Eureka! … Since 1981

Eureka! TV | Our Century is an outstanding series of ten programmes, comprising exceptional film archives made throughout the last century. It covers the International events that marked both history and everyday life and also addresses the major issues of the time.

Our Century 1900 – 1999, as a 10-DVD box set, features the complete episodes from the series, covering the main international events of the twentieth century.

Contents:

Disc One: 1900-1914, A New World
In 1900 Society lives without a care in the world. The Belle Époque is ending, and great upheavals are taking place in all spheres of life. People imagine, discover and invent everything that will give life to the new century, and man achieves his oldest dream, that of flight. The beginning of the century also sees increasing dangers, with the approach of The First World War

Disc Two: 1914–1918, Beyond The Front
This is the first of the century’s two catastrophes. A whole world erupts in a terrible war, which ravages Europe. In 1917 the United States comes to the rescue of democracy, and takes part in the final victory. Throughout the world women become aware of their role in society. Nothing will ever be the same again.

Disc Three: _1918-1928 The Years of Jazz
This is the first of the century’s two catastrophes. A whole world erupts in a terrible war, which ravages Europe is torn apart. The desire to live, to reject old values and create a new culture, seizes hold of the survivors of the war. The United States and Japan become world powers, whilst Communist Russia both fascinates and worries the West. The world dances to the rhythm of jazz.

Disc Four: 1928-1939, Great Illusions
The crisis of 1929 attacks America with force, and affects the whole world. Fascism in Italy, followed by Nazism in Germany, make Europe and then the world tremble. Propaganda is a new weapon used by totalitarian regimes. The century’s second catastrophe is about to begin

Disc Five: 1939-1945, Paradise Lost
World War II: six years of violence, massacres and devastation. In many countries everyday life is reduced to nothing more than hunger, escape and survival. The atrocities of the concentration camps are exposed to the world, and after Hiroshima everyone is aware of the horror of the atomic bomb.

Disc Six: 1945–1958, Westwards, Eastwards
The world is divided into two blocs: the West and East, and Europe lies in ruins. People have to get used to their regained freedom; rebuild; and learn again how to live. Wartime industry has developed new techniques, which are now exploited for civilian use. The consumer society has arrived

Disc Seven: 1958-1968, New Wave
The whole world is singing to the music of the Beatles. The free world undergoes stupendous growth modeled on the Japanese example. Materialistic values come to a dead end. The Catholic church is modified in the “Vatican II” council. The principles of the capitalist society are questioned in a ‘little red book’, the symbol of the Cultural Revolution.

Disc Eight: 1968–1980 Peace and Love
University unrest in 1968 questions the principles of our consumer society. The technological revolution, arising from the ever increasing development of electronics, and the first oil crisis lead to economic recession and unemployment. The Vietnam War ends, Man walks on the moon, and Japan is becoming a major economic power. Important discoveries in the field of genetics challenge former scientific laws in biology and medicine.

Disc Nine: 1980 – 1990, Solidarity
Communism collapses in Central Europe. The industrial nations are faced with unemployment and new forms of poverty. The African continent is a disaster area, and fundamentalism spreads in the Arab nations. Drugs become a powerful force of corruption and destabilisation. Within a decade, nearly 10 million people are stricken with the AIDS virus. Pollution threatens the future of the planet. The end of the century is marked by an awareness of the need for world solidarity.

Disc Ten: 1990-1999, Our History
The last episode of the series skims over the joys and tragedies of the 20th century. The last hundred years have witnessed on the one hand two world wards, totalitarianism, the Holocaust and Hiroshima, and on the other unprecedented scientific and technological progress, from the conquest of air and space through to the information society. Never before has mankind suffered so much the trials and tribulations of history, whilst also sharing in a fantastic revolution in the arts and ways of life. Although the wars in the Balkans show that it is always possible to regress, the world of the third millennium, in becoming an image-dominated global village, can only be more united.