WWII In HD: Darkness Falls

Title: WWII In HD: Darkness Falls
Type: Documentary
Category: World War II, Politics

Seventy years in the making. Three thousand hours of color film footage few knew existed. The first documentary to show original color footage of World War II in immersive HD, the world premiere HISTORY series WWII IN HD uses the journals & accounts of those who served in the war’s biggest battles to create a personal, introspective, & detailed look at life on & off the front lines. Follow 12 unforgettable Americans, & experience the war through their eyes, in their own words, as it really looked & sounded. WWII IN HD transforms their stirring journey into a tangible piece of history. Culled from rare color film found in a two-year worldwide search & converted to HD with meticulous technique, WWII IN HD provides a picture of World War II as it has never been seen before.

WWII IN HD is a ten-part documentary series consisting of the following episodes:

Hard Way Back, Bloody Resolve, Battle Stations, Day Of Days, Point Of No Return, Striking Distance, Guts & Glory, Edge Of The Abyss, End Game.

In Books: Fateful Choices

Title: Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions That Changed The World (1940-41)
Author: Ian Kershaw
Genre: World War II, History, Politics

The series of events that marked the opening of the Second World War left most of the world in a state of shock. Suddenly it seemed almost anything was possible. For the aggressors there was no limit to what they could do; for their victims a new Dark Age seemed to beckon. Within this hurricane of events, small groups of individuals were faced with a huge range of decisions on which triumph or extinction could turn.

In this gripping book Ian Kershaw re-creates ten critical decisions taken between May 1940 (when Britain decided to fight on rather than surrender) & the autumn of 1941 (when Hitler decided to destroy Europe’s Jews). In London, Tokyo, Rome, Moscow, Berlin & Washington, politicians & generals, often working with very poor information & vast logistical, financial, economic & military problems, had to decide how they were going to exploit or combat the unfolding crisis. These decisions really did determine the future of the world.

Fateful Choices gives the reader an extraordinary sense both of the real constraints within which leaders worked but also of the role of personality: Churchill fighting on in the face of the catastrophe in France, Hitler ordering the invasion of the USSR despite Germany’s failure to defeat Britain, Stalin trusting Hitler & leaving his country wide open to Operation Barbarossa, Roosevelt realizing that the revolutionary idea of lend-lease could keep Britain fighting, the Japanese high command opting to attack the USA even in the face of evidence that it would fail.

Fateful Choices is a remarkable book that looks into the terrible heart of the modern age, & attempts to understand how decisions that changed or ended millions of lives really came about.

Read more about Sir Ian Kershaw @ Wikipedia

In Books: A Place of Hiding

Title: A Place of Hiding
Author: Elizabeth George
Genre: World War II, Espionage, Mystery

An isolated beach on the island of Guernsey in the English Channel is the scene of the murder of Guy Brouard, one of Guernsey’s wealthiest inhabitants & its main benefactor. Forced as a child to flee the Nazis in Paris, Brouard was engaged in his latest project when he died: a museum honoring those who resisted the German occupation of the island during World War II. It is from this period that his murderer may well have come. But there are others on Guernsey who want Buy Brouard dead. As forensic scientist Simon St. James & his wife, Deborah, soon discover, seemingly everyone on the history-haunted island has something to hide. & behind all the lies & albis, a killer is lurking.

Visit George’s website @ Elizabeth George Online

Apocalypse: The Second World War

Type: Documentary
Title: Apocalypse: The Second World War
Category: World War II

Thanks to the efforts of a few, private collectors & archivists, these forgotten films have been rediscovered, restored & made available by National Geographic Channel in an extraordinary six-part series: Apocalypse: The Second World War. In addition to stunning footage, the series presents WW2 in an innovative & provocative way, giving audiences an unprecedented sense of the reality of war not conveyed by black & white footage.

Made up entirely of original 35mm, 16mm & 8mm films, Apocalypse: The Second World War includes rare footage of the Polish officers’ massacre at Katyń, the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk, the inhumane treatment of French soldiers taken prisoner by the Nazis & the sacrifice of Soviet soldiers at Stalingrad.

By bringing this incredible footage together, Apocalypse: The Second World War provides viewers with a ground-breaking portrait of WW2 that depicts not only its complexity, but the perspectives of both its victims & its victors.

