Figure 3. George Harding, Over The Top ( US Army Art Collection).

Figure 3. George Harding, Over The Top ( US Army Art Collection).

It is also difficult to underestimate the significance of The World at War in methodological terms. The

 programme functions both as a public educational tool, and as a receptacle of primary source material. The oral testimonies that form the basis of each episode build an invaluable repository of first-hand accounts of the war. In the process of creating a television series, the production team behind The World at War created a historical catalogue for posterity. 

The holistic geographical approach of The World at War is mirrored in its wide-ranging selection of interviewees. Creator Jeremy Isaacs was determined to feature input from all aspects of society, rather than just established figures. As such, each episode typically featured interviews with civilians, members of the military, and politicians alike. The series is not simply a military account, but also considers wider social, political, and cultural issues. Crucially, therefore, the viewer is therefore left with a holistic impression of the experiences – not just the events – of the Second World War. 

Certainly, The World at War is far from flawless in a modern context. Unavoidably, it is a product of its time. The programme’s graphics appear outdated to twenty-first century eyes. At times, there is a detectable sense of jingoistic narrative, with the ‘plucky’ British pitted against a mechanical foe. Equally, given the continued growth of gender history, it now appears notable that the series focuses primarily on male experiences of the conflict. 

Nevertheless, in several other ways, The World at War seems ahead of its time. The nuance and accessibility with which numerous complex topics are tackled is impressive. Particularly striking is the way in which the final installment, ‘Episode 26 – ‘Remember”, considers the distortion of memory and the impact of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), long before such conversations became mainstream. 

‘EPISODE 20 – GENOCIDE (1941-1945)’: A LANDMARK IN HOLOCAUST CONSCIOUSNESS

As a Holocaust researcher, ‘Episode 20 – Genocide (1941-1945)’ was of particular interest. I was met with a surprisingly lucid interpretation of the extreme complexity of the Holocaust. In the past decade or so, evidence-based research has pointed towards the need to equip school students with an understanding that the Holocaust was not a self-contained episode. Yet, The World at War also had the awareness to point out that antisemitism had a long history, and one common to the whole of Europe, not just Germany. In 1973, ‘Genocide’ complexified the Holocaust long before it was educational de rigeur.

The World at War also stresses that individual responsibility for the Holocaust, attributed to the likes of SS leader Heinrich Himmler, is only part of the story. ‘Genocide’ touches on the tricky issue of collective responsibility, alongside murky concepts such as ‘bystanders’. The details on hand are harrowing. SS lance-corporal, Richard Boch, recalls in an interview how he witnessed pyramids of corpses in an Auschwitz gas chamber.