World War II in art and literature
Encyclopedia
There is a wide range of ways in which people have represented World War II in popular culture. Many works were created during the years of conflict and many more have arisen from that period of world history.
Some well-known examples of books about the war, like Nobel laureate Kenzaburō Ōe
's Okinawa Notes, could only have been crafted in retrospect.
, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty
, Close Combat, Day of Defeat
, Day of Defeat: Source
, Brothers in Arms
, Wolfenstein 3D
, arguably the highest acclaimed Submarine simulator
franchise so far - Silent Hunter
, the Commandos series, as well as the grand strategy
game Hearts of Iron 2. An RTS game was released based on America's western campaign called Company of Heroes
. In 2001, a massively multiplayer online game MMORG World War II Online
was introduced, and has thousands of players refighting the 1940 Western Europe campaign. There are however also much older games about the war, the arcade game 1942
being one of many examples.
Traditional board wargaming
has replicated World War II from the tactical to the grand strategic levels. Axis and Allies
and other such games continue to be popular. Avalon Hill
and other wargame companies produced such complex games as Squad Leader
and Panzerblitz
in the 1970s. Other popular World War II games still in production include Australian Design Group's World In Flames
and Decision Games reproductions of SPI World War II games.
World War II has also been replicated through miniatures tabletop wargaming. Games like Flames of War
, Command Decision, Spearhead, BlitzkriegCommander
and others have become popular among historical miniature wargamers. A novelty is the upcoming of free internet based wargames in high quality such as Final Round.
at Greenwich
.
World War II has provided material for many films, television programmes and books, beginning during the war. The film aspect had reached its peak by the 1960s, with films such as The Longest Day
(which had been adapted from a book
), The Great Escape
, Patton
and Battle of Britain
. In the UK the actor Sir John Mills became particularly associated with war dramas, such as The Colditz Story
(1954), Above Us the Waves (1955) and Ice Cold in Alex (1958), and was seen as the personification of Britain at war, conveying heroism and humility.
Movies about World War II continued for the rest of the 20th century, though less in number and included The Thin Red Line
(1998), Saving Private Ryan
(1998) and Flags of Our Fathers
(2006). Movies and television programmes about the war continued to be made into the 21st century, including the television mini-series Band of Brothers, The Pacific
and Dunkirk
. The majority of World War II films are portrayed from the Allied perspective (increasingly being limited to that of the Americans). Some exceptions include Das Boot
, Der Untergang, Letters from Iwo Jima
, Stalingrad
, and Cross of Iron
. World War II used to provide most of the material for the USA TV channel, the History Channel. Mel Brooks
used the theme in the fictitious musical "Springtime for Hitler" and in his 1968 film and 2001 musical, The Producers
.
A number of television comedy sitcoms are based on the war, e.g. Hogan's Heroes
from America, which follows the actions of a group of Allied POWs involved in covert activities. Three British sitcoms from David Croft are Allo Allo which makes fun of the French Resistance forces; Dad's Army
which satirizes the British Home Guard, an anti-invasion force of men who are old or in poor health so cannot join the forces; and It Ain't Half Hot Mum
about a Forces Concert Party entertaining troops in India and Burma. In the sixth episode
of Fawlty Towers
, Basil Fawlty
(played by John Cleese
) bases his comical routine on the paramount need that he and his staff be polite and "don't mention the War!" to their German guests, a task in which he signally and repeatedly fails himself. In 2009, an anime adaptation of the webcomic Hetalia: Axis Powers
was released and parodies the characters as countries and their transactions in the war through social adult issues.
Many non-war-related TV shows in the USA such as The Simpsons
, Family Guy
and Seinfeld
frequently make reference to World War II-related persons and subjects, such as Adolf Hitler
, Franklin Roosevelt, battles during the war, the Holocaust and the bombings of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki. During the war several Donald Duck
shorts were also propaganda films.
, Anne Frank: The Whole Story
, Life Is Beautiful
, The Devil's Arithmetic
, The Pianist
, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
and many other films depict the hardship the Jews had endured in Auschwitz and other concentration camps.
, Japan
and Korea
, the War in the Pacific
and the Second Sino-Japanese war
is hardly made into any historical war film
s intended for entertainment use in these countries. However, reference about the ongoing war as a background setting is heavily used as a setpiece to drive the storyline on. For example, Hong Kong martial arts films have used the "cartoon villain" portrayal of Japanese soldiers or generals being defeated by the Chinese lead character in an attempt to stop the Japanese from using biological weapons or stealing Chinese treasures (films like Fist of Fury
, Millionaire's Express
and Fist of Legend
). Some films that depict Japanese war crimes
were also made, such as the controversial exploitation film Men Behind the Sun.
More serious documentary style films have also been made such as the German made documentary "Nanking
". However the depiction of the Defense of Sihang Warehouse
was made in 1938, one year after the actual Battle of Shanghai
, probably one of the earliest Sino-Japanese war film intended for entertainment and moral boosting propaganda. Also recently, to celebrate the Chinese Red Army first victory (out of two major battles the Communists actually fought) over the Japanese, a heavy-handed propaganda film that depict the Battle of Pingxingguan
was made in 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary. However it was heavily criticised by the government of Taiwan
, accusing the PRC
government for hiding the truth by discrediting the Nationalist Revolutionary Army who took the brunt of the battles as it was they who did most of the fighting against the invaders in more than twenty battles. Actually, the PRC has made several films focusing on battles fought by Nationalist soldiers, such as the Battle of Taierzhuang
and Battle of Kunlun Pass
.
