Six people. your dreams. Your struggles. When the Second World War began on September 1, 1939, the world was on the brink. Six people from different countries and different walks of life have to make decisions: What do they want to fight for? The new six-part “Universum History” drama series “The Split of the World 1939-1962” by Jan Peter (book) and Olga Chajdas and Frank Devos (directors) follows them on Wednesday the 6th, Friday the 8th and Sunday , November 10, 2024, in two episodes each from 11 p.m. and 11:05 p.m. on ORF 2 up to the 1960s, in which the division of the world is obvious. A division into many parts that is not only noticeable today, but has also intensified in recent years. “The Division of the World 1939-1962” was created as a co-production by LOOKSfilm, ORF, SWR, ARTE and CT. All episodes of the series will be available on ORF ON from November 10th.
The series accompanies and documents the path of Europe, the Soviet Union, the USA and China as well as the beginning of the dissolution of the western colonial empires in the years 1939-1962. For the first time, she weaves the war and post-war periods into a new transnational narrative. The focus is on the lives of six women and men from five nations: scientist Wernher von Braun, who was commissioned by the Nazis to develop the atomic bomb; just like the physicist Joan Hinton, but on behalf of the Americans. Nikita Khrushchev in the Ukraine in the defensive battle against the Germans. Golda Meir, who is fighting for the founding of the State of Israel. Hedwig Höß, who wants to maintain the German family idyll at all costs alongside the Auschwitz concentration camp. And philosopher Frantz Fanon from Martinique, who joined the resistance against the Nazis in France and was confronted with racism. They are all in an exceptional situation that is unique for their lives and for the existence of humanity, reflecting the powerful political changes and the global showdown of the 20th century. The focus is on seamlessly interweaving fictional elements with archive material, creating a new and highly emotional film narrative from seemingly familiar images. In the parallel narrative of the six characters, it becomes increasingly clear that their decisions affect each other. The Second World War left a divided world. The discovery of atomic fission cemented this division. When the war ended in 1945, the world was in ruins – but the fight for control in the post-war period had only just begun.
To production
“The Divide of the World 1939-1962” is the third multi-part historical drama that deals with the history of the 20th century. The team around author Jan Peter and producer Gunnar Dedio has already brought two award-winning series to the screen with “14 – Diaries of the First World War” and “War of Dreams” about the First World War and the interwar period. The six episodes of this docu-drama describe events and biographies that can be seen as the origins of the state of the world today: a looming new Cold War, the escalating conflict in the Middle East, China as a new world power and the problems of the Global South Roots in the time in which the series is set.
The team about the production “We need to know the past in order to understand the present and be able to consciously shape the future. That’s why in the historical series ‘The Division of the World: 1939-1962’ we take our viewers on a journey into the past, to the time of the Second World War and the years after, when a new world emerged. On this trip we meet women and men from different countries who couldn’t be more different. We want to get close to these people. We trace the paths of their lives, with all the crossroads at which they decide one direction or another, the encounters that shape their path, the longings, dreams and fears that guide them in their lives. In this way we want to bring history to life. Because: History doesn’t just happen. It is made by people. Not just from great leaders and dictators, from politics. But from all of us. Through our actions and our inaction. That’s why in our series we tell history as stories of people – broken, radically subjective, multi-perspective and international.”
The focus is on the exciting life stories of the protagonists, which are vividly brought closer using all the means of modern film art. Actors, directors, writers, cameramen and film musicians have worked on Netflix productions and Hollywood blockbusters. A team of historians has accompanied the series from the beginning.
Details about the first two episodes:
The division of the world 1939-1962 – The dream of the moon (November 6th, 11:05 p.m.)
1939. The young engineer Wernher von Braun wants to go to the moon, but puts himself in the service of the National Socialists to build rockets for the war, while nuclear fission is discovered in Berlin. At the same time, the young student Joan Hinton begins her studies in the USA. She enthusiastically threw herself into atomic physics research – as one of the few women at the time. She senses the global threat posed by the splitting of the atom. The number of war refugees from Europe is increasing dramatically. In the British Mandate of Palestine, Golda Meir is committed to ensuring that Jews who fled the Nazis find refuge in Palestine.
The division of the world 1939-1962 – The Garden in front of the Wall (November 6th, 11:55 p.m.)
1941. Hedwig Höß and her family have a new home: Auschwitz. Her husband Rudolf is the commandant of the concentration camp. She proudly furnishes the service villa with a garden – a paradise in the shadow of the death camp wall. In Tel Aviv, Golda Meir is shocked to read the news smuggled out of Auschwitz: The National Socialists are systematically murdering Jews in the concentration camps. At the same time, German troops are advancing in North Africa, not far from Palestine. In Kiev, Nikita Khrushchev is surprised by the German Wehrmacht’s invasion of the Soviet Union. Driven by Stalin, the young Khrushchev tries to save his family and defend his country.
Further information about the further episodes can be found at presse.ORF.at.