The Second World War began on September 1, 1939, with the invasion of Poland and ended on May 8, 1945, as a global catastrophe with over 50 million deaths and devastated cities. Hitler’s expansion plans and Japan’s imperial ambitions led to bloody battles such as Stalingrad and Iwo Jima, the bombing of German cities, and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. SPIEGEL-TV author Michael Kloft recounts the war’s chronology and presents rare, partly unpublished footage from both the front lines and the home front, beyond propaganda. He is supported by experts Antony Beevor, Jörg Friedrich, and Rolf-Dieter Müller, who provide insights into military strategies and personal stories. Together, they create a comprehensive portrait of the Second World War.
When the Nazis secure a heavy water plant to realize their plan to create an atomic bomb, the Norwegian Allies struggle to sabotage the operation.
The decline of Hitler’s empire from the inside out by exploring the decline of the Nazis through the perspective of Hitler's bumbling generals and a paranoid Fuhrer.
The lives, loves and highs and lows of four members of the Women's Land Army working at the Hoxley Estate during World War II.
A documentary series that gives a historical account of the events of World War II, from its roots in the 1920s to the aftermath and the lives it profoundly influenced.
Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974. The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to escape captivity, as well as the relationships formed between the various nationalities and their German captors.
Drama of the penalty parts of political prisoners, who fought on the Soviet fronts.
An investigation into the nature, details and reasons for the collaboration, from 1940 to 1944, during World War II, between the Vichy regime, established in the south of France and headed by Marshal Pétain, and Nazi Germany.
Two women embark on a harrowing journey to discover the fate and final resting place of loved ones snatched by the Nazis.
A Cleveland grandfather is brought to trial in Israel, accused of being the infamous Nazi death camp guard known as Ivan the Terrible.
Set against the backdrop of the greatest clandestine race against time in the history of science with the mission to build the world's first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Flawed scientists and their families attempt to co-exist in a world where secrets and lies infiltrate every aspect of their lives.
The story of three decades of war told through the eyes of various men who were its key players: Roosevelt, Hitler, Patton, Mussolini, Churchill, Tojo, DeGaulle and MacArthur. The series examines the two wars as one contiguous timeline starting in 1914 and concluding in 1945 with these unique individuals coming of age in World War I before ultimately calling the shots in World War II.
"Löwengrube – Die Grandauers und ihre Zeit" is a German television series first aired between 1989 and 1992, created by Willy Purucker and directed by Rainer Wolffhardt. It is set in Munich and follows the lives of Ludwig Grandauer and his son Karl, both policemen, covering the years from 1897 to 1954. The TV show is based on Purucker's radio play series Die Grandauers und ihre Zeit (‘The Grandauers and their time’). The series’ main title "Löwengrube", meaning ‘Lions’ Den’, refers to the address of the Munich Police Headquarters inaugurated in 1913.
Communism spread to all of the continents of the word, lasting through four generations and over seven decades. Hundreds of millions of men and women were affected by this political system, one of the most unjust and bloodiest in history. Using newly discovered propaganda films and archival photos, these four episodes explore the mysteries of this totalitarian political machine that lured its share of important followers into the fold. Known as the red church, communism seduced its ardent followers like some earthly religion.
In occupied France, 17-year-old Lili encounters war before love, and joins the Resistance. Through the interconnecting destinies of its teenage heroes, Resistance tells the story of young people going to any lengths to defend their country.
Historian James Holland goes inside the Nazi war machine, exploring the extraordinary weapons produced under the Third Reich, in a series that includes rare archive material
In this four-part documentary series, leading Hollywood actors undertake a fascinating journey into their family's past by re-tracing the footsteps of their grandparents during World War Two. We follow the moving, personal stories of Helena Bonham Carter, Mark Rylance, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Carey Mulligan as they travel to historic locations, from the beaches of Dunkirk to prisoner of war camps in Asia, to learn about the war their grandparents experienced. All of the actors have unanswered questions about the scars war left on their grandparents, and in each episode one of the actors explore how six years changed the lives of their family and the world forever while learning about the life and death decisions that their grandparents faced.
A close look at the engineers who designed powerful military technology for the Nazis and who also encouraged a technological revolution that would forever change warfare.
The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.
The misadventures of hapless cafe owner René Artois and his escapades with the Resistance in occupied France.