South Korea
, which still has strong anti-Japanese sentiments
, recently made a TV series about the Japanese assassination of Empress Myeongseong
and the unfair treatment of the Korean people, also several films based on Kim Du-han
as a freedom fighter were made.
A few pinnacles of the Soviet cinema dedicated to World War Two include:
The Cranes Are Flying
by Mikhail Kalatozov
,
Ivan's Childhood by Andrei Tarkovsky
,
The Alive and the Dead
by Aleksandr Stolper
,
A zori zdes tikhie by Stanislav Rostotsky. In 2001, French director Jean-Jacques Annaud
produced Enemy At The Gates
, detailing the exploits of sniper Vasily Zaytsev during the Battle of Stalingrad
.
Poetry: the Cranes
by the renowned Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov,
Wait for me by Konstantin Simonov
,
I am Goya by Andrey Voznesensky
,
“It has snowed for three days” by Mustai Karim, a Bashkir poet.
in 1945. In 2005, two retired Japanese military officers sued Ōe for libel; and in 2008, the Osaka
District Court dismissed the case because, as the judge explained, "The military was deeply involved in the mass suicide
s". Ōe commented succinctly by saying, "The judge accurately read my writing."
(soccer) rivalries. Most notably, the subject of World War II is used as chants by fans of the English football team. One such chant is "2 World Wars and 1 World Cup
, do dah, do dah."
Campaigns, battles and so on have been commemorated throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century, mostly by veterans of the war and people that lived through it. In 2004 the commemoration of the D-Day
landings took place which included, for the first time, German veterans of the war. Later that year, the commemoration of the campaigns in Italy and the Netherlands also took place. The 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp
was commemorated in January 2005, while many other campaigns were also commemorated, as well as the end of the war in Europe and the Far East.
Some well-known examples of books about the war, like Nobel laureate Kenzaburō Ōe
Kenzaburo Oe
is a Japanese author and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism.Ōe was awarded...
's Okinawa Notes, could only have been crafted in retrospect.
Games
One relatively new development of the "World War II media franchise" is that of video games. They are an extremely lucrative aspect of the gaming industry, and many titles are usually released every year. Some established games series about World War II include Battlefield 1942Battlefield 1942
Battlefield 1942 is a 3D World War II first-person shooter computer game developed by Swedish company Digital Illusions CE and published by Electronic Arts for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh . The game can be played in singleplayer mode against the computer game AI or in multiplayer mode...
, Medal of Honor, Call of Duty
Call of Duty
Call of Duty is a first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision in 2003. It is the first game in a series with the same name. The game simulates the infantry and combined arms warfare of World War II. The game is based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine...
, Close Combat, Day of Defeat
Day of Defeat
Day of Defeat is a team-based multiplayer World War II first-person shooter video game of the European Theatre of World War II. As of 2008, the game is one of the ten most played Half-Life modifications in terms of players, according to GameSpy....
, Day of Defeat: Source
Day of Defeat: Source
Day of Defeat: Source is a team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. Set in World War II, the game is an updated version of Day of Defeat, moving from the GoldSrc engine used by its predecessor to the Source engine...
, Brothers in Arms
Brothers in Arms (series)
Brothers in Arms is a video game series consisting of three main games and seven spin-off games.-Main series:Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30: Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 is a first-person shooter video game created by Gearbox Software for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. It is...
, Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D
Wolfenstein 3D is a video game that is generally regarded by critics and gaming journalists as having both popularized the first-person shooter genre on the PC and created the basic archetype upon which all subsequent games of the same genre would be built. It was created by id Software and...
, arguably the highest acclaimed Submarine simulator
Submarine simulator
A submarine simulator, or subsim for short, is usually a computer game in which the player commands a submarine. The usual form of the game is to go on a series of missions, each of which features a number of encounters where the goal is to sink surface ships and to survive counterattacks by...
franchise so far - Silent Hunter
Silent Hunter
Silent Hunter is a World War II submarine combat simulation for MS-DOS, developed by Aeon Electronic Entertainment and published by Strategic Simulations in 1996. The game takes place in the Pacific War during World War II, the player commanding a submarine of the United States Navy. Most...
, the Commandos series, as well as the grand strategy
Grand strategy
Grand strategy comprises the "purposeful employment of all instruments of power available to a security community". Military historian B. H. Liddell Hart says about grand strategy:...
game Hearts of Iron 2. An RTS game was released based on America's western campaign called Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes
Company of Heroes is a real-time strategy computer game developed by Relic Entertainment. It was released on September 12, 2006, and was the first title to make use of the Games for Windows label. A standalone expansion, Opposing Fronts, was released on September 25, 2007. A second standalone...
. In 2001, a massively multiplayer online game MMORG World War II Online
World War II Online
Also known as "World War 2 Online", "WW2OL", "WWIIOL", "Battleground Europe", "BE".World War II Online: Battleground Europe is a massively multiplayer online first-person shooter computer game. It was released was on June 6, 2001 for Windows, with the Apple Macintosh version being released in 3Q...
was introduced, and has thousands of players refighting the 1940 Western Europe campaign. There are however also much older games about the war, the arcade game 1942
1942 (arcade game)
1942 is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up made by Capcom that was released for the arcade in . It was the first game in the 19XX series. It was followed by 1943: The Battle of Midway....
being one of many examples.
