Back to Show
Secrets of the Dead
Preview | Churchill's Deadly Decision
July 3, 1940. After only 54 days into office, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered his Navy to take control of French ships or destroy them. What led to this unprecedented and controversial attack was a series of events that saw France being overrun by the Nazis in a matter of weeks, Roosevelt fearing that Britain would fall, and Churchill needing a way to prove otherwise.
Support Provided By
55:23
A search for the remains of Black Union soldiers murdered toward the end of the Civil War.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:15
Scientists attempt to read ancient scrolls carbonized by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:15
Learn the untold story of Maria Anna Mozart, Wolfgang’s older sister and collaborator.
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:45
Archaeologists search for Assyrian artifacts that survived the Isis occupation of Mosul.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:15
Find out if the 15th-century murder of two princes in the Tower of London can be solved.
Unlock with PBS Passport
54:45
Discover the untold story of Paris’ most famous landmark and the race to top 1,000 feet.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:01
Discover the world of dinosaur fossil collecting, an unusual hobby with a growing market.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:15
Learn about the captain of a “mystery ship” who turned away from the "unsinkable" Titanic.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:41
Follow historian James Holland as he unearths the truth about amphetamine use in WWII.
Unlock with PBS Passport
55:11
Archaeologists discover a mass grave with the bones of nearly 60 people near Luxor, Egypt.