The Reel Review
Using restored footage from the frontlines of both the warring Allied and Axis powers during World War II, as well as interviews with people from multiple countries who lived through both sides of it, this Netflix docuseries captures the brutality of the world’s largest conflict that resulted in the deaths of more than 85 million people – 3% of the world’s population at that time.
With narration from John Boyega (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens), World War II: From the Frontlines is a succinct primer for the uninitiated on World War II. But what sets this docuseries apart from others is how immersive it is – it is told from the perspective of those who lived through it, up close and personal. The vividly enhanced colorization of the black-and-white footage is the star of the series – it really brings the action from more than 80 years ago to life.
The six-episode docuseries starts in 1939, after Nazi Germany, already having invaded Austria and Czechoslovakia, sets its sights on Poland. With a more European perspective of the war, the series touches on aspects of the war not really covered by American history books: Italy’s invasion of Greece, how North Africans hated their British colonizers so much that they initially supported the Nazi invasion, the brutality of life in the Soviet Union, where an estimated 24 million died from fighting, freezing to death or starvation, with another 25 million Soviets becoming homeless, and that Soviet women fought alongside male troops against the Nazis. It is a fascinating snapshot of a major moment in world history.
REEL FACTS
• The Soviet Union suffered the greatest number of deaths from World War II – an estimated 24 million of the 83 million deaths, due to starvation, freezing to death and warfare.
• While much is known about Nazi Germany’s role in WWII, Japan’s involvement started when it tried to dominate East Asia after its 1937 war with China, which escalated following December 1941 attacks on U.S. and British territories in SE Asia and the Pacific (among them the Philippines, Guam, Wake Island, Hong Kong, Malaya, Singapore and New Guinea), culminating in its largest attack on the U.S. at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
• A 1945 public opinion survey in France showed that a majority, 57%, believe the Soviet Union contributed most to the defeat of Nazi Germany. A similar 2015 survey found that only 11% of Americans, 15% of French, 15% of Britons and 27% of Germans believed that.
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