The Jewish Man Who Helped the Nazis and Other WW2 Collaborators | TIMELINE | Documentary

Dec 12, 2024 | World War 2 created many impossible decisions for the people who fell victim to this all-consuming war. While some resisted, others collaborated. Discover the stories of some of WW2's most controversial and infamous collaborators.

The Outbreak of WW2: How Hitler Manipulated Germany into War

Jan 5, 2025 | Adolf Hitler is now Chancellor of Germany, and despite his public persona as a man of peace, Hitler is secretly plotting territorial expansion and silencing opposition within his ranks. From the forced resignations of key generals to the propaganda-fueled annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland, Hitler skillfully outmaneuvered allies and adversaries alike. With the backing of the SS and the spread of Nazi ideology, he consolidated power, paving the way for a catastrophic global conflict. This is the story of deceit, ambition, and the dangerous gamble that led Germany to war.

The Death Marches of the Second World War | DW Documentary

Oct 17, 2024 | In the final months of the Second World War, the Nazis evacuated concentration camps near the front. More than 700,000 prisoners were forced on death marches, often lasting weeks, as the Red Army advanced.

To this day, little is known about this incredibly bloody chapter in the history of the Third Reich. From summer 1944 to spring 1945, the Nazis forced hundreds of thousands of deportees on death marches through Germany and Austria, often lasting weeks. Many prisoners died of exhaustion or were murdered - either by guards or by civilians they had to march past. The unbelievable brutality of these death marches testifies to the general brutalization that had spread throughout the declining Third Reich.

In essence, the death marches were a continuation of the extermination strategy pursued by the Nazis in the concentration camps. In the face of the Soviet advance, the Germans dismantled the camps and attempted to remove traces of the extermination facilities. Having thus lost the means to execute their planned mass killings, the Germans resorted to other methods. They continued the murders, even as the regime collapsed and the Allies advanced.

The death marches are one of the least known chapters in the history of the Third Reich. That’s because for a long time, information about the identity of the perpetrators - and that of hundreds of thousands of prisoners from concentration camps, prisons and labor camps - was restricted.

Today, many previously unanswered questions can be answered thanks to historical research, as well as the testimonies of Jewish and other survivors that has been gathered over the decades.

Chesterfield Cigarettes in World War II | Tobaccoland at War | Industrial Film

Jan 21, 2017 | Chesterfield Cigarettes presents “Tobaccoland USA at War,” a black-and-white circa 1943 “new kind of pictorial adventure” examining tobacco production in such states as Tennessee, Virginia, and the Carolinas — areas that have made “Chesterfield synonymous with American smoking pleasure.” We visit the offices of Liggett & Myers Tobacco, Inc. (Chesterfield’s parent company) in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina starting at mark 01:04 and view production lines and tobacco fields, meeting some of the “fine families” who grow the product. We watch as families work together in the fields (mark 02:25) and later processed. There’s a look inside a farm’s curing barn starting at mark 03:21where the product is later sold at auction — a process shown starting at mark 04:40. The film continues as the plant undergoes a “new” and “scientific” process, shown starting at mark 06:37, which restores to the tobacco leaves the precise amount of moisture needed for a perfect flavor. Eventually, the final product — Chesterfield cigarettes — roll off an assembly line at mark 08:44.

Released during World War II, the promotional film makes note that Chesterfield cigarettes are enjoyed by “fighting men” around the world and is “one of the few comforts” of home as we see a filmed scene of soldiers in a bunker pausing for a smoke (mark 09:25). Starting at mark 09:55 the film visits “the fighting fronts” and a group of US Marines in combat at land and at sea, followed by scenes aboard a US Coast Guard vessel (mark 11:23) and US Navy ship (mark 12:27), as well as the Merchant Marines. Through various battle scenes, the narrator reminds the viewer that American servicemen gain its strength not only from its weaponry but also from support from the home front. As scenes from the Army Air Force fill the screen starting at mark 14:56, the narrator says that “with each pounding the enemy is weakened” And while fathers and sons are away from home, families at home continue to tend to the farms — and the tobacco crops — to continue to meet the demand for Chesterfied’s. …


Not so much an ad, more a propaganda film really! 😊 Don’t be a wussy! Smoke a Chesterfield! Light up! Inhale deeply! Wait a few seconds! Exhale! Oh, the pleasure! 😊 – © Mark Alexander

How Tobacco Helped Soldiers in World War 2

Jun 1, 2023 | Brian from Windy City Cigars sits down and discusses how important cigarettes were in World War 2 and the brand names they smoked.

