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The World at War | |
---|---|
Created by | Jeremy Isaacs |
Directed by | David Elstein |
Narrated by | Laurence Olivier |
Opening theme | The World at War Theme |
Composer | Carl Davis |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Producer | Thames Television |
Running time | 22 hours 32 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 31 October 1973 8 May 1974 | –
The World at War is a 26-episode British documentary television series that chronicles the events of the Second World War. Produced in 1973 at a cost of £900,000 (equivalent to £13,700,000 in 2023), it was the most expensive factual series ever made at the time. [1] It was produced by Jeremy Isaacs, [2] narrated by Laurence Olivier and included music composed by Carl Davis. [3] The book, The World at War, published the same year, was written by Mark Arnold-Forster to accompany the TV series.
The World at War attracted widespread acclaim and now it is regarded as a landmark in British television history. [4] The series focused on a portrayal of the experience of the conflict: of how life and death throughout the war years affected soldiers, sailors and airmen, civilians, concentration camp inmates and other victims of the war. [2] [5]
Jeremy Isaacs had been inspired to look at the production of a long-form documentary series about the Second World War following the BBC's broadcast of its series The Great War in 1964. The BBC series, produced in collaboration with the Imperial War Museum, featured a mix of contemporary film footage from the period and film recreations, which soured relations between the BBC and the Museum. [6] As a consequence, Isaacs was determined to have his programme be as authentic as possible.
The World at War was commissioned by Thames Television in 1969. The government had halved its levy on television advertising revenue, with the proviso that the money which the independent television companies saved must be reinvested in programmes. Isaacs persuaded Thames to use the money to pay for the production of his Second World War documentary. [6] The series took four years to produce, at a cost of £900,000 (equivalent to £13,700,000 in 2023), a record for a British television series. It was first shown in 1973 on ITV.
The series featured interviews with major members of the Allied and Axis campaigns, including witness accounts from civilians, enlisted men, officers and politicians. The interviewees included Sir Max Aitken, Joseph Lawton Collins, Mark Clark, Jock Colville, Karl Dönitz, James "Jimmy" Doolittle, Lawrence Durrell, Lord Eden of Avon, Mitsuo Fuchida, Adolf Galland, Minoru Genda, W. Averell Harriman, Sir Arthur Harris, Alger Hiss, Brian Horrocks, Traudl Junge, Toshikazu Kase, Curtis LeMay, Vera Lynn, Hasso von Manteuffel, Bill Mauldin, John J. McCloy, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, Sir Richard O'Connor, J. B. Priestley, Saburo Sakai, Albert Speer, James Stewart, Charles Sweeney, Paul Tibbets, Walter Warlimont, Takeo Yoshikawa and historian Stephen Ambrose.
In the programme The Making of "The World at War", included in the DVD set, Isaacs explains that priority was given to interviews with surviving aides and assistants rather than recognised figures. The most difficult person to locate and persuade to be interviewed was Heinrich Himmler's adjutant Karl Wolff. During the interview, he admitted to witnessing a mass execution in Himmler's presence. [7] Isaacs later expressed satisfaction with the series's content, noting that if it had not been secret, he would have added references to British codebreaking at Bletchley Park. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes which was compiled by the British Film Institute during 2000, voted for by industry professionals, The World at War ranked 19th, the highest-placed documentary on the list.
The series has twenty-six episodes. Isaacs asked Noble Frankland, director of the Imperial War Museum, to list fifteen main campaigns of the war and devoted one episode to each. [2] The remaining eleven episodes are devoted to other matters, such as the rise of Nazi Germany, home life in Britain and Germany, the experience of occupation of the Netherlands, and the Holocaust. Episode one begins with a cold open describing the massacre at the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane by the Waffen SS. The same event is referenced again at the end of Episode twenty-six, accompanied by the " Dona nobis pacem" (Latin for "Grant us peace") from the Missa Sancti Nicolai, composed by Joseph Haydn. The series ends with Laurence Olivier saying "Remember". For all but three episodes ("The Desert", "Home Fires", and "Remember"), the last scene of each episode either ended as a photograph or would be a freeze-frame shot of a film, and then change to a textured photograph before the credits roll. They would show the textured photograph only when The World at War logo appeared in both "The Desert" and "Home Fires" episodes. In the "Remember" episode, it would show the fire used during the title part as the credits roll before extinguishing itself at the end. [8]
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "A New Germany (1933–1939)" | 31 October 1973 | |
The rebirth of Germany and growth in power of the
Nazi Party leading up to the outbreak of war. Interviewees include
Konrad Morgen,
Hugh Greene,
Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin,
Werner Pusch ,
Christabel Bielenberg,
Siegmund Weltlinger and
Emmi Bonhoeffer. | |||
2 | "Distant War (September 1939 – May 1940)" | 7 November 1973 | |
The
invasions of Poland, the
Winter War, the
sinking of the
Graf Spee, the "
phony war" and
Norwegian Campaign and the elevation of
Winston Churchill to
Prime Minister. Interviewees include
Lord Boothby,
Rab Butler,
Bernard Kops,
Lucy Faithfull,
Lord Chandos, Admiral
Charles Woodhouse, Sir
Martin Lindsay and Sir
John "Jock" Colville. | |||
3 | "France Falls (May–June 1940)" | 14 November 1973 | |
French politics, the
Maginot Line, the
Saar Offensive,
Blitzkrieg warfare and the
Nazi invasion of France and the
Low Countries. Interviewees include General
Hasso von Manteuffel, General
André Beaufre,
Lawrence Durrell, General
Siegfried Westphal,
Gordon Waterfield, General
Walter Warlimont and Major General
Edward Spears. | |||
4 | "Alone (May 1940 – May 1941)" | 21 November 1973 | |
The
Battle of Britain, defeats in
Greece and
Crete,
Tobruk and life in Britain between the
evacuation at Dunkirk and
Operation Barbarossa. Interviewees include
Lord Avon,
J. B. Priestley, Sir
Max Aitken, Lieutenant General
Adolf Galland, Sir John "Jock" Colville,
Robert Wright,
Ray Holmes and a group of survivors of
The Blitz. | |||
5 | "Barbarossa (June–December 1941)" | 28 November 1973 | |
After dominating southeastern Europe through force or intrigue, Germany begins
Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the
Soviet Union. Despite several quick victories, the invasion fails after the
assault on Moscow in winter. Interviewees include General
Walter Warlimont,
Albert Speer,
Paul Schmidt,
Grigori Tokaty,
W. Averell Harriman and Sir
John Russell. | |||
6 | "Banzai!: Japan (1931–1942)" | 5 December 1973 | |
The rise of the Japanese Empire, the
Sino-Japanese War, the
Soviet-Japanese border conflicts,
Pearl Harbor and the early Japanese successes in the
Battle of Malaya and
Battle of Singapore. Interviewees include
Kōichi Kido,
Toshikazu Kase,
Minoru Genda,
Mitsuo Fuchida,
Masatake Okumiya,
Takeo Yoshikawa,
John Smyth and
Ichiji Sugita. | |||
7 | "On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939–1942)" | 12 December 1973 | |
The
opposition by factions to the United States of America's entry into the war,
Lend Lease,
U-boat attacks on Atlantic convoys and American responses, the mobilisation of America after Pearl Harbor, the
loss of the Philippines, the
Doolittle Raid,
Midway and
Guadalcanal. Interviewees include
W. Averell Harriman,
George Ball,
Norman Corwin,
Ken Galbraith,
John J. McCloy,
Edison Uno,
Paul Samuelson,
Isamu Noguchi,
Jimmy Doolittle,
Richard Tregaskis,
Minoru Genda,
Mitsuo Fuchida,
J. Lawton Collins and
Vannevar Bush. | |||
8 | "The Desert: North Africa (1940–1943)" | 19 December 1973 | |
The Desert War, starting with Italy's invasion of
Egypt and the attacks and counterattacks between Germany and Italy and the Commonwealth forces, the
Axis defeat at
El Alamein. Interviewees include General
Richard O'Connor, Major General
Francis de Guingand,
Siegfried Westphal, Field Marshal
Lord Harding and
Lawrence Durrell. | |||
9 | "Stalingrad (June 1942 – February 1943)" | 2 January 1974 | |
The mid-war German situation in Southern Russia resulting in the German defeat at the
Battle of Stalingrad. This episode features only Olivier's narration and has no interviewees. | |||
10 | "Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic (1939–1944)" | 9 January 1974 | |
The
submarine war emphasising the
North Atlantic. Tracks the development of the convoy system and German submarine strategy. Interviewees include Grand Admiral
Karl Dönitz,
Otto Kretschmer, Captain
William Eyton-Jones, Captain
Gilbert Roberts, Vice Admiral Sir
Peter Gretton, Air Vice Marshal
Wilfrid Oulton,
Peter-Erich Cremer and
Raymond Hart. | |||
11 | "Red Star: The Soviet Union (1941–1943)" | 16 January 1974 | |
The rise of the
Red Army, mobilisation of Soviet production, the
Siege of Leningrad, the
Soviet partisans and the
Battle of Kursk. Interviewees include General
Ivan Lyudnikov and
Ivan Chistyakov. | |||
12 | "Whirlwind: Bombing Germany (September 1939 – April 1944)" | 23 January 1974 | |
The development of British and American
strategic bombing. Interviewees include
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris,
Albert Speer, Brigadier-General
James Stewart,
Hamish Mahaddie,
William Reid, General
Leon W. Johnson, General
Curtis LeMay,
Wilhelm Herget,
Werner Schröer, Lieutenant General
Adolf Galland and General
Ira C. Eaker. | |||
13 | "Tough Old Gut: Italy (November 1942 – June 1944)" | 30 January 1974 | |
The difficulties of the
Italian Campaign beginning with
Operation Torch in
North Africa, the
invasion of Sicily;
Salerno,
Anzio,
Cassino and the capture of
Rome. Interviewees include General Sir
Kenneth Strong, General
Mark Clark, Field Marshal
Lord Harding,
Bill Mauldin,
Wynford Vaughan-Thomas and
Siegfried Westphal. | |||
14 | "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma (1942–1944)" | 6 February 1974 | |
The jungle war in
Burma and
India—what it "lacked in scale was made up in savagery". Interviewees include
Mike Calvert, Sir
John Smyth and
Vera Lynn (the episode title is the name of one of her songs), and
Lord Mountbatten of Burma. | |||
15 | "Home Fires: Britain (1940–1944)" | 13 February 1974 | |
Life and politics in Britain from post-Battle of Britain to the first
V-1 attacks. Interviewees include Rab Butler,
Lord Shinwell,
Lord Chandos,
Tom Driberg,
Lord Avon,
Michael Foot,
Cecil Harmsworth King and
J. B. Priestley. | |||
16 | "Inside the Reich: Germany (1940–1944)" | 20 February 1974 | |
Changes in German society as the fortunes of war are reversed. Censorship and popular entertainment, German industry, the recruitment of female, foreign and slave labour, Allied bombing, German dissent—including the
20 July plot, and the mobilisation of the
Volkssturm towards war's end. Interviewees include
Christabel Bielenberg,
Friedrich Luft,
Albert Speer,
Emmi Bonhoeffer,
Otto John,
Traudl Junge,
Richard Schulze-Kossens, and
Otto Ernst Remer. | |||
17 | "Morning (June–August 1944)" | 27 February 1974 | |
Operation Overlord starting with the failed
Dieppe Raid, followed by battles in the
Bocage, the Allied breakout and
Falaise. Interviewees include
Goronwy Rees, Lord Mountbatten of Burma,
Kay Summersby,
James Stagg and Major General
J. Lawton Collins. | |||
18 | "Occupation: Holland (1940–1944)" | 13 March 1974 | |
Life in
the Netherlands under German occupation, when citizens chose to resist, collaborate or remain passive. Interviewees include
Gerben Wagenaar,
Florentine Rost van Tonningen,
Loe de Jong (who also served as adviser for this episode),
Jetty Paerl and
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. | |||
19 | "Pincers (August 1944 – March 1945)" | 20 March 1974 | |
Operation Dragoon, the
liberation of Paris, the Allied occupation of France and the failure of
Operation Market Garden, the
Warsaw Uprising, the
Battle of the Bulge and the
crossing of the Rhine. In the East, the
Romanian coup and the Soviet advance through Ukraine to East Prussia. Interviewees include Lieutenant General
Brian Horrocks,
Wynford Vaughan Thomas, General Sir
Kenneth Strong, General
Hasso von Manteuffel, Major General
Francis de Guingand,
W. Averell Harriman, General
Siegfried Westphal and Major General
J. Lawton Collins. | |||
20 | "Genocide (1941–1945)" | 27 March 1974 | |
Begins with the founding of the
SS and follows the development of Nazi racial theory. It ends with the implementation of the
Final Solution. Interviewees include
Karl Wolff,
Wilhelm Höttl,
Rudolf Vrba,
Primo Levi,
Richard Böck,
Lord Avon and Rivka Yosilevska. | |||
21 | "Nemesis: Germany (February–May 1945)" | 3 April 1974 | |
The invasion of Germany by the Allies, the bombing of
Dresden, and the events in the
Führerbunker during the
Battle of Berlin. Interviewees include
Albert Speer,
Traudl Junge,
Carola Stern,
Elena Rzhevskaya,
Heinz Linge,
Eberhard Bethge, Major Anna Nikulina and
Friedrich Luft. | |||
22 | "Japan (1941–1945)" | 10 April 1974 | |
Japanese society during wartime and how life is transformed as the country suffers defeats including the
Doolittle raid,
Midway,
the death of Isoroku Yamamoto, the
Battle of Saipan,
Okinawa and the relentless
bombing of Japanese cities. Interviewees include
Toshikazu Kase and
Naoki Hoshino. | |||
23 | "Pacific (February 1942 – July 1945)" | 17 April 1974 | |
Battles on tiny islands in the
Pacific, aimed towards the Japanese heartland. Following the
bombing of Darwin, the Japanese are turned back at
Kokoda,
Tarawa,
Peleliu, the
Philippines,
Iwo Jima and finally
Okinawa. Interviewees include
Butch Voris and Frank Manson. | |||
24 | "The Bomb (February–September 1945)" | 24 April 1974 | |
The
atomic bomb, the ascendency of President
Harry Truman, emerging splits in the Allies with
Joseph Stalin, the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the
Soviet invasion of Manchuria, leading to the
surrender of Japan. Interviewees include
Toshikazu Kase,
Yoshio Kodama,
Marquis Koichi Kido, Major General
Charles Sweeney, Brigadier General
Paul Tibbets,
Alger Hiss,
W. Averell Harriman,
Lord Avon,
McGeorge Bundy,
John J. McCloy, General
Curtis LeMay,
Hisatsune Sakomizu,
Kiyoshi Tanimoto,
Robert Oppenheimer (before his 1967 death), and
James F. Byrnes (before his 1972 death). | |||
25 | "Reckoning (April 1945)" | 1 May 1974 | |
Post-war Europe including the Allied
occupation of Germany,
demobilisation, the
Nuremberg Trials and the genesis of the
Cold War. The episode concludes with summations about the costs and consequences of the war. Interviewees include
Charles Bohlen,
Stephen Ambrose,
Kay Summersby,
Lord Avon,
W. Averell Harriman,
Lord Mountbatten of Burma,
Hartley Shawcross and
Noble Frankland. | |||
26 | "Remember" | 8 May 1974 | |
How the war was experienced and remembered by its witnesses. Interviewees include
Lawrence Durrell,
J. Glenn Gray,
Bill Mauldin,
Wynford Vaughan-Thomas and
Noble Frankland. |
