When the World Was on Fire: The Chronicle of the Second World War(2008)

When the World Was on Fire: The Chronicle of the Second World War is a documentary series that traces the global conflict from Hitler's invasion of Poland in September 1939 through its end in May 1945. The war claimed over 50 million lives and left cities in ruins across Europe and Asia. Director Michael Kloft draws on rare and previously unpublished archival footage from battlefields and civilian areas to move beyond wartime propaganda, presenting a clearer picture of the fighting and its human cost. Military historians Antony Beevor, Jörg Friedrich, and Rolf-Dieter Müller contribute expert analysis of strategy and personal testimony, examining pivotal moments from Stalingrad and Iwo Jima to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The series builds a comprehensive account of how the war unfolded and reshaped the world.