leon_k_92 This documentary is awesome for people who would take everything for granted as it stands in the recent history, I for one don't.I don't really think it is that simple, I understand the climate that the world felt when the documentary was produced, but haven't you noticed that usually the winners write the history, haven't you noticed that the climate the world felt back in 70' even now even though we are entering some kind of enlightenment which still stands for conspiracy, was determined by the winners.First of all I am not pro Hitler, I try to be neutral and honest. But do you in a sane mind think that one person alone made one of the most populated countries to hate the Jews? I didn't see one episode where they explained how, why what is the real reason Hitler came to power.What about an episode where the truth was shown, where they show what the winning countries of WWI did to the Germans after the war, how they humiliated them (even on the streets) let's not talk about the global humiliation. The Jews role in all of this, why did the Germans hated them... I didn't see any explanation on how Mussolini was hanged by his own people, at the same time kids were dying in the name of Hitler how come.. I did not see explanations on how Germany from being a humiliated country and completely broke, rose up under Hitler to become as powerful as it became, alone to handle the war against the whole world.Other things, the climate of not being able to raise your hand, the idea of not being able to have Hitler as a surname, not being able to even QUESTION anything otherwise you are anti Jews you are a racist and all of these things are really making me think you are hiding something.. How come people like Genghis Khan, Roman empire Caesars, Alexander, Muhammed and who not... people who conquered killed thousands and millions are celebrated.. Filthy conquerors aren't they by today standards.. Well if i were a German id take some pride in this, won't let just to be humiliated, after all they fought the whole world, unjustly all the greatest countries in the world conspired against ONE countries alone. They barely won.This topic has no ending.. Jews: i have nothing, literally nothing against Jews, its inspiring to see the country of Israel where it stands among other Muslim countries and it looks like different planet blossomed flower in terms of development compared to the others, it's inspiring.. Jews have produced amazing scientist and people who contributed to the development of the world we see today, my personal hero Carl Sagan is a Jew i get inspired from him every day. I will never support what was done to the Jews.. I will question weather they were 6 million but even if they were 250th, nothing justifies it.. But did Hitler had any point on what was he doing, I guess he did just as Americans did with the Indians, some do it straightforwardly some do it secretly... But the winners write the history as I said...The treatment of Jews is nothing worse compared to the treatment of the Indians and the Africans in America.. If Germans won the war this would not be such a big of a deal.. I don't see people getting crazy on the Americans for what they did to the black people.. for me it has the same severity if not even bigger.. same goes for the Indians too. plus not to mention what destruction have the human races suffered in the past but nobody seems to care anymore.I am not sure that the Brits and USA choose the right ally but time heals everything. Brits lost their empire and the world domination..(Just as it was predicted in Hitler's book.( many things were predicted in that book but never mentioned in the documentary all that was mentioned was that "if germany lose the war it will take all the world with them, which was taken out of contest anyway) ). After all i didn't see one episode where it was shown how Germans spared the whole British army at Dunkirk, all i heard was that Nazis were insane killing machine... Overall there are some great episodes too, but overall highly biased. 5.7/10

hmoika I remember watching this with my parents when it was first aired in the U.S. It has certainly stood the test of time.Everything about it is absolutely top flight. The researchers are really to be commended above all others associated with this work.When it was released on VHS. I bought up the set; and when it was released on DVD, I replaced my VHS collection; with one exception: what seems inexplicable to me is what was left out of the DVD version of the episode "Genocide." This is the ONLY episode where Laurence Olivier comes in front of the camera, and issues a warning concerning the graphic content of the episode. He also warns all of us never to forget. As he says, "This happened in our time...."My VHS copy has this intro. But the DVD does not. Inexplicable.Needles to say, I saved the VHS copy, and watch it from time to time.