Traditional board wargaming
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
has replicated World War II from the tactical to the grand strategic levels. Axis and Allies
Axis and Allies
Axis & Allies is a popular series of World War II strategy board games, with nearly two million copies printed. Originally designed by Larry Harris and published by Nova Game Designs in 1981, the game was republished by the Milton Bradley Company in 1984 as part of the Gamemaster Series of board...
and other such games continue to be popular. Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
and other wargame companies produced such complex games as Squad Leader
Squad Leader
thumb|Squad Leader game package.Squad Leader is a tactical level board wargame originally published by Avalon Hill in 1977. It was designed by Hall of Fame game designer John Hill and focuses on infantry combat in Europe during World War II...
and Panzerblitz
PanzerBlitz
PanzerBlitz is a tactical-scale board wargame of armoured combat set in the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The game is notable for being the first true board-based tactical-level, commercially available conflict simulation...
in the 1970s. Other popular World War II games still in production include Australian Design Group's World In Flames
World in Flames
World in Flames is a board wargame designed by Harry Rowland and released in 1985 by the Australian Design Group. It is currently in its 6th edition, World in Flames - Final Edition, each new edition featuring changes to the rules, maps and counters provided with the game. World in Flames won the...
and Decision Games reproductions of SPI World War II games.
World War II has also been replicated through miniatures tabletop wargaming. Games like Flames of War
Flames of War
Flames of War is a World War II tabletop miniatures wargame produced by the New Zealand company Battlefront Miniatures Ltd...
, Command Decision, Spearhead, BlitzkriegCommander
BlitzkriegCommander
BlitzkriegCommander is a tabletop wargame designed to re-create battles of the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War using miniatures. It is published by Specialist Military Publishing who also publish Cold War Commander and Future War Commander.-BlitzkriegCommander game play:Players can...
and others have become popular among historical miniature wargamers. A novelty is the upcoming of free internet based wargames in high quality such as Final Round.
Art
The years of warfare were the backdrop for art which is now preserved and displayed in such institutions as the Imperial War Museum in London and the National Maritime MuseumNational Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
at Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
.
Remembrance
Iconic memorials created after the war are designed as symbols of remembrance and as carefully contrived works of art.Literature
The war also figures prominently in many thousands of novels and other works of literature, including many published in the 1990s and 2000s.Poetry
- High Flight (1941) by John Gillespie Magee, Jr. (US pilot flying with a Canadian SpitfireSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
squadron during the Battle of BritainBattle of BritainThe Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
).
Drama
- Watch on the RhineWatch on the RhineWatch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
(1940) - Arsenic and Old LaceArsenic and Old Lace (play)Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by American playwright Joseph Kesselring, written in 1939. It has become best known through the film adaptation starring Cary Grant and directed by Frank Capra. The play was directed by Bretaigne Windust, and opened on January 10, 1941. On September 25, 1943, the...
(1941) - Winged VictoryWinged Victory (play)Winged Victory is a play and, later, a film by Moss Hart, originally created and produced by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a morale booster and as a fundraiser for the Army Emergency Relief Fund. Upon recommendation of Lt. Col. Dudley S. Dean, who had been approached with the...
(1943) - Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(1943) - HarveyHarvey (play)Harvey is a 1944 play by American playwright Mary Chase. Produced by Brock Pemberton and directed by Antoinette Perry, the play premiered on 1 November 1944 at the 48th Street Theatre on Broadway where it was staged for 1,775 performances before closing on January 15, 1949. The original production...
(1944)
Novels
- The Harvey GirlsThe Harvey Girls (novel)The Harvey Girls is a novel published in 1942 by Samuel Hopkins Adams. In 1946 it was adapted for an MGM musical film starring Judy Garland....
(1942) by Samuel Hopkins AdamsSamuel Hopkins AdamsSamuel Hopkins Adams was an American writer, best known for his investigative journalism.-Biography:Adams was born in Dunkirk, New York... - A Bell for AdanoA Bell for Adano (novel)A Bell for Adano is a 1944 novel by John Hersey, the winner of the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel. It tells the story of an Italian-American officer in Sicily during World War II who wins the respect and admiration of the people of the town of Adano by helping them find a replacement for the...
(1944) by John HerseyJohn HerseyJohn Richard Hersey was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer and journalist considered one of the earliest practitioners of the so-called New Journalism, in which storytelling devices of the novel are fused with non-fiction reportage... - Flags of Our FathersFlags of Our FathersFlags of Our Fathers is a New York Times bestselling book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about the five United States Marines and one United States Navy Corpsman who would eventually be made famous by Joe Rosenthal's lauded photograph of the flag raising at Iwo Jima, one of the costliest and...
(2000) by James BradleyJames BradleyJames Bradley FRS was an English astronomer and served as Astronomer Royal from 1742, succeeding Edmund Halley. He is best known for two fundamental discoveries in astronomy, the aberration of light , and the nutation of the Earth's axis... - Those Who DareRaiding Forces SeriesThe Raiding Forces Series is a sequence of World War II novels, written by American novelist and Vietnam veteran Phil Ward.- Overview :Phil Ward, a decorated combat veteran and former instructor at the Army Ranger School, makes his literary debut with the release of the Raiding Forces Series...
