The King Who Fooled Hitler
In a tale of double agents and decoys, this documentary reveals, for the first time, the story of King George VI's elaborate ruse to divert German attention away from the Normandy landings in 1944.
In a tale of double agents and decoys, this documentary reveals, for the first time, the story of King George VI's elaborate ruse to divert German attention away from the Normandy landings in 1944.
Helen McCrory
Narrator (voice)
Richard J. Aldrich
Self - University of Warwick
Rory Cormac
Self - Associate Professor, Nottingham University
King George VI of the United Kingdom
Self (archive footage)
Neville Chamberlain
Self (archive footage)
Winston Churchill
Self (archive footage)
Caroline Erskine
Self - Daughter of Sir Alan Lascelles
Adolf Hitler
Self - Führer und Reichskanzler (archive footage)
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Self (archive footage)
In a tale of double agents and decoys, this documentary reveals, for the first time, the story of King George VI's elaborate ruse to divert German attention away from the Normandy landings in 1944.
I watched this documentary because of my long term interest in the history of the British Monarchy. I have always appreciated King George VII because he overcame a lot to become such a worthy king. He had to change his way of living as he had long been sure he was not in the direct line of succession. When that unlikely sequence of events occurred to place the crown on his head, he had to both emerge from the shadow of his charismatic and popular older brother, and also overcome his own shyness and his fear of public speaking. This program, among other things, shows once again how he was aided in his efforts by his choice of a wife. This show is interesting, but I must confess that the breathless way it is told, with superlatives used to highlight the details, reminds me of archaeological programs where in hushed terms the narrators treat every ancient object they examine as something along the significance of the Holy Grail itself. But the king's role as described in this show probably did serve as a piece in the puzzle of deception aimed at the Germans to disguise the true plans of the D-Day invasion and therefore deserves the place it is given here. The fact that it was kept secret for so long, however, is perhaps not quite enough reason to attach so much significance to it. Still, it is worth watching if you are interested in either the history of he monarchy or wish to hear something new about World War II.
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
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A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.