The series was originally transmitted on the ITV network in Britain between 31 October 1973 and 8 May 1974, and has been shown around the world. It was first shown in the US in syndication on various stations in 1974. [9] WOR in New York aired the series in the mid-1970s, although episodes were edited both for graphic content and to include sufficient commercial breaks. PBS station WNET in New York broadcast the series unedited and in its entirety in 1982 as did WGBH in the late 1980s. The Danish channel DR1 first broadcast the series from August 1976 to February 1977 and it was repeated on DR2 in December 2006 and January 2007. The History Channel in Japan began screening the series in its entirety in April 2007. It repeated the entire series again in August 2011. The Military History Channel in the UK broadcast the series over the weekend of 14 and 15 November 2009. The Military Channel (now American Heroes Channel) in the United States aired the series in January 2010, and has shown it regularly since. BBC2 in the UK transmitted a repeat run of the series starting on 5 September 1994 at teatime. In 2011, the British channel Yesterday started a showing of the series and it has been shown continuously since.
The series was shown on SABC in South Africa in 1976, one of the first documentary series broadcast after the launch of the first television service in South Africa in January 1976, but the episode showing the Nazi holocaust was not shown. [10]
The series was shown in Australia in 1975 [11] and has been shown on various TV stations at various times since then. It has also been shown on Australia's Pay TV Provider Foxtel in the early 2000s and a number of times since.[ citation needed]
Each episode was 52 minutes excluding commercials; as was customary for ITV documentary series at the time, it was originally screened with only one central break. On its original television broadcast in the UK the twentieth episode Genocide (1941-1945), which dealt with Nazi concentration camps and the Holocaust, was shown uninterrupted without a commercial break due to the sensitive nature of its content .[ citation needed]
So extensive was the amount of footage both shot and meticulously collected by Isaacs and his team that much went unused in the original 26-episode series. As a result, eight further documentaries were commissioned by Thames Television, ranging from 30 minutes to 100 minutes in length. The topics of these additional programmes include the theories and myths surrounding Hitler's death, the Auschwitz death camp, Germany under the rule of the Nazis, and a full interview with Hitler's personal secretary Traudl Junge. Due to Laurence Olivier being unavailable these additional documentaries were narrated instead by actor Eric Porter. These were released as a bonus to the VHS version and have been included on all DVD and blu-ray sets of the series since.
The additional episodes and their original UK broadcast dates (where known) are:
Four further documentaries were created specially for home video releases, these are:
The series was released in various territories on VHS video as well as on 13 Laservision long-play videodiscs by Video Garant Amsterdam.
In 2001–2005, DVD box sets were released in the UK and US. In 2010, the series was digitally restored and re-released on DVD and Blu-ray. In the latter case the image is cropped from its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio down to 1.78:1, to better fit modern widescreen televisions. [12] The restored series was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2016. [13]
The original book The World at War, [14] which accompanied the series, was written by Mark Arnold-Forster in 1973. In October 2007, Ebury Press published The World at War, a new book by Richard Holmes, an oral history of the Second World War drawn from the interviews conducted for the TV series. [15] The programme's producers shot hundreds of hours of interviews, but only a fraction of that recorded material was used for the final version of the series. A selection of the rest of this material was published in this book, which included interviews with Albert Speer, Karl Wolff ( Himmler's adjutant), Traudl Junge ( Hitler's secretary), James Stewart ( USAAF bomber pilot and Hollywood star), Anthony Eden, John Colville (Private Secretary to Winston Churchill), Averell Harriman (US Ambassador to the Soviet Union) and Arthur "Bomber" Harris (Head of RAF Bomber Command).[ citation needed]
This article needs additional citations for
verification. (April 2018) |
The World at War | |
---|---|
Created by | Jeremy Isaacs |
Directed by | David Elstein |
Narrated by | Laurence Olivier |
Opening theme | The World at War Theme |
Composer | Carl Davis |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 26 |
Production | |
Producer | Thames Television |
Running time | 22 hours 32 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 31 October 1973 8 May 1974 | –
The World at War is a 26-episode British documentary television series that chronicles the events of the Second World War. Produced in 1973 at a cost of £900,000 (equivalent to £13,700,000 in 2023), it was the most expensive factual series ever made at the time. [1] It was produced by Jeremy Isaacs, [2] narrated by Laurence Olivier and included music composed by Carl Davis. [3] The book, The World at War, published the same year, was written by Mark Arnold-Forster to accompany the TV series.
