Please sign in to post.

Historical documentary recommendations for Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary?

I read through the book/film recommendations for these countries on the site and did a search through the forum, but was hoping to get more ideas :) My husband and I love history and were hoping to prepare for our trip to Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic with some non-fiction, historical background. Do you have any documentaries (for any country or Central Europe in general) that come to mind that might be helpful? thank you!

Posted by
4160 posts

Here is a very good documentary by Joseph Koerner of Harvard University - " Vienna ; City of Dreams " https://youtu.be/AFZBOTgL_Hk Very appropriate to your request .If you are interested in books on this general subject , please let me know , I have quite an extensive list .

Posted by
14792 posts

For Austria read the historical works by Barbara Jelavich, Alan Palmer. For Hungary the works by CA MacCartney,

Historical documetaries...part one of WW1 CD of a 4 CD series by Hew Strachan, look at C. Clark, "The Sleepwalkers" on the origins to WW1.

Posted by
4160 posts

Fred , Reading " The Sleepwalkers " now , Thanks for the suggestion !

Posted by
14792 posts

@ Steven...The main issue on the historiography relating to the origins of WW1 is still focused on the Fischer Thesis, whether the author of a work accepts that salient thesis lock, stock and barrel, conceptually, or parts of it. What sets C Clark apart from his anglophone colleagues (and we can name names too) in this field is that Clark, among others, rejects conceptually the Fischer Thesis. It is no accident that Clarks begins his book with 1903, which sets the tone for his treatment.

Posted by
14792 posts

@ Steven....I forgot to mention in the above post that when you get to Berlin, you still might be lucky enough to see the performance of C. Zuckmayer's . "Der Hauptmann von Koepenick"

During my two week stay in Berlin last month, I saw numerous announcements of this play just about everywhere when such performances are listed. It is at the Admiral Palast Theater on Friedrichstrasse, with a lot of it done in Berliner Dialekt. That shouid be fun. I believe the starting date is in July or August?

Posted by
123 posts
Posted by
3100 posts

What is the Fisher thesis? It's more helpful if a brief definition is given. I've read a lot about WWI and its sources and origins. I've not seen that specific term.

Posted by
14792 posts

If you read C Clark's, The Sleepwalkers, or the Introduction to Max Hasting's "1914" or Nial Fergusen's, "The Pity of War." or Margret MacMillan's, "Introduction" to her most recent work, "The War that ended Peace," just to mention a few of the recent works of the last ten years (minus that of Fergusen), the Fischer Thesis is alluded to and the authors of their respective works state how and where they stand on the Fischer Thesis, either buying into it entirely or partially, while rejecting other parts. Every scholarly work in anglophone WW1 historiography alludes to the Fischer Thesis since its emergence in 1961.

To put it super, super brief in a nutshell, the Fischer Thesis reaffirms the verdict of the Versailles Peace Treaty that Germany was solely guilty for bringing on WW1. If you saw the name Fritz Fischer, then the author whose work you're reading is most likely discussing some aspect of the Fischer Thesis whether said author is praising him or denigrating him and his thesis argument.

Posted by
3100 posts

Yes, Clark's "Sleepwalkers" is totally not in sync with the notion of sole German guilt. I can't see how anyone who has read about that war being of that opinion. It was a tragedy written by many hands.

Posted by
14792 posts

Yes, Chris Clark rejects the basic contention put forth in the Fischer Thesis. There are numerous historians/writers on the origins of the First World War who buy into Fischer entirely or partially, (depending on the aspect of the thesis) Fischer has a lot of disciples, then there those like Clark and many others (I can name names too) who take issue, reject it etc Fischer, some strongly as N Fergusen in his "The Pity of War"

Posted by
4637 posts

Book/film recommendations which just crossed my mind: film Anthropoid - not strictly documentary but worth seeing. If you want more documentary about that event then - Callum MacDonald: The Killing of SS Obergruppenfuehrer Reinhard Heydrich.
Another very readable history book is by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright: Prague Winter.
Victor Sebestyen: Twelve Days - The Story of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.

Posted by
4160 posts

Also , on the Heydrich assassination , the wonderful book by Alan Burgess , " Seven Men at Daybreak "

Posted by
14792 posts

@ Steven....If you have the time in your itinerary in Wien and in light of C. Clark's , The Sleepwalkers," I suggest you see the special exhibit on WW1 at the Army Museum (Heeresgeschichtliches Museum), expanded since 2014, if you haven't done so already, ie, a different focus and perspective on the war often omitted in anglophone historiography.