1939: The Year the World FELL APART | WWII Documentary

WORLD WAR II — The First 16 Months (1939–1940) In September 1939, Hitler plunged Europe into war. Sixteen months later, France had fallen, the Soviet Union had swallowed half of Eastern Europe, and Britain stood alone — yet Nazi Germany had also quietly laid the groundwork for its own destruction. This documentary covers the opening phase of the Second World War in full: the German and Soviet invasion of Poland, the Winter War between the USSR and Finland, the strange silence of the Phoney War, the war beneath the Atlantic and the invasion of Norway, the lightning campaign that broke France, the miracle and tragedy of Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain in the skies, Italy's disastrous gambles in the Mediterranean and Greece, and the brutal reality of life under occupation in East and West. From the false-flag raids at Gleiwitz to the sinking of the Royal Oak at Scapa Flow, from the "White Death" in the Finnish forests to the panzers racing through the Ardennes, this is the story of how the world fell apart — and why these first victories carried the seeds of ultimate defeat. 🎙️ Narration, maps, and eyewitness accounts bring the events of 1939–1940 to life. If this series helped you understand the early war, like, subscribe, and share it with someone who loves history. Sources & further reading: The National WWII Museum (New Orleans) — nationalww2museum.org Imperial War Museums (IWM), UK — iwm.org.uk The U.S. National Archives (NARA) — archives.gov Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives) — bundesarchiv.de The National Archives (UK) — nationalarchives.gov.uk United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Holocaust Encyclopedia — encyclopedia.ushmm.org Churchill, Winston S. — The Second World War, Vol. I–II Shirer, William L. — The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich Evans, Richard J. — The Third Reich at War Beevor, Antony — The Second World War Citino, Robert M. — The German Way of War / Death of the Wehrmacht Trotter, William R. — A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939–40 Bungay, Stephen — The Most Dangerous Enemy: A History of the Battle of Britain Jackson, Julian — The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940