World War II Films Based on a True Story

The history of the Second World War comes to life in these dramatizations of actual events. These DVDs are available to borrow from the Lititz Public Library.

Land GirlsLand Girls
Follow the lives and loves of young women who work the fields for Britain during WWII in the Women’s Land Army.

The Pacific
Three Marines clash with the Japanese in the jungles of Guadalcanal, the sand terraces of Iwo Jima and the killing fields of Okinawa.

The One that Got Away
Oberleutnant Franz von Werra was the only German prisoner of war taken in Britain to escape from captivity and return to Germany.

IKE: COUNTDOWN TO D-DAYIke: Countdown to D-Day
General Dwight D. Eisenhower orchestrated the most important military invasion in modern history.

Band of Brothers
An elite rifle company parachuted into France early on D-Day, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, captured Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden and suffered heavy casualties.

Paradise Road
A group of women who were imprisoned on the island of Sumatra by the Japanese during World War II used music as a relief to their misery.

The Man Who Never WasThe Man Who Never Was
This account of wartime espionage is based on the true story of an intelligence operation designed to mislead the Nazis prior to the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily.

Enemy at the Gates
WWII Russian hero Vassili Zaitsev’s fame thrust him into a personal war with the Nazis’ best sharpshooter, Major Erwin Konig.

The Bridge at Ramagen
A high-ranking German officer, torn by the conflicting demands of his country during the last days of WWII, decides to blow up the last bridge on the Rhine, trapping his own men on the wrong side.

Wish Me Luck
At the height of WWII, brave British women risk their lives as secret agents in occupied France.

The Scarlet and the BlackThe Scarlet and the Black
Under threat of death from the Gestapo, a Vatican official saved prisoners of war and others from the German forces occupying Rome.

The Great Raid
American Rangers rescued survivors of the Bataan Death March who were marched to prison, starved and beaten after being surrounded by the Japanese in the Philippines.

Memphis BelleThe Memphis Belle
The crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress undertakes their last mission before going home to a hero’s welcome.

The Wings of Eagles
This film is the story of Naval Commander Frank “Spig” Wead from his first solo flight to his assignment as commander aboard an aircraft carrier.

The Dam Busters
The Royal Air Force 617 Squadron carried out raids on three of the most important dams in Germany.

The Desert FoxThe Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
A brilliant military tactician, Rommel incurred Hitler’s wrath by retreating in North Africa and later joining a plot to assassinate the Fuhrer.

Originally published on January 31, 2014 in the Lititz Record Express.