Why We Fight: The Battle of China

The Train

1964

As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim is desperate to take all of France's greatest paintings to Germany. He manages to secure a train to transport the valuable art works even as the chaos of retreat descends upon them. The French resistance however wants to stop them from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche, is tasked with scheduling the train and making it all happen smoothly but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory.

U-571

2000

In the midst of World War II, the battle under the sea rages and the Nazis have the upper hand as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. However, after a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, the Allies realise this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'.

America

2013

Would it be correct to suggest that none of it happened?

The Civilian Serves

1942

A silent short film promoting the United States Citizens Defense Corps, a group in which civilians served locally to aid in the war effort and to prepare their cities for possible military attacks.

The Guard of Auschwitz

2018

Nazi occupied Poland, during the World War II. Hans, a former brilliant student, has become an SS officer stationed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. When he is commissioned by his superior officer to build an efficient gas chamber, Hans, facing the harsh reality, begins to realize the magnitude of the atrocious acts of which he is being accomplice.

Maïco : Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, la révoltée

2024

Communist, resistance fighter, deportee, Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier is one of the great heroines of the 20th century. Nicknamed Maïco, she became a photojournalist and embraced the class struggle at the same time as she fell in love with one of the figures of the Popular Front, Paul Vaillant-Couturier. During World War II, she joined the Resistance and later gave decisive testimony at Nuremberg.

Lancaster

2022

The story of the iconic WW2 bomber told through the words of the last surviving crew members, re-mastered archive material and extraordinary aerial footage of the RAF’s last airworthy Lancaster.

Decision Before Dawn

1951

WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.

A Good Lad

1942

A group of Russian partisans hiding within a remote forest attempt to destroy a nearby German airfield, all the while assisting a downed French pilot who happens to fall madly in love with a local girl.

Le Bataillon du Pacifique

2024

Fort Saganne

1984

In 1911, a willful and determined man from peasant stock named Charles Saganne enlists in the military and is assigned to the Sahara Desert under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh.

Triple Cross

1966

Safecracker Eddie Chapman is languishing in prison on the island of Jersey when the Nazis arrive. An adept manipulator of situations, Chapman convinces the Germans to use him to spy on the British. And when the would-be traitor arrives home, he convinces the English to use him as a double agent -- in exchange for a full pardon.

Mount Liptak

2018

In order to provide for his family after his Father was murdered a young boy lies about his age to enlist in the Navy.

Franz + Polina

2006

The movie tells the story of Franz, a Waffen-SS soldier who deserts, and Polina, a Belarusian woman whose village is razed and people massacred.

The Lamp Still Burns

1943

A tribute to the important work of female nurses during World War II.