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Galileo Special: Conspiracy Theories
1 x 45 min Special; Premiering May 1, 2010 on ProSieben; Executive Producer: Jens Afflerbach; Series Producer: Konstanze Beyer; Producer: Daniel Maiterth
This feature length documentary examines five of the world’s greatest conspiracy theories and the concrete evidence behind them: The Titanic - a ship said to be unsinkable; was it purposely sunk by ruthless tradesmen? The Death of Princess Diana, her partner Dodi Al-Fayed and their chauffeur; was this a murder conspiracy initiated by the Royal Family itself? The Illuminati - does this secret society pull the strings of financial systems and of the most powerful governments in the world? The Nazca Lines in Peru – these lines are said to be the landing sites of alien spacecraft, is there a logical explanation or is there a mystery hidden which is not of this world?; And finally, the assassination of John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald. Was the CIA itself responsible for his tragic death?
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The North Pole Conspiracy
1 x 45 min Special; 2009; Produced for ZDF; Executive Producer: Jens Afflerbach; Producer: Simone Schillinger; Editor: Holger Finck
In 1909, two men simultaneously lay claim to discovering the North Pole: The German-American doctor and explorer, Frederick A. Cook, and the US Navy officer, Robert E. Peary. The two are ensnared in a bitter dual of lies and deceit, in which Peary emerges with the coveted title.
The documentary The North Pole Conspiracy tells the story of this timeless polar drama and follows the combined clues of decade-long investigations by an American researcher. New evidence and spectacular footage by a British polar expedition, in which Peary's historic expedition is repeated, deliver baffling results...
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Cold Case Dresden
1 x 45 min Special; 2009; Produced for ZDF; Executive Producer: Jens Afflerbach; Producer: Birgit Tanner; Editor: Ramin Sabeti
In September 1977 unknown thieves succeeded in stealing countless gold rings, bracelets and necklaces from the Dresden Museum in broad daylight. The robbery of this multi-million dollar treasure, the "Sophienschatz," went down as one of the biggest coups in the history of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). Despite tremendous investigative efforts, the police were unable to track down the treasure or the perpetrators. The documentary Cold Case Dresden (working title) is a story of how a former investigator in this Dresden Coup manages to recover the bulk of the treasure after 22 years, but also re-opens this case with new evidence, exposing it as a prime example of governmental crime in the former GDR-Administration.
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Qatna: One City Against Egypt
1 x 60 min Special; 2010; National Geographic Channel; Executive Producer: Andreas Gutzeit
“Qatna: One City Against Egypt” chronicles a decade of amazing archeological discoveries by an international team of scientists in Syria. This spectacular television special resurrects a previously unknown metropolis of the Ancient Near East and tells the epic story of a powerful city lost to the desert sands for over 3500 years.
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China's First Emperor
1 x 3 hr Special; 2008; Produced for The History Channel
Executive Producer: Carsten Oblaender; Director/Producer: Andreas Gutzeit; Writer: Laurie MillerLavishly produced in China with a top-notch cast of Chinese actors China’s First Emperor recreates the ancient Chin Empire and its unique leader, Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China. The emperor's amazing career as a military leader and ruthless ruler is chronicled in an action-packed, fast-paced and epic narrative. Leading experts from China, Europe and America explore the amazing technological and societal advances of the first Chinese empire as well as the mind of the man who created a military superpower, built the Great Wall of China and left the world an entire army of terracotta soldiers, who guard his empire still.
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The Quedlinburg Treasure
"Der Domschatz von Quedlinburg"
1 x 1 hr Special; 2007; Produced for ZDF (Germany)
Executive Producer: Jens Afflerbach, Director: Christian SchwochowTreasure hunter Willi Korte is an attorney, political scientist and historian. He also searches for missing masterpieces, mainly collections of paintings stolen by the Nazis. Korte’s first case is the compelling mystery of the Quedlinburg Cathedral treasury, which, at the end of World War Two had vanished. In The Treasure of Quedlinburg, Korte solves this robbery of the century, leading a high-stakes investigation through the abyss of international art-dealing, and meeting a cast of corrupt bankers, receivers of stolen goods and greedy heirs.
