List of World War II films since 1990
2010s
Table:
Year

Country

Main title
(Alternative titles)

Original title
(Original script)

Director

Battles, campaigns, events depicted

2010

Russia

Brest Fortress (Fortress of War)

Brestskaya krepost (Брестская крепость)

Alexander Kott

Action-drama. Soviet defense of Brest Fortress, June 1941

2010

Russia

Burnt by the Sun 2

Utomlyonnye solntsem 2 (Утомлённые солнцем 2)

Nikita Mikhalkov

Action-drama. Eastern Front

2010

Japan

Caterpillar

Kyatapirā (キャタピラー)

Kōji Wakamatsu

Drama. Wounded Japanese veteran of Sino-Japanese War returns home

2010

China

Death and Glory in Changde

Die Xue Gu Cheng (喋血孤城)

Dong Shen

Action-drama. Hunan's Battle of Changde

2010

United States

The Debt

John Madden

Drama-Thriller. Capture of Nazi war criminal and Auschwitz-Birkenau surgeon wanted for concentration camp atrocities; remake of 2007 film

2010

China

East Wind Rain

Dong feng yu (东风雨)

Yunlong Liu

Drama. Shanghai-based espionage and attempts by various agencies to decode coded "weather forecasts" prior to Pearl Harbor attack

2010

Czech Republic
ermany
Austria

Habermann

Habermannův mlýn (in Czech)

Juraj Herz

Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia

2010

Russia

Heaven is on Fire (The Sky is On Fire) (TV miniseries)

Nebo v ogne (Небо в огне)

Dmitry Cherkasov

Action-drama. Eastern Front Soviet pilots, 1939–1945

2010

China

A Jewish Girl in Shanghai

You tai nu hai zai shang hai (猶太女孩在上海)

Wang Genfa, Zhang Zhenhui

Animated. Girl and little brother in Shanghai, with parents in Europe

2010

Poland

Joanna

Joanna

Feliks Falk

German occupation and Holocaust in Kraków, Poland

2010

United Kingdom

The King's Speech

Tom Hooper

2010 Best Picture depicting King George VI during the war

2010

Hong Kong
China

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen

Zing1 Mou5 Fung1 Wan4－Can4 Zan1 (精武風雲－陳真) (in Yue Chinese)

Andrew Lau Wai-Keung

Japanese invasion of Shanghai

2010

Russia

The Edge

Kray (Край)

Alexei Uchitel

Gulag camp shortly after the end of the war

2010

United States
Australia

The Pacific (TV miniseries)

Carl Franklin, Tim Van Patten, Graham Yost, Jeremy Podeswa, Tony To

Action-drama. US 1st Marine Division in Pacific Theatre

2010

France
Germany
Hungary

The Round Up

La rafle (in French)

Roselyne Bosch

Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, 1942

2010

France

Sarah's Key (Her Name was Sarah)

Elle s'appelait Sarah

Kristin Scott Thomas

Vel' d'Hiv Roundup, 1942

2010

Australia

Sisters of War (TV)

Brendan Maher

Australian nurses taken prisoner by the Japanese during the New Guinea campaign

2010

United States

Spoils of War

Jean Liberté

Allied commandos masquerading as Germans parachute behind Austrian lines to kidnap SS officer/double-agent and destroy counterfeit money

2010

Canada

Storming Juno (TV)

Tim Wolochatiuk

Docudrama. Regina Rifles and 1st Hussars at Juno Beach on D-Day

2010

Italy
Germany

Under the Roman Sky (Pope Pius XII) (TV)

Sotto il cielo di Roma (in Italian)
Pius XII. (in German)

Christian Duguay

Pope Pius XII and Roman razzia

Consulting the table and the textual context listed.

