WW1 The Final Hours: This tactful documentary on the Armistice doesn’t presume to speak for the past

Power of three: from left, Matthias Erzberger (Chris Rogers), Marshall Foch (Pip Donaghy) and Admiral Wemyss (David Bark Jones) prepare to sign the Armistice ( BBC/72 Films/Mark Ashby)
BBC/72 Films/Mark Ashby
David Sexton14 November 2018

“Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings.”

This should really be the mission statement of pretty much all factual programming at the BBC, shouldn’t it? Topping every memo, stamped on every receipt. Particularly when it comes to programmes tackling historical subjects.

It’s not, though, I suspect. History programmes have, on the contrary, to do everything they can to awaken the power of our senses .Like it or not, they have to re-enact.

WW1: The Final Hours (BBC2, 9pm) is a serious, documentary about how the Armistice agreement was arrived at and signed over three days, by three key negotiators, sitting on opposite sides of the table in a railway carriage in a forest near Paris, 100 years ago.

Pictured: Ferdinand Foch (PIP DONAGHY)
BBC/72 Films/Mark Ashby

Although we may have some idea about the Treaty of Versailles that followed in 1919, most of us are probably vague about the details of this momentous meeting that drew the war to its close but led straight to the catastrophes of the 20th century.

Britain was represented by Admiral Rosslyn Wemyss, the self-confident commander of the most powerful navy in the world. France was represented by Marshall Foch, a cold, proud warrior, determined to make sure Germany could never invade France again.

Germany, however, sent a mild-mannered, Catholic, former school-teacher turned politician, Matthias Erzberger. He had never seen the Front but before he arrived at Compiègne he was taken on a tour to see the horror for himself, which he described as worse than attending his son’s deathbed a few weeks before.

Wemyss and Foch presented Erzberger with far harsher terms than he could have anticipated. They demanded the surrender of Germany’s still undefeated navy, the land of Alsace-Lorraine, the occupation of the Rhineland and the payment of reparations, while refusing to lift the blockade that was reducing the population of the country to starvation. And they insisted he make his response within 72 hours.

With riots in Berlin forcing the Kaiser’s abdication, Hindenburg ordered Enzberger to sign the Armistice, whether or not he could obtain concessions. Afterwards, Erzberger made a speech, protesting that “a nation of 70 million could suffer but it cannot die”. Foch replied “Très bien” and refused to shake his hand.

Pictured: Rosslyn Wemyss (DAVID BARK JONES)
BBC/72 Films/Mark Ashby

Erzberger ultimately paid with his life for signing the Armistice and in due course Hitler vengefully orchestrated the signing of the Armistice of June 22 1940 in the same railway carriage.

Directed by Chris Durlacher, The Final Hours tells this story as dramatically as it can, within the bounds of taste. We’re led through the story as it happened, in an almost thrillerish, ticking-clock style. Leading historians of different nationalities, including Hew Strachan, appear to interpret events, each of them speaking on behalf of one of the people involved, almost like dramatic advocates.

And, yes, there are re-creations. Actors impersonate Wemyss, Foch and Erzberger for us. But these actors do not speak. They light cigarettes and they rub moustaches. They glare and they frown, to show how grave and angry an occasion this was. Thus they convey grief and hostility in a kind of mime-show. It is tactful and effective.

This is a documentary that has found a way of bringing the past alive without pretending too much that it is other than past. Watching it will help you understand better just what it is we need to remember this weekend.

Pick of the day

The Russell Howard Hour - Sky One, 10pm

The amiable Bristol comedian returns with a second series. The first, which ran last year, was one of Sky’s most successful new entertainment series to launch since 2010, and the ratings were boosted by show clips being shared online.

The viral nature of Howard’s humour isn’t that surprising, as his comedy tunes into the fast-moving irreverence of social media. His hilarious review of 2017 — a big hit online — includes clips of a squirrel scoring a touchdown in an American football game, and jokes about the unfortunate woman who got trapped in a window while trying to retrieve a poo after a Tinder date. It couldn’t get much more embarrassing than that.

Pictured: Russell Howard
Sky

Howard also adds big-name guests to the mix — last year, Naomi Klein, Diane Abbott and Ed Sheeran all took part in revealing interviews.

This year, he’s enlisted comedians to join him in various life-prolonging activities, so get ready to learn all about goat yoga, cryotherapy, plastination, Nordic cuddling, shaman healing and Chinese therapy (with Jimmy Carr).

But the Finnish trend of getting päntsdrunk sounds like the most promising of all.

Screen time

The First - Channel 4, 9pm

After the disastrous launch of the Mars mission, the Vista team travels to Washington to try to persuade sceptical Senators of the value of having another go.

Laz (Natascha McElhone) claims that the explosion of the ship was due to human error, not design. Unfortunately, the Senators are not impressed by her arguments about climate change and interplanetary colonisation, so Laz is forced to call in the cavalry, in the shape of astronaut hero Tom (Sean Penn), who is busy trying to re-engage with his daughter.

Tom dons his uniform and even combs his hair to try and save the mission. But he’s determined to do it in his own square-jawed way. “I get it,” he tells the grieving parents. “That feeling of helplessness”.

Star: Sean Penn (Paul Schrimaldi/Hulu)
Paul Schrimaldi/Hul

The Mystery of Murder: a Horizon Guide - London Live, 9pm

Outside of being Patrick Bateman and envying tastefully embossed business cards, why do people commit such a shocking and cruel act? The impulse of a murderer is examined in this film by Michael Mosley, meeting Professor Jim Fallon, a man with an extraordinary personal connection to multiple murders.

London Go - Tomorrow, London Live, 7pm

To curate this year’s ING Discerning Eye exhibition, six sets of discerning eyes were invited to select a number of works, so that the exhibition becomes a number of smaller exhibitions curated within a larger event.

There will be 466 works on display at the Mall Galleries from November 15 and London Go host Luke Blackall will speak to artist and fashion designer Sadie Clayton, one of this year’s panel, to ask what drove her selection process.

Also joining Blackall in the studio this week is Niranjan Kamatkar, the artistic director of GFest, to discuss the LGBTQ+ arts festival and the aim of this year’s festival theme, which has been announced as #SociallyEqual.

Catch up

Blues & Beyond - BBC iPlayer

An endearing chat between singer and broadcaster Cerys Matthews, below, and photographer Val Wilmer. It’s two women on a sofa chatting in the Gogglebox style but the clips are pure magic. Sister Rosetta Tharpe plays her guitar on a railway platform, and

Wilmer reveals how she saved Jimi Hendrix from over-eager fans. They discuss Peggy Lee, Howlin’ Wolf and John Lee Hooker.

Deep dish

Hounslow Diaries - BBC iPlayer

Good-natured comedy about three west London college girls, Shaheeda, Tash and Leonie, trying to plan a night out in the West End. It’s a brisk 18 minutes long, incorporating stolen trainers, Manhattan mocktails and chin-fitting straps, adapted from Ambreen Razia’s stage play Diary of a Hounslow Girl, starring Razia herself, Mandeep Dhillon and Robyn Cara.

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