jr-565-26366 No other TV program has affected me more than this series. Before watching this program the only thing I knew about World War II was from the adventurous and funny war stories that my uncles or my dad's army buddies would tell over beers. To this kid the war was all adventure and excitement that anyone would love to live through. Watching this program as a young man shaped my views about life and war. War was something I had no illusions about and when I finally did go to war, it was every bit as bad as I expected it would be.It has been the most ambitious attempt ever made to document the war in its entirety and accomplished what no program has ever been able to do since. This show aired in the United States between September 1973 and May 1974. I always knew when the show was ready to start when I heard the memorable Thames Television theme. The show's introduction depicted photos of people being consumed by the bonfire of war to a sad and haunted score composed by Carl Davis. The series was narrated by Laurence Olivier, with a voice you will never forget.The main draw to watching this show is that the producers were able to interview some of the most important participants of the war, such as American diplomat W. Averell Harriman, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, Lieutenant General Brian Horrocks, Wynford Vaughan Thomas, General Hasso von Manteuffel, Major General Francis de Guingand, Albert Speer, General Mark Clark, General Curits Lemay, Admiral Karl Donitz, Marshal Sir Arthur Harris and Major General J. Lawton Collins among others. This is what makes this show unique because it was really the last chance to interview these personalities as no show will ever have a chance to do this again.The show also interviewed every day soldiers, sailors and airmen from about every country from both sides about their experiences. The most memorable include actor James Stewart describing how he led bombing missions over Europe. The most ironic is the Japanese officer fondly reminiscing about how the "comfort" girls "sacrificed" themselves to give young Japanese soldiers their first and sometimes last sexual experiences before they were killed in battle. Others included my favorite author Richard Tregaskis and cartoonist Bill Mauldin. My favorite episodes include, "Barbarossa", "Banzai", "On Our Way", "The Desert", "Stalingrad", "A Lovely Day Tomorrow", "Morning", "Pacific" and "Remember". The score and sound effects really enhance the story line of each episode like no other series I have ever seen except maybe Ken Burn's, "The Civil War".The only flaw to this series is that it was released the same year that the story of Ultra was finally revealed. Ultra's impact on the war was such that its revelation rendered every history written or documentary produced before 1974 obsolete. Unfortunately, this show never got a chance to incorporate the Ultra story into its episodes. A couple of points to consider: My generation was unique and maybe blessed to have grown up or be raised by the generation that fought this war. I hesitate to call them "The Greatest Generation" because many of them don't buy into that title. Every adult male I ever knew while growing up - relatives, my teachers, my coaches, my neighbors and later on, my Army leaders - were all veterans of this war (or the Korean War). Their outlook and philosophy was based on their experiences and this series explains why. Another point to consider. A woman once asked me why we were so destructive during the Vietnam War, why did we devastate the country? I pointed out that many of the military leaders of the Vietnam War began their careers as young officers in WWII. These men were responsible for leveling the great cities of Europe and Japan - Berlin, Vienna, Dresden, Nuremberg, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Tokyo. They destroyed many of Western Europe's cultural and historical sites in order to free Europe from tyranny. So what did a no name, two bit Asian village mean to them? We dropped more bombs in SEA than WWI, WWII and the Korean War combined. But that is for another review. I highly recommend this documentary to any historian, war gamer, military professional and everyday person who wants to learn more about this war. This show is as relevant today as when it first appeared over 40 years ago. There will never be another show like it about WWII. Even to this day, whenever I am channel surfing and run across an episode, I stop what I'm doing to watch....and remember.

mm-39 I have a passion for military history, and believe The World at War is best documentary about World War 2. There is no bias with the series, just solid documented facts. The series documents battles, strategies, leaders, personalities, equipment, what the conditions where like etc. The strongest part of the series is the interviews with the people who were actually there, and many are prominent people. (I E Albert Spears). Olivier is a great narrator and creates a level of excellence for the series. The World at War never becomes dated, and can be watched repeatedly. I give the series a ten out of ten. Watch the series on the military channel.