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Fortress of War ( Russian : Брестская крепость ; translit . Brestskaia krepost ; festival title : The Brest Fortress ) is a 2010 Russian-Belarusian war film recounting the June 1941 defense of Brest Fortress against invading Wehrmacht forces in the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa , Nazi Germany 's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II . Events are narrated from the perspective of 15-year-old Sasha Akimov , centering on three resistance zones holding out against the protracted German siege . The defending forces are led by regiment commander Major Pyotr Gavrilov ( 44th Rifle Regiment of the Red Army ) , with Regimental Commissar Yefim Fomin ( 84th Rifle Regiment of the Red Army ) , and the head of the 9th Frontier Outpost , Lieutenant Andrey Mitrofanovich Kizhevatov . The film makers claim that the plot is as close as possible to historical fact , and that the Brest Fortress Museum supervised the plot thoroughly .
Alexander Konstantinovich Kott ( Russian : Александр Константинович Котт ; born 22 February 1973 ) is a Russian director and screenwriter .
The defense of Brest Fortress was the first major battle of Operation Barbarossa , the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union launched on 22 June 1941 , lasting from 22 to 29 June . The defenders had received no warning of the attack , and the German Heer ( army ) expected to take Brest on the first day using only infantry and artillery . The defense of the fortress by the Red Army lasted for several days ; the defenders lost many men killed and captured and German ground forces took the fortress only after two bombardments by the Luftwaffe .
Burnt by the Sun 2 ( Russian : Утомлённые солнцем 2 , translit . Utomlyonnye solntsem 2 : Predstoyanie ) is a 2010 Russian drama film directed by and starring Nikita Mikhalkov . The film consists of two parts : Exodus ( Предстояние , literally 'Prestanding ' ) and The Citadel ( Цитадель ) . It is the sequel to Mikhalkov 's 1994 film Burnt by the Sun , set in the Eastern Front of World War II . Burnt by the Sun 2 had the largest production budget ever seen in Russian cinema ( $ 55 mln ) , but it turned out to be Russia 's biggest box office flop , and received negative reviews from critics both in Russia and abroad .
Nikita Sergeyevich Mikhalkov ( Russian : Ники́та Серге́евич Михалко́в ; born 21 October 1945 ) is a Russian filmmaker , actor , and head of the Russian Cinematographers ' Union . Mikhalkov is a three-time laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation ( 1993 , 1995 , 1999 ) and is a Full Cavalier of the Order For Merit to the Fatherland . Nikita Mikhalkov won the Golden Lion of the Venice Film Festival ( 1991 ) and was nominated for the Academy Award ( 1993 ) in the category Best Foreign Language Film for the film Close to Eden . He won an Academy Award ( 1995 ) for Best Foreign Language Film and the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival ( 1994 ) for the film Burnt by the Sun . Mikhalkov received the Special Lion of the Venice Film Festival ( 2007 ) for his contribution to the cinematography and nominated for the Oscar ( 2008 ) in the category Best Foreign Language Film for the film 12 .
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union ( USSR ) , Poland and other Allies , which encompassed Central Europe , Eastern Europe , Northeast Europe ( Baltics ) , and Southeast Europe ( Balkans ) from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945 . It has been known as the Great Patriotic War ( Russian : Великая Отечественная война , Velikaya Otechestvennaya Voyna ) in the former Soviet Union and modern Russia , while in Germany it was called the Eastern Front ( German : die Ostfront ) , or the German-Soviet War by outside parties . The battles on the Eastern Front of the Second World War constituted the largest military confrontation in history . They were characterised by unprecedented ferocity , wholesale destruction , mass deportations , and immense loss of life due to combat , starvation , exposure , disease , and massacres . The Eastern Front , as the site of nearly all extermination camps , death marches , ghettos , and the majority of pogroms , was central to the Holocaust . Of the estimated 70-85 million deaths attributed to World War II , around 30 million occurred on the Eastern Front . The Eastern Front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theatre of operations in World War II , eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the Axis nations . The two principal belligerent powers were Germany and the Soviet Union , along with their respective allies . Though never engaged in military action in the Eastern Front , the United States and the United Kingdom both provided substantial material aid in the form of the Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union . The joint German-Finnish operations across the northernmost Finnish-Soviet border and in the Murmansk region are considered part of the Eastern Front . In addition , the Soviet-Finnish Continuation War may also be considered the northern flank of the Eastern Front .
