Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany

From the cabinets of curiosities created in Italy during the 16th century to the prestigious cultural institutions of today, a history of museums that analyzes the social and political changes that have taken place over the centuries.

Acquired in July 1909 by art collector Wilhelm von Bode (1845-1929), director general of the Prussian Art Collections and founding director of the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum, now the Bode-Museum, the Bust of Flora, Roman goddess of flowers, has been the subject of controversy for more than a century. Von Bode, under pressure from the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, argued that the wax sculpture was created by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519).

Turkey's history has been shaped by two major political figures: Mustafa Kemal (1881-1934), known as Atatürk, the Father of the Turks, founder of the modern state, and the current president Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan, who apparently wants Turkey to regain the political and military pre-eminence it had as an empire under the Ottoman dynasty.

A new look at the public and private life of one of the most important statesmen in the history of Europe: Winston Churchill (1874-1965), soldier, politician, writer, painter, leader of his country in the darkest hours, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, a myth, a giant of the 20th century.

Documentary that narrates the birth of airships in Germany.

Nicole Védrèss' chronicle of Paris from 1900 to 1914 is brought to life through the use of original material, all authentic, secured from more then 700 films belonging to public and private collections. A few of the celebrities of the time shown are Enrico Caruso, Sarah Bernhardt, and Maurice Chevalier.

This John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series short highlights the film preservation efforts of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Several scenes from early newsreels are shown.

A documentary about the threat of war breaking out in Europe, focusing on Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini.

The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty was pieced together by documentarian Esfir Shub from material recorded between 1913 and 1917, and represents the final years leading up to the Russian Revolution. Through editing, Shub casts a critical, ironic light on the former czarist regime. The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty is the first film in Esfir Shub's trilogy that continued with The Great Road (1927), and concluded with Lev Tolstoy and the Russia of Nicolai II (1928).

"At the Baltic Sea spa town of Ahlbeck on the island of Usedom, Kaiser Wilhelm II becomes convinced that playing in the sand of the dunes is beneficial to the recuperation of children." - Edition Filmmuseum

Two gondolas, slowly approaching, dock along the wharf, and both Italian and German sovereigns disembark: Umberto I accompanied by Wilhelm II, and Margherita of Savoy accompanied by Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein.

Italian and German sovereigns, Umberto I and Margherita of Savoy, Wilhelm II and Augusta Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein, walking down the stairs and boarding two gondolas.

This film shot by Oskar Messter shows a visit by Wilhelm II the AG Vulcan in Szczecin, one of the then leading shipyards in Germany. On display are the Emperor and some military and civil dignitaries, who walk on the landing stage of the factory site on the occasion of the launch of the transatlantic speed steamer "Kaiser Wilhelm the Great" a group of spectators. In his memoirs Messter has described the motion picture as "the first good close-up of the Emperor."

The German infantry parades in front of Nicholas II and Wilhelm II.

Wilhelm II and Nicholas II, on horseback, parade in front of the cheering crowd, during the inauguration ceremony of William I's monument in Breslau, Germany (nowadays Wroclaw, Poland).

Several military companies parading, on foot, in front of Wilhelm II, in Breslau, Germany (nowadays Wroclaw, Poland).

Directed by Birt Acres.