Showing titles in World War II

Scottish-born but a Queenslander to the bone, Jock McLaren was a true Australian hero. As a prisoner, he escaped twice, first from Changi and later from the infamous Sandakan POW camp in Borneo. After paddling a dugout canoe across open sea, he fought for two years with American-led Filipino guerrillas, his exploits so audacious the Japanese put a price on his head.

„Świetnie napisane. Dowiedziałem się więcej o człowieku, który uratował mojego Ojca" – Andrzej Szpilman.

Towards the end of the Second World War and Italy's release from Fascism and Mussolini three young British POW's are liberated. Their mission now is to join up with their comrades. The only hurdle is the 700 miles of German occupied territory between them and safety. This true story is a real adventure of nail biting escapes and escalating tension. Written by Tony Davies it is superbly read by William Franklyn. Schhh...you know who.

The inspiring story of the 13 courageous Black men who integrated the U.S. Navy during World War II—leading desegregation efforts across America and anticipating the civil rights movement. Featuring previously unpublished material from the U.S. Navy, this little-known history of forgotten...

Nicht weit des ostpreußischen Rastenburg, des heutigen Ketrzyn in Polen, befand sich ein zentraler Ort des Zweiten Weltkriegs: das »Führerhauptquartier Wolfsschanze«. Dort verbrachte Adolf Hitler nach dem Angriff auf die Sowjetunion den Großteil seiner Zeit. Dort wurde über die systematische Ermordung der europäischen Juden entschieden. Dort ereignete sich am 20. Juli 1944 das Stauffenberg-Attentat, das der Diktator nur leicht verletzt überlebte. Auf der Basis von Zeitzeugnissen und bislang unveröffentlichten Dokumenten rekonstruiert Felix Bohr den Alltag in der »Wolfsschanze«.

"A well-written and rewarding memoir that provides keen insight into the mindset of a patriotic young man willing to make sacrifices for his country." —Robert Forczyk In this masterful two-volume account, Prussian solider and officer Karl Knoblauch draws on his wartime diaries to detail his...

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was concerned that middle-aged men were being cold-shouldered from service and so on 14th May 1940, Anthony Eden broadcast to the nation, announcing the formation of the Local Defence Volunteers. Within 24 hours over ¼ million men had offered their services, grateful for the chance at last to do something for their Country's defence. At the end of July this force was proudly renamed, and the Home Guard were born. Featuring stories told by Ronald Quartington, Keith Chisman, John Smythe and James Roffey.

Between the 26th May and 4th June 1940, 338,226 men were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk, after having been surrounded by German troops during the Battle of France. 222 naval vessels and 665 civilian craft had continuously ferried between Dunkirk and the British coast, a miraculous landmark in modern history. This is their story. Their real story. Featuring stories told by Ernie Wiggins, Walter Sullivan, Alan Wayland, Tom Waldren, Wally Stokes and Dick Sharpe.

An interview with a British World War II soldier whose name just happens to be James Ryan (Jim). On the 6th June 1944, 19-year-old Jim Ryan, a tank driver, came ashore 3 hours after the start of what would go down in history as "D-Day". By midnight 57,000 American and 75,000 British and Canadian troops were encamped on the beachhead, pinned down by heavy German artillery fire. From boarding his landing craft hampered by terrible weather, setting off on an incredible journey to the disembarkation on Sword Beach, this is the true story of one man's personal war.

On August 9th 1940, 300 German aircraft flew over England and as the Battle of Britain was being fought, an invasion force was being assembled on the other side of the Channel. Goering had promised the Führer that his pilots would deliver the "greatest of all victories", however he hadn't counted on the bravery of those whom Churchill proudly called 'the few'. The Battle of Britain gratefully tells their story.

Winston Churchill became Great Britain's Prime Minister on 10th May 1940 after the country had finally lost all faith in the great appeaser, Neville Chamberlain and he went on to become a symbol of national unity throughout World War 2. This programme will be a lasting tribute and commemoration to the man who defined 'their finest hour'.

