Conventional wisdom has it that television had its beginnings in the U.S. in the ’50s. But Michael Kloft’s strangely illuminating documentary, Television Under the Swastika, illustrates clearly that the Nazis were doing their best to become idiot-box pioneers. This hour-long doc, now out from First Run Features, mines the German vaults, where 285 reels of Nazi TV were discovered.

There are man-on-the-street interviews, a tour of the 1936 Olympic Village, various Third Reich talking heads chatting about policies, vaudeville acts, and breakfast-TV stuff, including cosmetic tips, exercise routines, and how to place flowers in a vase correctly.

Indeed, the word “surreal” does spring to mind. Especially bizarre is the doc’s penultimate sequence, in which war amputees are seen running a relay race, indicating that they too can rebuild their lives after losing a limb. Even the limbless had a place in Hitler’s fascist utopia. If you want to see what a Nazi cooking show looked like, check this doc out—and no, it’s not a faux doc, though that impression does cross your mind more than a few times as you watch this.

The ongoing 7 Up doc series, in which a group of Britons are interviewed about their lives, has won over legions of fans, and for good reason. It’s a fascinating sociological study of class in the UK. (And it must be noted: the series was started by Montreal filmmaker Paul Almond.) The series has had several spin-offs, including 21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children, now on DVD.

Launched just after the Apartheid regime fell, this doc shows us the lives of 14 children—black, white and mixed race—as they struggle to find their way in a brave new South Africa. It’s a telling look at the complexities of a young democracy, and how difficult it is to break away from years of oppressive, racist rule. Not surprisingly, the challenges these kids face are significantly worse than their British peers; by 21, three of the youth have already been taken by AIDS.