B29 Frozen in Time

Doctors at the Front 1939

In Wehrmacht, the direct medical care for wounded soldiers on the battlefield was provided by medics who were part of platoons, companies, and battalions. They could be distinguished from ordinary infantrymen by their special medical pouches, additional water flasks, patches, and armbands. Filmed footage of wounded soldiers do not appear in the propaganda newsreels of the Third Reich. Those films preferred to present laughing soldiers to strengthen the confidence in victory on the home front.
This documentary offers a special behind-the-scenes look at the Third Reich. The documentary series published in the Netherlands under the title 'The German Archive Presents' is a creation by filmmaker and historian Karl Hoffkes, an avid collector of archival material as old film reels. Over the years, he has built up an extensive private collection of film material from all kinds of sources. His own archive has become the basis of a series of documentaries, often playing in the margins of the great events of World War II. This makes the documentaries interesting for an audience who knows the course of the war, but wants to know more about specific aspects of warfare and its impact on the soldiers, civilians and their environment.
The original title of this part of 'The German Archives Presents...' is: 'Als Arzt im Fronteinsatz' and follows the experiences of the motorized medical unit of the 254th Division. The unit has been added to Army Group B, commanded by general (later field marshal) von Bock. For the making of the documentary, the film material of the staff doctor Dr. Karl Trautman is mainly used. Trautman was an enthusiastic amateur filmmaker, who took his 16 mm camera everywhere to shoot pictures of what was happening around him.
Army group B was involved in the invasion of the Netherlands, Belgium and France in early 1940. This is very interesting for people in the Dutch language area. We see the medical unit at the beginning of May 1940 practice in the forests near Kleve and Goch. Marching, simulating an airstrike, taking care of the injured. Then the war on the Western Front begin and the unit behind the "Blitzkrieg" enters the Netherlands. Dordrecht and Rotterdam pass by, after which the army enters France via Brussels. In Abbeville, the medical unit temporarily establishes a headquarters. Via a stopover in Paris, the unit is transported to the east by train. There await the preparation for Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Via Estonia and Lithuania, the German army is heading towards Leningrad, the medical division in its wake. The harsh Russian winter causes major problems for the poorly prepared and equipped Germans. Trautman has run out of film, so the next images only date from the spring of 1942. In 1943 the army calls Dr. Trautman and his unit return to Germany. As indicated in the film, it is likely to save their life. Hundreds of thousands of their compatriots are in battle or are captured by the Soviets.
The home movies of a German senior medical officer that have now been found are all the more significant, as they reflect the everyday life of a medical company in France and Russia in an undisguised manner. The films, which have never been shown before, document a largely unknown chapter of the war on the western and eastern fronts in a unique way.
Written & Directed by Karl Hoffkes ; Polar Film & Medien GmbH Production

Lusitania: Murder on the Atlantic

"Remember the Lusitania!" "Avenge the Lusitania!"
These are the words with which American men were urged to enlist for the First World War. The sinking of this great liner was an event which provoked outrage on an unprecedented scale, marking a pivotal moment in the war. In 1915, it was the fastest, biggest and most glamorous ocean liner in the world, plying the Atlantic between New York and Liverpool.
Then, on the morning of May 17 that year, just a few miles from the port of Liverpool, the ship was suddenly hit by a German torpedo. 18 minutes later it's over, the Lusitania has sunk. 1,200 of the 1,900 people on board die a gruesome death in the cold waters of the Irish Sea. The brutal, unprovoked attack with many innocent victims would change the rules of warfare forever...
Bitter controversy surrounded the sinking. Was the ship as innocent as she seemed? Had the British government secretly used a passenger ship to carry explosives? Worse still had Winston Churchill deliberately sacrificed then Lusitania to bring America into the war?
This dramatised documentary retells the story of the Lusitania's fateful voyage, when the liner, on route to the port of Liverpool, was torpedoed off the south coast of Ireland by a German U-Boat. Its demise was rapid sinking in just 18 minutes, with a catastrophic loss of life. Over 90 years later mystery still surrounds the atrocity. Was the ship as innocent as she seemed? Had the British government secretly used a passenger ship to carry explosives? Worse still, had they deliberately sacrificed the Lusitania to bring America into World War One? Now after painstaking research and the discovery of new evidence, this film can finally answer the questions. Bringing to life events on board both vessels, the film reveals how the political and intelligence communities failed to stop the tragedy.
Based on the book The SINKING of the LUSITANIA by Diana Preston.
Directed by Christopher Spencer ; Darlow Smithson Produced for Channel 4 International, BBC and Discovery Channel in association with M6 and NDR Norddeutscher Rundfunk

Nazi Supership: Who Sank the Bismarck?

