1939-1945: The Seven Years That Shook the World(2000)

Grandmother Told Grandmother(en)

The little-known story of Ukrainian children torn from their homes in the crush between the Nazi and Soviet fronts in World War II. Spending their childhood as refugees in Europe, these inspiring individuals later immigrated to the United States, creating new homes and communities through their grit, faith and deep belief in the importance of preserving culture.

The Men Who Brought the Dawn(en)

Wie konnte es geschehen? - Teil 1: "Deutschland erwache..." (1914 - 1938)(de)

In 1945, 160 German cities lay in ruins and the loss of millions of lives, billions in material assets and countless cultural treasures was mourned throughout Europe... With the question “How could it happen?”, the film goes back to the year 1914, when the “primal catastrophe of the 20th century” took its course with the First World War.

Requiem for Auschwitz - the film(nl)

13 years ago, director Bob Entrop made the film A piece of blue in the sky, the first film in the Netherlands that depicted the murder of almost 1 million Sinti and Roma during the Second World War. There is a taboo on what happened during the war, you don't talk about it with anyone and certainly not in front of a camera. Requiem for Auschwitz is a sequel, with the most valuable moments from the first film, supplemented with the grandchildren and the creation and performance of the 'Requiem for Auschwitz' by Sinti composer Roger Moreno Rathgeb by the Sinti and Roma Philharmonic from Frankfurt and a Jewish choir in the Berliner Dom in Berlin, during Holocaust Memorial Day. During his visit to Auschwitz in 2020 with four musicians from the Dutch Accompaniment Orchestra, Roger shows them the places that inspired him.

Charlotte(fr)

The true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. Her first love applauds her talent, which emboldens her resolve. When anti-Semitic policies inspire violent mobs, she escapes to the safety of the South of France. There she begins to paint again, and finds new love. But her work is interrupted, this time by a family tragedy that reveals an even darker secret. Believing that only an extraordinary act will save her, she embarks on the monumental adventure of painting her life story.

Peter Eisenman: Building Germany's Holocaust Memorial(en)

This documentary explores the creation of the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin as designed by architect Peter Eisenman. Reaction of the German public to the completed memorial is also shown.

The Singing Revolution(en)

Most people don't think about singing when they think about revolutions. But song was the weapon of choice when, between 1986 and 1991, Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. During those years, hundreds of thousands gathered in public to sing forbidden patriotic songs and to rally for independence. "The young people, without any political party, and without any politicians, just came together ... not only tens of thousands but hundreds of thousands ... to gather and to sing and to give this nation a new spirit," remarks Mart Laar, a Singing Revolution leader featured in the film and the first post-Soviet Prime Minister of Estonia. "This was the idea of the Singing Revolution." James Tusty and Maureen Castle Tusty's "The Singing Revolution" tells the moving story of how the Estonian people peacefully regained their freedom--and helped topple an empire along the way.

Fortress of War(ru)

The film covers the heroic defence of the Brest Fortress, which was attacked during the first strike of German invaders on June 22 1941. The story describes the events of the first days of the defence, including the three main resistance zones, headed by the regiment commander, Pyotr Mikhailovich Gavrilov, the commissar Efim Moiseevich Fomin and the head of the 9th frontier outpost, Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov. Many years later veteran Alexander Akimov again recalls the memories of the time, when he, then a 15 year old Sasha Akimov was deeply in love with the beautiful Anya and suddenly found himself in the middle of the bloody events of war.

Vive la France(fr)

Feature-film director Michel Audiard tackles what he believes to be the mistakenly heroic status given to Charles De Gaulle. In this documentary film, he uses humor, among other things, to demythologize him.

Auschwitz(ru)

Soviet documentary shot right after liberation of Auschwitz. It was used as evidence by the Soviet prosecution at the Nuremberg trials. In 2014, footage shot by cameraman Aleksandr Vorontsov, as well as his interview given in 1986 for German television, were included in Andre Singer’s documentary “Night Will Fall”.

War Italian Style(it)

It's May 1943, and two Italian American soldiers, Joe and Frank, are searching the North African desert for a Nazi general called Von Kassler. Von Kassler's aide captures them, and arranges for them to escape with fake war plans. But, things don't go exactly as planned for either side.

1944(et)

The events of the war in 1944, from the Blue Hills to Sõrve Peninsula. Shown through the eyes of Estonian soldiers who had to pick sides and fight against fellow brothers. Choices have to be made, not only by the soldiers, but also by their loved ones.

A New Life Tomorrow(en)

The experimental stop motion story of a London boy in World War 2, we witness war drawing inexorably closer as he comes of age. 14 when war begins, our young hero lives through bombings, the evacuation of his siblings, the privations of wartime. Yet he survives and even thrives. He sets out to search for his friend in the East End during those turbulent and frightening times, and with his own voice tells his story with a wit and verve few would believe today. Finally we leave him at the brink on D-Day, a hero already in the making.

Betrayal(no)

A thriller based on true events in Norway during the WWII. Tor Lindblom makes a fortune supplying the Nazis with everything from liquor and cigarettes to cement and steel. He also owns the Club Havana, a nightclub in Oslo frequented by the industrial elite of occupied Norway, Officers of the Wehrmacht and opportunistic hustle...

The Adventures of Tartu(en)

British Captain Terence Stevenson (Robert Donat) accepts an assignment even more dangerous than his everyday job of defusing unexploded bombs. Fluent in Romanian and German and having studied chemical engineering, he is parachuted into Romania to assume the identity of Captain Jan Tartu, a member of the fascist Iron Guard. He makes his way to Czechoslovakia to steal the formula of a new Nazi poison gas and sabotage the factory where it is being manufactured.

Aerial Gunner(en)

Old rivals are pitted against each other in basic training and fight for the same woman.

It Happened Here(en)

World War II, 1940. When the Nazi hordes invade and occupy Great Britain, the English citizens are soon divided between those who choose to submissively collaborate and those who are willing to fight.

Ambush(fi)

It is the summer of 1941 and the Finnish army has been mobilized along the border with Russia. A platoon led by Lt. Eero Perkola is waiting for orders to go on the offensive. The platoon receives orders for a recon mission through the wilderness around the Lieksa lake to search for possible Russian defensive positions.

1944 The Final Defence(fi)

The Soviet army breaks through the Finnish defences on the Karelian Isthmus in June 1944, advancing with overwhelming force. Somehow, the Finnish troops must find the strength to fight back, with all odds against them. The Battle of Tali-Ihantala was the largest battle ever fought in the history of the Nordic countries. This film depicts the true events through five separate stories.

Border Street(pl)

The story of Polish and Jewish families living side by side in one Warsaw street. Everything changes once and for all with the Nazi invasion.