World war documentaries

From the murder of Franz Ferdinand to the fall of the Nazis, World War I and II shook the world to its core. BBC Select is the place to dig deeper into these monumental moments in history. Watch BBC world war documentaries with BBC Select in the US and Canada today.

Could Hitler Have Been Stopped?

Stream Could Hitler Have Been Stopped? on BBC Select

In this thought provoking history documentary, leading historians consider strategies that could have been used to avoid conflict with Hitler and prevent World War II.

Before the war began, nations adopted a policy of appeasement to the Nazi regime. But the threat of Hitler and the lengths he would go to achieve his barbaric aims were constantly underestimated.

Churchill: Winning the War, Losing the Peace

Stream Churchill: Winning the War, Losing the Peace on BBC Select

Weeks after winning World War II in 1945, Winston Churchill found himself in a new battle: to be re-elected British Prime Minister.

He was confident of being rewarded for his leadership against Hitler and the Nazis. But as this BBC history documentary reveals, Churchill was humiliated and lost the general election.

Why did his countrymen turn so vehemently on their Great British Bulldog?

Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial

Nuremberg Nazis on Trial Documentary

After World War II, leading Nazis were tried at the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal.

This gripping BBC history documentary attempts to delve inside the minds and secret workings of Hitler’s Nazi leadership.

Using largely unpublished trial documents, the series gives an unprecedented view of three key Nazi figures: Hermann Goering, Albert Speer and Rudolf Hess.

What drove them to commit their crimes?

Schindler: The Real Story

Watch Schindler: The Real Story on BBC Select

Immortalized in the iconic Steven Spielberg film Schindler’s List, Oskar Schindler has become a well-known hero of the Second World War.

This compelling, award-winning documentary explores the real, complex figure of Schindler, with incredible archive footage and intimate interviews with Holocaust survivors who knew him.

The vain, womanizing playboy behind the legendary hero is also revealed.

WWI: The Final Hours

Watch WWI: The Final Hours on BBC Select

On 8 November 1918, an Englishman, a Frenchman, and a German secretly gathered in a train carriage near Paris. Their meeting would last for three days. The aim: to end four long years of brutal and deadly war.

This innovative history documentary uncovers the extraordinary events leading up to the World War I Armistice and explores how repercussions would ripple throughout the 20th century.