Known as the trial of the century, the case against the the former SS man was brought to court on April 11, 1961. It attracted international attention: Adolf Eichmann was one of the people responsible for the murder of an estimated six million Jews and Sinti and Roma in Europe. As court witnesses, Holocaust survivors described the horrific crimes committed during the Nazi era. For most of the survivors who testified, this was the first time they had spoken out about what had happened to them. Their accounts of murder, torture and manslaughter were devastating.
In Wenshui County, Shanxi Province, a remote place called Yunzhou West Village, where the girl Liu Hulan was born. She was born in troubled times, the feudal dynasty was overthrown not long ago, but the warlords ruled in separate regimes, years of wars, and even more imperialist invaders are sharpening their knives, trying to annex the land of China with a long history. At that time, the reactionary warlord Yan Xishan ran rampant in the Jin area, and even the local tyrants and landlords did evil. All kinds of evil deeds planted the seeds of hatred in the girl's heart. Until the Red Army came here, it not only attacked the reactionaries, but also threw light into Liu Hulan's heart. Since then, she has understood the meaning of revolution. However, when the claws of the Japanese penetrated Wenshui County, the landlord Lu Shanqing was proud of the spring breeze, and the stubborn Liu Hulan also became a glorious Communist Party member during this period.
During the revolution, Japan is defeated but has yet to surrender so a 14-year-old boy insists on joining the army, to avenge his father, who is incarcerated in Nusa Kambangan for murder. His actions are brave yet extreme in every way. Recognising this, the commander promotes the boy to section head, even though all his men are older than he is. He takes the most dangerous missions and as a result, one of his men dies. The late man’s girlfriend then volunteers, and is also killed, after being just as reckless as the boy.
This is the heroic story of Mochamad Toha, who successfully blew up a Dutch ammunition depot in Bandung and ruined their defences. Set in Bandung at the time of transition, between the departing Japanese and the incoming Dutch (who are supported by the British), Indonesians had to fight for their independence. Toha emerged as a leader of the common people, who saw injustice and oppression, and who sacrificed himself by blowing up the ammunition depot.
Actor David Jason examines wartime escapes that inspired films and TV dramas. He begins his journey in Germany at Colditz Castle, where William Neave tells how his father Airey fled dressed as a German soldier. He then heads to Poland to visit the setting for The Great Escape, where former Stalag Luft III internee Ken Rees describes how he helped dig the tunnel immortalised on the big screen. David also meets a Frenchwoman who sheltered an escaped Briton - and learns how a love story developed.
In 1945, Adele Shimanoff joins the U.S. Marine Corps amid a larger plan to bring women into the military in order to “free a marine to fight.” Adele moves away from the traditional Women’s Reserves and into active duty for a year, where she forms lifelong friendships and meets her future husband. He remains in active duty for 28 years after she leaves, giving her a full experience of life with the Marines. More than 70 years later, Adele is forced to confront the idea that she is still needed, even when her friends have passed on before her.
Like many other young men of his generation, after Pearl Harbor was attacked, Aldo Giannini joined the Marines with little idea of what lay ahead. After training, he was quickly deployed overseas and fought in the bloody Battle of Tarawa, surviving with a shrapnel injury and the haunting memory of witnessing the loss of 3,250 U.S. lives. He went on to fight in other battles and returned home after 3 intense years of service. Nearly eight decades later, he still questions if winning the island was worth the price.
Leaving internment camps to defend their country in Europe, Japanese-American Nisei soldiers of WWII became the most decorated unit in American history.