(2010) by Phil Ward
Movies and television
Social historians regard the works of popular culture from the World War II era as documents that mirror and define crucial issues and concerns during that time. Individual combatants and those on the home fronts during World War II experienced the war through newspaper reports, radio broadcasts, films, stage plays, books and popular music—all become noteworthy aspects of understanding the period and its impact on what happened afterward.World War II has provided material for many films, television programmes and books, beginning during the war. The film aspect had reached its peak by the 1960s, with films such as The Longest Day
The Longest Day (film)
The Longest Day is a 1962 war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
(which had been adapted from a book
The Longest Day (book)
The Longest Day is a book by Cornelius Ryan published in 1959, telling the story of D-Day, the first day of the World War II invasion of Normandy. It includes details of Operation Deadstick, the coup de main operation by gliderborne troops to capture both Pegasus Bridge and Horsa Bridge before the...
), The Great Escape
The Great Escape (film)
The Great Escape is a 1963 American film about an escape by Allied prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Richard Attenborough...
, Patton
Patton (film)
Patton is a 1970 American biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates, and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H...
and Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain (film)
Battle of Britain is a 1969 Technicolor film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film broadly relates the events of the Battle of Britain...
. In the UK the actor Sir John Mills became particularly associated with war dramas, such as The Colditz Story
The Colditz Story
The Colditz Story is a 1955 prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton.It is based on the book written by P.R...
(1954), Above Us the Waves (1955) and Ice Cold in Alex (1958), and was seen as the personification of Britain at war, conveying heroism and humility.
Movies about World War II continued for the rest of the 20th century, though less in number and included The Thin Red Line
The Thin Red Line (1998 film)
The Thin Red Line is a 1998 American war film which tells a fictional story of United States forces during the Battle of Mount Austen in World War II. It portrays men in: C Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division; in particular those soldiers played by Sean Penn, Jim...
(1998), Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
(1998) and Flags of Our Fathers
Flags of Our Fathers (film)
is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...
(2006). Movies and television programmes about the war continued to be made into the 21st century, including the television mini-series Band of Brothers, The Pacific
The Pacific (miniseries)
The Pacific is a 2010 television series produced by HBO, Seven Network Australia, Sky Movies, Playtone and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14, 2010....
and Dunkirk
Dunkirk (TV series)
Dunkirk is a 2004 BBC television docudrama about the Battle of Dunkirk and the Dunkirk evacuation in World War II.-Awards:*BAFTA Awards 2005**Won: Huw Wheldon Award for Specialist Factual: Robert Warr & Alex Holmes...
. The majority of World War II films are portrayed from the Allied perspective (increasingly being limited to that of the Americans). Some exceptions include Das Boot
Das Boot
Das Boot is a 1981 German epic war film written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, produced by Günter Rohrbach, and starring Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, and Klaus Wennemann...
, Der Untergang, Letters from Iwo Jima
Letters from Iwo Jima
is a 2006 war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...
, Stalingrad
Stalingrad (film)
Stalingrad is a 1993 war drama film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier. It depicts combat on the Eastern Front of World War II, specifically the Battle of Stalingrad and showing the German Wehrmacht in a sympathetic light....
, and Cross of Iron
Cross of Iron
Cross of Iron is a 1977 war film directed by Sam Peckinpah, featuring James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason and David Warner. The film is set on the Eastern Front in World War II during the Soviet's Caucasus operations that forced the Wehrmacht to retreat from the Taman Peninsula on the...
. World War II used to provide most of the material for the USA TV channel, the History Channel. Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks is an American film director, screenwriter, composer, lyricist, comedian, actor and producer. He is best known as a creator of broad film farces and comic parodies. He began his career as a stand-up comic and as a writer for the early TV variety show Your Show of Shows...
used the theme in the fictitious musical "Springtime for Hitler" and in his 1968 film and 2001 musical, The Producers
The Producers (1968 film)
The Producers is a 1968 American satirical dark comedy cult classic film written and directed by Mel Brooks. The film is set in the late 1960s and it tells the story of a theatrical producer and an accountant who want to produce a sure-fire Broadway flop...
.
A number of television comedy sitcoms are based on the war, e.g. Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
from America, which follows the actions of a group of Allied POWs involved in covert activities. Three British sitcoms from David Croft are Allo Allo which makes fun of the French Resistance forces; Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
which satirizes the British Home Guard, an anti-invasion force of men who are old or in poor health so cannot join the forces; and It Ain't Half Hot Mum
It Ain't Half Hot Mum
It Ain't Half Hot Mum was a British sitcom about the adventures of a Royal Artillery Concert Party, broadcast on the BBC between 1974 and 1981, and written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, the creators of Dad's Army...
about a Forces Concert Party entertaining troops in India and Burma. In the sixth episode
The Germans
"The Germans" is the sixth episode of the BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers. It is remembered for its line "Don't mention the war" and Cleese's silly walk when he is impersonating Adolf Hitler.-Plot:...
of Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers
Fawlty Towers is a British sitcom produced by BBC Television and first broadcast on BBC2 in 1975. Twelve television program episodes were produced . The show was written by John Cleese and his then wife Connie Booth, both of whom played major characters...
, Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty
Basil Fawlty is the main character of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers, played by John Cleese. The character is often thought of as an iconic British comedy character, and has been deemed unforgettable despite only a dozen half-hour episodes ever being made....