The World at War attracted widespread acclaim and now it is regarded as a landmark in British television history. [4] The series focused on a portrayal of the experience of the conflict: of how life and death throughout the war years affected soldiers, sailors and airmen, civilians, concentration camp inmates and other victims of the war. [2] [5]
Jeremy Isaacs had been inspired to look at the production of a long-form documentary series about the Second World War following the BBC's broadcast of its series The Great War in 1964. The BBC series, produced in collaboration with the Imperial War Museum, featured a mix of contemporary film footage from the period and film recreations, which soured relations between the BBC and the Museum. [6] As a consequence, Isaacs was determined to have his programme be as authentic as possible.
The World at War was commissioned by Thames Television in 1969. The government had halved its levy on television advertising revenue, with the proviso that the money which the independent television companies saved must be reinvested in programmes. Isaacs persuaded Thames to use the money to pay for the production of his Second World War documentary. [6] The series took four years to produce, at a cost of £900,000 (equivalent to £13,700,000 in 2023), a record for a British television series. It was first shown in 1973 on ITV.
The series featured interviews with major members of the Allied and Axis campaigns, including witness accounts from civilians, enlisted men, officers and politicians. The interviewees included Sir Max Aitken, Joseph Lawton Collins, Mark Clark, Jock Colville, Karl Dönitz, James "Jimmy" Doolittle, Lawrence Durrell, Lord Eden of Avon, Mitsuo Fuchida, Adolf Galland, Minoru Genda, W. Averell Harriman, Sir Arthur Harris, Alger Hiss, Brian Horrocks, Traudl Junge, Toshikazu Kase, Curtis LeMay, Vera Lynn, Hasso von Manteuffel, Bill Mauldin, John J. McCloy, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, Sir Richard O'Connor, J. B. Priestley, Saburo Sakai, Albert Speer, James Stewart, Charles Sweeney, Paul Tibbets, Walter Warlimont, Takeo Yoshikawa and historian Stephen Ambrose.
In the programme The Making of "The World at War", included in the DVD set, Isaacs explains that priority was given to interviews with surviving aides and assistants rather than recognised figures. The most difficult person to locate and persuade to be interviewed was Heinrich Himmler's adjutant Karl Wolff. During the interview, he admitted to witnessing a mass execution in Himmler's presence. [7] Isaacs later expressed satisfaction with the series's content, noting that if it had not been secret, he would have added references to British codebreaking at Bletchley Park. In a list of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes which was compiled by the British Film Institute during 2000, voted for by industry professionals, The World at War ranked 19th, the highest-placed documentary on the list.
The series has twenty-six episodes. Isaacs asked Noble Frankland, director of the Imperial War Museum, to list fifteen main campaigns of the war and devoted one episode to each. [2] The remaining eleven episodes are devoted to other matters, such as the rise of Nazi Germany, home life in Britain and Germany, the experience of occupation of the Netherlands, and the Holocaust. Episode one begins with a cold open describing the massacre at the French village of Oradour-sur-Glane by the Waffen SS. The same event is referenced again at the end of Episode twenty-six, accompanied by the " Dona nobis pacem" (Latin for "Grant us peace") from the Missa Sancti Nicolai, composed by Joseph Haydn. The series ends with Laurence Olivier saying "Remember". For all but three episodes ("The Desert", "Home Fires", and "Remember"), the last scene of each episode either ended as a photograph or would be a freeze-frame shot of a film, and then change to a textured photograph before the credits roll. They would show the textured photograph only when The World at War logo appeared in both "The Desert" and "Home Fires" episodes. In the "Remember" episode, it would show the fire used during the title part as the credits roll before extinguishing itself at the end. [8]
No. | Title | Original air date | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "A New Germany (1933–1939)" | 31 October 1973 | |
The rebirth of Germany and growth in power of the
Nazi Party leading up to the outbreak of war. Interviewees include
Konrad Morgen,
Hugh Greene,
Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin,
Werner Pusch ,
Christabel Bielenberg,
Siegmund Weltlinger and
Emmi Bonhoeffer. | |||
2 | "Distant War (September 1939 – May 1940)" | 7 November 1973 | |
The
invasions of Poland, the
Winter War, the