This is a very interesting and informative video on soldiers smoking in war zones. Führer Starmer should watch it to educate himself before he tries to pass that ridiculous, stupid generational smoking ban through Parliament. It is totally unreasonable to expect our young men to go to war to fight for us without allowing them a few pleasures on the battlefield. A smoke is the least we can offer a soldier in such a dangerous situation. And please don’t be so stupid as to talk of the health dangers of smoking! Possibly dying in fifty years’ time from the health dangers of smoking is totally and utterly irrelevant when a man is in a battlefield and can be killed at any moment. – © Mark Alexander

Darryl Cooper: The True History of the Jonestown Cult, WWII, and How Winston Churchill Ruined Europe

Sep 2, 2024 | “Darryl Cooper may be the best and most honest popular historian in the United States. His latest project is the most forbidden of all: trying to understand World War Two.” – Tucker Carlson

This is the controversial interview referred to by Sir Niall Ferguson in the video below. I am posting this not because I agree with it — I haven’t even had time yet to watch it all the way through! — but to put Sir Niall Ferguson’s criticism of it in context. – Mark

Paris 1941 - Les Halles - Market - Occupation allemande - German Occupation

Jul 10, 2024 | A detailed visit to the Paris market district of Les Halles in 1941 during World War II and the German occupation. The scenes were filmed under the guidance of the occupying authorities and are considered propaganda material to show an excellent food supply and a peaceful and relaxed atmosphere in German-occupied France. The names of the producers Serge Griboff and Richard Chenay can be found in many documentary projects for the occupation authorities at the time.

Une visite approfondie du quartier parisien "Les Halles" en 1941 pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale et l'occupation allemande. Les scènes ont été filmées sous la direction des autorités d'occupation et sont considérées comme du matériel de propagande pour montrer pour montrer un excellent approvisionnement alimentaire et une atmosphère paisible et détendue dans la France occupée par l'Allemagne. Les noms des producteurs Serge Griboff et Richard Chenay se retrouvent dans de nombreux projets documentaires pour les autorités d'occupation de l'époque.

Ein ausführlicher Besuch im Paris Marktviertel Les Halles im Jahr 1941 während des Zweiten Weltkriegs und der deutschen Besatzung. Die Szenen wurden unter Anleitung der Besatzungsbehörden gedreht und gelten als Propagandamaterial. Die Aufnahmen sollen absolute Normalität ausstrahlen. Dazu gehört eine reiche Auswahl an Lebensmitteln sowie eine friedliche und entspannte Atmosphäre. Die Namen der Produzenten Serge Griboff und Richard Chenay und der Firma Nova Film finden sich damals in vielen Dokumentarfilmprojekten für die Besatzungsbehörden. Anfragen/requests:

Anfragen/requests: archiv@koelnprogramm.de archiv@koelnprogramm.de

Henri Lafont, the Godfather of the Gestapo | Documentary

Premiered May 21, 2023 | In June 1940, while France is collapsing and preparing to live on German time, the underworld chooses its side. Thus, Henri Chamberlin, known as “Henri Lafont”, is one of the first French people to offer his services to Germans. Quickly promoted to chief of a police department located at 93, rue Lauriston, Lafont gathered around him a team of professional criminals. Soon joined by corrupt police officers, these mobsters will take advantage of their situation to harass the Jews, loot the country and torture the Resistance fighters. A look back at the abuses of these opportunists, as well as their involvement in the German repressive machine. Directed by: Jean-Pierre Devillers

