The World at War

S1 E18 ∙ Occupation ∙

Hear how the Netherlands lived under Nazi rule for four years and how its people decided where their loyalties lay. Narrated by the late, great Laurence Olivier.

G

Contains Mature Themes

Series Selector for The World at War

All episodes for series 1 of The World at War

  • S1 E1 · A New Germany

    Defeated, Germany looks to Adolf Hitler for a resurgence of pride and prosperity.

  • S1 E2 · Distant War

    An uneasy calm settles on Britain as Churchill replaces Chamberlain as prime minister.

  • S1 E3 · France Falls

    France relied on the fortified Maginot Line but the Germans skirted it and forged south.

  • S1 E4 · Alone

    After Dunkirk, Britain faces the Germans across the English Channel. The outlook is grim.

  • S1 E5 · Barbarossa

    The German-Soviet pact ends, and Hitler turns his tanks and troops against Russia.

  • S1 E6 · Banzai!

    The Japanese launch the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor and sweep through Southeast Asia.

  • S1 E7 · On Our Way

    The European and Pacific conflicts were separate - until Hitler declared war on America.

  • S1 E8 · The Desert

    The North Africa conflict took nearly three years to resolve, culminating at El Alamein.

  • S1 E9 · Stalingrad

    After initial successes, Hitler's invasion of Russia is decisively stopped at Stalingrad.

  • S1 E10 · Wolf Pack

    German U-boats cause havoc among Allied merchant shipping in the Atlantic.

  • S1 E11 · Red Star

    The Soviet Army battles the Germans almost alone for two years.

  • S1 E12 · Whirlwind

    Bomber Command hit German cities at night and the Americans reinforce the daytime attacks.

  • S1 E13 · Tough Old Gut

    The Allies underestimate the tough task of attacking Germany via Italy.

  • S1 E14 · It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow

    As Allied troops prepare to defend Burma, they are confronted by the Japanese.

  • S1 E15 · Home Fires

    The Luftwaffe changes the direction of bombing raids from London to the provincial cities.

  • S1 E16 · Inside the Reich

    In the summer of 1940, the German forces are the conquerors of western Europe.

  • S1 E17 · Morning

    The story of the 1944 D-Day invasion on the beaches of Normandy.

  • S1 E18 · Occupation

    The Germans strike Holland, a country with a Nazi movement but also liberal traditions.

  • S1 E19 · Pincers

    With the liberation of Paris in August 1944, the war seems to be as good as over.

  • S1 E20 · Genocide

    This edition recounts Himmler's plans to realise Hitler's vision of a pure Aryan Germany.

  • S1 E21 · Nemesis

    As the net closes upon Berlin, Hitler retreats to an underground bunker.

  • S1 E22 · Japan

    A look at Japan's fight for survival in 1944, as it was crippled by food shortages.

  • S1 E23 · Pacific

    This episode looks at the Allied offensive in the Pacific.

  • S1 E24 · The Bomb

    This episode looks at the Allied scientists' attempts to develop a new, powerful weapon.

  • S1 E25 · Reckoning

    This episode looks at how a new political order was established at the end of the war.

  • S1 E26 · Remember

    Final episode: a sombre reminder of the human cost of the bloodiest conflict in history.