Free History Documentaries

The Day After Trinity (a.k.a. The Day After Trinity: J. Robert Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb) is a 1980 documentary film directed and produced by Jon H. Else in association with KTEH public television in San Jose, California.

Leftist filmmaker Emile de Antonio compiled this documentary out of 187 hours' worth of kinescopes recorded during the 1954 Senate Army-McCarthy Hearings.

As Nelson Mandela prepares to step down as president of South Africa, FRONTLINE presents a deeply personal biography of one of the great figures of the 20th century.

Seeing Red is a 1983 American documentary film directed by Jim Klein and Julia Reichert. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

End of Empire chronicles the last days of British rule around the globe, through the remarkably candid reminiscences of both colonisers and the colonised. The series, a Granada Television production, uses old newsreel film and interviews with former British and colonial officials.

Chernobyl Heart is a 2003 documentary film by Maryann DeLeo. The film won the Best Documentary Short Subject award at the 2004 Academy Awards.

The eminent art historian Sir Kenneth Clark was commissioned to write and present an epic examination of Western European culture, defining what he considered to be the crucial phases of its development. Civilisation: A Personal View by Lord Clark would be more than two years in the making, with filming in over 100 locations across 13 countries.

The story of the war's most concentrated aerial attack on London in 1941 and how the city nearly perished under the German barrage.

This biography explores whether Americans should celebrate Jackson or apologize for him. The program reveals the world of America's 7th president, who boldly founded the Democratic Party -- yet was viewed by his enemies as an American Napoleon.

The Battle of Long Tan is a 2006 ABC documentary made by Red Dune Films. Narrated by Sam Worthington of Avatar fame, and employing a mixture of veteran interviews, archival footage and dramatic reenactments…