
Why We Fight
Clip: Episode 1 | 4m 39sVideo has Closed Captions
Three WWII veterans on propaganda, pacifism and the real reasons they went to war.
Government films cast the war as the common man's struggle against tyranny, and many young recruits dismissed them as propaganda. Burnett Miller, Ray Leopold and Sam Hynes explain what actually moved them to serve: a nation that had been attacked, a threat aimed at their own heritage, and a duty that carried a young man from a dark Minneapolis platform into the Navy.
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Corporate funding is provided by General Motors, Anheuser-Busch, and Bank of America. Major funding is provided by Lilly Endowment, Inc.;PBS; National Endowment for the Humanities; CPB; The Arthur Vining Davis...

Why We Fight
Clip: Episode 1 | 4m 39sVideo has Closed Captions
Government films cast the war as the common man's struggle against tyranny, and many young recruits dismissed them as propaganda. Burnett Miller, Ray Leopold and Sam Hynes explain what actually moved them to serve: a nation that had been attacked, a threat aimed at their own heritage, and a duty that carried a young man from a dark Minneapolis platform into the Navy.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Where to Watch The War
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The War - A Timeline
Explore a multimedia timeline following events from World War II battles, diplomatic actions, and developments on America's homefront, from 1939 - 1945.Providing Support for PBS.org
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Clip: Ep1 | 2m 12s | For a Minneapolis teenager in 1941, enlisting was a chance to become someone new. (2m 12s)
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Preview: Ep1 | 30s | Watch a preview of Episode One: A Necessary War. (30s)
Episode 1: A Necessary War | Introduction
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Clip: Ep1 | 5m 35s | Between 50 and 60 million people died in World War II. This is how The War begins. (5m 35s)
Daniel Inouye Remembers the Pearl Harbor Attack
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Clip: Ep1 | 2m 47s | Future U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye watched Japanese planes streak overhead on Dec. 7, 1941. (2m 47s)
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Clip: Ep1 | 1m 29s | Dec. 8, 1941: Americans gather by their radios as FDR asks Congress to declare war. (1m 29s)
Four American Towns Before Pearl Harbor
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Clip: Ep1 | 11m | Mobile, Sacramento, Waterbury and Luverne: four American towns on the eve of World War II. (11m)
Made Into an Enemy: Executive Order 9066
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Clip: Ep1 | 7m 14s | Executive Order 9066 forced more than 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry from their homes. (7m 14s)
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Corporate funding is provided by General Motors, Anheuser-Busch, and Bank of America. Major funding is provided by Lilly Endowment, Inc.;PBS; National Endowment for the Humanities; CPB; The Arthur Vining Davis...























