September 03, 2026 – Mainz -- German broadcaster ZDF will mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks with a live special from New York, a two-part docudrama, and a multi-episode documentary series airing across ZDF, ZDFinfo and 3sat throughout early September.
A live special broadcasts from above Ground Zero on the anniversary itself
On Friday, September 11, 2026, at 7:25 p.m., "ZDF spezial: 11. September – Der Tag, der die Welt veränderte" airs live from New York. Host Shakuntala Banerjee will speak with eyewitnesses and experts about the lasting impact of the attacks, the U.S.-led war on terror, and shifting transatlantic relations under President Donald Trump. The program addresses how survivors and victims' families are coping a quarter-century later.
A docudrama reconstructs the ordeal of aid workers held hostage in Afghanistan
Five weeks before 9/11, eight foreign aid workers and 16 local staff from Shelter Now International were arrested in Afghanistan on charges of proselytizing, facing possible death sentences. The two-part film "9/11 – Die Geiseln des Terrors," directed by Ingo Helm and Sabine Bernardi, reconstructs their more than 100 days in captivity using interviews, witness accounts and dramatized scenes. It streams on the ZDF platform starting September 4 at 5 a.m., with the first episode airing on linear ZDF on September 8 at 8:15 p.m.; both episodes repeat during a special anniversary night on September 9 from 1 a.m. to 2:30 a.m.
A three-part series uses AI-assisted graphic-novel visuals to trace lingering trauma
ZDFinfo airs the three-episode documentary "9/11 – Der lange Schatten des Terrors" on September 4 from 9:45 p.m. to midnight, already available on the streaming portal and repeating on ZDF overnight from September 9 to 10. Directed by Lisa-Marie Schnell and Niklas Kreusch, the series reconstructs individual stories partly through AI-generated graphic-novel-style sequences, examining hatred, conspiracy theories and their aftereffects today.
A separate history documentary and a science-focused broadcast round out the coverage
The "Terra X History" film "9/11 – Terror, Trauma, Zeitenwende," by Rainer Fromm, examines how the Al Qaeda attacks on symbolic U.S. targets reshaped global politics and German society; it streams from September 5 and airs on ZDF on September 6 at 1:05 a.m. Meanwhile, 3sat's science magazine "NANO" devotes a special edition on September 9 at 6:30 p.m. to psychological, legal-psychological and security research on 9/11's long-term effects.