As it turned out, we used the (also instantly available) True Glory to detail the war from D Day through the capture of Berlin. This was an award winning documentary made by the Brits and Yanks in 1946.
It's all war footage overlaid with different soldiers talking about events. The Zoomlians had some trouble following all the accents (upper class Brit followed by Brooklynese, then an Aussie, then a Cockney), but the footage was fantastic. I also stopped and explained whenever I thought it helpful.
I found it interesting for what it left out, as well as what it put in: FDR's death was only alluded to by a headline, Hitler's death was never mentioned, and it sure looked like the US captured Berlin with some English support (it was actually captured by the Russians).
We've now switched to the Pacific, and The Last Days of World War II. It's a bit bloodier than I would like to show, especially since some of the footage is color, but the kids seem to be handling it, and it's a really good explanation of why we used atomic bombs. The number of people (Japanese as well as US) who died on these little islands is staggering. The thought of how many would have died in an invasion of Japan does not bear thought.
The big question from the kids is, "Why did the Japanese fight so hard?" Obviously that is a huge question, but one answer is that the Japanese had committed atrocities and they believed (and were told) that the Americans would do the same, if not worse. One of the side effects of doing bad things is that you are more ready to see evil in the world.
I am hoping to finish up the war this week, and that will keep me on schedule to finish the mega unit by Thanksgiving. We'll see how it goes.
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