This book offers a comparative study of historical television genres in Europe, with a special focus on Germany and Great Britain and their way of narrating twentieth century European history. The book analyses our common European past and memory through central historical television narratives. Each chapter looks at how historical TV genres, fictional and documentary, have dealt with the most salient and defining periods, events and changes in the twentieth century- an age of extremes. Bondebjerg offers unique theoretical and analytical insight into the role of television in mediating and shaping the past. The book explores television's creation of transnational cultural encounters across Europe in relation to our common and national past. The book addresses how television has influenced our understanding of history, collective memory and public debate over the twentieth century. It is fundamentally a book about the importance of the past in present day Europe and the centrality ofmedia for transnational understanding.
"This book was a milestone in research, highlighting the cultural role of television drama, not only in a Danish context, but also internationally. ... Bondebjerg's methodological approach - following the course of history from a constant, comparative perspective - makes his account of English and German historical drama and documentaries not only informative, but also fascinating reading. ... Any reader interested in history on screen will enjoy revisiting their favourite productions under the professional guidance of Bondebjerg." (Gunhild Agger, MedieKultur, Issue 70, 2021)