Almost 70 years after its sinking, the powerful headlights of two high-tech research submersibles illuminate the silhouette of the biggest German battleship ever. The pride of the German Kriegsmarine: Bismarck. In 1941 the Bismarck was sent out to raid and destroy allied supply convoys in the North Atlantic. With resources vital to their nation under threat, the British fleet went after this supposedly unsinkable ship. But who actually sank the steel giant?
This high-end, CGI-intensive documentary retraces the first and final voyage of Hitler's dreaded weapon: the Bismarck. The Bismarck was a German battleship and one of the most famous warships of the Second World War. The lead ship of her class, named after the 19th century German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, Bismarck displaced more than 50,000 tonnes fully loaded and was the largest warship then commissioned.
Bismarck took part in only one operation during her brief career. She and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen left Gotenhafen (Gdynia) on the morning of 19 May 1941 for Operation Rheinubung, during which she was to have attempted to intercept and destroy convoys in transit between North America and Great Britain. When Bismarck and Prinz Eugen attempted to break out into the Atlantic, the two ships were discovered by the Royal Navy and brought to battle in the Denmark Strait. During the short engagement, the British battlecruiser HMS Hood, flagship of the Home Fleet and pride of the Royal Navy, was sunk after several minutes of firing. In response, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill issued the order "Sink the Bismarck!", spurring her relentless pursuit by the Royal Navy.
Two days later, with Bismarck almost in reach of safer waters, Fleet Air Arm Swordfish biplanes launched from the carrier HMS Ark Royal torpedoed the ship and jammed her rudder, allowing heavy British units to catch up with her. In the ensuing battle on the morning of 27 May 1941, Bismarck was heavily attacked for almost two hours before sinking.
This National Geographic documentary is telling the story with the last survivors and visits the mangled wreck after sixty years.
Written & Directed by Julia Knobloch and Adam Geiger ; Produced by Context TV GmbH in association with Sealight Pictures for National Geographic Channels

The True Story of the Big Red One

"No mission too difficult, no sacrifice too great Duty First!" For a century, from the Western Front of World War I to the modern wars, this motto has spurred the soldiers who wear the shoulder patch bearing the Big Red One.
The oldest continuously serving division in the U.S. Army, the "Fighting First" has consistently played a crucial role in America's foreign wars. It was the first American division to see combat and achieve victory in World War I. One of the few intact divisions between the wars, it was the first army unit to train for amphibious warfare. During World War II, the First Division spearheaded the invasions of North Africa and Sicily before leading the Normandy invasion at Omaha Beach and fighting on deep into Germany. By war's end, it had developed successful combined-arms, regimental combat teams and made advances in night operations.
THE TRUE STORY OF THE BIG RED ONE is pitting Hollywood fiction against historical fact, where we'll examine the reality behind Samuel Fuller's great war movie "The Big Red One". Based upon Fuller's own World War II experiences, the film starred Lee Marvin as the intrepid sergeant of special infantry squadron in various campaigns of the war.
Learn the dramatic story of the illustrious First Division of the U.S. Army - called the Big Red One because of the red numeral "1" on its uniforms' shoulders - from it's organization in 1917 throught the present day.
Produced & Directed by Robert Lihani ; Greystone Communications, Inc. for The History Channel/A&E Television Networks

The Bombing of Darwin: An Awkward Truth

Death and destruction, courage and mateship, desertion, chaos and looting this is the untold story of what really happened during the bombing of Darwin in February 1942and how the nation would know nothing about it.
Following the fall of Singapore, many feared a Japanese invasion was imminent, but with the bulk of its troops overseas, Australia was unprepared and ill equipped for war on its own doorstep. On the 19th of February the nations darkest fears would be realised.
At 9.58am Japanese bombers and fighter planes appeared in the sky over Darwin and began a day of carnage. By its end the surprise attack would leave over 250 people dead, a town in burning ruins, eight ships sunk and an air-force base carpet bombed into oblivion. To this day it is one of Australia's greatest disasters.
This was an attack led by the same Japanese force that attacked Pearl Harbour, yet more civilians were killed, more bombs were dropped and more ships were sunk in Darwin. However, the magnitude of this attack and the death and devastation that followed has for decades remained virtually unknown. Why?
Drawing on long-hidden documents, using dramatisations of the Lowe Royal Commission and first person accounts, "The Bombing of Darwin: An Awkward Truth" reveals the true story surrounding the attack.
Incorporating some rarely seen archival footage, evocative re-enactments, eyewitness accounts from survivors and expert commentary, the documentary finally reveals the little known facts about the bombing raids on the 19th February 1942 and the disturbing events that occurred in their aftermath.
"There was a Coral Sea, a Pearl Harbourbut there's no name given to Darwin," says Anti Aircraft Gunner Jack Mullholland . "And it was a battle. There's no exaggeration when I say that. And yet Australia knows nothing about it."
Written & Directed by Steve Peddie ; Produced by Artemis International and Screen Australia with History Channel and Screenwest

Pakistan: Journalists under Fire

Journalists in Pakistan say they are under attack, with 140 targeted in just 12 months. They describe physical assaults, detentions, and even killing, often after criticising Pakistan's powerful military. Mobeen Azhar investigates their allegations of a campaign of fear and violence.