Der Zweite Weltkrieg: Von der Front

I binged this series. What I enjoyed the most was the ability to show every country's suffering, in spite of what we may have been told or read growing up; it reminds you that suffering came from all over the world and that many didn't want to fight, but had a duty. Watching the footage and knowing this was actual footage, and actual accounts by those enduring the war was what touched me the most. It is important that documentaries like these are continued to be made so that we remember how people suffer , and continue to suffer in this world. Other reviewers have mentioned that there are historical inaccuracies in the series, I cannot attest to this, but it definitely leaves the viewer with a lot of questions. But again, if you want to learn more or verify, you have the ability to do that , this series was a good way to get witnesses' accounts of the war.

Amazing restored footage and personal interviews but misses the mark on accurate history. Went out of the way to show the actions of the Allies that cast them in a bad light. Makes no mention that Germany targeted civilians first in the Battle over Britain. Made no attempt to explain the loss lives in the invasions of the smaller islands that led the US to estimate the millions that would have died in fighting for the main islands of Japan. Italy did not conquer Greece either. Jon Boyega's narration was terrible. You would think English was not his native tongue. I would say it's worth watching for the interviews and restored frontline film. Take the history as slanted and in some cases just wrong.

The series tells the story of ww2 with a remarkable lack of context. There is little explanation as to WHY things happened. However, the picture restoration is impressive. It can be useful as an introduction to ww2, but this series is useless if you seek a deeper historical understanding.

There is no mentioning of the Great War, which was an important factor as to why ww2 started in the first place. Nor any mentioning of why Germany and England started bombing each other's capitals.

As a documentary, these shortcomings ruin the experience.

It is however interesting to hear what people who actually lived the war experienced. I'm just frustrated by the lack of historical context...

At the first episode we watch the really amazing captures of the expansion of the Axis in Europe and Asia. What is really frustrating is the description of the Italian invasion of Greece and the presumably "soft" resistance of Greece. That never actually happened. The invasion of Greece failed and the resistance was relentless resulting to the first win against Axis Powers on land. The invasion of Greece happened many months later after the German involvement. Colouring films is not sufficient if you don't know facts. The WWII is studied well enough and if you just Google it you can learn some things. Such a shame.

I have watched a great many documentary series on WW2 & also read a great deal on the subject. Far from being an expert on the matter I do however enjoy watching new material so thought I'd give this long awaited series a try.

The colourisation is pretty well done. It does look a bit off sometimes but generally it holds up nicely. Much of the footage you may well have seen before but it's all knitted together extremely well and while not exactly on the epic scale of World At War it does cover the basics quite well. That being said there are a few historical inaccuracys that don't detract from the overall retelling of such a monumental period in our history.

This isn't a "deep dive" into the causes and consequences of the war - it's far too short to do that. It is a good overview of some of the key moments of the war retold by some of the people who were there. Some of these survivors stories are utterly heartbreaking, particularly the young Jewish girl who survived a Nazi labour camp.

Now let's talk about the elephant in the room!!! You may well have read a number of reviews on here criticising the choice and style of the narrator. In my opinion John Boyega does a fine job with his succinct and matter of fact style. Ok so it's not Sir Lawrence Olivier but then who is? The script is straight forward and his delivery is perfectly ok. It certainly doesn't spoil it for me and some reviewers would do better to examine their own shortcomings based upon some of their comments.

If you like WW2 documentaries that aren't too "deep" and tell the tale that needed telling then give this a watch. If you want to know every tiny historic detail then watch the World At War. 👍