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| History of World War II (TV series) | |
|---|---|
| Show name | History of World War II |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Num episodes | 26 |
| Runtime | 60 minutes |
| Company | Thames Television |
| Original network | ITV |
| First aired | 1970 |
| Last aired | 1972 |
History of World War II (TV series) is a British documentary television series produced in the early 1970s that chronicles major campaigns, leaders, and turning points of the World War II era. The series combines archival footage, contemporary interviews, and narration to examine personalities such as Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin and events including the Battle of Britain, Operation Barbarossa, the Battle of Stalingrad and the D-Day landings. It was produced by Thames Television for ITV and later rebroadcast internationally by broadcasters including the BBC, PBS, and NHK.
The series surveys the global arc of World War II, from the aftermath of the Treaty of Versailles and the rise of Benito Mussolini and Hideki Tojo to the Nuremberg Trials and the foundation of the United Nations. Episodes treat campaigns such as the North African Campaign, Battle of Midway, Guadalcanal Campaign, Italian Campaign, and the Pacific War with attention to leaders from the Wehrmacht, Imperial Japanese Army, United States Army, and Soviet Armed Forces. It places operational narratives alongside diplomatic episodes like the Tehran Conference, Yalta Conference, and the Potsdam Conference, integrating material on resistance movements including the French Resistance and partisan warfare in Yugoslavia under Josip Broz Tito.
Produced by Thames Television during a period of growing popular interest in World War II historiography, the series employed footage from archives such as the Imperial War Museum, British Pathé, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, and the Bundesarchiv. Historians and veterans from organizations including the Royal Air Force, United States Navy, Red Army and Australian War Memorial were interviewed. Editorial oversight referenced scholarship by figures associated with institutions like King's College London, the London School of Economics, and the Institute of Contemporary History (Munich). The series' production team negotiated rights with film holders such as Mosfilm, Paramount Pictures, and RKO Pictures to obtain combat footage and newsreels.
The original run consisted of 26 hour-long episodes, each focusing on specific campaigns, leaders, or thematic elements such as strategic bombing, convoy warfare, intelligence and codebreaking at Bletchley Park, and the Holocaust. Episodes juxtapose frontline footage with interviews featuring veterans from units like the Eighth Air Force, U-boat Arm, 1st Canadian Division, and the Polish II Corps, as well as commentary referencing operations including Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden, and Operation Torch. The narrative is organized chronologically and by theater, moving between the European Theatre of World War II, Pacific Theatre of World War II, and peripheral campaigns such as the Greco-Italian War and the Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945). Archival sources include film by combat cameramen from Yank, the Army Weekly, newsreel crews for Movietone, and official propaganda material from governments including Nazi Germany, Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, and the Soviet Union.
Scholars and reviewers debated the series' interpretations, praising its comprehensive use of primary footage while critiquing occasional narrative simplifications. Military historians comparing coverage of battles like El Alamein and Kursk noted fidelity to operational records from staffs including Eisenhower's headquarters and German High Command documents, while social historians highlighted limited treatment of civil-military relations and experiences of colonial troops from India and Africa. Critics in publications connected to The Times and The New York Times commended the series' pacing, while commentators associated with The Guardian and the London Review of Books questioned its reliance on certain archival portrayals. The series influenced subsequent documentaries and historians connected with programs on PBS and the History Channel.
Originally broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, the series was licensed to broadcasters including BBC, PBS, NHK (Japan), ARD and ZDF for European airings. Syndication brought the series to markets in the United States, Canada, Australia, and parts of Africa through agreements with distributors such as BBC Worldwide and ITV Studios. Subtitled and dubbed versions were prepared for non-English networks including Televisión Española and RAI. International release schedules sometimes reordered episodes to suit national commemorations like VE Day and VJ Day anniversaries.
Home media releases have appeared on formats from VHS to DVD and Blu-ray, issued by companies including BBC Video, Koch Media, and Criterion Collection-style boutique labels. Restoration efforts drew upon original film elements from the Imperial War Museum and the U.S. National Archives with color grading, sound remastering, and digital cleanup to address nitrate decay and optical soundtrack damage. Special edition packages included companion booklets featuring essays by historians affiliated with Cambridge University, Oxford University, and the University of Chicago, as well as supplemental interviews with veterans from units like the Royal Tank Regiment and the United States Marine Corps.
Category:Documentary television series about World War II Category:British television series