The Germans and the Poles - A History of Neighbors

screenable online: 4 episodes

What does it mean for Poland and Germany to share a difficult past? And what do Polish-German relations mean to other nations in the rest of the world? This series casts a critical eye on a sensitive chapter of European history that has been prepared by historians and filmmakers of both countries. Two episodes set up the main story arc from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. “Bound by Destiny” relates the intertwined destinies of Poles, Germans and Jews before going on to scrutinize the role of a major city: Wroclaw / Breslau.

Episodes:
1. Peace And War
2. Friends And Foes
3. Intertwined Fates Germans, Poles And Jews
4. Breslau / Wroclaw - 1,000 Years In The Middle Of Europe

This episode shows decisive moments in German-Polish history, starting with the pilgrimage of Emperor Otto III to Poland in 1000 AD and leading up to Poland’s disappearance as an independent state in…

When the Hohenzollerns proclaimed themselves “Kings in Prussia,” that marked the rise of a German power built upon the downfall of Poland. Other low points in German-Polish relations were the…

This film deals with German-Polish migration and cultural exchange. From the Early Middle Ages, German and Jewish settlers moved to Poland. In the 19th century Poles were Germany’s first migrant…

Wrocław is a 1,000-year-old city that has been home to various ethnicities and has belonged to six different states. Breslau/Wrocław was the scene of the largest population transfer within a European…