Wintering in Jakobsfeld

Leningrad. Stimmen einer belagerten Stadt

January 2024 •German

It was one of the great crimes of the Second World War: from 1941 to 1944, a total of 872 days, the siege and starvation of Leningrad by the German Wehrmacht on Hitler's orders lasted. Over a million people fell victim to the blockade, most of them dying of hunger. Countless of these starving people wrote diaries with the last of their strength, and cameramen filmed in the paralyzed city. Evidence from the hell of the siege, many of the film recordings, but above all the written memories on which this documentary on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation is based, remained under lock and key after the war. The voices of those who had suffered through this terrible time should not be heard by anyone, because they did not fit the pathos of the Leningrad heroic song that was officially sung. Most of the recordings come from women. The writers feared neither the enemy nor the Communist Party or Stalin, who often proved incompetent in providing for the population.

La SS : L'État barbare

July 2019 •French

The Last Escape

May 1970 •English

During World War II, American officer Capt. Lee Mitchell (Stuart Whitman) and a British military unit boldly infiltrate German-occupied enemy territory and attempt to kidnap brilliant Nazi scientist Dr. Von Heinken (Pinkas Braun) and bring him back in one piece. While shuttling their prized captive to safety, the Allied forces courageously assist desperate refugees and tussle with overpowering German and Russian forces.

Hotel Berlin

March 1945 •English

An assortment of diverse characters gather at the Hotel Berlin in World War II Germany as the Third Reich falls.

Closed to the Light

September 2021 •

In a moment captured in time, die-hard Italian fascists conduct reprisal executions of civilians in Lombardy during World War II.

Manhunt

October 2012 •Polish

Marcin Krysztalowicz's film is both a partisan ballad, showing the real face of German occupation of Poland during WW2 and a startling war thriller. It tells a story of corporal "Wydra", struggling not only with Germans and Polish traitors but also with his own past...

Father of the Kamikaze

September 1974 •Japanese

Vice Admiral Takajiro Ohnishi could see that Japan's defeat in WWII was inevitable. He came to realize that the only way to force a negotiated solution was to convince the Americans that invading Japan would cause massive casualties on both sides. The cold logic of suicide attacks, where one man and one plane could kill hundreds, seemed the only solution. In one of the cruel ironies of fate, Ohnishi actually succeeded; he convinced the Americans that invading Japan would be too costly in lives. But what he could not foresee was that America had another way of ending the war.

Long Night

October 1989 •Polish

The residents of an apartment complex in World War 2 Poland face a moral dilemma when they discover one of their neighbours is hiding a Jew.

Army

December 1944 •Japanese

Though plagued by ill health all his life, a young Japanese man is obligated to fulfill his family's longstanding military tradition.

War Story

September 1989 •English

This claymation short film uses a real interview for dialogue. Bill Perry relates stories about his youth, his tilted house, and adventures during WWII in Bristol, England during the blitz. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.

Company of Heroes

February 2013 •English

American soldiers lost behind enemy lines during the WWII make a horrific discovery: Hitler has a super bomb in development. Against all odds, they set out to find the scientist in charge of the program who is looking to defect.

Friends Forever

May 2012 •German

Set in the midst of World War II and interspersed with beautiful choir music, the horrors of the war unfold when the Germans realized one of the boys in the choir is a Jew and they must find him immediately.

A Propos of the Truce with Finland

October 1944 •Russian

A rare documentary that shows how Soviet war propaganda presented the events of the Finnish front in 1941–1944. The main emphasis is on the resolution of the war. The film contains plenty of unique footage of the final stages of the Continuation War.

This Life 2: Those Left Behind

March 2022 •Danish

A poignant drama about a Danish family's unbearable loss and total disintegration, but above all about the faith and hope that miraculously gives them the superhuman strength not to give up.

Corvette K-225

September 1943 •English

The story of a Canadian WWII naval vessel, with a dramatic subplot concerning her first captain.

The Igman March

June 1983 •

The story of a forced march of the first proletarian shock brigade during World War II.

To Be or Not to Be

March 1942 •English

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, an acting troupe becomes embroiled in a Polish soldier's efforts to track down a German spy.

The House in the Middle of the Sea

August 2022 •English

After the Germans flooded large parts of The Netherlands towards the end of WWII, the Brouwer family find themselves trapped in their attic surrounded by water. With their rations dwindling, tensions arise within the household.

The Other Way

January 2023 •Italian

Russian front, January, 1943. It's hell: the flurries of sleet take the breath away and Sergeant Bisi can make out nothing in the landscape in front of him.

Das Boot

September 1981 •German

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.