September 03, 2026 – Mainz -- German broadcaster ZDF is marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks with a lineup of specials, a two-part docudrama, and a science-focused segment airing across ZDF, ZDFinfo, and 3sat in early September 2026.
A live special airs from New York on the anniversary itself
On Friday, September 11, 2026, at 7:25 p.m., "ZDF spezial: 11. September – Der Tag, der die Welt veränderte" broadcasts live from a set above Ground Zero in New York. Host Shakuntala Banerjee speaks with eyewitnesses and experts about the lasting impact of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people, and about how the anniversary is being marked amid shifting U.S.-NATO relations under President Donald Trump.
A docudrama reconstructs the ordeal of aid workers held hostage in Afghanistan
"9/11 – Die Geiseln des Terrors" tells the story of eight foreign aid workers and 16 local staff from Shelter Now International, arrested in Afghanistan five weeks before 9/11 on charges of proselytizing and facing the death penalty. The two-part film, directed by Ingo Helm (documentary segments) and Sabine Bernardi (dramatized scenes), combines interviews and reenactments to cover their more than 100 days in captivity. It streams on the ZDF platform starting Friday, September 4, 2026, at 5:00 a.m., with the first episode airing on linear ZDF on Tuesday, September 8, at 8:15 p.m. Both episodes repeat during an overnight 9/11 programming block from 1:00 to 2:30 a.m. on September 9.
A Terra X History documentary traces the attacks' global and domestic fallout
Directed by Rainer Fromm, "9/11 – Terror, Trauma, Zeitenwende" examines how the al-Qaeda attacks on symbolic U.S. targets, including the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, reshaped global politics and had specific repercussions in Germany. It streams from Saturday, September 5, at 5:00 a.m., and airs on ZDF on Sunday, September 6, at 1:05 a.m.
ZDFinfo uses AI-assisted graphic-novel visuals to depict personal stories
The three-part series "9/11 – Der lange Schatten des Terrors," directed by Lisa-Marie Schnell and Niklas Kreusch, airs on ZDFinfo on Friday, September 4, from 9:45 to midnight. It reconstructs individual stories using AI-assisted graphic-novel-style visuals, exploring how hatred and conspiracy theories tied to the attacks persist today. It streams on demand now and repeats on ZDF overnight from 2:30 to 4:45 a.m. between September 9 and 10.
3sat's science magazine devotes a full episode to the attacks' long-term effects
On Wednesday, September 9, at 6:30 p.m., 3sat's "NANO" features psychology, legal psychology, and security-research experts discussing how 9/11 continues to influence science and society a quarter-century later.