sinking of the
Graf Spee, the "
phony war" and
Norwegian Campaign and the elevation of
Winston Churchill to
Prime Minister. Interviewees include
Lord Boothby,
Rab Butler,
Bernard Kops,
Lucy Faithfull,
Lord Chandos, Admiral
Charles Woodhouse, Sir
Martin Lindsay and Sir
John "Jock" Colville. | |||
3 | "France Falls (May–June 1940)" | 14 November 1973 | |
French politics, the
Maginot Line, the
Saar Offensive,
Blitzkrieg warfare and the
Nazi invasion of France and the
Low Countries. Interviewees include General
Hasso von Manteuffel, General
André Beaufre,
Lawrence Durrell, General
Siegfried Westphal,
Gordon Waterfield, General
Walter Warlimont and Major General
Edward Spears. | |||
4 | "Alone (May 1940 – May 1941)" | 21 November 1973 | |
The
Battle of Britain, defeats in
Greece and
Crete,
Tobruk and life in Britain between the
evacuation at Dunkirk and
Operation Barbarossa. Interviewees include
Lord Avon,
J. B. Priestley, Sir
Max Aitken, Lieutenant General
Adolf Galland, Sir John "Jock" Colville,
Robert Wright,
Ray Holmes and a group of survivors of
The Blitz. | |||
5 | "Barbarossa (June–December 1941)" | 28 November 1973 | |
After dominating southeastern Europe through force or intrigue, Germany begins
Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the
Soviet Union. Despite several quick victories, the invasion fails after the
assault on Moscow in winter. Interviewees include General
Walter Warlimont,
Albert Speer,
Paul Schmidt,
Grigori Tokaty,
W. Averell Harriman and Sir
John Russell. | |||
6 | "Banzai!: Japan (1931–1942)" | 5 December 1973 | |
The rise of the Japanese Empire, the
Sino-Japanese War, the
Soviet-Japanese border conflicts,
Pearl Harbor and the early Japanese successes in the
Battle of Malaya and
Battle of Singapore. Interviewees include
Kōichi Kido,
Toshikazu Kase,
Minoru Genda,
Mitsuo Fuchida,
Masatake Okumiya,
Takeo Yoshikawa,
John Smyth and
Ichiji Sugita. | |||
7 | "On Our Way: U.S.A. (1939–1942)" | 12 December 1973 | |
The
opposition by factions to the United States of America's entry into the war,
Lend Lease,
U-boat attacks on Atlantic convoys and American responses, the mobilisation of America after Pearl Harbor, the
loss of the Philippines, the
Doolittle Raid,
Midway and
Guadalcanal. Interviewees include
W. Averell Harriman,
George Ball,
Norman Corwin,
Ken Galbraith,
John J. McCloy,
Edison Uno,
Paul Samuelson,
Isamu Noguchi,
Jimmy Doolittle,
Richard Tregaskis,
Minoru Genda,
Mitsuo Fuchida,
J. Lawton Collins and
Vannevar Bush. | |||
8 | "The Desert: North Africa (1940–1943)" | 19 December 1973 | |
The Desert War, starting with Italy's invasion of
Egypt and the attacks and counterattacks between Germany and Italy and the Commonwealth forces, the
Axis defeat at
El Alamein. Interviewees include General
Richard O'Connor, Major General
Francis de Guingand,
Siegfried Westphal, Field Marshal
Lord Harding and
Lawrence Durrell. | |||
9 | "Stalingrad (June 1942 – February 1943)" | 2 January 1974 | |
The mid-war German situation in Southern Russia resulting in the German defeat at the
Battle of Stalingrad. This episode features only Olivier's narration and has no interviewees. | |||
10 | "Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic (1939–1944)" | 9 January 1974 | |
The
submarine war emphasising the
North Atlantic. Tracks the development of the convoy system and German submarine strategy. Interviewees include Grand Admiral
Karl Dönitz,
Otto Kretschmer, Captain
William Eyton-Jones, Captain
Gilbert Roberts, Vice Admiral Sir
Peter Gretton, Air Vice Marshal
Wilfrid Oulton,
Peter-Erich Cremer and
Raymond Hart. | |||
11 | "Red Star: The Soviet Union (1941–1943)" | 16 January 1974 | |
The rise of the
Red Army, mobilisation of Soviet production, the
Siege of Leningrad, the
Soviet partisans and the
Battle of Kursk. Interviewees include General
Ivan Lyudnikov and
Ivan Chistyakov. | |||
12 | "Whirlwind: Bombing Germany (September 1939 – April 1944)" | 23 January 1974 | |
The development of British and American
strategic bombing. Interviewees include
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Harris,
Albert Speer, Brigadier-General
James Stewart,
Hamish Mahaddie,
William Reid, General
Leon W. Johnson, General
Curtis LeMay,
Wilhelm Herget,
Werner Schröer, Lieutenant General
Adolf Galland and General
Ira C. Eaker. | |||
13 | "Tough Old Gut: Italy (November 1942 – June 1944)" | 30 January 1974 | |
The difficulties of the
Italian Campaign beginning with
Operation Torch in
North Africa, the
invasion of Sicily;
Salerno,
Anzio,
Cassino and the capture of
Rome. Interviewees include General Sir
Kenneth Strong, General
Mark Clark, Field Marshal
Lord Harding,
Bill Mauldin,
Wynford Vaughan-Thomas and
Siegfried Westphal. | |||
14 | "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma (1942–1944)" | 6 February 1974 | |
