Secret Archives on Elbe

Downfall

September 2004 •German

In April of 1945, Germany stands at the brink of defeat with the Russian Army closing in from the east and the Allied Expeditionary Force attacking from the west. In Berlin, capital of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler proclaims that Germany will still achieve victory and orders his generals and advisers to fight to the last man. When the end finally does come, and Hitler lies dead by his own hand, what is left of his military must find a way to end the killing that is the Battle of Berlin, and lay down their arms in surrender.

Soldier of Orange

September 1977 •Dutch

The lives of Erik Lanshof and five of his closest friends take different paths when the German army invades the Netherlands in 1940: fight and resistance, fear and resignation, collaboration and high treason.

Fort Saganne

May 1984 •French

In 1911, a willful and determined man from peasant stock named Charles Saganne enlists in the military and is assigned to the Sahara Desert under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh.

Decision Before Dawn

December 1951 •English

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

1940-41: Greece, the First Victory

January 2001 •English

This major Documentary reveals the true story of the first victory of the Allies over the Axis powers. It is the Victory at the Battle of Greece! The Documentary portrays the tenacity of the Greek soldiers during WW2, which forced Hitler to disperse his forces in a manner unfavorable to his strategic objectives. It catalyzed the alliance between Britain and the United States and resulted in aborting the Axis plans in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Eastern Front. During the first thirteen months of the war, Hitler's unstoppable war machine had occupied seven European countries and had enslaved a population of 120 million by fighting for less than three months. The surprising seven-month-long Greek resistance to the invading armies of Italy and Germany that followed in 1940-194, gave the Greeks the first Allied victories on land and became a beacon of hope and an inspiration to freedom-loving countries everywhere.

The Counterfeiters

March 2007 •German

The story of Jewish counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch, who was coerced into assisting the Nazi operation of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II.

Nisei Soldiers: Japanese American G.I. Joes

April 2017 •English

Leaving internment camps to defend their country in Europe, Japanese-American Nisei soldiers of WWII became the most decorated unit in American history.

Aldo Giannini: Pacific Theatre

January 2014 •English

Like many other young men of his generation, after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Aldo Giannini joined the Marines with little idea of what lay ahead. After training, he was quickly deployed overseas and fought in the bloody Battle of Tarawa, surviving with a shrapnel injury and the haunting memory of witnessing the loss of 3,250 U.S. lives. He went on to fight in other battles and returned home after 3 intense years of service. Nearly eight decades later, he still questions if winning the island was worth the price.

Adele Shimanoff: U.S. Marine

January 2016 •English

In 1945, Adele Shimanoff joins the U.S. Marine Corps amid a larger plan to bring women into the military in order to “free a marine to fight.” Adele moves away from the traditional Women’s Reserves and into active duty for a year, where she forms lifelong friendships and meets her future husband. He remains in active duty for 28 years after she leaves, giving her a full experience of life with the Marines. More than 70 years later, Adele is forced to confront the idea that she is still needed, even when her friends have passed on before her.

Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!

December 1966 •French

During World War II, two French civilians and a downed British Bomber Crew set out from Paris to cross the demarcation line between Nazi-occupied Northern France and the South. From there they will be able to escape to England. First, they must avoid German troops – and the consequences of their own blunders.

Rommel ruft Kairo

February 1959 •German

In 1942 the Germans devised an operation to introduce in Egypt spies to provoke a rebellion against the British.

Quand Pearl Harbor changea le destin de la France

December 2021 •French

Franz + Polina

June 2006 •Russian

A sad story of love between German soldier Franz and Russian girl Polina.

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.

Letters from Iwo Jima

December 2006 •English

The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.

Valkyrie

December 2008 •English

Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer.

Leningrad

January 2009 •English

When in 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, their troops quickly besieged Leningrad. Foreign journalists are evacuated but one of them, Kate Davies, is presumed dead and misses the plane. Alone in the city she is helped by Nina Tsvetnova a young and idealist police officer and together they will fight for their own survival and the survival of the people in the besieged Leningrad.

God Does Not Believe in Us Anymore

May 1982 •German

After his father is murdered by the Nazis in 1938, a young Viennese Jew named Ferry Tobler flees to Prague, where he joins forces with another expatriate and a sympathetic Czech relief worker. Together with other Jewish refugees, the three make their way to Paris, and, after spending time in a French prison camp, eventually escape to Marseille, from where they hope to sail to a safe port.

Sunflower

March 1970 •Italian

After World War II, a woman refuses to believe her husband, missing on the Russian front, is dead. Flashbacks reveal their brief courtship and marriage. Years later, she travels to Russia with his photo, determined to find him. What will she discover?

Hitler's Secret Science

March 2010 •English

During the Second World War, to give himself every chance of winning the conflict, Adolf Hitler instructed the most brilliant German scientists to develop advanced technology weapons of mass destruction. Among them were the V1, the first cruise missile, and the V2, the first ballistic missile. The document looks back at the context in which their creators worked and succeeded in designing innovations that laid the foundations of modern aviation and aerospace.