As If It Were Yesterday

Hitler's Forgotten Victims

October 1997 •English

The story of black and mixed race people in Nazi Germany who were sterilised, experimented upon, tortured and exterminated in the Nazi concentration camps. It also explores the history of German racism and examines the treatment of Black prisoners-of-war. The film uses interviews with survivors and their families as well as archival material to document the Black German Holocaust experience.

The Deported

April 2019 •English

The Deported follows four long term residents of the United States, each with an Order of Deportation over their head, and their families as they have to make critical decisions that will either keep their family together and separate them. Their choices are: 1. to self-deport. 2. To take sanctuary in a church. 3. To fight back legally. 4. To fall into denial and do nothing.

Special Flight

August 2011 •French

Switzerland still carries out special flights, where passengers, dressed in diapers and helmets, are chained to their seats for 40 hours at worst. They are accompanied by police officers and immigration officials. The passengers are flown to their native countries, where they haven't set foot in in up to twenty years, and where their lives might be in danger. Children, wives and work are left behind in Switzerland. Near Geneva, in Frambois prison, live 25 illegal immigrants waiting for deportation. They are offered an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and return to their native countries on a regular flight, escorted by plain-clothes police officers. If they refuse this offer, the special flight is arranged fast and unexpectedly. The stories behind the locked cells are truly heartbreaking.

Łódź Ghetto

March 1989 •English

The Polish city of Łódź was under Nazi occupation for nearly the entirety of WWII. The segregation of the Jewish population into the ghetto, and the subsequent horrors are vividly chronicled via newsreels and photographs. The narration is taken almost entirely from journals and diaries of those who lived–and died–through the course of the occupation, with the number of different narrators diminishing as the film progresses, symbolic of the death of each narrator.

The Phoney War

August 2019 •French

September 3rd, 1939. Britain and France declare war on Nazi Germany, only two days after the Wehrmacht invades Poland. This day, the sad date when the fate of the world changed forever, the Phoney War began: eight months of uncertainty, preparations, evacuations and skirmishes.

Coal

March 2025 •Dutch

CHARBON depicts how Europe was built on fossil fuels over the past 100 years. And how it was torn apart by wars that were the result of these same fossil fuels. During 3 trips to Ukraine, Italy and Iraq, filmmaker Manu Riche explains how he and his French-German family are inseparably connected to the fate of the Iraqi filmmaker and refugee Hayder Helo.

102 Years in the Heart of Europe: A Portrait of Ernst Jünger

April 1998 •Swedish

102 Years in the Heart of Europe: A Portrait of Ernst Jünger (Swedish: 102 år i hjärtat av Europa) is a Swedish documentary film from 1998 directed by Jesper Wachtmeister. It consists of an interview by the journalist Björn Cederberg with the German writer, philosopher and war veteran Ernst Jünger (1895-1998). Jünger talks about his life, his authorship, his interests and ideas. The actor Mikael Persbrandt reads passages from some of Jünger's works, such as Storm of Steel, The Worker, On the Marble Cliffs and The Glass Bees.

Five Came Back

March 2017 •English

The extraordinary story of how Hollywood changed World War II – and how World War II changed Hollywood, through the interwoven experiences of five legendary filmmakers who went to war to serve their country and bring the truth to the American people: John Ford, William Wyler, John Huston, Frank Capra, and George Stevens. Based on Mark Harris’ best-selling book, “Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War.”

Extranjeros de sí mismos

October 2000 •Spanish

Lágrimas rojas

December 2006 •Spanish

A Bitter Legacy

November 2017 •English

A sobering look at the brutal treatment of Japanese-Americans before, during, and after WWII as well as the global repercussions that resulted.

Zeitgeist

June 2007 •English

A documentary examining possible historical and modern conspiracies surrounding Christianity, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the Federal Reserve bank.

The Mauthausen Resistance

October 2021 •French

During World War II, the photographer Francisco Boix and other Spanish Republican prisoners of the Mauthausen concentration camp, where 120,000 people died, managed not only to survive their indescribable experience, but also, after the war, to reveal to the world what really happened in that hell, saving from destruction thousands of official photographs taken by the SS.

Operation Foxley: The Assassination of Hitler

June 2017 •French

Throughout his time as head of the Nazi party, Adolph Hitler evaded numerous attempts to assassinate him. However the secret Operation Foxely came the closest to succeeding. Based on declassified World War II documents from the British secret service, this award-winning film reconstructs the detailed plan that nearly resulted in the murder of the notorious German Fuhrer, and why it failed.

Stalingrad - Stimmen aus Ruinen

January 2023 •German

Featuring excerpts from diaries and letters written by local residents and soldiers from both sides, the documentary tells the story of the Battle of Stalingrad through the voices of those who lived it.

Triumph Over Prejudice: The Montford Point Marines

December 2023 •English

Against the backdrop of a world on the brink, the Montford Point Marines transcended enemy lines and formidable barriers of racial segregation. Beginning in rural Virginia, their journey to the front lines of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War is more than a testament to their bravery - it's a reflection of their indomitable spirit and unyielding resolve. Confronting racial prejudices, the heartbreaks of war, and the turbulent transition to civilian life, these men never wavered in their commitment. "Triumph Over Prejudice" dives deep into the uncharted terrains of the Black experience in the early 20th century Marine Corps, illuminating stories often shadowed in history's corners. With cinematic finesse fit for a global streaming audience, the film weaves personal narratives into a rich tapestry, culminating in an epic saga of heroism, perseverance, and the enduring legacy of the American veteran.

Churchill's Darkest Decision

May 2009 •English

The background to, events of and consequences of the Battle of Mers-El-Kebir on 3 July 1940. In that battle, Royal Navy ships fired on the French Fleet in order to prevent it from falling into German hands. A French battleship was sunk and several other ships damaged. Nearly 1,300 French sailors were killed.

Japan's War in Colour

January 2005 •English

Using never-before-seen footage, Japan's War In Colour tells a previously untold story. It recounts the history of the Second World War from a Japanese perspective, combining original colour film with letters and diaries written by Japanese people. It tells the story of a nation at war from the diverse perspectives of those who lived through it: the leaders and the ordinary people, the oppressors and the victims, the guilty and the innocent. Until recently, it was believed that no colour film of Japan existed prior to 1945. But specialist research has now unearthed a remarkable colour record from as early as the 1930s. For eight years the Japanese fought what they believed was a Holy War that became a fight to the death. Japan's War In Colour shows how militarism took hold of the Japanese people; describes why Japan felt compelled to attack the West; explains what drove the Japanese to resist the Allies for so long; and, finally, reveals how they dealt with the shame of defeat.

Operation Mincemeat

December 2010 •English

Documentary detailing the successful Operation Mincemeat in 1943, which led to the Allies successfully invading Sicily and the war turning in their favour.

The Children Who Cheated the Nazis

September 2000 •English

A documentary about the decisions parents made in evacuating their children out of harm's way (the Nazis), and being forced to stay behind, the parents realize that this may possibly be the last time they will see their loved ones.