(played by John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
) bases his comical routine on the paramount need that he and his staff be polite and "don't mention the War!" to their German guests, a task in which he signally and repeatedly fails himself. In 2009, an anime adaptation of the webcomic Hetalia: Axis Powers
Hetalia: Axis Powers
is a Japanese webcomic, later adapted as a manga and an anime series, by . The series presents an allegorical trivialisation of political and historic events, particularly of the World War II era, in which the various countries are represented by stereotyped anthropomorphic characters...
was released and parodies the characters as countries and their transactions in the war through social adult issues.
Many non-war-related TV shows in the USA such as The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
, Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
and Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
frequently make reference to World War II-related persons and subjects, such as Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, Franklin Roosevelt, battles during the war, the Holocaust and the bombings of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and Nagasaki. During the war several Donald Duck
Donald Duck
Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created in 1934 at Walt Disney Productions and licensed by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor suit with a cap and a black or red bow tie. Donald is most...
shorts were also propaganda films.
Holocaust films
Also some films and TV series in an attempt to show and educate the future generation about the horror of racism and discrimination when taken into a national frenzy by making films based on the Holocaust and other German war crimes atrocities committed by the Germans. Movies like Schindler's ListSchindler's List
Schindler's List is a 1993 American film about Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who saved the lives of more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and based on the novel Schindler's Ark...
, Anne Frank: The Whole Story
Anne Frank: The Whole Story
Anne Frank: The Whole Story is a mini-series based on the book Anne Frank: The Biography by Melissa Müller. The mini-series aired on ABC on May 20 and 21, 2001. The series starred :Ben Kingsley, :Brenda Blethyn, :Hannah Taylor-Gordon, and :Lili Taylor...
, Life Is Beautiful
Life Is Beautiful
Life Is Beautiful is a 1997 Italian film which tells the story of a Jewish Italian, Guido Orefice , who must employ his fertile imagination to help his family during their internment in a Nazi concentration camp.At the 71st Academy Awards in 1999, Benigni won the Academy Award for Best Actor and...
, The Devil's Arithmetic
The Devil's Arithmetic
The Devil's Arithmetic is a historical novel written by American author Jane Yolen and published in 1988. The book is about Hannah, a Jewish girl who lives in New Rochelle, New York...
, The Pianist
The Pianist (2002 film)
The Pianist is a 2002 biographical war film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Adrien Brody. It is an adaptation of the autobiography of the same name by Jewish-Polish musician Władysław Szpilman...
, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2008 historical-drama film based on the novel of the same name by Irish writer John Boyne. Directed by Mark Herman and produced by David Heyman, it stars Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga and Rupert Friend.A Holocaust drama, the film...
and many other films depict the hardship the Jews had endured in Auschwitz and other concentration camps.
Eastern Asia
Due to the still sensitive subject between ChinaChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, the War in the Pacific
Pacific War
The Pacific War, also sometimes called the Asia-Pacific War refers broadly to the parts of World War II that took place in the Pacific Ocean, its islands, and in East Asia, then called the Far East...
and the Second Sino-Japanese war
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
is hardly made into any historical war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
s intended for entertainment use in these countries. However, reference about the ongoing war as a background setting is heavily used as a setpiece to drive the storyline on. For example, Hong Kong martial arts films have used the "cartoon villain" portrayal of Japanese soldiers or generals being defeated by the Chinese lead character in an attempt to stop the Japanese from using biological weapons or stealing Chinese treasures (films like Fist of Fury
Fist of Fury
Fist of Fury, formerly known as The Chinese Connection and The Iron Hand in the United States, is a 1972 Hong Kong martial arts film directed by Lo Wei. It starred Bruce Lee in his second major film after The Big Boss...
, Millionaire's Express
Millionaire's Express
Millionaire's Express aka. Shanghai Express is a 1986 Hong Kong martial arts action western film written and directed by Sammo Hung. Film starred Hung, Yuen Biao, Rosamund Kwan, Mei-sheng Fan and Hwang Jang Lee.-Plot:...
and Fist of Legend
Fist of Legend
Fist of Legend is a 1994 Hong Kong martial arts action film directed by Gordon Chan and features action choreography by Yuen Woo-ping, and also produced by and starring Jet Li. It is a remake of the 1972 film Fist of Fury, which starred Bruce Lee as the lead character...
). Some films that depict Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes
Japanese war crimes occurred during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. Some of the incidents have also been described as an Asian Holocaust and Japanese war atrocities...
were also made, such as the controversial exploitation film Men Behind the Sun.
More serious documentary style films have also been made such as the German made documentary "Nanking
Nanking (film)
Nanking is a 2007 film about the 1937 Nanking Massacre committed by the Japanese army in the former capital city Nanjing, China. The film draws on letters and diaries from the era as well as archive footage and interviews with surviving victims and perpetrators of the massacre...
". However the depiction of the Defense of Sihang Warehouse
Defense of Sihang Warehouse
The Defense of Sihang Warehouse took place from October 26 to November 1, 1937, and marked the beginning of the end of the three-month Battle of Shanghai in the opening phase of the Second Sino-Japanese War...
was made in 1938, one year after the actual Battle of Shanghai
Battle of Shanghai
The Battle of Shanghai, known in Chinese as Battle of Songhu, was the first of the twenty-two major engagements fought between the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China and the Imperial Japanese Army of the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War...
