mexico-Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire, fell into the hands of Hernán Cortés. The conquistador seized one of the world’s greatest cities, a cornerstone of Aztec cosmogony. This is not just the (hi)story of Mexico; it is also the story of Europe’s guilty conscience.

By condemning Italy’s invasion of his country before the League of Nations on June 30, 1936, the Emperor of Ethiopia (ruler of the world’s oldest sacred monarchy) called upon nations to uphold their commitments and duties under international law. Yet the cynicism of the great powers turned the Ethiopian crisis into a testing ground for political surrender, paving the way for even greater horrors. How can one put a stop to what seems to be the inevitable machinery of war?

The collapse of John Law designed by the Scottish financier to erase France’s massive debt from Louis XIV’s reign - marked Europe’s first major financial crash. But was it the bank’s failure that made history, or rather what it revealed about the inner workings of the French monarchy during the Regency?

The fate of Europe was decided in Hastings, on October 14, 1066. By the end of a bloody battle, William, Duke of Normandy, had been given the nickname The Conqueror. He had just crushed the army of his rival, Harold (killed in combat) and would be crowned King of England at Westminster two months later. This pivotal battle is brought to life by an extraordinary document: the Bayeux Tapestry, which captures the feudal expansion of Norman aristocracies into England and Sicily and symbolizes the end of the Viking world.

When the Abbot of Cluny commissioned the first Latin translation of the Quran during a trip to Spain, his goal was to better understand what he had to fight against. Here is the (hi)story of the Crusades and of translations in the Mediterranean, equidistant from the myths of a clash of civilizations and the ideal of Andalusian tolerance.