History resources for Teachers

In late 1643, the fate of the English Civil War hung in the balance. With King Charles I on the defensive, both the Royalists (Cavaliers) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads) scrambled for foreign allies to deliver a decisive blow. While Charles sought recruits in Catholic Ireland, Parliament struck a game-changing alliance: The Solemn League and Covenant with Scotland. In January 1644, Alexander Leslie, Earl of Leven, led an army of 20,000 Scottish Covenanters across the border. What followed was a brutal northern campaign that culminated on July 2, 1644, at the Battle of Marston Moor - the largest and bloodiest battle ever fought on English soil. Watch this documentary to explore how religious division, political brinkmanship, Oliver Cromwell's Ironsides, and the desperate march of Prince Rupert collided to crush the Royalist hold on the North and set King Charles I on the path to inevitable defeat.

This year, several French landmarks are paying tribute to France’s last queen, Marie-Antoinette. Despite her public execution taking place more than 230 years ago, the monarch continues to fascinate both at home and abroad. Our reporters dive into the reasons behind the lasting interest and explore why she could be considered France’s first influencer.

The US has confirmed it has deployed space weapons in Earth's orbit, the first time it has acknowledged such offensive capabilities.

US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink said the "on orbit" weapon was necessary to safeguard US forces against hostile enemy action.

China responded by warning against an "arms race" in space. Its foreign ministry said: “We urge the US side to stop expanding its military capabilities and preparing for war in outer space.”

Twenty-five years after 9/11, US presidents past and present have commemorated the lives lost when hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.

President Donald Trump led a Pentagon ceremony, while US Vice-President JD Vance attended a memorial at the site of the World Trade Center in New York, along with all four living former US presidents and first ladies.

Hacksaw Ridge, directed by Mel Gibson, is a film based on the true story of pacifist soldier Desmond Doss.

Did Hitler fight in WW1? What happened in the bunker? Did Hitler have a micro penis?

Join historian Emma Craigie as she answers your questions about Adolf Hitler.

Doors have opened to the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum in London.

It has gone on public display in the UK for the first time since it was created nearly 1,000 years ago.

The 70m tapestry, originally embroidered in England but kept for centuries in France, tells the story of the Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Fighting has reignited in Yemen as Houthi forces push south towards the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, raising fears of a wider confrontation with the Saudi-backed government.

A chilling new documentary about Israel's AI-powered mass killing of civilians in Gaza received a 25-minute ovation at its premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
The film was directed by two Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers.
The audience clapped continuously for Yuval Ibrahim and Rachel Szor after the screening on Thursday.
The film "NAZA", features conversations with Israeli military intelligence and whistleblowers about how they targeted Palestinians in Gaza.

Archaeologists in Peru have uncovered an almost intact Chimu funerary platform containing the remains of at least 38 people. Its main chamber had remained sealed for nearly 600 years, offering rare insight into the pre-Incan civilisation.

The AfD won a record 44% in Saxony-Anhalt. But does the result signal a regional protest vote, or a broader shift in German politics?

In this episode of Berlin Briefing, DW's Nina Haase, Max Hofmann, Michaela Küfner and Matthew Moore unpack what happened, why the election in this small eastern German state matters, and what the outcome means for Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the AfD, Germany's political future and Russia.

Sudan has more than 200 ancient pyramids, almost double the number Egypt has.

But its archaeological heritage is now at risk. Here’s the history of Sudan’s ancient kingdoms and how their artifacts have been threatened by looting, destruction and neglect for centuries.

By 1949, America’s nuclear monopoly shattered when the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb—fueled by a deadly network of Western spies. As the Cold War intensified, proxy conflict erupted in Korea, drawing UN, Chinese, and covert Soviet forces into a brutal struggle. Back home, paranoia fueled McCarthyism, while scientists unleashed the Hydrogen Bomb, locking the world in an era of Mutually Assured Destruction. From secret spy trials to the shootdown of a U2 reconnaissance aircraft, explore how close humanity came to total annihilation.

On September 11, 2001, four commercial airliners were hijacked and turned into weapons, striking the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon in a tragedy that changed world history forever. Minute by minute, this real-time history documentary follows the dramatic events through raw eyewitness accounts from air traffic controllers, journalists on the ground, intelligence agents, and first responders who risked everything. Explore the chaos in newsrooms, the intense security decisions aboard Air Force One, the heroic fight inside Flight 93, and the critical intelligence failures that allowed the tragedy to occur.

In August 2026, CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow to meet Russian intelligence chiefs - and pass on a message to Vladimir Putin about the Ukraine war. But what exactly did he want to tell the Russian leader?

We may be witnessing the start of a new world order. Growing tensions, economic shocks, and changing strategic priorities are reshaping the balance of power. The question is: who will shape the future?

Yemen is accelerating back into a state of war as exchanges between Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia continue. In this video, we're taking a look at the conflict in Yemen and how the Mecca Defence Alliance could get drawn into the war.

From window washers and bankers to building security staff and first responders, these are the chilling first-hand accounts of what those who were inside the North and South Towers saw, heard, and experienced as the shocking events unfolded around them and they raced to survive.

New film Pressure, starring Brendan Fraser, Andrew Scott and Damian Lewis follows the intense 72 hours leading up to D-Day, as Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower and chief meteorologist James Stagg face the immense pressure of deciding whether the weather will allow the invasion to go ahead.

Angry protesters in South Africa have taken to the streets again.
They've been demonstrating for months against undocumented foreigners, living and working there.
Earlier this sumer, thousands of those foreign workers left South Africa, after they were given a deadline by anti-immigrant groups, to leave the country.
Now another deadline has been set for September the 30th.
Demonstrators are also calling on the government to take tougher action against undocumented immigrants.
As many of the protests have turned violent, how will the government in South Africa deal the issue of undocumented migrants?

Thousands of drones were used to recreate New York’s Twin Towers in a tribute ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The installation used 2,977 lights, one for each person killed.

Archaeologists in Peru have discovered a near-intact pre-Incan tomb, containing the skeletons of 38 individuals, along with gold and copper objects. The remains include those of an elite member of the Chimu civilization, which flourished between 900 and 1470 AD.

Victims of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, one of the most defining moments of the anti-apartheid struggle, are suing the South African government in an attempt to overturn a 65-year-old law that blocks them from receiving compensation.

Nearly 1,000 years after it was first made on English soil, the Bayeux Tapestry is finally back - but only until next summer.

Nearly a million people are expected to visit and they’ll only have 40 minutes to view the 70 metre long fabric - not a huge amount of time to take in 58 scenes, 202 horses, 37 ships and 626 figures - of which just six in total are women.