, probably one of the earliest Sino-Japanese war film intended for entertainment and moral boosting propaganda. Also recently, to celebrate the Chinese Red Army first victory (out of two major battles the Communists actually fought) over the Japanese, a heavy-handed propaganda film that depict the Battle of Pingxingguan
Battle of Pingxingguan
The Battle of Pingxingguan , also commonly called the "Great Victory of Pingxingguan" in Mainland China, was an engagement fought between the 8th Route Army of the Communist Party of China and the Imperial Japanese Army on September 25, 1937....
was made in 2005 to commemorate the 60th anniversary. However it was heavily criticised by the government of Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, accusing the PRC
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
government for hiding the truth by discrediting the Nationalist Revolutionary Army who took the brunt of the battles as it was they who did most of the fighting against the invaders in more than twenty battles. Actually, the PRC has made several films focusing on battles fought by Nationalist soldiers, such as the Battle of Taierzhuang
Battle of Taierzhuang
The Battle of Tai'erzhuang was a battle of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938, between armies of Chinese Kuomintang and Japan, and is sometimes considered as a part of Battle of Xuzhou....
and Battle of Kunlun Pass
Battle of Kunlun Pass
The Battle of Kunlun Pass was a series of struggles between the Japanese and the Chinese in contention for Kunlun Pass, a stragetically important position in Guangxiprovince, which the Imperial Japanese Army hoped to cut off aid through China from French-controlled Vietnam and resulted in a...
.
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, which still has strong anti-Japanese sentiments
Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea
The Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea is complex and multi-faceted. Anti-Japanese sentiment attitudes in the Korea can be traced back to the effects of Japanese pirate raids and the Japanese invasions of Korea , such as dismembering more than 20,000 noses and ears from Koreans and bringing them back...
, recently made a TV series about the Japanese assassination of Empress Myeongseong
Empress Myeongseong
Empress Myeongseong , also known as Queen Min, was the first official wife of King Gojong, the twenty-sixth king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea...
and the unfair treatment of the Korean people, also several films based on Kim Du-han
Kim Du-han
Kim Du-han, also spelled Kim Doo Han was the son of Kim Jwa-Jin, a famous Korean freedom fighter, and was elected to the third parliament in 1954 and joined Rhee's Liberal Party where he served as a politician after the era of Japanese occupation in Korea. He was also elected to the sixth...
as a freedom fighter were made.
Anti-Nazism and Anti-Fascism
- The Great DictatorThe Great DictatorThe Great Dictator is a comedy film by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940. Like most Chaplin films, he wrote, produced, and directed, in addition to starring as the lead. Having been the only Hollywood film maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was...
(1940) - The Mortal StormThe Mortal StormThe Mortal Storm is a drama film from MGM starring Margaret Sullavan and James Stewart, and directed by Frank Borzage.-Production background:...
(1940) - CasablancaCasablanca (film)Casablanca is a 1942 American romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz, starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid, and featuring Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and Dooley Wilson. Set during World War II, it focuses on a man torn between, in...
(1942) - Watch on the RhineWatch on the RhineWatch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
(1943), film version of 1940 play on Broadway
Patriotism
- For Me and My GalFor Me and My Gal (film)For Me and My Gal is a 1942 American musical film directed by Busby Berkeley and starring Judy Garland, Gene Kelly – in his screen debut – and George Murphy, and featuring Martha Eggerth and Ben Blue. The film was written by Richard Sherman, Fred F...
(1942) - In Which We ServeIn Which We ServeIn Which We Serve is a 1942 British patriotic war film directed by David Lean and Noël Coward. It was made during the Second World War with the assistance of the Ministry of Information ....
(1942) - Mrs. MiniverMrs. Miniver (film)Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Teresa Wright. Based on the fictional English housewife created by Jan Struther in 1937 for a series of newspaper columns, the film won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture,...
(1942) - Yankee Doodle DandyYankee Doodle DandyYankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
(1942) - Stage Door CanteenStage Door CanteenStage Door Canteen is a musical film produced by Sol Lesser Productions and distributed by United Artists. It was directed by Frank Borzage and features many cameo appearances by celebrities, and the majority of the film is essentially a filmed concert although there is also a storyline to the...
(1943) - This Is the ArmyThis Is the ArmyThis Is the Army is a 1943 American wartime motion picture produced by Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner, and directed by Michael Curtiz, and a wartime musical designed to boost morale in the U.S. during World War II, directed by Sgt. Ezra Stone...
(1943) - Passage to MarseillePassage to MarseillePassage to Marseille is a 1944 war film made by Warner Brothers, directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Hal B. Wallis with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. The screenplay was by Casey Robinson and Jack Moffitt from the novel Sans Patrie by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall...
(1944)
Heroism
- A Yank in the RAFA Yank in the RAFA Yank in the RAF is a black-and-white 1941 movie directed by Henry King, and is considered a typical early-World War II movie.-Plot Summary:...
(1941) - Wake IslandWake Island (1942 film)Wake Island is a 1942 American film written by W. R. Burnett and Frank Butler, and directed by John Farrow. The film tells the story of the United States military garrison on Wake Island and the onslaught by the Japanese following the attack on Pearl Harbor...
(1942) - Guadalcanal DiaryGuadalcanal Diary (film)Guadalcanal Diary is a 1943 World War II war film starring Preston Foster, Lloyd Nolan, William Bendix, Richard Conte, Anthony Quinn and the film debut of Richard Jaeckel...
