The World at War
War & militaryArmed conflict and the soldier's experience.This show: 10/10DocuseriesNonfiction storytelling across episodes.This show: 10/10Real historyReal historical events and figures woven into the story.This show: 10/10Emotionally heavyDemands real emotional stamina from the viewer.This show: 8/10British TVThe British television sensibility: tone, restraint and format traditions.This show: 8/10Period pieceSet meaningfully in a past era.This show: 8/10Distinctive scoreMusic inseparable from the show's identity.This show: 7/10DisturbingContent that lingers uncomfortably after the credits.This show: 7/10
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Starring
Anthony Eden
Starring
Anthony Eden
Ratings per Episode
Votes per Episode
The World at War Episode Ratings Heatmap
| Avg | E1 | E2 | E3 | E4 | E5 | E6 | E7 | E8 | E9 | E10 | E11 | E12 | E13 | E14 | E15 | E16 | E17 | E18 | E19 | E20 | E21 | E22 | E23 | E24 | E25 | E26 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 8.6 | 8.9 | 8.5 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 9.0 | 8.3 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 9.0 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 9.2 | 8.9 | 8.5 | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 8.6 |
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About
"Firsthand history before the eyewitnesses were gone"
A sweeping 26-part chronicle of the Second World War, told through archival footage and firsthand testimony from soldiers, civilians, resistance fighters, and even former Nazi officials. Narrated by Laurence Olivier in measured, unhurried tones, it moves chapter by chapter through the war's major fronts and human costs rather than chasing spectacle. The pace is deliberate and the tone somber, letting eyewitnesses carry the emotional weight. It rewards patience: no reenactments, no flashy editing, just careful research and testimony that still feels startlingly direct decades later.
Watch it for
the raw, unfiltered testimony from people who actually lived through the war.
Maybe skip if
you want fast pacing or dramatized reenactments rather than measured historical narration.
Written by our AI editor to help you decide, spoiler-free by design.
All Seasons
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Season 11973
8.614K2622h 41m
| Ep | Title | Rating | Yours | Votes | Runtime | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▶ | 1 | A New Germany: 1933-1939 | 8.7 | 853 | 52 min | |
| ▶ | 2 | Distant War: September 1939-May 1940 | 8.3 | 687 | 52 min | |
| ▶ | 3 | France Falls: May-June 1940 | 8.7 | 644 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 4 | Alone: May 1940-May 1941 | 8.6 | 599 | 52 min | |
| ▶ | 5 | Barbarossa: June-December 1941 | 8.9 | 611 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 6 | Banzai! Japan 1931-1942 | 8.5 | 558 | 52 min | |
| ▶ | 7 | On Our Way: U.S.A. 1939-1942 | 8.4 | 536 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 8 | The Desert: North Africa - 1940-1943 | 8.5 | 521 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 9 | Stalingrad: June 1942-February 1943 | 9.0 | 570 | 52 min | |
| ▶ | 10 | Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic - 1939-1944 | 8.3 | 501 | 52 min | |
| ▶ | 11 | Red Star: The Soviet Union - 1941-1943 | 8.8 | 523 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 12 | Whirlwind: Bombing Germany - September 1939-April 1944 | 8.4 | 488 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 13 | Tough Old Gut: Italy - November 1942-June 1944 | 8.5 | 467 | 51 min | |
| ▶ | 14 | It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma - 1942-1944 | 8.5 | 457 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 15 | Home Fires: Britain - 1940-1944 | 8.1 | 1K | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 16 | Inside the Reich: Germany - 1940-1944 | 8.9 | 469 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 17 | Morning: June-August 1944 | 9.0 | 458 | 52 min | |
| ▶ | 18 | Occupation: Holland - 1940-1944 | 8.6 | 443 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 19 | Pincers: August 1944-March 1945 | 8.5 | 435 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 20 | Genocide: 1941-1945 | 9.2 | 555 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 21 | Nemesis: Germany - February-May 1945 | 8.9 | 447 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 22 | Japan: 1941-1945 | 8.5 | 428 | 51 min | |
| ▶ | 23 | Pacific: February 1942-July 1945 | 8.7 | 423 | 51 min | |
| ▶ | 24 | The Bomb: February-September 1945 | 8.9 | 431 | 53 min | |
| ▶ | 25 | Reckoning: 1945... and after | 8.6 | 411 | 52 min | |
| ▶ | 26 | Remember | 8.6 | 422 | 50 min |
Full Cast & Crew
Cast
Laurence Olivier Self - Narrator
Averell Harriman Self - Roosevelt's Roving Ambassador, Self - Roosevelt's Special Representative in Britain, Self - U.S. Ambassador to Moscow 1945
Anthony Eden Foreign Secretary 1940, Self - British Foreign Secretary, Self - Foreign Affairs 1945
Albert Speer Self, Self - Minister of Armaments, Self - Hitler's Armaments Minister
Siegfried Westphal Self - Afika Korps - Rommel's Chief of Staff, Self - Chief of Staff, German Armies in the West, Self - Kesselring's Chief of Staff
Lawrence Durrell Self, Self - British Foreign Service, Self - British Press Officer - Cairo
Wynford Vaughan-Thomas Self - War Correspondent
Louis Mountbatten Self - Chief of Combined Operations (1942-1943), Self - Supreme Allied Commander S.E.A.C., Self - Supreme Commander, S.E.Asia
J. Lawton Collins Self - Commanding General, 25th Infantry Division at Guadalcanal, Self - U.S. VII Corps, Self - U.S. VII Corps Commander
Toshikazu Kase Self - Cabinet Secretariat, Self - Foreign Ministry 1945, Self - Matsuoka's Private Secretary
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