W. Eugene Smith: Photography Made Difficult(1989)

Five Came Back(en)

The extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five legendary filmmakers who went to war to serve their country and bring the truth to the American people: John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Based on Mark Harris’ best-selling book, “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War.”

Tokyo Black Hole: Year Zero in Post-WWII Japan(ja)

World War II comes to an end. Tokyo is a destroyed place, without law, driven by hunger and greed. From over 100,000 pages of declassified CIA documents and hours of newly discovered footage, recorded by American occupation charges and private individuals, the documentary shows Tokyo during this crucial year, Year Zero. Observed from the point of view of a young man who finds himself transported in time, the NHK documentary uses color images and state-of-the-art video techniques to reveal how a desperate population is published as the foundations of today's megalopolis.

8000 Stolen Futures: The Children at the Center of the A-Bomb(en)

On August 6, 1945, the first-ever nuclear bomb deployed in war was dropped on the city of Hiroshima Prefecture, leaving an estimated 140,000 dead in its wake by the end of that year. Among the victims, one particular age group stands out for the sheer number of fatalities sustained: 12 and 13 year-olds, children of first year junior high school age. We investigate the tragedy of this lost generation, piecing together surviving records and speaking with survivors, for whom the memories of children robbed of their futures that day are still burned deep in their memories, nearly eight decades on.

Heart Mountain: Three Years in a Relocation Center(en)

A documentary film about the internment of Japanese Americans at Heart Mountain, Wyoming during World War II. The program, hosted by Jan Yanehiro, proceeds in part as a series of interviews. It also includes archival film footage of Heart Mountain and Japanese Americans during World War II, as well as present day footage of the Heart Mountain landscape.

Filmmakers for the Prosecution(fr)

In 1945, two young American soldiers, brothers Budd and Stuart Schulberg, are commissioned to collect filmed and recorded evidence of the horrors committed by the infamous Third Reich in order to prove Nazi war crimes during the Nuremberg trials (1945-46). The story of the making of Nuremberg: Its Lesson for Today, a paramount historic documentary, released in 1948.

Guy Martin's Lost WW2 Bomber(en)

Guy joins an ambitious engineering project to recover a crashed WW2 Lancaster Bomber – and the remains of its missing crew members – from the depths of the Dutch lake where it’s lain for 80 years.

39-45 L'histoire des bases sous-marines(fr)

Søren Kam: Nazisten, der aldrig fortrød(da)

Eric Ravilious: Drawn to War(en)

One of Britain’s greatest landscape artists, Eric Ravilious, is killed in a plane crash while on commission as Official War Artist in Iceland in 1942. His life is as compelling and enigmatic as his art, set against the dramatic wartime locations that inspire him. This film brings to life this unique and still grossly undervalued British artist caught in the crossfire of war 80 years ago, whose legacy largely sank without trace, until now…

Jean Moulin, un homme de liberté(fr)

Children from Overseas(en)

A WWII film about children evacuated from Britain and sent to Canada for their safety. The film begins in England with children seeking shelter as anti-aircraft guns roar outside. On their arrival in Canada, they are thrilled by the brightly lit cities, powerful Canadian trains, hot dogs and ice cream. They find, too, that instead of becoming Mounties or cowboys, they have to go to school. The closing sequence shows them learning to ski and skate and preparing for Christmas in their new homes.

Atlantic Patrol(en)

This short documentary about the Canadian seamen who manned Canada's eastern ports during WWII is the first film in the Canada Carries On series. The film depicts the work of the Royal Canadian marines who accompanied convoys of military supplies to the Allied Forces and those who remained on the eastern coast to defend against the Germans.

Secrets of the Nazi Criminals(sv)

Documents the major trial of the Nazi war criminals and the violent acts that they were accused of.

Finding the Graf Zeppelin(en)

While exploring the Baltic Sea in 2006, a Polish oil firm stumbled upon the remains of Germany’s first – and last – aircraft carrier at 80 meters depth off the coast near Gdansk. It was a discovery that solved an enduring maritime mystery that had baffled experts for over half a century. The Graf Zeppelin has finally been found! This film tells the incredible story of the lead ship of the German "Kriegsmarine", from its construction to its sinking and its amazing discovery over five decades later. The Graf Zeppelin was a war ship of massive proportions that was never used for its intended purpose and eventually fell into the hands of the Russians, who used it for target practice off the coast of Poland. The program features rare access to private Graf Zeppelin archives, state-of-the-art animation, dramatic reconstructions and a high-tech underwater shoot at the mysterious site of the sunken wreck.

Les Inconnus du bois de la Reulle(fr)

Digging The Great Escape(en)

The classic movie "The Great Escape" was based on a real life escape attempt during the second world war. This documentary follows Archaeologists who are trying to find the original tunnels dug by the real prisoners of war who escaped. Some of the surviving prisoners also join the team to assist with the tunnel locations and to describe what it was really like to live that situation. In an effort to understand the technical details of how this feet of ingenuity was achieved, the team recreate some of the equipment used by the prisoners.

Blood Money: Inside the Nazi Economy(fr)

How did Nazi Germany, from limited natural resources, mass unemployment, little money and a damaged industry, manage to unfurl the cataclysm of World War Two and come to occupy a large part of the European continent? Based on recent historical works of and interviews with Adam Tooze, Richard Overy, Frank Bajohr and Marie-Bénédicte Vincent, and drawing on rare archival material.

Central Japan(en)

Join Megan McCormick on a journey of discovery across Japan's spectacular heartland starting in Japan's beautiful former capital Kyoto. She explores Buddhist temples, World Heritage Sites, and bargains at the city's best flea market. She then travels to Osaka, and Iga-Ueno, a former ninja stronghold, where she learns the secrets of these famously skilled assailants. She also visits the remote Sado Island and Himeji.

Appointment in Tokyo(en)

Produced by the Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, with the cooperation of the Army Air Forces and the United States Navy, and released by Warner Bros. for the War Activities Committee shortly after the surrender of Japan. Follow General Douglas MacArthur and his men from their exile from the Philippines in early 1942, through the signing of the instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri on September 1, 1945. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

Seek nothing, Just sit: Life in a Zen Monastery(en)

A year of zen practice at Antaiji Temple in Japan. Many non-Japanese gather at this Soto school zen temple to do zazen 1,800 hours per year and live the zen ideal of self-sufficiency.