World War Documentaries Collection

NEVER AGAIN! was written and produced especially for The War Amps Military Heritage Series by Robin Moir and Joseph Turner, two Canadian musicians who have an outstanding reputation in the music field. The song’s haunting lyrics and beautiful melody have earned it several international awards.

This short film from 1945 demonstrates how broadcasters and journalists relayed war news back to Canada. It includes glimpses of the complex organization behind them – the military PR directors, the censors, dispatch riders, engineers and the Canadian Press and British United Press offices.

This short film depicts the strength and resources of the Royal Canadian Air Force, with its 32 overseas squadrons. It includes footage that explains the Allied air strategy of hitting the German army’s nerve centers and features Canadian airplanes destroying a German munitions train.

In 1945, Great Britain and the United States organized a bombing raid that devastated the ancient city of Dresden. This short documentary returns exactly 40 years after its destruction and celebrates its renaissance with the re-opening of one of the most beautiful opera houses in Europe. One guest at this gala was the Canadian navigator of one of the bomber planes, returning to Dresden on a mission of peace that brought him face-to-face with the people who were once his enemies.

This feature-length documentary focuses on the Canadian pilots who served in the air force bomber command in Britain during World War II. From the outset, it was clear to Britain that air combat would be the key factor in the battle against Hitler’s Germany. Told they would be targeting factories and military targets, the airmen were actually ordered to drop their payloads on civilians in an attempt to annihilate the enemy. Using interviews, re-enactments, old footage and photographs, Brian McKenna’s film depicts the war from the perspective of the pilots.

This short documentary is part of the Canada Carries On series. The secret winter maneuvers of the British Army’s Lovat Scouts took place in the Canadian Rockies during the winters of 1944 and 1945. In combined operations with the Canadian Army, these elite mountain commandos tested themselves and their equipment in temperatures of -50oF.

This wartime short is a musical recruiting film for the Canadian Women’s Army Corp.

This short documentary shows the gruelling training WWII-era Canadian Army officers received in order to “crush the toughest enemy on earth.” Their training is not only in physical endurance and defence; they study science, geography, first aid, weaponry, covert communications and the qualities of a good leader. A sense of camaraderie and teamwork is instilled in the men throughout their training.

This film from the Second World War is a report on how Canadian women were trained to handle many kinds of work in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service. Basic training, everyday life in the forces and the contribution of women to Canada’s fighting strength are illustrated.

In this short film, a letter from a soldier stationed in Britain during World War II is sent home to his parents in Canada. The content of the letter is illustrated with scenes of military life – training, assault courses and recreation along with combat scenes from the Dieppe and Bruneval raids.

Part three of a 3-part series, Canada Remembers, Endings and Beginnings focuses on the final phase of WWII in Europe in 1945 and the aftermath. Veterans recount their memories of the conflict at the Rhine and the celebrations on VE Day, followed by their contribution to the victory in the Far East. These recollections are complemented by outstanding footage filmed by army cameramen. The film also focuses on what transpired after the war, when the soldiers had to reintegrate back into society.

Part two of a 3-part series, Canada Remembers, The Liberators focuses on WWII during the period between June and December 1944. While following the action from the D-Day landings on the shores of Normandy up into Belgium and Holland, the film also highlights the contributions of the women who remained on the homefront. As the fourth largest producer of armaments among the Allied countries, Canada spent much of the war evolving into a formidable industrial nation.

Part one of a 3-part series, Canada Remembers, Turning the Tide documents the years between the outbreak of WWII in September 1939 and June 1944. A compilation of modern day interviews interspersed with photographs and footage from the war, this documentary covers landmark events such as the Battle of Britain, the raid on Dieppe, the landing in Sicily and the battle for Ortona. It focuses on both the Canadian soldiers, sailors and airmen who fought in the war and the women who became part of the war effort, either by enlisting or by going to work in the factories and shipyards.

This silent short film from 1918 demonstrates the devastating effects of shelling. Firemen, soldiers and civilians fight several fires in a village, brick buildings are reduced to rubble, and a water tank in a factory is totally destroyed.

This documentary looks at the events of June 6, 1944, when a combined force of American, British and Canadian troops landed on the beaches of Normandy. The Allied invasion of occupied France was a turning point in the war against Hitler’s Germany. From a tactical view, Canada’s role was limited; strategically, it was pivotal. Part of the 3-part series The Valour and the Horror.