The jungle war in
Burma and
India—what it "lacked in scale was made up in savagery". Interviewees include
Mike Calvert, Sir
John Smyth and
Vera Lynn (the episode title is the name of one of her songs), and
Lord Mountbatten of Burma. | |||
15 | "Home Fires: Britain (1940–1944)" | 13 February 1974 | |
Life and politics in Britain from post-Battle of Britain to the first
V-1 attacks. Interviewees include Rab Butler,
Lord Shinwell,
Lord Chandos,
Tom Driberg,
Lord Avon,
Michael Foot,
Cecil Harmsworth King and
J. B. Priestley. | |||
16 | "Inside the Reich: Germany (1940–1944)" | 20 February 1974 | |
Changes in German society as the fortunes of war are reversed. Censorship and popular entertainment, German industry, the recruitment of female, foreign and slave labour, Allied bombing, German dissent—including the
20 July plot, and the mobilisation of the
Volkssturm towards war's end. Interviewees include
Christabel Bielenberg,
Friedrich Luft,
Albert Speer,
Emmi Bonhoeffer,
Otto John,
Traudl Junge,
Richard Schulze-Kossens, and
Otto Ernst Remer. | |||
17 | "Morning (June–August 1944)" | 27 February 1974 | |
Operation Overlord starting with the failed
Dieppe Raid, followed by battles in the
Bocage, the Allied breakout and
Falaise. Interviewees include
Goronwy Rees, Lord Mountbatten of Burma,
Kay Summersby,
James Stagg and Major General
J. Lawton Collins. | |||
18 | "Occupation: Holland (1940–1944)" | 13 March 1974 | |
Life in
the Netherlands under German occupation, when citizens chose to resist, collaborate or remain passive. Interviewees include
Gerben Wagenaar,
Florentine Rost van Tonningen,
Loe de Jong (who also served as adviser for this episode),
Jetty Paerl and
Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. | |||
19 | "Pincers (August 1944 – March 1945)" | 20 March 1974 | |
Operation Dragoon, the
liberation of Paris, the Allied occupation of France and the failure of
Operation Market Garden, the
Warsaw Uprising, the
Battle of the Bulge and the
crossing of the Rhine. In the East, the
Romanian coup and the Soviet advance through Ukraine to East Prussia. Interviewees include Lieutenant General
Brian Horrocks,
Wynford Vaughan Thomas, General Sir
Kenneth Strong, General
Hasso von Manteuffel, Major General
Francis de Guingand,
W. Averell Harriman, General
Siegfried Westphal and Major General
J. Lawton Collins. | |||
20 | "Genocide (1941–1945)" | 27 March 1974 | |
Begins with the founding of the
SS and follows the development of Nazi racial theory. It ends with the implementation of the
Final Solution. Interviewees include
Karl Wolff,
Wilhelm Höttl,
Rudolf Vrba,
Primo Levi,
Richard Böck,
Lord Avon and Rivka Yosilevska. | |||
21 | "Nemesis: Germany (February–May 1945)" | 3 April 1974 | |
The invasion of Germany by the Allies, the bombing of
Dresden, and the events in the
Führerbunker during the
Battle of Berlin. Interviewees include
Albert Speer,
Traudl Junge,
Carola Stern,
Elena Rzhevskaya,
Heinz Linge,
Eberhard Bethge, Major Anna Nikulina and
Friedrich Luft. | |||
22 | "Japan (1941–1945)" | 10 April 1974 | |
Japanese society during wartime and how life is transformed as the country suffers defeats including the
Doolittle raid,
Midway,
the death of Isoroku Yamamoto, the
Battle of Saipan,
Okinawa and the relentless
bombing of Japanese cities. Interviewees include
Toshikazu Kase and
Naoki Hoshino. | |||
23 | "Pacific (February 1942 – July 1945)" | 17 April 1974 | |
Battles on tiny islands in the
Pacific, aimed towards the Japanese heartland. Following the
bombing of Darwin, the Japanese are turned back at
Kokoda,
Tarawa,
Peleliu, the
Philippines,
Iwo Jima and finally
Okinawa. Interviewees include
Butch Voris and Frank Manson. | |||
24 | "The Bomb (February–September 1945)" | 24 April 1974 | |
The
atomic bomb, the ascendency of President
Harry Truman, emerging splits in the Allies with
Joseph Stalin, the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the
Soviet invasion of Manchuria, leading to the
surrender of Japan. Interviewees include
Toshikazu Kase,
Yoshio Kodama,
Marquis Koichi Kido, Major General
Charles Sweeney, Brigadier General
Paul Tibbets,
Alger Hiss,
W. Averell Harriman,
Lord Avon,
McGeorge Bundy,
John J. McCloy, General
Curtis LeMay,
Hisatsune Sakomizu,
Kiyoshi Tanimoto,
Robert Oppenheimer (before his 1967 death), and
James F. Byrnes (before his 1972 death). | |||
25 | "Reckoning (April 1945)" | 1 May 1974 | |
Post-war Europe including the Allied
occupation of Germany,
demobilisation, the
Nuremberg Trials and the genesis of the
Cold War. The episode concludes with summations about the costs and consequences of the war. Interviewees include
Charles Bohlen,
Stephen Ambrose,
Kay Summersby,
Lord Avon,
W. Averell Harriman,
Lord Mountbatten of Burma,
