The World at War (1942)

Produced by the U.S. Office of War Information in 1942, The World at War is one of the most comprehensive government documentaries made during the war. Using dramatic archival footage, maps, and powerful narration, the film traces the rise of fascist powers in Japan, Italy, and Germany from the 1930s through America’s entry into the conflict after Pearl Harbor. It vividly depicts Japan’s conquest of Manchuria, Italy’s invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War, Hitler’s annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia, the blitzkrieg through Poland, the fall of France, Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, and the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The film ends with a stirring call for total Allied victory and American industrial mobilization.

• Reel 1: Pearl Harbor & Japan’s Aggression in Asia
• Reel 2: Rise of Mussolini and Hitler – 1930s Expansion
• Reel 3: Spanish Civil War, Anschluss, and Invasion of Poland
• Reel 4: Fall of Poland and the Phony War
• Reel 5: Blitzkrieg West – Denmark, Norway, Low Countries, Dunkirk
• Reel 6: Fall of France and Battle of Britain
• Reel 7: Barbarossa, U.S. Lend-Lease, and Call to Total War