Apocalypse, La Deuxième Guerre mondiale

Aggression

52min - Having taken power and installed the Nazi system in Germany, Hitler turns his sights upon Europe. Unexpectedly, the Fuhrer allies himself with Stalin before invading Poland. France and Great Britain are left without any choice but to declare war against Germany, which does not stop the Germans and Soviets from calmly carving up Poland. Persecutions of Jews and Gypsies begin. To the West, the "phony war" has started - a period of waiting, uncertainty, and also hope. Remembering the suffering they endured during WWI, the French still hope to avoid the war.

Crushing Defeat

52min - On May 10th, 1940, the Blitzkrieg - "lightning war" - is launched. The German army barrels across Belgium, Holland, and France. Following some violent fighting, the British troops panic in Dunkirk and the French army is defeated. Civilians are left fleeing in a veritable Exodus. France is powerless before this mighty enemy and the French are left with the choice between collaborating with Petain or resisting in the spirit of Churchill. Despite the heavy bombing of British towns, Hitler finally sees that he could not yet overcome the United Kingdom and decides instead to turn against his Soviet "ally."

Shock

52min - Paris is occupied, like most European capitals, except London, which resists the German submarines and bombings. Churchill refuses to make peace. Very worried about American rearmament, Hitler decides to attack the USSR so as to complete his domination of Europe before the US can intervene on the European continent - it's a new gamble for him. But drunk from his victories, the Fuhrer is convinced that he can overcome Stalin's Russia within three months. Passing through the Baltic States and the Ukraine, where the Germans are initially received as liberators, the Wehrmacht carries out a real war of extermination against the "Judaeo-Bolsheviks". This reaches its apogee in the "Holocaust by Bullets". Unexpectedly, and with the help of difficult weather conditions, the Soviets defend themselves heroically. It's the beginning of a long nightmare for the German soldiers. Having arrived near Moscow, the Wehrmacht becomes bogged down, just like in Africa where the General Rommel, who had come to help the Italians, is seriously challenged by the Allies. With the Japanese surprise attack at Pearl Harbor, the war becomes worldwide.

The Turning Point

52min - Following the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt declares war on Japan. The war becomes global. Despite their determined resistance, the Allied forces are unable to slow the furious progress of the Japanese army through South-East Asia. Even India and Australia are at risk. The Japanese defeat at Midway, followed by the American landing at Guadalcanal, are the first signs of hope, but also the beginning of long and bloody battles in the "green hell" of the jungle. Meanwhile, the resistance starts to organize itself in Europe and North Africa. Their attacks increase and the British bombers start to spread terror across Germany. Yet nothing seems to be able to stop Hitler's troops. Rommel is at the border of Egypt and the Swastika flies over the city of Stalingrad. The "Final Solution" is instigated to exterminate the Jews.

The Great Landings

51min - The Great Landings (1944) D-Day in Normandy and Saipan in the Pacific practically on the same day.

The End of the Nightmare

58min - 1944, the Allies landed in Italy but are stopped in their progression by the Wehrmacht safely protected behind the Gustav line (Mount Cassin.) In Normandy and in Saipan, Pacific, the Allies organize simultaneously the biggest landings in history. In this harsh fight between the Allies and the Axe, civilians on both sides of the globe pay the strongest price. On July 20th, Hitler miraculously escapes an attempt on his life. The repression is ferocious and the SS take over complete power in Germany. In the Ardennes, the last counter-attack Hitler sets to push back the Allies fails partly due to the GI's heroic behavior. In the East, the Red Army continues to make progress and arrives in Berlin. Nothing more can save Germany, not even its secret weapons, V1 and V2. Hitler commits suicide. In the Pacific, the kamikazes attack the American fleet and the Japanese Army, more fanatic than ever, fights to the last man. To definitively break the Empire of the Rising Sun and avoid a landing in Japan itself that would be incredibly bloody, the Americans launch the atomic weapon. The Apocalypse.

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