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9/11 - The Day that Changed the World

August 28, 2026

On September 11th, 2001, four hijacked airplanes struck the heart of America.

Archival footage of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York. Smoke and flames rise from one of the World Trade Center towers after a plane crashed into it, while the second passenger plane—which is about to crash into the other tower—is already visible in the sky.
Image: Kwanza

At 8:46 am, New York time, the first airplane crashed into the World Trade Centre—an attack whose global consequences still reverberate to this day.

As early as 1999, Osama bin Laden devised a plan to use civilian aircraft as weapons. The targets were chosen for their symbolic significance to the USA: The World Trade Centre was an economic hub, the Pentagon was the military nerve center, and the White House was the center of political power.

Image: Kwanza

But how could the attack manage to succeed? Months before the attacks, the CIA had crucial leads—including the names of known terrorists. Yet they failed to put the puzzle together.

Image: Kwanza

This documentary retraces the attacks of September 11th, 2001 in precise chronological order—in the air, at Ground Zero, in newsrooms and in the centers of power in the USA.  Archival footage, audio recordings and findings from the 9/11 Commission Report make it possible to reconstruct the events, almost in real time.

Image: Kwanza

"9/11—The Day that Changed the World" is a sober analysis of a global turning point: it examines missed warnings, the chaos of the day and the impact of a moment that reshaped the world.

 

Broadcasting Hours: 

DW English

Part 1

THU 10.09.2026 – 01:15 UTC
THU 10.09.2026 – 04:15 UTC
THU 10.09.2026 – 10:15 UTC
FRI 11.09.2026 – 09:15 UTC
FRI 11.09.2026 – 14:15 UTC
FRI 11.09.2026 – 21:15 UTC
SAT 12.09.2026 – 19:15 UTC
SUN 13.09.2026 – 02:15 UTC
MON 14.09.2026 – 07:15 UTC
MON 14.09.2026 – 12:15 UTC

Part 2

THU 17.09.2026 – 01:15 UTC
THU 17.09.2026 – 04:15 UTC
THU 17.09.2026 – 10:15 UTC
FRI 18.09.2026 – 09:15 UTC
FRI 18.09.2026 – 14:15 UTC
FRI 18.09.2026 – 21:15 UTC
SAT 19.09.2026 – 19:15 UTC
SUN 20.09.2026 – 02:15 UTC
MON 21.09.2026 – 07:15 UTC
MON 21.09.2026 – 12:15 UTC

Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3
Delhi UTC +5,5 | Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

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