• WORLD WAR TWO: THE APOCALYPSE

  • Monday 11 June at 7:00PM
  • National Geographic Channel

DESCRIPTION

As the French evacuated Paris in June 1940, amateur filmmakers documented the exodus as thousands lined the roads with their families and most precious possessions.

As the British sifted through the rubble, people grabbed cameras to capture what it meant to stand up to Hitler throughout the Blitz.

And as the Nazi army slogged through the mud and snow of Soviet Russia on the way to Moscow, soldiers used 8mm cameras to film the hardships of the war as they experienced it.

This was not the stock, newsreel or propaganda footage from World War II that authorities approved and audiences became accustomed to seeing. This was sometimes provocative footage taken by those who witnessed the war first-hand. This was the footage deemed ‘unfit’ for civilians to see. At the end of the war, this and other “Top Secret” footage of the war’s destruction was stashed away and forgotten.

Now, thanks to the efforts of a few private collectors and archivists, these forgotten films have been rediscovered, restored and featured in an extraordinary 6-part series in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of World War II.

EPISODE GUIDE

  • World War Two: The Apocalypse: Hitler's Rise to Power
    A vivid depiction of World War II, featuring rare footage from 1939, including the invasion of Poland and horrifying images from the Lodz Ghetto.
  • World War Two: The Apocalypse: Collapse of France
    Documentary covering the darkest days of the war in 1940, as Germany conquers France and British civilians endure the Blitz.
  • World War Two: The Apocalypse: Origins of the Holocaust
    As the war continues into 1941, the conflict goes truly global with the savage battle for Moscow and Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
  • World War Two: The Apocalypse: American Allies
    America joins the war as the conflict rages in South-East Asia, North Africa and Russia. Meanwhile the Nazis instigate The Final Solution.
  • World War Two: The Apocalypse: Allies Strike Back
    A vivid depiction of World War II featuring the decisive days of the war, including D-Day in Normandy and the landings at Saipan.
  • World War Two: The Apocalypse: Retreat And Surrender
    As the war draws to a close, Hitler's armies retreat before the Allies' advance. Meanwhile, America launches the atom bomb to defeat Japan.
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National Geographic Channel