Apocalypse: The Second World War is a six-part documentary consisting of the following episodes:

The Aggression (1933-39): Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V
The Crushing Defeat (1939-40): Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V
Shock (1940-41): Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V
World Ablaze (1941-42): Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
The Great Landing (1942-43): Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
Inferno (1944-45): Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV

Battle of Britain: The Real Story

Type: Documentary
Title: Battle of Britain: The Real Story
Category: World War II

James Holland presents a fresh analysis into the Battle of Britain, exploring the lesser-told German point of view, & highlighting the role of those who supported the Few during the summer of 1940.

Focusing on the tactics, technologies & intelligence available to both sides, Holland examines the ways in which both Germany & Britain used their resources: from aircraft to air defence, & from intelligence to organization. &, by gaining rare firsthand testimony from German veterans, & access to the untapped diaries & documents we reveal that this was a battle of two sides & many layers.

Note: Released as part of the Battle of Britain season to mark the 70th anniversary.

The Truth Behind The ODESSA File

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY Guy Walters PUBLISHED ON The Telegraph

I see that today’s papers are full of accounts of Gudrun Burwitz, the daughter of Heinrich Himmler, & her organization Stille Hilfe (Silent Help), that is reputed to help Nazis on the run. Predictably, the reports mention how Stille Hilfe co-operates with the ‘Odessa’, the clandestine Nazi escape network. I’m not qualified to discuss the activities of Stille Hilfe, but I do know a thing or two about the ‘Odessa’, & I believe the organization is more the product of fantasy than reality. I apologize that this is a longish post, but it’s a subject close to my professional heart, & nothing gets my goat more than when people talk knowledgeably about ‘Odessa’.

The most obvious problem with Odessa is the name. If you were organizing a super secret escape network for SS men, would you really label yourself with an acronym that stood for ‘Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen’ – the Organization of Former SS Members? No, I thought not.

The truth about the Nazi escape organizations, beneath the mushroom clouds of smoke, is that they were similar to an old-boy network, or perhaps even the loose web of terrorist cells & groups that are today placed under the name of al-Qaeda. After the war, there were countless organizations that assisted escaping Nazis, & some of these groups had names, such as ‘Konsul’, ‘Scharnhorst’, ‘Sechsgestirn’, ‘Leibwache’, ‘Lustige Brüder,’ & some did not. Instead of one big fire under the smoke, there were instead many small ones, the combination of their multiple & toxic emissions suggestive of a single large inferno. Assistance would also be provided on an ad hoc basis, sometimes by an individual or a handful of individuals rather than by a coordinated group. [Read More]

Anne Frank: The Whole Story

Title: Anne Frank: The Whole Story (2001)
Type: Film
Runtime: 3h 10m 24s
Category: World War II

Anne, along with her family and friends of her family, hid in a secret annex behind her father’s office in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation of Holland. She dutifully kept a diary, which became a worldwide bestseller when her father published it in the 1950s. The story has been adapted for television & movies before, but this version, which played on ABC television, moves beyond what Anne wrote, meeting up with the Frank family before Anne receives her diary, & following her past the diary’s last entries into Auschwitz & Birkenau.

Source: Cyberlocker

What Really Happened To Rommel

Title: Secrets of World War II: What Really Happened To Rommel
Type: Documentary
Category: News, Politics & World War II

This film chronicles the career of Germany’s most brilliant World War II tactician. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (1891-1944) was nicknamed the “Desert Fox” for his brilliant leadership of German troops in North Africa. He had an unbroken string of victories until defeated by General Montgomery’s much larger forces in Egypt. This documentary contains film clips of the famed “Ghost Division” & rare footage of Rommel’s state funeral. The question of Rommel’s fate is addressed: was he murdered, or did he commit suicide? It is known that he became convinced that Germany would lose the war & that Hitler should relinquish power. Rommel’s involvement in the plot to oust Hitler is examined, along with the intrigue surrounding Rommel’s death.

The Nazis: A Warning From History

Title: The Nazis: A Warning From History
Type: Documentary
Category: News, Politics & World War II

How could a political party as fundamentally evil & overtly racist as the Nazis come to power? This remains one of the most enigmatic questions of the last century. Acclaimed historian Laurence Rees examines what led a cultured nation at the heart of Europe to commit the atrocities it did. In so doing, he exposes popular myths & encourages understanding of the real forces that led to one of the darkest chapters in modern history. Was it simply the hypnotic power of Hitler’s rhetoric? Did the Gestapo really impose themselves by terror on an unwilling population? Through interviews with witnesses & perpetrators, along with archive film & records, this six-part series unveils a more chilling reality.

As written on Amazon.

