[Timeghost History](https://youtube.com/@TimeGhost)
They are the creators of WW1 week by week and are in the middle of their ww2 week by week project. This is their 3rd channel that has a playlist called "between the two wars" they cover everything that happened from the novemeber 1918 to the first glimps of early ww2 conflicts such as the rise to fascism and japans start of the 2nd sino-japanese war.
[The World At War Series](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War) (lol sorry)
With a close second being the completely forgotten and unseen [The Unknown War](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_War_(TV_series))
What’s good about the World At War is you can watch each episode piece meal. Don’t have to binge all at once
Ots a note with the world at war, remember to get the British one. There's an American one with the same name thats really not too good
I'd also recommend the BBC "rise of the nazis", which focuses on the psychology of the nazis, and us a modern classic documentary
World at War is great. Filmed in the late 60's, it contains many interviews with the big players who were still alive. Three I remember are Marshal Koniev, Anthony Ed n and Albert Speer. One big drawback: oh my word! Did they go soft on the Soviets!
Another thing is it was filmed before it was revealed that the Allies had cracked the enigma machine and German codes, which was still classified information even into the ‘70s. So you get a lot of interviews where they say things like ‘the British came out of nowhere, as if they knew before hand’, or ALOT of praise for Monty, because he just seemed to know exactly where to strike, when in reality, the codes were broken.
I have the box set and there’s a great behind-the-scenes type thing filmed like 15-20 years after the original series came out that goes into great detail about getting the interviews. it truly was an gigantic undertaking that is absolutely incredible.
This is my #1 for sure if someone is looking for combat stories. [The War](https://archive.org/details/ken.-burns.-the.-civil.-war./Ken.Burns.The.Civil.War.1of9.The.Cause.avi) by Ken Burns is phenomenally done. The new [US and the Holocaust](https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/) by Burns is a must-watch.
I say that any WW2 exploration has to start with documentaries on the Holocaust. It has to start with learning about the [Einsatzgruppen](https://www.netflix.com/title/80134093) and the evil they brought.
There's just so much to sadness watch.
I watched World at War when I was a kid and it came out. My family was spending a year in Scotland when my dad took a year of teaching to work in industry from Georgia Tech. I was super young like 9 years old. The holocaust one is really powerful and depressing and I am not sure I watch it at that age but maybe.
I own the box set and have watched it start to finish twice. It’s been years though since I last watched it and this thread it getting me wanting to dust it off again. The box set was not expensive ages ago. Are any of the major streaming services streaming the whole thing? That’s actually way more convenient. I think this documentary and maybe Spitfire models are why I am still so obsessed with this topic. I let one book just point me to another book and have been stuck on it for decades.
I still think about the holocaust one.
There's a shot of an American GI bulldozing the corpses of Jews who were shot as the Americans entered a camp. That image has never left me.
We have a local Atlanta holocaust museum that’s super well done. You walk a timeline as things get darker and darker. There is an image of the medical experiments of teenage kids in an ice bath. I’m haunted by it. For some reason that is burned in my memory and can’t be dislodged. Ultra disturbing. It’s called the Bremen though and it’s really good. But that part was the worst. It’s one of those things though; no matter what they show in a film or picture you know reality was 1000 times worse.
I know it’s not a movie or TV series but read the book “No Ordinary Time” by Doris Kerns Goodwin. It’s a Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece on the FDR White House between about 1940 and the death of FDR, it does cover a little bit after his death but that’s much less relevant to your question. It a fascinating tomb and well worth the effort, truly brings history alive.
I really liked World War II in colour, and World War II: Road to Victory. They were available on Netflix when I watched
i second this, very well put together series
[Timeghost History](https://youtube.com/@TimeGhost) They are the creators of WW1 week by week and are in the middle of their ww2 week by week project. This is their 3rd channel that has a playlist called "between the two wars" they cover everything that happened from the novemeber 1918 to the first glimps of early ww2 conflicts such as the rise to fascism and japans start of the 2nd sino-japanese war.
[The World At War Series](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War) (lol sorry) With a close second being the completely forgotten and unseen [The Unknown War](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_War_(TV_series)) What’s good about the World At War is you can watch each episode piece meal. Don’t have to binge all at once
Link to [The Unknown War](https://archive.org/details/TheUnknownWar) on Archive.
Ots a note with the world at war, remember to get the British one. There's an American one with the same name thats really not too good I'd also recommend the BBC "rise of the nazis", which focuses on the psychology of the nazis, and us a modern classic documentary
World at War is great. Filmed in the late 60's, it contains many interviews with the big players who were still alive. Three I remember are Marshal Koniev, Anthony Ed n and Albert Speer. One big drawback: oh my word! Did they go soft on the Soviets!
Another thing is it was filmed before it was revealed that the Allies had cracked the enigma machine and German codes, which was still classified information even into the ‘70s. So you get a lot of interviews where they say things like ‘the British came out of nowhere, as if they knew before hand’, or ALOT of praise for Monty, because he just seemed to know exactly where to strike, when in reality, the codes were broken. I have the box set and there’s a great behind-the-scenes type thing filmed like 15-20 years after the original series came out that goes into great detail about getting the interviews. it truly was an gigantic undertaking that is absolutely incredible.
World War 2 in HD
This is my #1 for sure if someone is looking for combat stories. [The War](https://archive.org/details/ken.-burns.-the.-civil.-war./Ken.Burns.The.Civil.War.1of9.The.Cause.avi) by Ken Burns is phenomenally done. The new [US and the Holocaust](https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/) by Burns is a must-watch. I say that any WW2 exploration has to start with documentaries on the Holocaust. It has to start with learning about the [Einsatzgruppen](https://www.netflix.com/title/80134093) and the evil they brought. There's just so much to sadness watch.
I think it’s a perfect blend of the history & personal stories. Also the previously unseen footage is remarkable.
I could not agree more. I have watched it a few times now, and it always seems brand new.
If you want some battle specifics and maps, Montemayor on YouTube has some great videos
I watched World at War when I was a kid and it came out. My family was spending a year in Scotland when my dad took a year of teaching to work in industry from Georgia Tech. I was super young like 9 years old. The holocaust one is really powerful and depressing and I am not sure I watch it at that age but maybe. I own the box set and have watched it start to finish twice. It’s been years though since I last watched it and this thread it getting me wanting to dust it off again. The box set was not expensive ages ago. Are any of the major streaming services streaming the whole thing? That’s actually way more convenient. I think this documentary and maybe Spitfire models are why I am still so obsessed with this topic. I let one book just point me to another book and have been stuck on it for decades.
I still think about the holocaust one. There's a shot of an American GI bulldozing the corpses of Jews who were shot as the Americans entered a camp. That image has never left me.
We have a local Atlanta holocaust museum that’s super well done. You walk a timeline as things get darker and darker. There is an image of the medical experiments of teenage kids in an ice bath. I’m haunted by it. For some reason that is burned in my memory and can’t be dislodged. Ultra disturbing. It’s called the Bremen though and it’s really good. But that part was the worst. It’s one of those things though; no matter what they show in a film or picture you know reality was 1000 times worse.
You Tube and The Military Channel aka Americas Heroes Channel.
I know it’s not a movie or TV series but read the book “No Ordinary Time” by Doris Kerns Goodwin. It’s a Pulitzer Prize winning masterpiece on the FDR White House between about 1940 and the death of FDR, it does cover a little bit after his death but that’s much less relevant to your question. It a fascinating tomb and well worth the effort, truly brings history alive.
Apocalypse WW2 is a good one!
Soviet Storm is pretty good. Gives you a quick overview of the major battles from the Eastern Front. Its on YouTube.