From DW Documentary. What looks like a peaceful train journey in Thailand is also a memorial in motion. Built during World War II by forced laborers, the Thai-Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, cost over 100,000 people their lives. Today, only about 130 kilometers of the original 415-kilometer route remain in operation, linking…

From DW Documentary. Even 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, there’s still an imbalance between eastern and western Germany. Many executive positions in the former East are still held by people from the former West Germany. What are the reasons for this? Since the fall of the Wall, the former East Germany…

From DW Documentary. Until the 2000s, France submerged, buried or destroyed thousands of tons of ammunition. Long forgotten, these rubbish heaps are now releasing pollution that is toxic and carcinogenic. The film follows environmental activists over the course of a year as they investigate the consequences of these buried weapons. In the Grand-Est and Hauts-de-France…

From DW Documentary. Knife crime among young people in Britain is escalating. British lawmakers and civil society groups have been fighting back for years, but social workers are convinced bans alone won’t solve the problem. England and Wales are now seeing more than 50,000 knife attacks per year, numbers that are alarming experts. London alone…

From DW Documentary. Since April 2023, Sudan has been gripped by a brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces under Mohammed Hamdan Daglo. The toll has been devastating: over 150,000 people have died in the fighting, more than 500,000 children have succumbed…

From DW Documentary. Almost all refugees experience some form of trauma on their way to Europe, which often isn’t taken seriously, and necessary care is not given. Mohammad still remembers exactly what it was like in that small, flooded boat on the Mediterannean: the cramped spaces, constant bobbing up and down, the darkness of the…

From DW Documentary. Sister Vassa will not stay silent, even though her criticism of the Russian Orthodox Church and Patriarch Kirill has had serious consequences. In Moscow, Patriarch Kirill has given his blessing to Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and many Russian Orthodox bishops have joined him. Meanwhile in Rome, a courageous, previously…

From DW Documentary. The Canadian province of Alberta is home to the Blackfoot. They’re a First Nations people in North America. Almost threatened with extinction by white colonization, they’re now back in the public eye, along with their culture. The Blackfoot were hunters, gatherers, gifted horsemen and feared warriors. Robbed of most of their land…

From DW Documentary. Can we ever hope to achieve immortality? Tech billionaire Bryan Johnson thinks so. He spends millions of dollars every year on a wide range of procedures and medications aimed at extending his lifespan. His ultimate goal? “Don’t die.” This raises an important question: if these expensive treatments and procedures prove effective, what…

From DW Documentary. In early September 1941, the German Wehrmacht was advancing on all fronts in the Soviet Union. Kyiv had fallen, the Smolensk stronghold had been defeated and Leningrad was under siege. Hitler intended to launch a major offensive against Moscow before the winter. Under the code name Operation Typhoon, the ‘final battle’ began…

From DW Documentary. On 22 June 1941, the German Wehrmacht launched a war of aggression against the Soviet Union. Under the code name ‘Operation Barbarossa’, the campaign aimed to bring the vast country in the east to its knees. Millions of people died as a result. At the beginning of the Second World War, the…

From DW Documentary. The Polish village of Rozwarowo in northern Poland is saving the moors. Local thatcher Alfred Smolczynski initiated the process: He’s been renaturalizing the moor since the 1980s, in the face of much resistance. Now, bird conservationists are reintroducing the sedge warbler there. The ornithologists stay in the village for about a month.…

From DW Documentary. Mallorca has long been a popular holiday destination, known for its vibrant nightlife and sandy beaches. But the surge in tourism and short-term rentals is driving up housing costs, pushing out locals who can no longer afford to pay rising rents. In 2023, Spain introduced new housing law intended to regulate the…

From DW Documentary. Are fish really dumb, mute and unable to feel anything? Or is that just what people think? In recent years, scientists have been discovering more and more about the characteristics and abilities of these aquatic creatures. Fish are generally regarded as mute, expressionless creatures without memory, feelings or even a sense of…

From DW Documentary. Nitrous oxide, commonly referred to as laughing gas, is often considered a harmless way of getting high. In Germany, you can buy it freely over the counter. But while the gas might make you feel relaxed or elated for a few seconds, it can also lead to long-term health problems. It has…

