Synopsis
An account of Christmas Day in 1914, when German and British soldiers initiated a spontaneous truce across the frontline.
- Programme: Days That Shook the World
- Series: 2
- Episode: 2: The Christmas Truce
- Channel: BBC Two
- Broadcast year: 2004
- History
Licence: ERA Licence required
UK only
Staff and students of licensed education establishments only
Cannot be adapted
Add Notes
More clips from Days That Shook the World
S2E1: Challenger Disaster | Days That Shook the World
S2E1: Challenger Disaster | Days That Shook the World
Documentaries examining famous air disasters, including the Challenger Space Shuttle disaster in 1986.
S2E1: Disaster in the Sky: The Hindenburg | Days That Shook the World
S2E1: Disaster in the Sky: The Hindenburg | Days That Shook the World
Documentaries examining famous air disasters, including the Hindenburg crash in 1937.
S2E10: Affairs of the Crown: The Execution of Anne Boleyn | Days That Shook the World
S2E10: Affairs of the Crown: The Execution of Anne Boleyn | Days That Shook the World
A British royal scandal: the trial and execution of Queen Anne Boleyn.
S2E10: The Abdication of Edward VIII | Days That Shook the World
S2E10: The Abdication of Edward VIII | Days That Shook the World
A British royal scandal: the abdication of Edward VIII.
S2E3: Attack on Pearl Harbor | Days That Shook the World
S2E3: Attack on Pearl Harbor | Days That Shook the World
The 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, which changed world history.
S2E4: Grand Heist: The Theft of the Crown Jewels | Days That Shook the World
S2E4: Grand Heist: The Theft of the Crown Jewels | Days That Shook the World
The theft of the Crown Jewels on May 9, 1671.
S2E4: The Great Train Robbery | Days That Shook the World
S2E4: The Great Train Robbery | Days That Shook the World
The Great Train Robbery on August 8, 1963.
S2E5: Conspiracy to Kill: The Real Day of the Jackal | Days That Shook the World
S2E5: Conspiracy to Kill: The Real Day of the Jackal | Days That Shook the World
Assassination attempts by secret organizations, with Adolf Hitler as the intended victim.
S2E5: Wolf's Lair | Days That Shook the World
S2E5: Wolf's Lair | Days That Shook the World
Assassination attempts by secret organizations, with Charles de Gaulle as the intended victim.
S2E6: Reach for the Stars: Trials of Galileo | Days That Shook the World
S2E6: Reach for the Stars: Trials of Galileo | Days That Shook the World
Galileo's ideas challenging views of the world.
S2E6: Yuri Gagarin's Flight | Days That Shook the World
S2E6: Yuri Gagarin's Flight | Days That Shook the World
Yuri Gagarin's journey as the first man in space.
S2E7: Dinosaurs & Duplicity: Discovery of the First Dinosaur | Days That Shook the World
S2E7: Dinosaurs & Duplicity: Discovery of the First Dinosaur | Days That Shook the World
Using dramatized reconstructions, this program recalls the first discovery of a dino...
S2E7: Piltdown Man | Days That Shook the World
S2E7: Piltdown Man | Days That Shook the World
Using dramatized reconstructions, this program recalls the 'Piltdown Man' hoax in 1953.
S2E8: Oklahoma City bombing | Days That Shook the World
S2E8: Oklahoma City bombing | Days That Shook the World
How the commercial airplane has been used as a terrorist weapon: the Lockerbie disaster in 1988.
S2E8: Terrorism: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln | Days That Shook the World
S2E8: Terrorism: Assassination of Abraham Lincoln | Days That Shook the World
How the commercial airplane has been used as a terrorist weapon: the Black September hijacking ...
S2E9: Cold War Spies: 1960 U-2 incident | Days That Shook the World
S2E9: Cold War Spies: 1960 U-2 incident | Days That Shook the World
This program focuses on the shooting down of the US U-2 spy plane in 1960.
S2E9: Spy swap of Abel, Pryor and Powers | Days That Shook the World
S2E9: Spy swap of Abel, Pryor and Powers | Days That Shook the World
This program focuses on the exchange of pilot Gary Powers and Soviet spy Colonel Abel in 1962.
More resources about Twentieth century warfare
S1E2: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days That Shook the World
S1E2: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand | Days That Shook the World
How the duke's death led to the start of the First World War.
The Somme: From Defeat to Victory
The Somme: From Defeat to Victory
Drama-documentary which offers a new perspective on the most infamous battle of World War I, revealing how it was on the Somme that the Bri...
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
Transforming archive footage more than a century old, Peter Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell the story of World War I: the ...
1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
1: Martial Races | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
David Olusoga challenges our perceptions of the First World War with the stories of the millions of Indian, ...
1: Advance Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain
1: Advance Britannia | Andrew Marr's History of Modern Britain
Andrew Marr revisits Britain in 1945 and finds the country victorious but nearly bankrupt, beginning a battle ...
Dunkirk (2017)
Dunkirk (2017)
Hundreds of thousands of British and Allied troops find themselves in an impossible situation. Christopher Nolan's epic wartime action thriller.
S1E4: Hiroshima | Days That Shook the World
S1E4: Hiroshima | Days That Shook the World
Documentary recalling 6 August 1945, when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, with testimony from American colonel Paul Tibbe...
6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten
6: The Men Who Wouldn't Fight | Not Forgotten
In this special edition of Not Forgotten, Ian Hislop explores the powerful and often overlooked stories of conscientious object...
2: Stalemate | History File
2: Stalemate | History File
The second section explores why the war wasn't over by Christmas 1914 and what life was like in the trenches.
Learning Zone | Britain's Great War
Learning Zone | Britain's Great War
Jeremy Paxman traces the effects of the First World War on Britain. This was a total war which dragged in civilians as well as soldiers, ...
1: The Approach of War | History File
1: The Approach of War | History File
The first section asks who was to blame for the war.
4: Slaughter | 1914-1918
4: Slaughter | 1914-1918
Documentary series telling the history of the Great War, in which nine million people perished. The battles of Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele w...
3: The Wrong War | Nazis: A Warning from History
3: The Wrong War | Nazis: A Warning from History
A look at how Hitler found himself at war with Britain - a country whose achievements he admired - and allied to his ideolog...
Chinese Labour Corps | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
Chinese Labour Corps | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
David Olusoga discusses the experiences of the Chinese labour corp in WW1.
The Indian Corps and trench warfare | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
The Indian Corps and trench warfare | The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire
David Olusoga discusses the Indian corp experiences of industrialised trench warfare.
1: 1918 Western Front | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields
1: 1918 Western Front | Peter and Dan Snow: 20th Century Battlefields
The Snows visit Northern France to tell the story of the 1918 Battle of Amiens.
1: Berlin 1945-48 | History File
1: Berlin 1945-48 | History File
Compilation of secondary schools programme about the Cold War, featuring Berlin Crisis, Hungarian Uprising, rise of Soviet leader Nikita Khr...
3: The Home Front | History File
3: The Home Front | History File
The First World War was a total war. Nobody escaped, even the women and children at home. In this third section we look at how the lives of ...
4: Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 | History File
4: Cuban Missile Crisis 1962 | History File
Compilation of secondary schools programme about the Cold War, featuring Berlin Crisis, Hungarian Uprising, rise of Soviet leader...
1: War Comes to Britain | Britain's Great War
1: War Comes to Britain | Britain's Great War
Jeremy Paxman presents a four-part documentary charting how the First World War affected Great Britain, with this episode focus...