The Story of the Jews

- Season 1

(2013)

Simon Schama embarks on his journey through Jewish history, tracing the Jewish experience from tribal beginnings to the destruction of the Jewish High Temple by the Romans.

Medieval Jews struggle to preserve their identity under the rule of Christianity and Islam.

The integration of Jewish talent into the mainstream of European culture and commerce. For the Jews, Enlightenment was a bright, hopeful moment.

Schama travels to Eastern Europe to consider the Jews' profound impact. The lost world of Shtetl, the Jewish towns and villages sewn across Central and Eastern Europe, virtually destroyed during the Holocaust.

The Holocaust and the creation of Israel fundamentally change what it means to be Jewish.