From DW Documentary. These sparkling flats aren’t rice paddies – they’re salt fields. Just outside Bangkok, Thai farmers still use sun, wind, and seawater to produce salt the traditional way. Find out more in “By train through Thailand’s West” – Watch the full documentary on the DW Documentary YouTube channel.  #documentary #dwdocumentary #dwdocs #thailand #saltflats…

From DW Documentary. Violence against women is a reality everywhere — in Germany, too. How can that be? What must be done to change this? Anna has been living in a women’s shelter for a year. She is in need of special protection because her husband tried to kill her and threatened their children. This…

From DW Documentary. The idea is that electric cars, solar panels and wind turbines will reduce our consumption of coal, oil and gas. However, these technologies rely on many raw materials present below the seabed. The race for deep sea resources has begun. The immense demand for metals such as nickel, cobalt and copper for…

From DW Documentary. Artificial intelligence is already being used on the battlefield. But as technology scales up, experts are worried about the speed at which autonomous weapons are becoming available, and the consequences this can have. Find out more in “From drones to automated weapons” – watch the full documentary on the DW Documentary YouTube…

From DW Documentary. The political situation in East Asia is changing rapidly. Former wartime enemies Japan and South Korea are moving closer together and seeking to close ranks with Taiwan. The three countries are arming themselves on a massive scale. While the world is looking at Ukraine, the Middle East and the USA’s customs and…

From DW Documentary. Racist and right-wing extremist networks are coalescing, worldwide. They carry out terrorist attacks on minorities and democratic institutions. Authorities in the USA and Europe consider this movement to be more dangerous than Islamist terrorism. Right-wing extremist groups are networked worldwide. Driven by the ideology of white supremacy, they spread their propaganda via…

From DW Documentary. 14 volunteers live underground for 40 days. With no way to mark time, this is an extreme experiment. How do people adapt to these conditions? How do the body and brain react to the loss of a sense of time? A scientific adventure aims to find out. One day in March, seven…

From DW Documentary. The demand for nursing staff in Germany is increasing. To address this, recruitment agencies and politicians are turning to skilled workers from abroad. But international nurses face red tape, delays, and exploitation risks. Find out more in “Caregivers from South America negotiate Germany’s jungle of red tape”. Watch the full documentary on…

From DW Documentary. Santa Luzia is an uninhabited island in Cape Verde with an arid climate and a desert-like landscape. 🏝️ At the end of June, hundreds of sea turtles land on the beaches to lay their eggs. But washed-up trash from around the world puts these animals at risk. Luckily volunteers are lending a…

From DW Documentary. American physicist Julius Robert Oppenheimer is regarded as the father of the atomic bomb. Delving into his complex mind, this prize-winning documentary explores what happened before, during and after the testing of the world’s first atomic bomb in the deserts of New Mexico in July 1945. After this first atomic bomb test,…

From DW Documentary. In Naples, the organization Maestri di Strada (Street Teachers) helps marginalized youth. In neighborhoods where crime gangs recruit young members, the group works to prevent school drop-outs and criminality while improving young people’s prospects. Maestri di Strada was founded in the early 2000s by former teacher Cesare Moreno. With its team of…

From DW Documentary. The first year of freedom is a test for all former prisoners. In Germany, nearly one in two of this group reoffend. The film follows two former prisoners. Can they find their way back into society? The hardest thing about freedom for René, 43, is staying away from drugs. At the same…

From DW Documentary. Many people daydream. But excessive daydreaming can become a burden. This is because the exaggerated mental digressions, termed Maladaptive Daydreaming (MD), often get in the way of real life. Protagonists Amber, Sian and Dušan share their experiences, living lives cut off from reality. Combining intimate interviews with scenes from their day-to-day lives,…

From DW Documentary. Tomatoes are part of many popular dishes, loved for their flavor and health benefits. With 190 million tons produced globally each year, they are an important ingredient around the world. But behind the much-loved produce lies a complex story. Find out more in “How sustainable are tomatoes?” – watch the full documentary…

From DW Documentary. Winding rivers. Countless canals. A rushing waterfall. Elephants come here to bathe, while local people build their houses on stilts: Water, the elixir of life, is everywhere in western Thailand. And the railroad follows its course. The canals that criss-cross Thailand are known as ‘khlongs’. Trains in the region often travel across…