Secretly Captured Images of German Jews' Expulsion Found – by Chance – in Local Archive

HAARETZ: The photos, taken secretly by an amateur Jewish photographer who risked his life to show the expulsion of the Jews of the city of Breslau in Germany, are being revealed for the first time ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Breslau, 1941Credit: Landesverband Sachsen der Jüdischen Gemeinden
Previously unknown photographs, documenting the expulsion of Jews from Germany during the Holocaust, were recently discovered in a German archive and are being revealed for the first time ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday. Twelve of the photos were taken in November 1941, and an additional photo was taken in April 1942. They show the expulsion of the Jews of the city of Breslau in Germany (today, Wroclaw in Poland).

The photos were taken secretly by an amateur Jewish photographer who risked his life to take them. The German research project #LastSeen, run by the Berlin-Brandenburg Freie Universitat Berlin and which holds hundreds of photos of expulsions from the period of the Holocaust, is now showing the photos on its website. The project is the public's help in identifying the people in the photos. » | Ofer Aderet | Friday, January 26, 2024

Breslau 1941: clandestine photos tell of the Holocaust’s upheaval and terror: Images taken secretly some 80 years ago are being published for the first time to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day »

The British Aristocrat that Joined the Nazis – BBC REEL

Oct 22, 2022 | John Amery was the son of a high-ranking British politician. But unlike his father, he was a traitor. As Adolf Hitler dragged Europe into the Second World War, Amery presented himself to the Germans as someone who could help the Nazis. His actions shocked Britons. When he was eventually captured in Italy he was sent to the hangman.

Film by Jono Namara
Commissioned by Paul I. Harris

My Nazi Family | Silent History | Full Documentary

Apr 14, 2022 | After the WW2, German solders returned home and kept quiet about their actions. What was the price of this silence?

The atrocities committed by the Nazis have been widely discussed at a general level since the Second World War. Less attention has been paid to the fact that the perpetrators of the atrocities have kept quiet about their actions to their own descendants.

This wall of silence has descended around the actions that have been done but that have not been handled and talked about within families. The silence has grown these things into problems that will last for generations.

The documentary My Nazi Family opens perspectives on the consequences of silence and why the antisemitism is growing again. This is reflected in the true stories of the three German families, where the past and the present meet in surprising ways.

The documentary deals with themes of hatred, war and violence and is not recommended for children under 12 years of age.

Director: Ruut Ahonen
Interviewees: Jobst Bittner, Frank Pfeiffer, Caroline Hohnecker, Friedhelm Chmell, Rita Kasimow Brown
Length: 45 minutes
Languages: English – German (subtitled English, German, Spanish, French, Russian, Japanese and Finnish)
Published: April 2022
Producer: Mika Ahonen
Production: Hurttimurtti


Please note that this documentary is not suitable for children. / Bitte beachten Sie, daß diese Dokumentation für Kinder nicht geeignet ist. / Attention, cette documentation ne convient pas aux enfants. – Mark

The Forgotten Australian Hero Who Saved Thousands from the Nazis’ Crimes

THE OBSERVER: Bruce Dowding’s war exploits were never recognised. Now in a new book his nephew says it’s time to give him the honour he deserves

Bruce Dowding volunteered as an interpreter for the British army after war broke out while he was studying in France. Photograph: Pen & Sword
Ayoung Australian who joined the French Resistance, worked undercover for British intelligence, and helped to save thousands of lives in war-torn France was guillotined by the Gestapo in 1943 after he was betrayed by a British double agent.

Yet Corporal Bruce Dowding’s bravery and ultimate sacrifice have been largely forgotten because France’s attempt to award him its highest national honours – the Croix de Guerre and Légion d’honneur – came up against his own country’s bureaucracy.

