Animated Short Documentary Series

“Wörter im Wandel” (eng. Words in Transition) is the title of a series of short animated documentaries produced by That Works Media, each dealing with the etymological origin of a word.

In the first episode, the German word “Razzia” (engl. raid) is examined. The documentation deals with the origin of the term in Arabic and its long journey through the French colonial wars in Algeria to Europe. The change in the meaning of the term from a raid to ensure the survival of one’s own tribe in periods of drought to a police method to control undesirable subjects within the population of a state.

The second episode in the series deals with the origin of spinach. Where did the plant originate? How did he get from Asia to the West? And why did he become the horror of children in the 20th century, as we know him today?

In the third episode we explore the origin of the term “quarantine”. We examine how the origin of the word goes back to the plague epidemics of the European Middle Ages and what its relation is with the trading cities of northern Italy.

The second and third episode were produced in a German and an English version. Visit our Youtube channel  to watch all episodes.