On June 6, 1944, the Allied Forces executed Operation Overlord, the largest seaborne invasion in history, storming the beaches of Normandy. This pivotal event, known as D-Day, liberated France and Western Europe. A new documentary features interviews with historians, experts, and eyewitnesses, providing detailed insights into the events leading up to this crucial day that played a vital role in bringing an end to World War II.
Brigadier General Stanley M. Ulanoff, a widely decorated military historian who served with the Counterintelligence Corps in Europe during World War II, introduces this gripping documentary film. At 7:55 AM on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, which FDR called "a date which will live in infamy," the Japanese began an air attack that devastated the Pacific fleet and took the lives of 2,343 servicemen. Lt. Cmdr. John Ford skillfully blends historic action with studio shots in this Oscar-winning look at the day's events. Also included is The Fleet That Came to Stay, concerning the invasion of Okinawa.
Born in Austria in 1903, Jacob Rosenfeld was imprisoned in Dachau. He manages to flee and takes refuge in Shanghai, like 30,000 other people. He exercised his profession there and sought to get involved in 1941 alongside the revolutionaries of the Chinese Communist Party. Rosenfeld becomes a surgeon on the war front between China and Japan. Thanks to his talents as a doctor and an organizer, he soon became close to Mao Tsé-Toung. In 1945, he was appointed general, responsible for the health of the armies and the entire liberated area. He is now called General Luo. Later, he became the Minister of Health of the first communist government. Thanks to his journal found in 2001, this documentary traces its extraordinary destiny.
This is a definitive film history of the DeHavilland Mosquito, from early prototype test flights to the final decommissioning of the aircraft in 1963.
B-17 Flying Legend examines the importance of World War II's most famous airplane, and raises awareness about the importance of keeping the remaining B-17s flying for generations to come. This documentary covers the history of the airplane, from early designs to the outbreak of war, and the stories of bravery behind the faces of the men who flew them. It contrasts the past by also focusing on today's struggles to keep these flying museums in operation. Unless awareness is created to help with this preservation, in the near future B-17s will only be found in static displays. Almost 13,000 B-17s were built during the war. Sixty years later only 13 still fly. It is important to capture the history of the men behind these flying machines while they are still alive. It is also important to capture images of these machines while they still exist.
Made in 1940 and sponsored by the Ministry of Information this film shows the food contributions supplied to Britain by various colonies and dominions. 'Food from the Empire highlights the severity of the food issue, by discussing food production as a battle (...) and offers insights into British attitudes towards its colonies and dominions. The commentary notes that the ‘free people’ of these countries are ‘anxious to send every ounce they can to the United Kingdom for they know that upon the ability of Great Britain to hold out depends their own freedom’. Britain is depicted as a dominant power, fighting to protect those within the Empire, while the colonies are loyal and ‘anxious’ to help.' - Tom Rice, on the film from colonialfilm.org.
A journey through a place of an eternal past; where the grandson of a Jewish partisan sets out to experience the dramatic events and places that shaped his grandfather's war years
People from tripoint of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia tell their stories of the World War II events that happened there.
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
WITNESS 1939 : THE DAY THE WAR BROKE OUT uses the words of interviewees, to add a personal insight into the events of 1939 and the beginning of the Second World War. From a Polish soldier we hear about the invasion of Poland and his experiences on the front line; we hear from an RAF pilot who scrambled to intercept a non-existent intruder, when the sirens sounded minutes after the announcement that Britain was at war. We also hear from the pilot who, two days later, took part in the 'friendly fire' incident that claimed the first RAF casualty of the war. Others give us a child's perspective of events. And what it was like to be evacuated. Their stories are illustrated using archive film. These are the untold stories of ordinary people, whose words convey a true sense of what it was like to be living at a time of momentous events.
From Race Track to Assembly Center documents life for San Francisco Bay Area residents of Japanese ancestry incarcerated at the Tanforan Race Track in San Mateo County after being evicted from their homes during World War II.
Marking the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII, the documentary features the first-hand accounts of the Canadians who fought in the worst war in human history. Raw and personal experiences of the terror, pride, horror, excitement, friendship and loss – told through the eyes of the people who fought it.
Pearl Harbor Payback: The Japanese raid on Pearl Harbor united all Americans against a common foe, and from that day forward they spared nothing in order to mobilize against the menace that continued to threaten them in the Pacific. Also included are Target Tokyo, a 1945 documentary narrated by Ronald Reagan, which follows the first bombing raid on Tokyo by B-29 Superfortresses, and another World War II short film, Air War Against Japan. Appointment in Tokyo: Featuring enemy film taken from captured Japanese newsreels, this 1945 documentary depicts MacArthur's long struggle to fight his way back to the Philippines, after his enf-rced evacuation, and beyond to Japan. From Australia, he cut through the jungle of New Guinea and up the stairway of islands, making good on his promise to return, as Adm. Chester Nimitz went from Hawaii through the Gilberts, Marshalls, and Marianas.
Documentary about Michal Salewicz.
A film that captures the memories and experiences of those who lived in the first independent state of Slovakia in modern history. This document is not an attempt to create an alternative history but an attempt to keep testimonies.
During the Second World War 6 prisoners are being held in a prison cell in Concentration Camp Amersfoort, Holland. Their fate is unknown. This night has an impact for many years and in many lives.
In June of 1940 a dark cloud descended upon the City of Light as Nazi forces occupied Paris and the country of France in the midst of World War II. As the Germans took over control, the people of France awaited their fate while proceeding with daily life as best they could. During the occupation, the French film industry was allowed to continue producing new works and the story behind this ambiguous period is the focus of this new documentary.