Now Dowding’s family are calling for him to receive the honours that he deserves and for Australia to recognise him as one of its heroes, after he aided the escape from France of allied servicemen and Jews fleeing the persecution of the Third Reich. » | Dalya Alberge | Sunday, September 17, 2023

Forbidden Love in Nazi Germany | World War II Documentary | Real Stories

Sep 2, 2023 | World War Two was the most destructive conflict of the 20th Century, with 60 million deaths and more than 7 million people displaced. But nothing can stop love.

Between 1939 and 1945, thousands, perhaps millions of men and women formed intimate relationships. Yet, the Nazi rules were very clear: German men mustn’t have a sexual partner with someone from an ‘inferior race’! Doing so was under penalty of imprisonment, or even death. Homosexuals were also persecuted by the Nazis. 10,000 were sent to the Reich’s concentration camps. And to these prohibitions, one can add the prohibitions of the Allies.

For the first time, survivors who dared to sleep with the enemy during the war, and their children born into the shame of these forbidden unions, have agreed to break the taboo. Through the narration of four illicit stories and emblematic love affairs of the Second World War, this universal documentary sheds new light on the worst conflict in history.


Please be aware that this documentary is totally unsuitable for children. It is also unsuitable for the narrow-minded. – Mark

What Living in London Was Like during the Blitz | Cities At War: London | Timeline

Aug 10, 2017 | This programme includes an award-winning trilogy whose theme is the miraculous resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.

You can sign up to this History Hit documentary service, at a huge discount by using the code 'TIMELINE' here.

The Former British King and the Nazis | Edward VIII: The Traitor King | BBC Select

May 19, 2022 | Historians examine newly discovered sources relating to the Duke of Windsor, the former king who renounced the throne to marry Wallace Simpson. This revelatory Edward VIII documentary explores his life after abdication, his connections with the Nazi Party, and evidence that he encouraged Germany to bomb the UK into submission during World War Two so he could regain the throne.

Spectacular Colorized Film of the Beginning of the German Occupation of The Netherlands during WW II

Premiered Apr 23, 2023

Liberation of Paris after Four Years of Nazi Occupation (June to August 1944)

May 26, 2023 | This is an excerpt from the film "The Spirit of Liberation": click here. Between the 19th and 25th August 1944 during the Second World War and in the course of Operation Overlord, the liberation of Paris took place. The capital of France had been occupied by German troops since June 1940. In mid-August 1944, a general strike set in motion the events of the eventual liberation, and an open revolt by French resistance fighters followed from 19th August. Allied formations advanced towards Paris in support, and soon the German city commander Dietrich von Choltitz capitulated in defiance of explicit orders from Adolf Hitler.

Saved by Schindler’s List | Celina Biniaz | Jewish-American Heritage Month | USC Shoah Foundation

May 22, 2023 | Holocaust survivor Celina Biniaz was the youngest female on Oskar Schindler’s famed list. Celina survived the Kraków Ghetto, Nazi labor camps, and Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp before being rescued by Oskar Schindler, the German businessman who saved more than 1,000 Jews from the Holocaust.

Celina, 91, is a longtime friend of USC Shoah Foundation. Both Celina and her mother recorded testimony for USC Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive in 1996. For many years after the war, Celina was reluctant to share her story because she feared no one could comprehend what she had been through. That changed in 1994, when Steven Spielberg brought Oskar Schindler’s story to the screen with Schindler’s List and established Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, which later became USC Shoah Foundation.

Celina often says that “Oskar Schindler gave me life, but Steven Spielberg gave me a voice.” Some of Celina’s testimony was included as an extra feature on a DVD release of Schindler’s List, to help fight Holocaust denial. …

Poland Is Demanding €1.3 Trillion in Reparations from Germany – What's Behind This Claim? | DW News

Over eighty years after World War II began, Poland is demanding €1.3 trillion euros in reparations from Germany to compensate for the wartime devastation it caused. But Germany considers the issue to be long settled. Who is in the right?

The Phoney War: Why Didn't the Allies Act? | Price of Empire | Timeline

Jun 14, 2022 • What were the noteworthy events at the beginning of World War II? See rare archive footage and hear remarkable testimony on early advances made by Germany, Italy and the USSR.

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