Historical figures in the “Deepfake Diaries”

Using AI technology, a documentary series transforms actors into Oskar Schindler, Rudi Dutschke, Otto von Bismarck, Rosa Luxemburg and Georg Elser – and lets them tell their own stories.

Based on first-person documents and historical sources, the protagonists recount their lives. The miniseries, titled "Deepfake Diaries," is now available in the media library at zdf.de.

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AI and deepfake

Historical photos and archive material were evaluated to adapt the actors' faces as closely as possible to those of their historical models using artificial intelligence and deepfake technology – swap, face tracking and retouching.

Where audio recordings exist, the timbre of the voice was analyzed using AI and reproduced in the form of detailed voice profiles.

In the style of posed interviews, the famous protagonists tell their stories. Their quotes are based on contemporary sources and first-person accounts, such as diaries, letters, or writings.

Scientifically supported

Documentary parts also place the narrative in the historical context and break the purely personal level.

All episodes were accompanied by scientific advisors, including the historian Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Benz.

He says: “To get young people interested in historical topics, new forms of communication are needed. Digital formats are the best way to reach them, which is why I am pleased that with the ‘Deepfake Diaries’ figures like Oskar Schindler or Georg Elser are brought ‘back to life’ and have the opportunity to communicate directly.”

About the protagonists

Oskar Schindler saved the lives of 1.200 Jews. The businessman, who was also a member of the Nazi Party, tells how this happened in Judith Voelker's film "Oskar Schindler: The Secret Hero."

At the end of the 1960s Rudi Dutschke the mouthpiece of the revolting students in the Federal Republic. But an assassination attempt changes everything. The episode "Rudi Dutschke: The Face of the '68ers" by Judith Voelker deals with this.

In "Otto von Bismarck In Christian Bock's "The Iron Chancellor," the first Chancellor of the German Empire speaks. A conservative strategist and founder of the modern German nation-state.

In January 1919, Freikorps and soldiers combed Berlin. They wanted to find the head of Rosa LuxemburgWhy did the socialist become a target? Nina Koshofer's film "Rosa Luxemburg: A Life for the Revolution" is dedicated to her.

On November 8, 1939, Adolf Hitler took the podium at Munich's Bürgerbräukeller. What no one suspected: Georg Elser hid a bomb in the hall. In "Georg Elser: One Against Hitler" by Franziska Wiest, we learn what motivated him.

Sierks Media / © Photo: ZDF, projector23