The Nazi Plundering Of Europe

Title: Secrets of WW2: The Nazi Plundering of Europe
Type: Documentary
Category: News, Politics & World War II

Throughout occupied Europe the Nazis systematically plundered the continent’s museums, galleries, & private collections. At the war’s end, a massive effort was mounted by the Allies to locate the missing art treasures & return them to their rightful owners. But even today many great objects have yet to be located.

Science & The Swastika

Title: Science & The Swastika: The Deadly Experiment
Type: Documentary
Category: News, Politics & World War II

How the Third Reich sanitized the atrocities it committed in the guise of science, deploying ambulances to transport the sick at Auschwitz, offering a glimmer of misplaced hope in a terrifyingly efficient killing machine. Ruthlessly ambitious & opportunistic Nazi doctors, including the notorious anthropologist Josef Mengele & gynaecologist Carl Clauberg, followed orders to the letter, using their skills to eradicate people believed to have defective genes, all in the name of the Fatherland.

PLEASE NOTE: This documentary contains incredibly graphic footage.

Ruins Of The Reich

Title: Ruins Of The Reich
Type: Documentary
Category: News, Politics & World War II

The Ruins of the Reich focuses on the rise & fall of the Third Reich as told through it’s architecture; monuments, buildings & fortresses. From the early days of the beer hall rallies to the last days in Hitler’s bunker, the Ruins series is truly a fascinating journey into one of the darkest chapters in the history of mankind.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a four-part series. The final four full-length episodes are available to view if you follow the links below.

Ruins of the Reich: The Glory Years (Part II) | Watch Now
Ruins of the Reich: Occupied Territories (Part III) | Watch Now
Ruins of the Reich: The Final Chapter (Part IV) | Watch Now

The German Wehrmacht

Title: The German Wehrmacht
Type: Documentary
Category: News, Politics & World War II

Hitler’s army thundered through Europe from 1939-1945 & brought needless death & destruction to the continent. What was it like to serve in this army? To conduct one of the bloodiest wars in history? To occupy half of Europe & yet to suffer total defeat? This five-part portrait provides long-awaited answers & sheds light on the Wehrmacht’s complex bonds of loyalty, conscience & honor. This documentary stands as a thought-provoking story of an army’s evolution from defense troops to military force to exterminating power.

PLEASE NOTE: This is a five part series. The final four full-length episodes are available to view if you follow the links below. Enjoy!

The Turning Point (Part II) | Watch Now
The Crimes (Part III) | Watch Now
Resistance (Part IV) | Watch Now
To The Bitter End (Part V) | Watch Now

Third Reich: The Rise & Fall (2010)

Title: Third Reich: Rise & Fall
Category: News, Politics & World War II

Third Reich: The Rise & Fall uncovers familiar anecdotes & fascinating details about the people who comprised the Nazi Party, & raids the treasure trove of archives the Nazis left behind, including rarely seen German newsreel recordings along with other unique footage carried home by Russian troops.

In History’s two-part, four-hour Special Presentation: Third Reich, rare & never-before-seen amateur footage tells the epic story of the Third Reich as it’s never been told before: through the eyes of the people who lived it. A unique perspective on the rise of Nazi Germany & how millions of people were so vulnerable to fascism, told through rare & never-before-seen amateur films shot by the Germans who were there. How did the Germans experience the Allied victory in World War 2? Rarely & never-before-seen amateur films recount the catastrophic downfall of the Third Reich through the eyes of the people who lived it: the Germans themselves.

As a slimmed-down history of Nazi-ruled Germany during the 1930s & 1940s, The Third Reich offers a stylish & engaging look at the rise & fall of a nation. Comprised entirely of vintage film clips shot by Russian troops, journalists, German citizens & others, it’s a visual tour-de-force of a terrifying era. Divided into two 90-minute halves (“The Rise” & “The Fall”, each given their own DVD), The Third Reich reminds viewers of the horrors of war, the dangers of a totalitarian government and the fragility of human life.

As described on DocumentaryWIRE.

Part I: The Rise

Part II: The Fall

Nazi UFO Conspiracy

Title: Nazi UFO Conspiracy
Category: News, Politics & World War II

Over the years investigations have revealed that Nazi engineers were working on disc shaped craft, vertical take off & advanced propulsion systems. After World War 2, the US military secretly took the designs back to America along with thousands of German scientists & engineers. Two years later in 1947 the first wave of UFO sightings occurs across the United States & then around the world. Could UFO’s be secret U.S. aircraft developed from captured German designs?