BBC - Days that Shook the World Series 3 (2005) Part 1 The Cost of Betrayal
Through dramatic reconstructions, eye-witness accounts and archive footage, each episode in the “Days That Shook the World” TV series pieces together the thrilling stories of the landmarks of our time; the moments in history - human tragedies, scientific breakthroughs and calamitous events that have profoundly affected the way the world thinks and acts. “Days that Shook the World” examines some of the most important days in history, creating a detailed and forensic analysis of 24 hours that changed the world. It covers some of the biggest themes in World history - from the history of flight, to the rise and fall of Communism. This fresh and unusual BBC production explores mankind's defining moments. A gripping anatomy of some of the most important days in history, hour by hour as they unfolded. Incisive, fascinating & dramatic, the complete series builds a compelling picture of the seismic moments in world history. From ancient Egypt to the Berlin Wall, these episodes look at events that had a lasting impact on human history, from technological breakthroughs to political tragedies. Finding new angles and putting events into historical context, the series spans centuries and continents with one common thread On each of these days, the lives of millions were changed forever. Incredible breakthroughs, acts of shocking brutality, and stories of hope form the themes of these compelling programs. From the tragedies of history to the triumphs of scientific development; these are the landmarks of our time that, when juxtaposed, provide a distillation of history's defining experiences. Season three examines the gunfight at the OK Corral and the St Valentine's Day Massacre; the fine line between fact and fiction that was blurred by the publication of The Hitler Diaries and Orson Welles radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds; and popular uprisings with the flight of the last Iranian Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, and the execution of former Romanian president Nicolai Ceausescu.
Part 1 The Cost of Betrayal The Defection of Burgess & MacLean/The Execution of the Rosenbergs
The Cost Of Betrayal 19 June 1953 and 25 May 1951 The dramatic tale of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean's 1951 flight from the West, and the end of the Soviets' most valuable spy network. The Cost of Betrayal examines two cases of Espionage in the Cold War era of the 1950's. The first half follows the events that surrounded Guy Burgess while the second half examines The last day of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's life in Sing Sing Prison as they wait to be executed for espionage. The differing fates of the most famous Soviet spies are explored as, in the USA, the Rosenbergs face the electric chair in 1953 for passing secrets to the Soviets and after a dramatic flight, the British spies Burgess and Maclean find safety in the hands of the KGB. On June 19, 1953, at the Sing-Sing prison in New York state, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in the electric chair. Their crime? To have sold atomic secrets to the Soviet Union which, in the eyes of the Americans, is worse than murder. Two years earlier, on May 25, 1951, Donald Maclean and Guy Burgess fled away. Where are they? Five years later, we learn that they are in the hands of the KGB in Moscow. Why? Two great spy stories to rediscover!
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