Death Mills

Death Mills 1945

6.50

Originally made with a German soundtrack for screening in occupied Germany and Austria, this film was the first documentary to show what the Allies found when they liberated the Nazi extermination camps: the survivors, the conditions, and the evidence of mass murder. The film includes accounts of the economic aspects of the camps' operation, the interrogation of captured camp personnel, and the enforced visits of the inhabitants of neighboring towns, who, along with the rest of their compatriots, are blamed for complicity in the Nazi crimes - one of the few such condemnations in the Allied war records.

1945

Report from the Aleutians

Report from the Aleutians 1943

5.70

A documentary propaganda film produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps about the Aleutian Islands Campaign during World War II. The film opens with a map showing the strategic importance of the island, and the thrust of the 1942 Japanese offensive into Midway and Dutch Harbor. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

1943

Tunisian Victory

Tunisian Victory 1944

6.20

Documentary made by the U.S. Army Signal Corps after the North African campaign.

1944

Appointment in Tokyo

Appointment in Tokyo 1945

5.80

Produced by the Army Pictorial Service, Signal Corps, with the cooperation of the Army Air Forces and the United States Navy, and released by Warner Bros. for the War Activities Committee shortly after the surrender of Japan. Follow General Douglas MacArthur and his men from their exile from the Philippines in early 1942, through the signing of the instrument of surrender on the USS Missouri on September 1, 1945. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

1945

The Atom Strikes!

The Atom Strikes! 1945

5.30

The U.S. Army Signal Corps Pictorial Division made this short documentary shortly after the end of WWII to look at the after-effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There is no credited crew or cast.

1945

Sex Hygiene

Sex Hygiene 1942

5.10

Several servicemen relax by playing pool, but one of them goes off to spend time with a prostitute. Later, he discovers he has contracted a venereal disease. A graphic and frank presentation of the types and treatment of venereal disease follows. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation in 2007.

1942

Baptism of Fire

Baptism of Fire 1943

1

Baptism of Fire is a 1943 American documentary, meant to be an Army training film starring Elisha Cook Jr. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

1943

Coming!! Snafu

Coming!! Snafu 1943

6.10

Introducing Private Snafu, the nation's worst soldier and his various versions in different branches of the armed forces. The cartoon, ironic and humorous in tone, was created during World War II and it was designed to instruct service personnel about security, proper sanitation habits, booby traps and other military subjects, and also to improve troop morale. The main character's name is a play on the military slang acronym SNAFU, "Situation Normal: All Fouled Up."

1943

Shades of Gray

Shades of Gray 1948

5.00

After the suppression of "Let There Be Light" (a documentary about combat-induced post-traumatic stress disorders which presented many inconvenient and demoralizing truths), the U.S. Army Signal Corp created this dramatized up-beat remake of the film. Only this time, the production excluded the involvement of John Houston, the producer of the original documentary.

1948

Sucker Bait

Sucker Bait 1943

1

Military training film exposing the means used by Nazi agents to extract military information from talkative soldiers.

1943

Easy to Get

Easy to Get 1947

1

U.S. Army training film about avoiding venereal disease, intended primarily for Black servicemen.

1947

Reunion

Reunion 1946

6.80

Live footage from concentration camps after the liberation, and the complex transport and lodging of masses of prisoners of war and other deported people back to their home countries, at the end of World War II. A 45min 35mm print also exists (shown at Cinémathèque française in 2023).

1946

It's Your War Too

It's Your War Too 1944

1

Documentary short film detailing the history of the American Women's Army Corps, the WACS. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, Academy War Film Collection, in 2009.

1944

The Battle Of The Somme

The Battle Of The Somme 1917

1

A silent film showing graphic scenes of trench warfare as the British defeat the Germans.

1917

The Arm Behind the Army

The Arm Behind the Army 1942

1

Official War Film produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps shows the importance of U.S. and allied factories in turning out military arms and vehicles to help in the war effort.

1942

The Crime Of Korea

The Crime Of Korea 1950

1

A 1950 propaganda film produced by the US Army Signal Corps mainly concerning the war crimes committed by the North Koreans.

1950

Operation Blue Jay

Operation Blue Jay 1953

5.90

The U.S. Signal Corps construct a huge airbase in Thule, Greenland.

1953

How to Get Killed in One Easy Lesson

How to Get Killed in One Easy Lesson 1943

6.00

In this WWII short training film, a Japanese sniper, who has just been captured by an American soldier, explains how easy it was to pick off ten troops from the G.I. platoon, due to mistakes they, themselves, had made.

1943