U-505: Extend the Experience (2006)

Guy Martin's D-Day Landing

Guy Martin undertakes a challenge to restore a plane from the Second World War, and recreate a parachute jump into Normandy, as thousands of Allied soldiers did during D-Day.

The Day They Dropped The Bomb

On August 6 1945, one plane dropped one bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In an instant, the city was destroyed and 80,000 people were dead. But the dropping of the Atomic bomb also launched the Nuclear age, shaping all of our lives and changing the world for ever. For this film we have tracked down people who made the bomb, people who dropped the bomb, and people who were in Hiroshima – some less than half a mile from ground zero -when the bomb fell on their city. Many of the witnesses are in their 90s and this will be the last time they will be able to tell their extraordinary stories. The Day They Dropped The Bomb is told through witness recollections, rare archive film and photographs shot at the time. The documentary will be broadcast for the 70th anniversary of Hiroshima next year by ITV and in America by the Smithsonian Channel.

Rommel, chef de guerre

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What They Found

The story of two soldier-cameramen, Sgt Mike Lewis and Sgt Bill Lawrie, who witnessed the liberation of Belsen during the closing days of World War II.

Death of a Nation

Parallels are drawn between Abraham Lincoln's presidency and the presidency of Donald Trump. Not since 1860 have the Democrats so fanatically refused to accept the result of a free election. That year, their target was Lincoln. They smeared him. They went to war to defeat him. In the end, they assassinated him.

13 Hours That Saved Britain

In this documentary, experts dissect the Battle of Britain, which took place on Sept. 15, 1940 — a day that determined the fate of the nation.

Titan: The OceanGate Submersible Disaster

OceanGate's Titan tourist submersible imploded in 2023 on a deep-sea dive to the Titanic. This documentary details how a bold vision ended in tragedy.

WWII From Space

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.

Fyra dagar som skakade Sverige - Midsommarkrisen 1941

At dawn on June 22, 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. On the same morning, Germany demanded permission from the Swedish government to transport 18,000 German soldiers from Norway to Finland across Sweden by railway. This was a difficult problem for the Swedish government. On one hand remaining friendly with Germany at the height of its power, on the other maintaining a strict neutrality. The Swedish cabinet meet in Stockholm to decide upon the best reply to the German demands.

The Autobiography of a 'Jeep'

The invention and use of a jeep are described, from the viewpoint of one of the vehicles.

Nazi Sunken Sub

For nearly seventy years the fate of the lost Nazi submarine U-745 remained a mystery. After a decade of painstaking research and exploration, a Finnish diving team has finally solved the riddle.

Stalin, the Red Tyrant

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.

Coming Out Under Fire

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

The Maginot Line: France's Defensive Barrier

The Maginot Line: thousands of subway bunkers and concrete defenses lining the French border from Belgium to the Mediterranean Sea, a monumental engineering feat that was celebrated as a technical masterpiece when it was created. When the impregnable wall was demolished by the unbeatable Nazi war machine in 1940, the conquered fortress became the shattered symbol of French defeat.

The Mauthausen Resistance

During World War II, the photographer Francisco Boix and other Spanish Republican prisoners of the Mauthausen concentration camp, where 120,000 people died, managed not only to survive their indescribable experience, but also, after the war, to reveal to the world what really happened in that hell, saving from destruction thousands of official photographs taken by the SS.

Alene Duerk: First Woman to Make Admiral

Following the tradition of military service in her family, Alene Duerk enlisted as a Navy nurse in 1943. During her eventful 32 year career, she served in WWII on a hospital ship in the Sea of Japan, and trained others in the Korean War. She became the Director of the Navy Nursing Corps during the Vietnam War before finally attaining the rank of Admiral in the U.S. Navy. Despite having no other women as mentors (or peers), Admiral Duerk always looked for challenging opportunities that women had not previously held. Her consistently high level of performance led to her ultimate rise to become the first woman Admiral.

Spitfire

A feature documentary about the people and the planes that helped win World War War II. Through people personally connected to the events, the film investigates the story of how the Spitfire, its stable-mate, the Hawker Hurricane and its great adversary, the Messerschmitt 109 came into being during the huge advances in aviation in the interwar period—and then how the pilots fared in combat, three miles up in the skies over Europe, Africa and Asia.

Reunion of Giants

It had been 50 years since two Avro Lancaster bombers flew side by side. The Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's Avro Lancaster, VeRA, flew from Hamilton, Ontario to meet her British counterpart, Thumper - the only other surviving flight worthy Lancaster bomber in the world - the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight's (BBMF) Lancaster in England. This documentary includes first-hand accounts from the men and women who experienced the war and were connected to the Lancaster. It transports the viewer back in time as they share what it was like during the Lancaster's glory days. REUNION OF GIANTS documents this historic mission as it unfolds through the eyes of the flight crews, veterans, friends and family. It includes all parts in this new chapter of the bomber's history, as VeRA crosses the Atlantic.

Spitfire: The Birth of a Legend

‘Spitfire— Birth of a Legend‘ tells the story of the Spitfire from a radical design on the drawing board to the fighter aircraft that became the symbol of Britain’s determination to fight on to victory. It celebrates the history of this acclaimed aircraft, the men who designed and built it, and those who flew and fought in it. The story, along with dramatic archive and colour film of aerial combat, graphically illustrates the appeal and fascination the Spitfire has maintained since it faced and fought the fighter and bomber formations of the Luftwaffe.

