THE DIVISION OF THE WORLD. Nominated for the 2025 Grimme Prize. Delia Mayer as Golda Meir.

mail98666
Oct 10, 2024
3 min read

Eine dokumentariasche Dramaserie. Sechs Lebensgeschichten in den Jahren 1939-1962.

JETZT auf ARTE MEDIATHEK und DAS ERSTE, ARDMEDIATHEK. Ausstrahlung am 5./6. November um 20.15 Uhr. Folgen 1 & 2 in DAS ERSTE 11. November um 22:50 Uhr.

Regie: Olga Chajdas und Frank Devos. Eine Co-Produktion von ARTE/SWR/ORF/ČT.

VARIETY Interview Olga Chaidas.

THE SPOT MEDIA & FILM Interview Delia Mayer

DAILY PAPER Interview Delia Mayer

INTERVIEW Producers Regina Bouchehri und Gunnar Dedio

WATCH Delia Mayer as Golda Meir extracted scenes

Six people, their dreams, their struggles: When World War II breaks out on September 1, 1939, the world teeters on the brink of collapse. Six people in different countries and walks of life must make choices: What will they fight for? Wernher von Braun (Max Wagner), Hedwig Höß (Lara Mandoki), Nikita Khrushchev (Denis Rodnyansky), Joan Hinton (Meriel Hinsching), Golda Meir (Delia Mayer), and Frantz Fanon (Moussa Sylla) represent the diverse paths they have taken in life and their perceptions of the world. This six-part documentary drama series follows them into the 1960s, when the division of the world becomes evident. All episodes will be available in the ARTE and ARD media libraries from October 31 and will be broadcast on ARTE on November 5 and 6 at 8:15 p.m. Episodes 1 and 2 will be shown on Das Erste on November 11 at 10:50 p.m.

The six-part documentary drama series tells the true stories of Wernher von Braun, Hedwig Höß, Nikita Khrushchev, Joan Hinton, Golda Meir, and Frantz Fanon, following their lives. Combining elaborate dramatizations, eyewitness accounts, and newly colorized archival footage, the series documents the period from World War II to the 1960s, the era of the world's division into East and West and the beginning of decolonization. The historical drama narrative forms the backbone of the series. Through meticulous research, the fictionalized account adheres as closely as possible to the historical events. Visually, the drama is interwoven with rarely seen archival footage, colorized for the first time for this production. This creates an unprecedented emotional connection to the narrative, a sense of the era, and an immersion into the moment of the events.

From National Socialism to colonization

The series tells the story of World War II and its aftermath from a transnational perspective, making it accessible even to a younger generation. National Socialism, the Holocaust, and the war of annihilation unleashed by Germany are central themes in the early episodes. Dominant topics in the years after 1945 include the emerging Cold War, new conflict zones such as in the Middle East, and the process of decolonization in Africa. The narrative concludes in 1962, when the National Liberation Front (FLN) won Algeria's independence from colonial France.

International Team for Balance in Historical Interpretation

The series' commitment to multiple perspectives is also reflected in its diverse, international team of creatives, historians, and editors from Belgium, China, Germany, France, Great Britain, Israel, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Hungary, and the USA. Filming took place in the characters' original languages: German, English, French, Hebrew, Yiddish, and Russian. This co-production of ARTE, SWR, ORF, and the Czech broadcaster ČT, "The Division of the World: 1939-1962," continues the successful and award-winning transnational documentary drama series "14 - Diaries of the First World War" (2014) and "War of Dreams - 1918-1939" (2018).

The division of the world: 1939-1962

LOOKSfilm/Iris Group/Beside Productions/MOMAKIN/Haka Films/ARTE/SWR/ORF/ČT. Created by: Jan Peter & Gunnar Dedio. Head Writer: Jan Peter; Co-Writer: Jasmin Wind. Directed by: Olga Chajdas and Frank Devos.

Producers: Regina Bouchehri, Gunnar Dedio, Birgit Rasch (LOOKSfilm), Katarzyna Ozga, Nicolas Steil (Iris Group), Fabrice Delville (Beside Productions), Katarzyna Gromadzka (MOMAKIN), Tomek Morawski (Haka Films).