World War II: From the Frontlines

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 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.

If you feel that this series insults your intelligence, maybe you are not the target audience. This series is an engaging way to familiarize students and non-WWII buffs with some of the events and emotions of one of the most influential eras in modern history - without making it feel like ancient history. If you are somehow offended by its simplicity, or the fact that there is nothing you didn't already know, or that the narrator doesn't sound like all of the other WWII documentary narrators you've heard, maybe reframe your expectations and try watching it through a different lens - or don't watch it at all. I'm going to recommend it to everyone I know.

Most of the negative reviews have mistakenly thought something as complex as world war 2 can be covered in 6 episodes. They seem to compare this to The World at War which is detailed and 26 episodes long. This is 6. It's emotive with the interviews of people who experienced the war and the black and white footage restored with color adds to that emotion. Some complain of the narration. It's no Laurence Olivier. I would say to those who have marked it low, manage your expectations of what can be showed and explored in 6 episodes of a Netflix documentary for a war spanning years. I don't think the intention was to condense the accuracy of The World at War into 6 episodes.