New Builders(1944)

1940: Taking over French Cinema(fr)

Paris, 1940. German occupation forces create a new film production company, Continental, and put Alfred Greven – producer, cinephile, and opportunistic businessman – in charge. During the occupation, under Joseph Goebbels’s orders, Greven hires the best artists and technicians of French cinema to produce successful, highly entertaining films, which are also strategically devoid of propaganda. Simultaneously, he takes advantage of the confiscation of Jewish property to purchase film theaters, studios and laboratories, in order to control the whole production line. His goal: to create a European Hollywood. Among the thirty feature films thus produced under the auspices of Continental, several are, to this day, considered classics of French cinema.

Night and Fog(fr)

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

The Witnesses(fr)

This film brings to life a vanished world: that of the Warsaw Ghetto, destroyed by the Nazis after the 1944 uprising. Two authentic "reconstruction" sources have been used to this end: photographic and cinematographic documents recorded at the time and discovered in Poland, East Germany, Israel and France; and the oral testimonies of 44 survivors, invited to evoke their personal tragedy in front of the images put before their eyes.

Coming Out Under Fire(en)

A historical account of military policy regarding homosexuality during World War II. The documentary includes interviews with several homosexual WWII veterans.

WWII From Space(en)

WWII from Space delivers World War II in a way you've never experienced it before. This HISTORY special uses an all-seeing CGI eye that offers a satellite view of the conflict, allowing you to experience it in a way that puts key events and tipping points in a global perspective. By re-creating groundbreaking moments that could never have been captured on camera, and by illustrating the importance of simultaneity and the hidden effects of crucial incidents, HISTORY presents the war's monumental moments in a never-before-seen context. And with new information brought to the forefront, you'll better understand how a nation ranked 19th in the world's militaries in 1939 emerged six years later as the planet's only atomic superpower.

The Ship That Wouldn't Die!(en)

This short film focuses on the USS Franklin, an aircraft carrier that in March 1945 suffered heavy bombing damages and a massive toll on servicemen before returning to the U.S.

Life and Fate by Vassili Grossman(fr)

The convoluted and moving story of Russian writer Vassili Grossman (1905-64) and his novel Life and Fate (1980), a literary masterpiece, a monumental and epic account of life under Stalin's regime of terror, a defiant cry that the KGB tried to suffocate.

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors(en)

The story of a courageous battle between U.S. Navy "Tin Can" ships and two of the most powerful Japanese ships in the fleet. The Tin Can sailors fought bravely to secure a victory for the U.S Navy and save MacArthur's invasion force.

Will It Happen Again?(en)

An account of Adolf Hitler's rise and fall, his relationship with Eva Braun and their days of leisure at the Berghof, their Bavarian residence.

F4F Wildcat(en)

This 2-DVD set focused on the development and combat history of the Grumman F4F Wildcat and was created from holdings at the National Archives, the National Museum of Naval Aviation, the Naval Historical Center, and the Marine Corps Historical Center. The F4F Wildcat was the front-line carrier fighter in the first days of the Pacific war - flying off legendary ships like the Lexington, Saratoga, Hornet, Yorktown, and Enterprise - the Wildcat held the line as America built for victory.

Kirby at War: La Guerre De Kirby(en)

Black Panther, the Avengers, Hulk, Fantastic Four, The X-Men, Thor, Iron Man - to name only some of the best known super-heroes created in the 1960s by comic book artist Jack Kirby, the super heroes which today, dominate the world wide blockbuster box office cinema. This documentary mixed with CGI form his work examines Jack Kirby’s comics through his experience as a young American soldier in WWII France. How did this terrifying experience inspire him to create Captain America, and so many others characters as the war came to a close?

Bartitsu - Historic Self-Defense with the Cane after Pierre Vigny(de)

Edward Barton-Wright was one of the first Europeans to study Ju-Jitsu in Japan. Back in London, he founded a club where he taught the upscale society in self-defense. He combined the most effective martial arts of his time: Canne Vigny, Boxing, Savate and Ju-Jitsu. Barton-Wright became such an early pioneer of mixed martial arts (MMA). He called his self-defense art Bartitsu . The stick fighting instructor at the Bartitsu Club was Pierre Vigny, who optimized the techniques of classic French stick fighting for self-defense.

Stalin, the Red Tyrant(fr)

On March 9, 1953, Joseph Stalin was buried in Moscow in front of a million people. His funeral is that of a demi-God. Ultimate paradox for one of the greatest criminals in History who brought misfortune to his people while arousing collective admiration.

From the Tatras to the Sea of Azov(sk)

A propaganda film about the struggle of the Slovak army on the eastern front in 1941 and 1942.

Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story(en)

The gripping story of Britain's most extraordinary double agent; Eddie Chapman. Chapman duped the Germans so successfully he was awarded their highest honour, the Iron Cross, the only UK citizen ever to have received one.

Story of a Dog(en)

Story of a Dog is a 1945 short documentary film under the supervision of Gordon Hollingshead. In the film, a dog trains for the battlefield and becomes a crucial part of the United States military. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short, One-Reel.

Hitler Lives(en)

This short film, produced at the end of WWII, warns that although Adolf Hitler is dead, his ideas live on.

Seeds of Destiny(en)

Oscar winning postwar propaganda film in support of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration. Strident but poignant, focusing on children. The film surveys the Nazi/Japanese atrocities, post-war devastation and the early relief efforts. This film was responsible for raising over $200,000,000, making it a top moneymaking film. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.

An Island Invaded(en)

Five Guamanians interviewed in the early 2000s recall the Japanese bombing of Guam on 7 December 1941, and the years of food shortages, abuses, and other hardships that followed. They describe their childhood lives before, during, and after the island's occupation by Japanese soldiers.

Brigadistas(de)