From DW Documentary. "Documerica" was the name of a program run by the US Environmental Protection Agency in the 1970s. Its goal was to document the dramatic ecological state of the country, through photos. Tens of thousands of pictures were taken – then forgotten. Landscapes disfigured by industry, nature marred by mountains of garbage and…

From DW Documentary. Vienna is beautiful. Surrounded by elegant imperial facades, people enjoy culture and coffee. Or, they might clatter past St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the Sisi Museum in horse-drawn carriages. But when night falls, the city shows itself in a whole new light. After the tourists have been swallowed up by the revolving doors…

From DW Documentary. Explore Istanbul’s traffic control center, the hub that monitors 36,000 kilometers of roads, manages daily traffic congestion, and coordinates emergency responses in one of the world’s busiest megacities. From gridlocked streets to earthquakes, this team keeps the city moving and safe. Watch the full documentary “Istanbul – A journey through the megacity”…

From DW Documentary. The history of surgery can be traced back to the Stone Age. Today, surgical methods have undergone countless revolutionary developments—and save innumerable lives every year. Archaeological evidence shows that surgical procedures were already being performed in the Stone Age. In the Inca Empire and Ancient Egypt, skulls were also opened to remove…

From DW Documentary. Neuschwanstein Castle was born out of political upheaval and personal obsession. King Ludwig II of Bavaria ascended the throne at just 18, during a time when monarchies were losing power across Europe. Unable to rule as an absolute monarch, Ludwig turned to architecture as his escape. His fascination with medieval legends and…

From DW Documentary. Laura Kövesi is leading the European Union’s fight against corruption. Since becoming head of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office in 2021, she’s launched a series of anti-fraud cases—and won. Criminals take advantage of legal loopholes to pocket the sales tax on sportscars and other luxury products. Some fraud schemes have far more…

From DW Documentary. Not far from the Arctic Circle, Iceland has a harsh climate. Nonetheless, almost every type of vegetable now grows here. How is the country becoming a vegetable paradise? The answer is found underground: Iceland uses volcanic energy to heat greenhouses. Tómas Ponzi grows tomatoes that are every bit as good as those…

From DW Documentary. In Russia, criticizing President Putin has become a criminal offense. Thousands have been imprisoned. Such political prisoners are called Politzek. This documentary delves deep into this system of repression and gives the Politzek a voice. Arseny Turbin was arrested in 2023 and sentenced to five years. His crime, at just 14 years…

From DW Documentary. Investigations, leaked documents, and whistleblower insights all point towards questionable methods used by Amazon to influence market prices. According to a former Amazon manager, the company puts pressure on merchants not to sell their products for less on other platforms. Now regulators in the EU and U.S. are investigating whether these tactics…

From DW Documentary. Some dock workers are living dangerously – because they also work for the mafia. International syndicates can only locate containers with cocaine shipments and smuggle them out of ports with the help of insiders. Some drivers, logistics specialists, and IT employees don’t just work for transport companies and shipping lines, but also,…

From DW Documentary. How does a war end, how can peace succeed? Nobel Peace Prize winners, diplomats, negotiators, and former guerrillas talk about how they have succeeded and failed when it comes to mediating. What can we learn when it comes to today’s wars? How do enemies begin to talk to each other? This is…

From DW Documentary. Forced sterilization is a procedure that removes a person’s capacity to have children without their consent or through undue pressure. In at least 12 EU countries, women with disabilities can still be sterilized against their will, even though this goes against treaties designed to protect them, like the Istanbul Convention and the…

From DW Documentary. The Inca city of Machu Picchu in Peru has been uninhabited for centuries. But it is nevertheless well preserved. Discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, it attracts around 1.5 million visitors from all over the world every year. At an altitude of more than 2,400 meters, the Incas succeeded in…

From DW Documentary. The green Islam movement is gaining a lot of traction in Indonesia, home to the largest Muslim population in the world. An increasing number of Indonesian imams are calling on the faithful to protect the environment. It all started in one of the largest Mosques in the world. The Istiqlal Mosque in…

From DW Documentary. Rescue groups are going undercover to save children from trafficking. But a DW investigation finds some are putting children at risk. Several girls in the Philippines say they were abused by men sent to save them. ‘Alina’ (not her real name) was 13 when she was pulled into child prostitution through poverty.…

From DW Documentary. In 12 EU countries, women with disabilities can still be sterilized without their consent. Sara Rocha, who has autism, is fighting to ban the practice in Portugal and networking with affected people across Europe to raise awareness of the issue. Forced sterilization is a practice that should really be consigned to the…

