Heike Bittner

East Berlin, October 7, 1989: While the state elite was celebrating the GDR's 40th birthday before the eyes of the world, resistance was forming in the streets. Guests celebrated in the Palace of the Republic in Berlin. In front of it, people loudly demanded reforms. There were also demonstrations outside Berlin, for example in Plauen. The situation escalates ...

Discover Europe in all its diversity of viewpoints

The self-proclaimed preacher Paul Schäfer gathered people around him in post-war Germany. The sect founded a youth home near Cologne. But in 1961 Schäfer had to flee. Many followers followed him to Chile. 350 kilometers south of Santiago, far away from civilization, they begin building the Colonia Dignidad. A supposed model village with workshops, agriculture, livestock breeding was being created. But paradise became hell because slave labor, violence and sexual abuse soon became a part of everyday life. After the military coup in 1973, Schäfer served the new rulers: secret police chief Manuel Contreras and dictator Augusto Pinochet now came and went in the colony, while the opponents of the terrorist regime are tortured and killed in the cellars. Using unpublished archive material and contemporary witness statements, this 4-part documentary miniseries traces the complex, 50-year history of perpetrators, victims, supporters and opponents of this place that became the epitome of evil.

The 14th Dalai Lama: an influential figure with a fascinating life story. He has been the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists since the age of four. His tireless commitment to peace and human rights has made him known around the world. This three-part documentary explores key moments in the Dalai Lama’s life. It offers various perspectives on how he became one of the most revered spiritual leaders of our time—and what kind of person he truly is. Among those featured are rapper Curse, the Dalai Lama’s author and ghostwriter – Alexander Norman, his friends Roland Koch and Franz Alt, exile Tibetan Tenzyn Zöchbauer, scholar Kelsang Wangmo, and journalist Mirko Drotschmann.