Hartley Shawcross and
Noble Frankland. | |||
26 | "Remember" | 8 May 1974 | |
How the war was experienced and remembered by its witnesses. Interviewees include
Lawrence Durrell,
J. Glenn Gray,
Bill Mauldin,
Wynford Vaughan-Thomas and
Noble Frankland. |
The series was originally transmitted on the ITV network in Britain between 31 October 1973 and 8 May 1974, and has been shown around the world. It was first shown in the US in syndication on various stations in 1974. [9] WOR in New York aired the series in the mid-1970s, although episodes were edited both for graphic content and to include sufficient commercial breaks. PBS station WNET in New York broadcast the series unedited and in its entirety in 1982 as did WGBH in the late 1980s. The Danish channel DR1 first broadcast the series from August 1976 to February 1977 and it was repeated on DR2 in December 2006 and January 2007. The History Channel in Japan began screening the series in its entirety in April 2007. It repeated the entire series again in August 2011. The Military History Channel in the UK broadcast the series over the weekend of 14 and 15 November 2009. The Military Channel (now American Heroes Channel) in the United States aired the series in January 2010, and has shown it regularly since. BBC2 in the UK transmitted a repeat run of the series starting on 5 September 1994 at teatime. In 2011, the British channel Yesterday started a showing of the series and it has been shown continuously since.
The series was shown on SABC in South Africa in 1976, one of the first documentary series broadcast after the launch of the first television service in South Africa in January 1976, but the episode showing the Nazi holocaust was not shown. [10]
The series was shown in Australia in 1975 [11] and has been shown on various TV stations at various times since then. It has also been shown on Australia's Pay TV Provider Foxtel in the early 2000s and a number of times since.[ citation needed]
Each episode was 52 minutes excluding commercials; as was customary for ITV documentary series at the time, it was originally screened with only one central break. On its original television broadcast in the UK the twentieth episode Genocide (1941-1945), which dealt with Nazi concentration camps and the Holocaust, was shown uninterrupted without a commercial break due to the sensitive nature of its content .[ citation needed]
So extensive was the amount of footage both shot and meticulously collected by Isaacs and his team that much went unused in the original 26-episode series. As a result, eight further documentaries were commissioned by Thames Television, ranging from 30 minutes to 100 minutes in length. The topics of these additional programmes include the theories and myths surrounding Hitler's death, the Auschwitz death camp, Germany under the rule of the Nazis, and a full interview with Hitler's personal secretary Traudl Junge. Due to Laurence Olivier being unavailable these additional documentaries were narrated instead by actor Eric Porter. These were released as a bonus to the VHS version and have been included on all DVD and blu-ray sets of the series since.
The additional episodes and their original UK broadcast dates (where known) are:
Four further documentaries were created specially for home video releases, these are:
The series was released in various territories on VHS video as well as on 13 Laservision long-play videodiscs by Video Garant Amsterdam.
In 2001–2005, DVD box sets were released in the UK and US. In 2010, the series was digitally restored and re-released on DVD and Blu-ray. In the latter case the image is cropped from its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio down to 1.78:1, to better fit modern widescreen televisions. [12] The restored series was re-released on DVD and Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2016. [13]
The original book The World at War, [14] which accompanied the series, was written by Mark Arnold-Forster in 1973. In October 2007, Ebury Press published The World at War, a new book by Richard Holmes, an oral history of the Second World War drawn from the interviews conducted for the TV series. [15] The programme's producers shot hundreds of hours of interviews, but only a fraction of that recorded material was used for the final version of the series. A selection of the rest of this material was published in this book, which included interviews with Albert Speer, Karl Wolff ( Himmler's adjutant), Traudl Junge ( Hitler's secretary), James Stewart ( USAAF bomber pilot and Hollywood star), Anthony Eden, John Colville (Private Secretary to Winston Churchill), Averell Harriman (US Ambassador to the Soviet Union) and Arthur "Bomber" Harris (Head of RAF Bomber Command).[ citation needed]