(1943) - The Fighting SullivansThe Fighting SullivansThe Fighting Sullivans, originally released as The Sullivans, is a 1944 American biographical war film directed by Lloyd Bacon and written by Edward Doherty, Mary C. McCall Jr. and Jules Schermer...
(1944) - Winged VictoryWinged Victory (play)Winged Victory is a play and, later, a film by Moss Hart, originally created and produced by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II as a morale booster and as a fundraiser for the Army Emergency Relief Fund. Upon recommendation of Lt. Col. Dudley S. Dean, who had been approached with the...
(1944), film version of 1943 play on Broadway - Sands of Iwo JimaSands of Iwo JimaSands of Iwo Jima is a 1949 war film that follows a group of United States Marines from training to the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. It stars John Wayne, John Agar, Adele Mara and Forrest Tucker. The movie was written by Harry Brown and James Edward Grant and directed by Allan Dwan...
(1949)- Flags of Our FathersFlags of Our Fathers (film)is a 2006 American war film directed, co-produced and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles, Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the Battle of Iwo Jima, the five Marines and one Navy Corpsman who were involved...
. (2006), film version of 2000 book - Letters from Iwo JimaLetters from Iwo Jimais a 2006 war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood, and starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya. The film portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and is a companion piece to Eastwood's Flags of Our Fathers, which depicts the same battle from the...
(2006)
- Flags of Our Fathers
Wartime problems
- Thank Your Lucky StarsThank Your Lucky Stars (1943 film)Thank Your Lucky Stars is a film made by Warner Brothers as a World War II fundraiser. It was directed by David Butler and starred Eddie Cantor, Dennis Morgan, Joan Leslie, Edward Everett Horton and S. Z...
(1943) - The More the MerrierThe More the MerrierThe More the Merrier is a 1943 American comedy film made by Columbia Pictures which makes fun of the housing shortage during World War II, especially in Washington, D.C.. The picture stars Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea, Charles Coburn, Stanley Clements and Richard Gaines. The movie was directed by...
1943) - Cover Girl (1944)
- Since You Went AwaySince You Went AwaySince You Went Away is a 1944 film distributed by United Artists, a big-budget epic about the American home front during World War II. It was directed by John Cromwell and adapted and produced by David O. Selznick from the novel Since You Went Away: Letters to a Soldier from His Wife by Margaret...
(1944) - A Bell for AdanoA Bell for AdanoA Bell for Adano is a film directed by Henry King starring John Hodiak and Gene Tierney. The film was adapted from the novel A Bell for Adano by John Hersey, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1945. In his 1945 review of the film, Bosley Crowther wrote, "... this easily vulnerable picture, which came...
(1945), film version of 1944 Pulitzer Prize-winningPulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
novel - Home of the BraveHome of the Brave (1949 film)Home of the Brave is a 1949 film based on a 1946 play by Arthur Laurents. It was directed by Mark Robson and stars Douglas Dick, Jeff Corey, Lloyd Bridges, Frank Lovejoy, James Edwards, and Steve Brodie...
(1949)
Escapism
- Sun Valley SerenadeSun Valley SerenadeSun Valley Serenade is a 1941 musical film starring Sonja Henie, John Payne, Glenn Miller, Milton Berle, and Lynn Bari. It features The Glenn Miller Orchestra as well as dancing by The Nicholas Brothers and Dorothy Dandridge, performing "Chattanooga Choo Choo", which was nominated for an Academy...
(1941) - HarveyHarvey (film)Harvey is a 1950 film based on Mary Chase's play of the same name, directed by Henry Koster, and starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull. The story is about a man whose best friend is a pooka named Harvey—in the form of a six-foot, three-and-one-half-inch tall invisible rabbit.-Plot:Elwood P...
(1950), film version of 1944 play on Broadway - Oklahoma! (1955), film version of 1943 play on Broadway
- Arsenic and Old LaceArsenic and Old Lace (film)Arsenic and Old Lace is a 1944 film directed by Frank Capra based on Joseph Kesselring's play of the same name. The script adaptation was by twins Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein. Capra actually filmed the movie in 1941, but it was not released until 1944, after the original stage version...
(1944), film version of 1941 play on Broadway - The Harvey GirlsThe Harvey GirlsThe Harvey Girls is a 1946 MGM musical film based on a 1942 novel by Samuel Hopkins Adams about Fred Harvey's famous Harvey House restaurants. Directed by George Sidney, the film stars Judy Garland, John Hodiak, Angela Lansbury, Virginia O'Brien, Ray Bolger, and Marjorie Main...
(1946), film version of 1942 novel
Propaganda
- Target for TonightTarget for TonightTarget for Tonight is a 1941 British documentary film billed as being filmed by and acted by the Royal Air Force, all while under fire. It was directed by Harry Watt. The film revolves for the most part around one crew in a single Wellington aircraft...
(1941) - U-Boote westwärtsU-Boote westwärtsU-Boat Westwards was a 1941 German war film promoting the Kriegsmarine. It concerns a U-boat mission in the Second Battle of the Atlantic.- Plot :...
(1941) - The Battle of MidwayThe Battle of MidwayThe Battle of Midway is a 1942 American documentary film short directed by John Ford. It is a montage of color footage of the Battle of Midway with voice overs of various narrators, including Donald Crisp, Henry Fonda, and Jane Darwell...
