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At the end of a bloody civil war, Francisco Franco seized power and ruled Spain with an iron hand for nearly four decades. Under his leadership the conservative, monarchist armed forces staged a coup against Spain’s democratically elected republican government. The insurrection was supported by Italy and Germany. Three years of bitter fighting followed and, by April 1939, Spain had become a different country. The hostilities and political purges cost half a million lives. Part 1 of 4.
The Franco myth stands for a cruel regime; for the darkest chapter in Spanish history. Franco gave himself the title of Caudillo de España - Supreme Leader of Spain. He created his own rituals of power: the war hero, the family man and the mass murderer. Franco was a man of many faces. Franco and his family formally moved into the El Pardo Palace, the former summer residence of the king. Was that still the behaviour of a head of state? Or was it already megalomania? Part 2 of 4.
At the end of the Second World War the cards in global politics were reshuffled. The Allies now made a clear distinction between the friends and foes of democracy. The situation became critical for Franco. His reign of terror caused widespread suffering in Spain, and many people sought to topple him. This episode shows how he managed to prevail within the new global power structure. Part 3 of 4.
In the mid-1950s Franco’s foreign policy successes opened up new perspectives for Spain. After years of stagnation the country was now moving forward - thus, Franco’s rule was legitimised. Resistance fell silent, with the dictator sitting firmly in the saddle. But along with new friends, new influences also entered the country. Spain changed, confronting the regime with new challenges. How much longer could Franco cling to power? Could Prince Juan Carlos give the dictatorship a future? Part 4 of 4.
The presidential election of 1864 sets Abraham Lincoln against his old commanding general, George McClellan. The survival of the Union itself is at stake as opinion in the North turns strongly against the war. Victories at Mobile Bay, Atlanta and the Shenandoah Valley tilt the election to Lincoln and the Confederacy's last hope for independence dies. Lee's Arlington mansion is turned into a Union military hospital and the estate becomes Arlington National Cemetery. Part 7 of 9.
William Tecumseh Sherman's brilliant march to the sea brings the war to the heart of Georgia and the Carolinas and spells the end of the Confederacy. In March, following Lincoln's second inauguration, Petersburg and Richmond finally fall to Grant's army. Lee's tattered Army of Northern Virginia flees westward towards a tiny crossroads town called Appomattox Court House. There the dramatic and deeply moving surrender of Lee to Grant takes place. Part 8 of 9.
The final episode of the series begins with the aftermath of Lee's surrender and then narrates the events of five days later when, on 14 April, Lincoln is assassinated. After chronicling Lincoln's poignant funeral, the series recounts the final days of the war, the capture of John Wilkes Booth and the fates of the Civil War's major protagonists. The episode then considers the consequences and meaning of a war that transformed the country from a collection of states to the nation it is today. Part 9 of 9.
Madrid, 1944. European fascists arrive in Madrid, and protected by the Franco regime, they weave a secret web known as ratlines in order to escape the Allied forces.
Corn is a sacred food for all indigenous tribes of Arizona, including the Tohono O’odham, Yoemi, Navajo, and Hopi.