An insight into the personal experiences of people caught up in World War One, with diaries and letters shedding light on the conflict. One million women left the home to work in Britain's munitions factories, while soldiers' families lived in dread of receiving a telegram or telephone call bearing bad news.
Overview
The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century is a 1996 documentary series that aired on PBS. It chronicles World War I over eight episodes. It was narrated by Dame Judi Dench in the UK and Salome Jens in the United States.
The series won two Primetime Emmy Awards: one for Jeremy Irons for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, the other for Outstanding Informational Series. In 1997, it was given a Peabody Award.
Episodes
S01E01 Explosion
November 10, 1996
Instability in Europe is fueled by Germany's growing militarism, Kaiser Wilhelm II's obsession to match the British Royal Navy, and French and German war plans before the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria triggers...
At the start of World War One it was predicted the fighting would be over in a matter of weeks, owing to technical advances in weaponry. But the reality proved entirely different as soldiers dug...
An insight into the personal experiences of people caught up in World War One, with diaries and letters shedding light on the conflict. One million women left the home to work in Britain's munitions factories,...
The stories of the battles of Verdun, the Somme and Passchendaele, three of World War One's most bloody encounters, using newsreel footage taken at the scene during a time when film was on the verge...
Account of the despair which swept Europe in 1917, as World War One dragged on into its fourth year with no end in sight. While British doctors struggled to find an effective shell-shock treatment for...
Account of the sudden ending of World War One in 1918, tracing the various causes responsible for Germany's ultimate downfall, including a failed offensive, the Americans joining the Allied Forces and crumbling civilian morale. Archive...
Covers the continuing blockade on Germany as the Allies drew up the Treaty of Versailles, with considerable focus on Woodrow Wilson’s role in the Paris Peace Conference.
