World War II: Behind Closed Doors [DVD]

I loved every episode of the series. I admire Laurence Rees' approach to his work - every episode is exceptionally meticuliously researched, actors re-enacting historical figures are actually matching in their physical appearance the originals. I was astonished I could recognise Hans Frank, Governor of General Government in occupied Poland, in one of the actors even before captions with his name came. From that moment I was entirely convinced this is the series to watch. Good to know someone can be so meticulous about his work to chase around the lookalikes of historical, long gone figures, some of them of rather low importance. Another point was Katyn Massacre re-enactment in episode 1 - I believe it's a first time that horrendous crime was exposed in such a graphic way (except Andrzej Wajda's movie); technical details of execution show the highest level of professionalism in a historical research.
William Podmore's review seems to be biased. We all know the reality of Soviet Uniom, we all know abou terrible crimes Stalin and his stooges commited, we all know about scale of Gulag deaths, about Ukrainian hunger (Holodomor) in 1930's etc. We all know Stalin killed more his own citizens than Hitler. Stalin was a horrendous tyrant and one of the worst criminals in mankind history. It's undeniable.
So how someone can draw the conclusion that above documentary which only states obvious, in many cases well known facts to everyone, is a 'hymn of hate against the Soviet Union and Stalin in particular' is a total mistery to me. Well, I suppose some people still dream about communist utopia...
Five stars, that's my verdict...

Most people are familiar with the battles of WW2 to some extent whether they are aware of the outcome, the timing or the combatants involved. But there was another dimension to this war - the political. Only some people are aware of this dimension but it is only subsequent to the collapse of Communism that many new aspects have been uncovered.

This DVD commences with the unexpected & unlikely alliance between Nazi Germany & Soviet Russia which had as its aim not only to dismember Poland but to divide Eastern Europe into various spheres of influence. Despite diametrically opposed ideologies, the Nazis & the Communists found that not only that it was marriage of convenience but that they were like minded due to the similar modus operandi. Little known or recently revealed facts are presented to portray this relationship.

However the bulk of this DVD comprising 6 episodes, deals with the uneasy relationship between the Allies - Stalin, Roosevelt & Churchill. From the outset, this would be a difficult relationship due to the fact that Roosevelt & Churchill instinctively understood that they were dealing with evil incarnate but that in order to defeat another evil viz Nazism, they would have to consort with this devil.

This results in many awkward situations where the Churchill & Roosevelt have to avert their gaze & ignore unpalatable facts. One such case was that of the discovery by the Germans of the Polish officers murdered at the express request of Stalin at Katyn Forest.

As the western leaders had differing views on how to handle Stalin due to their fear - in my view highly unlikely - that the Russians would either be defeated or alternatively pursue peace with the Nazis, they pandered to Stalin. Instead of laying the facts on the line, both leaders pulled their punches instead of speaking truth to power.

Lawrence Rees has again produced an excellent documentary which illuminates the previous hidden aspects of WW2. As such it is without compare.

I am sorry W Prodmore has a problem with this series. It is one of the best of its genre for a long time. The re-anactments, sometime I normally avoid,have been very well done for a change.
May I suggest W Prodmore gets himself the DVD 'SOVIET STORY' and sit down and watch it. It will open his eyes a lot wider to the horrors of the Soviet System that murdered untold numbers, probably approaching 75 million during Stalin's lifetime of terror alone.
Remember always the NKVD ,later the KGB, ran training camps for the Gestapo, showing their methods of Gulag construction and running, and worst still, the finer acts of the cruelest methods of torture ever known to man.