The Cold Blue

A meditation on youth, war and stunning bravery, featuring footage, taken from the National Archives, from the documentary filmed in 1943 by legendary Hollywood director William Wyler about the famous Memphis Belle flying fortress and the gripping narration from some of the last surviving B-17 pilots.

Alien Endgame

In 2021, a Pentagon report revealed what the US government had denied for decades -- UFOs are real and may even pose a threat to our planet. Now, ex-military members break their silence about the massive cover-up. Are we prepared for an alien invasion?

Hitler's Museum

One and a half years before the begin of the Second World War during the annexation of Austria in March of 1938, Hitler conceived the megalomaniac idea of creating the largest European art center in his home town of Linz. At the beginning of the war on the 1st of September 1939, not only did his armies advance but also his art thieves began to fan out in their great foray of art plundering; an expedition on a previously unheard of scale began. Not only did the task forces of diverse National Socialist organizations pillage the occupied countries; Nazi bigwigs like Goering also took whatever they felt was valuable. This documentary includes the long and eventful journey of an exceptional masterpiece of European art: the Ghent Altar, created by van Eyck.

Love and Sex under Nazi Occupation

Love & Sex under Nazi Occupation questions the burning mystery of intimate heterosexual and homosexual relations in times of war... and shows how being close to death reinforces the yearning for passion, for pleasure, for transgression, for desire as a last burst of freedom, as an ultimate call to life. Nearly two hundred thousands children are thought to be born of the union of French women with German soldiers. Women weren't the Germans' only conquests; indeed, occupied Paris swarms with all kinds of homosexuals—from Genet to Cocteau—who treated with the occupier. The fate of those women who were shaved at the end of the war for fraternizing with Germans is the punishment of a France that lied down and slept with the enemy.

Zeitgeist

A documentary examining possible historical and modern conspiracies surrounding Christianity, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the Federal Reserve bank.

Capitulation, the Final Hours that Ended World War II

A film made of archives mostly unknown, on the last day of the Second World War in Europe and on the events which preceded it. This film also shows the growing tension between the Allies and the Soviets at the time: May 8, 1945 is also the first day of the Cold War.

An Intimate History of Occupation

June 14, 1940. The German Army marches into Paris. France is an occupied country. Through exclusive amateur footage, personal stories, and popular songs from the time, this fi lm recounts life with the enemy during the occupation, as seen by the French... and the Germans! Despite the Nazis and the troubled war times, day-to-day life in occupied France went on. People learnt to live with the rationing, the cues, the curfew... Many try to forget the hard times, mainly thanks to the movies in which big stars provide a little dream and lead a privileged life. These stars don't actually collaborate, butadapt and give the impression of normal life during the war. After all, is it necessarily shameful to shake the hand of an enemy?

Hitler's Supergun

Historians and engineers investigate how Allied forces conspired to destroy Hitler's "supergun".

Quando i tedeschi non sapevano nuotare

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De Gaulle and the Free French in World War II

In June 1940 nothing was written. The appeal of June 18 by General de Gaulle was a hope but also a start. The start for an essential page of the History of France, written by De Gaulle and his followers, without whom nothing would have existed in the Resistance to the German tyranny and this film wishes to honor their memory.

Hitler's Disastrous Desert War

When the British army looks set to defeat Mussolini’s Italian forces, Hitler sends reinforcements; the Afrika Korps led by General Rommel. The Desert Fox is on winning form until Montgomery, the British commander, sets up a plan to crush his opponent. After the American landing in North Africa, the Axis armies have no choice but to surrender and put an end to the Desert War.

Auschwitz: Countdown To Liberation

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Volcanoes of the Deep Sea

12,000 feet down, life is erupting. Alvin, a deep-sea mechanized probe, makes a voyage some 12,000 feet underwater to explore the Azores, a constantly-erupting volcanic rift between Europe and North America.

Stalin and the Katyn Massacre

The Katyn massacre, carried out by the Soviet NKVD in 1940, was only one of many unspeakable crimes committed by Stalin's ruthless executioners over three decades. The mass murder of thousands of Polish officers was part of a relentless purge, the secrets and details of which have only recently been partially revealed.

761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers

The riveting story of the first all-Black tank battalion to fight in US military history. Under General George Patten's command, the 761st fought heroically throughout WWII and were the furthest east of all US troops in the European theater of war.

The Battle of Britain

Seventy years on, brothers Colin and Ewan McGregor take viewers through the key moments of the Battle of Britain, when 'the few' of the RAF faced the might of the Nazi Luftwaffe. As they fly historic planes, meet the veterans, explore the tactics and technology, Colin and Ewan discover the importance of the Battle and the surviving legacy of the 1940's campaign for the modern RAF.

Ils ont libéré Paris !

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Elvis and the USS Arizona

The surprising story of how one of music's biggest icons helped to establish a USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor. Elvis’ fundraising concert drew public attention to the plight and helped to galvanize efforts to finish the USS Arizona Memorial as it stands today.

Nazis: The Occult Conspiracy

This documentary examines how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime made use of ancient mysticism, occultism, and mind-control techniques in their efforts to win the war.

Bampton Shows the Way

Part of BFI boxset Ration Books and Rabbit Pies: Films from the Home Front.

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.