At 26 episodes, this is the most ambitious WWII documentary series ever produced.
Thanks to Andrew Watermeyer for tipping me off to this doc. He tells me soccer legend Wayne Rooney is “obsessed” with this docuseries.
Trailer for “The World at War”
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- Nazi SS General Karl Wolff—Himmler’s close aide—appears on camera confessing to watching mass executions, a shocking admission Isaacs spent years chasing down.
- The Holocaust episode (“Genocide, 1941–45”) was so graphic the UK broadcast ran it without commercials. That’s how serious they took it.
Watch “The World at War”
You can watch “The World at War” on Prime Video.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 94/100
- IMDB Rating: 9.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 100 (Users); na(Critics)
Director’s Note: The series was produced by Jeremy Isaacs and ran from 1973–74. Isaacs relied on historian Noble Frankland of the Imperial War Museum to map out 15 major WWII campaigns.
They dedicated episodes to each, while 11 more covered topics on the Holocaust, the Nazi rise, and home life during the war.
Release Date: 1973–1974 (UK broadcast)
My Review of “The World at War”
The Setup
This 26-part series puts you inside the war. You hear from soldiers, civilians, politicians, even perpetrators. The opening scene, the massacre at Oradour-sur-Glane where SS troops slaughtered 642 French villagers, makes clear this series is unflinching. From Stalingrad to D-Day to Hiroshima, it documents how the war reshaped humanity itself.
More Highlights from the Doc
- Episode one starts with footage and narration of Oradour-sur-Glane’s destruction—setting the grim tone for the entire series.
- Winston Churchill’s inner circle, like Anthony Eden and Averell Harriman, share on-camera reflections that feel almost too candid for TV.
- Episodes cover battles and daily life: rationing in Britain, Nazi propaganda, occupied Netherlands, and German families under Allied bombing.
- The final episode circles back to Oradour-sur-Glane with Olivier solemnly closing on the word “Remember,” while Haydn’s “Dona nobis pacem” plays.
- Some episodes focus on the Axis perspective—including Japanese generals explaining their Pacific strategy in detail.
Cameos
- Laurence Olivier’s narration elevates every scene, giving it Shakespearean weight.
- Churchill’s son, Randolph Churchill, appears, offering a family view of Britain’s wartime leader.
- Rare interviews with Albert Speer, Hitler’s armaments minister, provide chilling firsthand Nazi perspectives.
Lesser-Known Details from the Doc
- Isaacs deliberately avoided battle re-enactments—everything shown is archival, making the horror more authentic.
- One of the series’ editors later revealed they struggled to source SS footage because so much was deliberately destroyed in 1945.
- The series was shot on 35mm film, a costly decision that makes it still look sharp in modern remasters.
- Wayne Rooney, yes the footballer, has said this is his favorite documentary series—he reportedly rewatched it during his playing career.
Wrap Up
“The World at War” is a historical monument. If you want one series that explains WWII in full human and strategic scale, this is it.
Thanks for reading!
Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc