Marc Ferro's DIE WOCHE VOR 50 JAHREN / HISTOIRE PARALLÈLE (1989-2001). The Experience and Analysis of Historical Images on Television
Résumé
For twelve years, a weekly broadcast with a loyal audience in France and Germany: the television series HISTOIRE PARALLÈLE / DIE WOCHE VOR 50 JAHREN (1989-2001) moderated and co-created by the historian Marc Ferro was an unexpected success and the longest series on the cultural channel Arte. The history of HISTOIRE PARALLÈLE is still waiting to be written, due not least to its virtual biblical format with 630 episodes. The article can only draw attention to this gap, which is an unfortunate one, not only when it comes to research in terms of current television historical formats. The focus will be placed on the potential of the series in the production and experience of history. A main hypothesis is that the relative simplicity of the devices used enabled an adequate and reflected use of film as a source and an agent of history, opening a realm of experience to a wide audience.