Nella notte tra il 17 e il 18 luglio 1936, il colpo di Stato delle truppe guidate dal generale Franco segnò l'inizio di una guerra civile che dilaniò la Spagna per i tre anni seguenti: fu una vera e propria prova generale della Seconda guerra mondiale, in cui vennero sperimentate sulla popolazione quelle atrocità che avrebbero caratterizzato il conflitto successivo. Alcuni dei protagonisti furono gli stessi: Hitler e Mussolini inviarono truppe in aiuto di Franco, e Stalin sostenne con armi, uomini e denaro le formazioni comuniste.

Few disasters have touched Australia as profoundly as the sinking of the hospital ship Centaur – one of the deadliest wartime attacks ever on Australia – killing 268 souls on a mission of mercy. Ellen Savage, a fearless nurse from country New South Wales, was the only woman to survive. For more than 34 hours, she and other heroes fought off sharks and helped the injured until rescuers arrived. She was awarded the George Medal for her bravery.

The late Van Slayden trained on the PT-3 kite-like biplane in 1937, but he learned fighter pilot operations flying "by the seat of his pants," walking away from five crashes. Shortly after the invasion of Normandy, he landed on Utah Beach to help establish a US Army Air Forces' (AAF's) presence in Europe. He flew the P-47 Thunderbolt, a fighter-bomber, in combat over Northern France and commanded the 36th Fighter Group—the "Fightin' 36th"—at Batogne, St. Vith, the Bridgehead at Remagen, Operations Grenade, Clarion, Varsity and other missions.

This intrepid autobiography was written by Douglas Baker after having agreed, at the invitation of the Imperial War Museum, to give a series of personal interviews to tell his story, as at that time he was one of the remaining survivors of World War II. Not another run-of-the-mill rendering of war stories, this is the story of a 16-year-old youth who began his journey to manhood when he volunteered to fight on the war front in the desert of northern Africa, as well as in Italy, against the inhumanity of Hitler's fascism.

A born daredevil, John Homan joined the Army Air Forces after the Pearl Harbor attack. By 1944, he was co-piloting a B-24 Liberator over Nazi Germany, raining death and destruction on the enemy. This first-person account of his harrowing missions—chronicling deadly flights through skies of red-hot flak bursts and airmen bailing out with parachutes aflame—will leave listeners staggered by the determination and grit of World War II aviators.

Als Wilhelm Brasse (1917-2012) mit 22 Jahren in das Stammlager Auschwitz eingeliefert wird, ahnt er nicht, dass er als gelernter Fotograf zum Dokumentarist des Grauens wird. Seine Aufgabe ist es, die KZ-Insassen zu fotografieren. Menschen, die kurze Zeit später in den Gaskammern umgebracht werden. Menschen, die von Josef Mengele zu "medizinischen Forschungsarbeiten" missbraucht werden und denen die Todesangst ins Gesicht geschrieben steht. Hätte er die Arbeit verweigert, wäre das sein eigenes Todesurteil gewesen.

A major historical biography of George C. Marshall—the general who ran the U.S. campaign during the Second World War, the Secretary of State who oversaw the successful rebuilding of post-war Europe, and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize—and the first to offer a complete picture of his life...

In the enormous literature of the Second World War, there are surprisingly few accounts of fighting in the southwest Pacific, fewer still by common infantrymen. This memoir, written with a simple and direct honesty that is rare indeed, follows a foot soldier’s career from basic training to mustering out. It takes the listener into the jungles and caves of New Guinea and the Philippines during the long campaign to win the war against Japan.

Battle fatigue...shell shock...PTSD... terminology changes. The pain remains. Paul Eastman, a small-town Wisconsin boy turned P-40 fighter pilot, lands in the jungles of Assam and Burma in 1943. Lt. Eastman's compelling story, gleaned from his diary and letters home and illustrated with his personal photos, provides unique insights into the realities of combat life and death, punctuated by love and concern for the wife he left behind.