(1942)
The Soviet Union and Russia
The Soviet Union incurred the heaviest casualties in World War II, and its history gave rise to an impressive number of films, poetry and prose, both in Russian and in many other languages of the country. The cultural homage to the Soviet soldiers and victims of World War II has been brought for decades; films about the war are shot in modern-day Russia up to present day.A few pinnacles of the Soviet cinema dedicated to World War Two include:
The Cranes Are Flying
The Cranes are Flying
The Cranes Are Flying is a Soviet film about World War II. It depicts the cruelty of war and the damage suffered to the Soviet psyche as a result of World War II . It was directed at Mosfilm by the Georgian-born Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov in 1957 and stars Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana...
by Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov
Mikhail Kalatozov born Mikheil Kalatozishvili was a Georgian/Russian film director. Born in Tiflis , he studied economics before starting his film career as an actor and later cinematographer....
,
Ivan's Childhood by Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
,
The Alive and the Dead
The Alive and the Dead
The Alive and the Dead is a 1964 Soviet film directed by Aleksandr Stolper based on the eponymous novel by Konstantin Simonov.-Cast:* Kirill Lavrov - Ivan Sinzov* Viktor Avdyushko* Anatoli Papanov - General Serpilin* Aleksei Glazyrin - Malinin...
by Aleksandr Stolper
Aleksandr Stolper
Aleksandr Borisovich Stolper – 12 January 1979, Moscow) was a Russian/Soviet film director and screenwriter. He directed 14 films between 1940 and 1977...
,
A zori zdes tikhie by Stanislav Rostotsky. In 2001, French director Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud is a French film director, film producer and screenwriter.- Biography :Annaud was born in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne...
produced Enemy At The Gates
Enemy at the Gates
Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 war film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins and Ed Harris set during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II....
, detailing the exploits of sniper Vasily Zaytsev during the Battle of Stalingrad
Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in southwestern Russia. The battle took place between 23 August 1942 and 2 February 1943...
.
Poetry: the Cranes
Zhuravli
Zhuravli , composed in 1968, is one of the most famous Russian songs about World War II.The Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov, when visiting Hiroshima, was impressed by the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the monument to Sadako Sasaki...
by the renowned Dagestani poet Rasul Gamzatov,
Wait for me by Konstantin Simonov
Konstantin Simonov
Konstantin Mikhailovich Simonov was a Russian/Soviet author, known especially as a war poet.-Early years:He was born in Petrograd. His mother was born Princess Obolenskaya, of a Rurikid family. His father, an officer in the Tsar's army, left Russia after the Revolution in 1917. He died in Poland...
,
I am Goya by Andrey Voznesensky
Andrey Voznesensky
Andrei Andreyevich Voznesensky was a Soviet and Russian poet and writer who had been referred to by Robert Lowell as "one of the greatest living poets in any language." He was one of the "Children of the '60s," a new wave of iconic Russian intellectuals led by the Khrushchev Thaw.Voznesensky was...
,
“It has snowed for three days” by Mustai Karim, a Bashkir poet.
Sensitive Issues
In 1970, Ōe wrote in Okinawa Notes that members of the Japanese military had coerced masses of Okinawan civilians into committing suicide during the Allied invasion of the islandBattle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
in 1945. In 2005, two retired Japanese military officers sued Ōe for libel; and in 2008, the Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
District Court dismissed the case because, as the judge explained, "The military was deeply involved in the mass suicide
Mass suicide
- Examples :Mass suicide sometimes occurs in religious or cultic settings. Defeated groups may resort to mass suicide rather than being captured. Suicide pacts are a form of mass suicide unconnected to cults or war that are sometimes planned or carried out by small groups of frustrated people...
s". Ōe commented succinctly by saying, "The judge accurately read my writing."
Pop culture reference
The war has also influenced footballingFootball (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
(soccer) rivalries. Most notably, the subject of World War II is used as chants by fans of the English football team. One such chant is "2 World Wars and 1 World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, do dah, do dah."
Campaigns, battles and so on have been commemorated throughout the 20th century and into the 21st century, mostly by veterans of the war and people that lived through it. In 2004 the commemoration of the D-Day
D-Day
D-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
landings took place which included, for the first time, German veterans of the war. Later that year, the commemoration of the campaigns in Italy and the Netherlands also took place. The 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp
Auschwitz concentration camp
Concentration camp Auschwitz was a network of Nazi concentration and extermination camps built and operated by the Third Reich in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany during World War II...
was commemorated in January 2005, while many other campaigns were also commemorated, as well as the end of the war in Europe and the Far East.
See also
- World War I in popular culture
- The Holocaust in art and literatureThe Holocaust in art and literatureThere is a wide range of ways in which people have represented the Holocaust in popular culture.-Literature:Some of the more famous works are by Holocaust survivors or victims, such as Elie Wiesel, Primo Levi, Tadeusz Borowski, Jerzy Kosinski , Imre Kertész, Jean Améry, Edgar Hilsenrath, Anne...
- List of World War II films
- Winter War in contemporary cultureWinter War in contemporary cultureThe influence of the Winter War in popular culture has been deep and wide, not only in Finnish culture, but also worldwide. The Finnish struggle against the Soviet Union has been seen as a classic David versus Goliath situation...
- Japanese history textbook controversiesJapanese history textbook controversiesJapanese history textbook controversies refers to controversial content in government-approved history textbooks used in the secondary education of Japan...
External links
- Canadian War MuseumCanadian War MuseumThe Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...
: "Australia, Britain and Canada in the Second World War", 2005.