I'm a WWII buff. Read too many books on the subject, and wasted too much time watching documentaries. This one is different. It tells the story narrated by the folks who fought on the front lines (Americans, Germans, Japanese, Canadians, Italians...).
It's not just hearing the perspective of the participants but seeing chilling footage taken often by the participants themselves. It's like the movie Oppenheimer but on steroids and more impactful. It's not easy at times to watch but you'll never look at war or sending Americans or anyone else into battle the same again. You'll never think of civilians as pawns in a chess match for the "greater good".
The most memorable scene in the film (to me): The Allies in 1943 decided to hit civilian targets in Germany to demoralize the populace and destroy the labor supply supporting Hilter's war machine.
One of the first stops was Hamburg Germany. Night One our boys dropped thousands of Napalm bombs on the city, turning it into a giant burning infernor. Shown below is footage from the movie. Twin B 17s are visible below (of hundreds of like planes delivering death from above).
45,000 civilians were incinerated that evening. On day two, a Canadian bomber pilot recalls his order. He's being told to go back again. He remarks at the briefing that "the town is completely demolished". His commander returns "Yes, but there are 65,000 surviving civilians hiding under the city's main post office. Finish them off". The bomber captain is brought to tears even today because they followed orders. No large Geman city escaped the allies' wrath. The deaths in Hamburg on those two nights were similar to Hiroshima & just the start of our Napalm campaign.
Historians generally agree that the Allied war against civilians had little impact on the duration of the war or Hitler's ability to continue. The point: even good people or nations can do bad things.
Does this remind you of anything today?
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