Documentary
Documentary series on the occasion of the 70th commemoration of the Flood disaster. Archival material and compelling eyewitness accounts map out how the disaster could unfold, how the impending danger was not sufficiently anticipated in advance and what we have learned from the…
What exactly happened on the night of January 31 to February 1, 1953? In the first episode a reconstruction of that fatal night. Eyewitnesses to the disaster in Zeeland tell what they experienced, often as young children. “My father just took the last step into the attic and the stairs fell away.” Rescue workers have been working for days to get people off the roofs. One of them tells how she was at work for five days. “You're like a machine, you do it, you don't think anymore.” Also in this episode the story of the Urk fishermen who came to the rescue and of a Terschelling captain and his crew, who were among the first victims of the disasters.
Could the flood disaster have been prevented? In the aftermath of the Second World War, Walcheren was flooded to chase away the Germans and liberate Zeeland. The Braakman, an estuary of the Western Scheldt, was closed in 1952 and the whole of Zeeland took part in it. In between all this, hydraulic engineer and Rijkswaterstaat employee Johan van Veen wrote the first Delta Plan: well before the disaster he warned that the dikes could break.
“You have to keep going.” For years, this has been the motto in Zeeland and the other heavily affected areas in the Netherlands. There is little or no talk about the Flood disaster. In that respect there is a parallel with other major traumatic events in the 20th century, such as the Second World War.
What have we learned from the flood disaster and is that enough to keep the Netherlands dry? In the final episode, attention is paid to the discussion about the Delta Works, the battle against water, climate change, but also about opening up Zeeland, the growth of tourism in the province and the story of the Biesbosch. The consequences of the flood disaster, positive and negative, are discussed in this final episode.
Cast
The specter of drug trafficking haunts Europe. Struggling with ultra-violent criminal groups that control the vast majority of cocaine trade, European police forces are overwhelmed. The epicenter of all this trafficking: the Netherlands. A nation at the forefront of international trade and drug policy. This two-part film delves into the origins of European drug trafficking through the unique history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Different presenters and their teams tackled a neighborhood dispute in each episode with the intention of resolving it. Presenters John Williams and Natasja Froger, then Jochem van Gelder and Patty Brard & later Dennis van der Geest and Leontine Borsato each individually committed themselves to one of the two parties. They listened to the story from both sides and then proposed a solution.
Theo Maassen grew up in Germany and was the only boy in his class in '74 not to become World Champion. With the European Championship approaching and football as a starting point, Theo gives an adventurous tour to get to know the real Germany. Are the Germans smarter, faster, stronger and better than us?
