Challenge to SDN.net: History of Everything, in Video

[Jub]

I'm not the best person to say how good or not this is, but World War II in HD Colour. I saw it on Netflix, but I don't know if it's still there or not and if our history buffs would recommend it.

[andrewgpaul]

I can't believe that the thread's gone on this long without a mention of The World at War.

I'd second that. Apart from anything else, you get episodes about civilian life during wartime in America, Britain, Germany and Japan, not just another documentary about Pearl Harbour, the Manhattan Project and Normandy. Plus, the list of actual interviewees is damn impressive; quite high-ranking Germans and Japanese as well as Western Allies. A bit lacking in Soviets, though.

The odd episode of BBC's Who Do You Think You Are! might be worth a look. It's about the family history of various celebrities. Obviously, they're UK celebrities, so your friend might not have heard of any of them, but you can see who was featured here. The episodes about Stephen Fry and Jerry Springer would be relevant to WW2, to begin with if you can find them on Youtube or something.