From DW Documentary. In September 2024, Israel launched a military offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. After two months, Israel claimed victory. But what are the long-term consequences of Israel’s strategy, which led to numerous civilian casualties? The Israeli military offensive had the aim of "decapitating” the Shiite militia. Hezbollah had expressed its support for Hamas…

From DW Documentary. Living openly as an LGBTQ+ person in rural Germany can come at a cost. Discrimination remains widespread. Nationwide, 38 percent of people in the LGBTQ+ community reported experiencing discrimination in the year prior, and for trans people, that figure rises to more than 60 percent. Behind these numbers are real stories of…

From DW Documentary. Bavaria’s Neuschwanstein Castle is one of the world’s most extraordinary buildings. A symbol of German identity, the castle dreamed up by King Ludwig II is also inextricably linked to his tragic fate. Neuschwanstein: an iconic building that sits somewhere between architectural genius and kitsch madness. King Ludwig II of Bavaria wanted the…

From DW Documentary. Online retailer Amazon has been repeatedly criticized for its business practices. The US company puts pressure on retailers and exerts influence on pricing policies, thus fueling cut-throat competition. Amazon attracts customers with low prices – but according to a former manager at the company, the reason for this is not what consumers…

From DW Documentary. Images of masked gunmen storming a TV station live on air in Ecuador in 2024 shocked the world. But how did this country, once considered one of Latin America’s most peaceful, became a “war zone”? Ecuador has become an attractive logistical hub for local and international cartels – due in part to…

From DW Documentary. Our hair doesn’t just provide protection from sun and cold, it also says a great deal about us. In a society that’s predominantly focused on outward appearance, hair wields huge social capital. It can either elicit admiration — or turn into a problem. A full, glossy head of hair is synonymous with…

From DW Documentary. Fentanyl is estimated to be fifty times as potent as heroin and is extremely addictive. The number of people in Poland abusing this powerful painkiller is growing. There have been dozens of fatalities. Michal lives in a small town south of Gdansk. Because of the stigma surrounding people with addiction, he prefers…

From DW Documentary. Although sexual violence can affect people of all genders, women and girls are disproportionally impacted. Many women feel unsafe in public spaces, whether on streets, at train stations, or in parks. The danger they face overwhelmingly comes from men: Around 95% of sexualized violence in public spaces is committed by them. Yanni…

From DW Documentary. The Houthi militia has been fighting for supremacy in Yemen for years. The conflict has become a civil war, with international involvement. The Middle East conflict has further escalated the situation and exacerbated Yemen’s humanitarian crisis. Yemen, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is one of the poorest countries in…

From DW Documentary. Afghanistan has risen from sporting outsider to one of the world’s top cricket nations. The unlikely journey has brought hope to a country with rare reason to celebrate while illuminating the complex politics of the Taliban’s relationship to cricket. Cricket has grown into a vital part of life in Afghanistan – offering…

From DW Documentary. Insects are a lot smarter than you think. For a long time, scientists believed insects acted mostly out of instinct and weren’t particularly intelligent, in part, because most of them only live for a few weeks. But it turns out, the insect world is far more complex than we previously thought. Many…

From DW Documentary. Throughout its 250-year existence, the United States has almost always been at war. From its beginnings right through to the present day, the country’s armed forces have shaped both American identity and the political decisions of its leaders. The United States of America has been at war throughout most of its 250-year…

From DW Documentary. The Nuremberg trials started 80 years ago and marked a milestone in the establishment of international law. The images of high-ranking Nazis in the dock are seared into our collective memory. The Nuremberg trials were a series of military tribunals staged by the Allies after World War Two. The first and best-known…

From DW Documentary. Calico crayfish originate from North America, where people often use them as fishing bait. Nobody knows for sure just how they made it all the way to Germany, but it’s possible they were brought to Europe by Canadian soldiers stationed in Karlsruhe, where they began spreading non-stop. They started off in ponds…

From DW Documentary. Queer people who live in rural areas and come out often face major challenges. While the LGBTQ+ community has battled to secure its place in urban centers, out in the provinces, worlds frequently collide. "I could move to the big city like so many others do, but I want to make a…

From DW Documentary. Sulaiman Tadmory came to Germany in 2015 after fleeing the civil war in Syria. With dictator Bashar al-Assad and his regime now gone, he’s one of thousands of Syrians wondering whether it’s time to return home. It’s been ten years since Tadmory left Syria. Now, a German citizen, he’s embarking on a…

