1973. Yom Kippur. A War in October (Documentation | Part 1 & 2 | October 15.10.2013, XNUMX)

In the Arab-Israeli war in 1973 – called the “Yom Kippur War” in Israel and the “October War” or “Ramadan War” on the Arab side – Israel, Egypt and Syria were hostile to each other. The two-part documentary, with rare archive recordings and original statements, documents in a captivating way the motivations, doubts and innermost convictions of those two heads of state who led their countries to war: Golda Meir and Muhammad Anwar as-Sadat. The first part of the documentary is dedicated to the period from Sadat's rise to power in early October 1970 until the outbreak of war three years later.

In 1973, Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack in the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights against Israel on October 6th - one of the most important Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The two-part documentary sheds light on the background to this open armed conflict in the Middle East. What were the political and economic motivations for this war? What international connections did the warring parties have?

The first part of the documentary shows why the then new Egyptian head of state Muhammad Anwar as-Sadat planned the surprise attack on Israel in coordination with his Syrian counterpart Hafiz al-Assad. The secret negotiations leading up to the war are also traced using numerous secret diplomatic documents from the time, including protocols, recordings of conversations and telephone calls. In the style of a geopolitical thriller, the documentary very realistically illustrates the motives and goals of the most important actors: In addition to the Egyptian President Muhammad Anwar as-Sadat, the then Egyptian security advisor in Washington DC, Hafez Ismail, the American Foreign Minister Henry Kissinger, and the Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir and the Syrian state and prime minister Hafiz al-Assad.

1973. Yom Kippur. A War in October (Documentation | Part 1 & 2 | October 15.10.2013, XNUMX)

The second part focuses on the most important stages of the three-week Yom Kippur War. The most important stages of the three-week Yom Kippur War in 1973 were the crossing of the Suez Canal by the Egyptian army, the capture of the Bar Lev Line in the Sinai Peninsula, the recapture of the Golan Heights by Syria and the counterattack by Ariel Sharon Egyptians' failed Sinai offensive on October 14th.

In very authentic descriptions, the second part of the documentary illustrates the events of the war, but also the brutality and horror that the violence caused among the soldiers in the various camps. In addition to the war, it takes a look behind the scenes of power and shows the international negotiations in which both the then Soviet Union and the USA tried to put pressure on the warring parties.

The documentary also recapitulates what happened in the headquarters of the Egyptian and Syrian armies and in the legendary “kitchen cabinet” of Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir. And the then chief of staff of the Egyptian armed forces, Sa'd ash-Shadhili, tells how President Sadat came to the decision to launch a new offensive on October 14, 1973 to relieve the pressure on the Syrian army in the Golan Heights.

1973. Yom Kippur. A War in October (Documentation | Part 1 & 2 | October 15.10.2013, XNUMX)