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The Berlin Wall
1 x 1 hr Special; 2007; Produced for Discovery Channel
Executive Producer: Carsten Oblaender; Writer/Director: Andreas GutzeitOn November 9, 1989 the Berlin Wall fell, signaling the final moments of the Cold War. Few people realize however, just how close the world came to seeing a repeat of the bloody communist crackdown at Tiananmen Square. The Berlin Wall chronicles the story of the refugees, protesters, journalists, East German soldiers and the political leaders of East and West who experienced the events first hand. From the political to the personal, the stories combine to paint a picture of a momentous historical event that was only a hair’s breadth away from ending in tragedy.
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Stolen Thunder
Limited Series; 2007; Produced for The History Channel
Executive Producer: Carsten Oblaender; Producer: Tucker Bowen; Writer: Laurie MillerStolen Thunder investigates how two of the world's most revolutionary inventions came into existence and how personal intrigue and foul play separated the rightful inventor from his creation. The show illustrates how breaking and entering and sometimes even murder, lie at the heart of some of the world’s most important discoveries. In The Shattered Lens and Lifted Light, series host Curtis Nysmith investigates the truth behind the invention of two of the most revolutionary devices of the 20th century—the motion picture camera and the laser.
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Nine Men Down
1 x 90 min special; 2004; Produced for The History Channel
Executive Producer: Carsten Oblaender; Director/Producer: Andreas Gutzeit; Producer/Co-Writer: Amos GelbIn 1970, scores of journalists are sent to Cambodia to cover the fighting as the Vietnam War spills over the border. Nine of these journalists disappeared and were executed in one day. Nine Men Down tells the story of the most tragic day in the history of modern journalism. It also tells the story of one of the journalists who survived—CBS cameraman Kurt Volkert. Nine Men Down returns to Cambodia and documents the story of the nine journalists who died bringing us the news. The program received a CINE Golden Eagle Award and a Gold Omni Award for Fall 2004. It was also selected for Hors Concours Screening at the 2005 Banff World Television Festival.
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The SS
3 x 1 hr Series; 2002; Produced for ZDF (Germany)
Executive Producers: Carsten Oblaender, Jens Afflerbach, Directors/Producers: Jens Afflerbach, Sebastian Dehnhardt, Christian FreyThe SS documents the true story of Hitler's henchmen. The series portrays the involvement of this elite group in Hitler's war of extermination. The SS is a story of unbridled greed and inconceivable crimes, of unchecked power and of Hitler's fascination with racial supremacy. Presented in meticulous detail for the first time in television history, The SS reveals footage long thought to have been lost. Viewers hear from eyewitnesses who, only now as their lives draw to a close, are prepared to talk about atrocities committed in the name of duty, honor and country.
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U-234: Hitler's Last Submarine
1 x 1 hr Special; 2001; Produced for The History Channel and ZDF (Germany)
Executive Producer: Carsten Oblaender; Director/Producer: Andreas Gutzeit;Germany 1945. In the very last days of the Second World War, submarine U-234 departs on its final mission. The cargo manifest includes ten wooden boxes, all filled with uranium. U-234: Hitler's Last Submarine poses startling new questions about the end of the Second World War. Was the German uranium intended to fuel a Japanese bomb? Did the uranium, once confiscatd by the Americans, accelerate the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan? In a search for answers, U-234: Hitler's Last Submarine reunites the crew members of U-234, and brings together original testimony from key players in the international race for the atomic bomb.
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Nazi Gold: On the Trail of Hitler's Lost Treasure
1 x 1 hr Special; 2000; Produced for ZDF (Germany)
Executive Producer: Carsten Oblaender; Writer/Producer: Jens AfflerbachBerlin 1945. With the Allies closing tight around Hitler's Berlin, Nazi officials at Germany's largest bank, the Reichsbank, come to a desperate decision: The remaining contents of the Reichsbank are to be transported down to the Oberbayern, in southern Bavaria. Fifty five years after the end of the war, a great deal of the Reichsbank gold is still hidden; it's location a mystery to historians and treasure seekers alike. Through eyewitness testimony, meticulous historical research and modern-day treasure hunting technology, Nazi Gold attempts to discover what happened to Hitler's lost reserves.
