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WWII a new cinematic approach.

• Message 1.Β 

  Posted by PaulRyckier (U1753522) on Sunday, 10th January 2010

  Our German contributor Thomas hinted me here in another thread about the 14 1/2 hour series of "The War" by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick. I have now seen some 12 hours on the French-German Arte7+. After the first episodes I saw already that I have seen several episodes in English I don't remember on what TV channel. I think when the series appeared I made some comments about it here on the messageboards as I see now by doing research for the links that I already provided at least one link on these boards.
  
  Seeing some episodes in 2007 I was then already struck by the worth of that work which mix personal testimonies from American soldiers (it is WWII seen from the American side) with excellent "revelating" war footage from the several fronts were American soldiers fought. With continuous descriptions of the homefront, as there was the introduction of black labour in Mobile and the story of the Blacks in the American Army.
  
  I recall here on the boards the personal history of "Trooper?" a British? veteran from Italy saying something along the lines of: "Staying in the morning before an announced battle and hearing the songs of the birds and knowing that that day that many of ours would die in fight..." (I said something! like that).
  
  And yes among others the Battle of the Bulge is fully commented and the atrocities of Malmedy...and the battle in the wood near Aachen that Allan last mentioned is also fully covered. Really the atrocities of war are covered in such a way that we live nearly among the soldiers, mentally and that is in my opinion a great achievement of the film maker.
  
  It is also a link with the book that I last read about the liberation of Europe in '43-'46: "The bitter road to freedom. A new history of the liberation of Europe" by William I. Hitchcock 2008. I read it in Dutch translation of 2009.
  One small story that struck me for instance: An American soldier, who was so upset that those bloody Germans, while the war already was loosed for them nevertheless relentlessly fought further. Seeing a frozen dead German soldier, kicking the frozen head from the body with his shoe and playing as in trance football with the injured frozen head and not able to stop for a while...
  
  Yes, and it was that what I meant in "about history" that one has to transpose himself in the mind of the people of that time to understand why they hailed any action to shorten the war as for instance the two atomic bombs on Japan... But I come back on that book in an addendum.
  
  
  (I am nearly sure that I already provided this link on the boards)
  
  
  
  Warm regards,
  
  Paul.
  

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by PaulRyckier (U1753522) on Sunday, 24th January 2010

  Addendum to message 1.
  
  One of the many interesting facts I learned from the series, was the fighting of Japanese Americans in th Vosges at the French-German border.
  
  
  
  I saw the footage of the episode of the rescue of the "Lost Battalion" at Biffontaine 26 October to 30 October 1944.
  
  
  Warm regards,
  
  Paul.

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by Thomas_B (U1667093) on Saturday, 30th January 2010

  Hi Paul,
  
  IΒ΄m sorry to post in to your thread just now. IΒ΄ve seen the first part of that documentary a few days ago and the start was interesting. For it is a large series, IΒ΄ll come from time to time to that topic.
  
  Best wishes,
  
  Thomas

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