World War (1939-1945)

Ken Burns' new three-part documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, explores what everyday Americans knew — or didn't know — about what the Nazis were doing in Europe.

China scholar Michael Beckley says China is engaged in the largest military buildup since World War II, and is being increasingly aggressive with its Asian neighbors and with the U.S.

Lesley M.M. Blume's book tells the story of John Hersey, whose on-the-ground reporting in Hiroshima, Japan, exposed the world to the devastation of nuclear weapons. Originally broadcast Aug. 19, 2020.

Historian David Nasaw tells the story of more than a million people stranded in defeated Nazi Germany after World War II. Some felt they couldn't return to their home countries under Soviet control. Others were Jewish survivors who had no homes to return to. Nasaw's book is 'The Last Million.'

Mark Harris says the military worked with Hollywood directors to create movies about the war. His book, Five Came Back, is the basis for a new Netflix docu-series. Originally broadcast March 3, 2014.

TV critic David Bianculli says the new documentary series Five Came Back, based on the book of the same name, "leaves you hungry to seek out more (films) from the briefest documentary short to the subsequent Oscar-winning postwar features.

In 1944, World War II was dragging on and the Nazi forces seemed to be faltering. Yet, in military briefings, Adolf Hitler's optimism did not wane. His generals wondered if he had a secret weapon up his sleeve, something that would change the war around in the last second.

Code breaker Leo Marks died January 15th at the age of 80. He served as one of Britain's top code makers during WWII. There he revolutionized the military's code making methods. He wrote about his experiences in Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945. Marks was also a screenwriter. His most famous film was the 1960's cult-classic Peeping Tom.

Gibson's new movie tells the story of the first conscientious objector to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor. Critic David Edelstein says Hacksaw Ridge is the work of a remarkable filmmaker.

Writer Arthur Allen describes how a WWII scientist in Poland smuggled the typhus vaccine to Jews — while his team made a weakened version for the Nazis. Originally broadcast July 22, 2014.