From DW Documentary. Children born into low-income families are likely to stay poor. According to the World Economic Forum, it can take on average between four and five generations for a child born into a low-income family to reach their country’s average income. Meanwhile, those born wealthy are likely to stay wealthy and even get…

From DW Documentary. While heat and drought reduce the groundwater in many places, water consumption continues to rise. Is it possible to reverse this global trend by using water more sparingly in households, industry, and agriculture? "Water is an important but not an infinite resource," warns Dorothea Mergel, a project engineer at Hamburg’s water company,…

From DW Documentary. Sexual violence is an often overlooked weapon of war, targeting both women and men. Many male survivors, like Masokolo Lemba from the Congo, remain silent due to intense stigma and the deeply ingrained taboos surrounding the topic. Lemba fled to Uganda, seeking safety, but survivors there face an additional grave danger: the…

From DW Documentary. The Ukrainian intelligence service has intercepted thousands of Russian soldiers’ telephone conversations. They are harrowing testimonies to the cruelty of war. In this film, the calls are juxtaposed against images of the destruction of Ukraine. Oksana Karpovych’s documentary sets images of the war in Ukraine against audio of Russian soldiers phoning their…

From DW Documentary. Tradition, chaos, constant upheaval: This is Istanbul. Some 16 million people live in this crowded city on the Bosporus. For many, it is a center of creativity. For others, a place that swallows them up. At night, the major changes that the megacity is currently undergoing become apparent: The economic crisis is…

From DW Documentary. Sascha needs an organ transplant. But to get a spot on the waiting list, he first needs to regain weight – a significant challenge in his current condition. His case is not unique. In Germany, more than 8,000 people are currently waiting for an organ donation. Demand far exceeds supply. In 2023,…

From DW Documentary. The reputation of the French Foreign Legion is both legendary and notorious. Every day, men from all over the world come to the legion’s barracks in Aubagne. Often, they’re looking for a second chance in life. But they have no idea what awaits them. Since 1831, the Légion étrangère, or Foreign Legion,…

From DW Documentary. Lithium is an essential raw material for electric car batteries. Europe is completely dependent on imports. Demand is so high that plans are now underway to develop Europe’s own lithium deposits. But can this be done sustainably? The expansion of electromobility has made lithium a raw material of strategic importance. Global demand…

From DW Documentary. Since 2006, Mexico’s drug war has claimed over 400,000 lives, and more than 125,000 people still missing. The cartels’ influence can extend to the country’s institutions, leaving ordinary people trapped in fear and without trust in those meant to protect them. Watch the full documentary “Mexico: War of the drug cartels” on…

From DW Documentary. An increasing number of Indonesian imams are calling on the faithful to protect nature and save the world. This new movement preaching environmentalism originates in one of the largest mosques in the world, in Jakarta. But just how credible is this movement? And how effective? Fatwas against logging, sermons about safeguarding the…

From DW Documentary. Spain’s housing crisis: How Ángela Mendoza could turn evictions into a lucrative business model. Spain is in the grip of a massive housing crisis and unauthorized settling sharply on the rise. Ángela Mendoza has found an unconventional way to return apartments back to the their owners. Mendoza used to be a flamenco…

From DW Documentary. They eat and reproduce at record speed – calico crayfish. In its quest for more information about the species, this report finds tens of thousands of crayfish in just one pool along the upper Rhine River. Can this invasive creature still be stopped? The last remaining habitats of amphibians and dragonflies are…

From DW Documentary. The hunt for the assets of the former East Germany’s ruling party has the hallmarks of a thriller. There are dubious characters, bags of cash, and key witnesses who suddenly die. At its heart is the question: How do you stash away 6 billion marks? After the fall of the Berlin Wall,…

From DW Documentary. It’s been almost 10 years since the Brexit referendum, when the UK voted to leave the European Union. After six prime ministers – including currently serving Keir Starmer – the country still struggles with the aftermath. Many voters now regret their decision to leave the EU and accuse pro-Brexit advocates like Boris…

From DW Documentary. Around the world, extreme fires have been on the rise since the turn of the millennium. In 2023 alone, 26 million hectares of forest were burned. Scientists and indigenous communities are both searching for ways to stop the destruction. In many parts of the world, fires were once a natural phenomenon. Periodic…

From DW Documentary. Brandon Scott, a young black politician, was elected mayor of Baltimore in 2020. It was a turbulent time: the city’s crime rate was high, and there were mass protests in response to the police killings of George Floyd and other Black Americans. Scott, a reformer and idealist, grew up in Baltimore at…