Caterpillar ( キャタピラー , Kyatapirā ) is a 2010 Japanese drama film directed by Kōji Wakamatsu , partially drawn from Edogawa Ranpo 's banned short-story The Caterpillar ( 芋虫 , Imomushi , 1929 ) . The film is a critique of the right-wing militarist nationalism that guided Japan 's conduct in Asia during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II . The film deals with various issues , such as war crimes , handicapped veterans , and spousal abuse . The film also deals with themes of sexual perversion and features graphic sex scenes . It was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival . Shinobu Terajima received the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival for her portrayal of Kurokawa 's wife .
Kōji Wakamatsu ( 若松孝二 , Wakamatsu Kōji , 1 April 1936 - 17 October 2012 ) was a Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as Ecstasy of the Angels ( 天使の恍惚 , Tenshi no Kōkotsu , 1972 ) and Go , Go , Second Time Virgin ( ゆけゆけ二度目の処女 , Yuke Yuke Nidome no Shojo , 1969 ) . He also produced Nagisa Ōshima 's controversial film In the Realm of the Senses ( 1976 ) . He has been called the most important director to emerge in the pink film genre , and one of Japan 's leading directors of the 1960s . His 2010 film , Caterpillar , was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival .
Death and Glory in Changde is a 2010 Chinese war film based on the events in the Battle of Changde in 1943 during the Second Sino-Japanese War . The Chinese title of the film literally means bloodbath , isolated city . Directed by Shen Dong , the film starred Ray Lui , Yuan Wenkang and Ady An in the lead roles . The film was released in mainland China on 19 August 2010 .
Hunan ( 湖南 ) is a landlocked province in Central China . Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed , it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north , Jiangxi to the east , Guangdong and Guangxi to the south , Guizhou to the west , and Chongqing to the northwest . Its capital and largest city is Changsha , which also abuts the Xiang River . With a population of just over 67 million as of 2014 [ update ] residing in an area of approximately 210,000 km2 ( 81,000 sq mi ) , it is China 's 7th most populous province by population and the 10th most extensive province by area . The name Hunan literally means south of the lake . The lake that is referred to is Dongting Lake , a lake in the northeast of the province ; Vehicle license plates from Hunan are marked Xiāng ( Chinese : 湘 ) , after the Xiang River , which runs from south to north through Hunan and forms part of the largest drainage system for the province . The area of Hunan first came under Chinese rule around 350 BC , when the province became part of the State of Chu . Hunan was the birthplace of Chinese communist revolutionary Mao Zedong , who became the founding father of the People 's Republic of China . Hunan today is home to some ethnic minorities , including the Tujia and Miao , along with the Han Chinese , who make up a majority of the population . Varieties of Chinese spoken include Xiang , Gan , and Southwestern Mandarin . Hunan is located on the south bank of the Yangtze River . The site of Wulingyuan was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 .
The Battle of Changde ( Battle of Changteh ; simplified Chinese : 常德会战 ; traditional Chinese : 常德會戰 ; pinyin : Chángdé Huìzhàn ) was a major engagement in the Second Sino-Japanese War in and around the Chinese city of Changde ( Changteh ) in the province of Hunan . During the battle , the Imperial Japanese Army extensively used chemical weapons . The purpose of the Japanese offensive was not to hold the city , but to maintain pressure on the Chinese National Revolutionary Army to reduce their combat ability in the region , and their ability to reinforce the Burma Campaign . The Japanese were initially successful in their offensive operation , capturing the city of Changde and causing terror among its civilians . However , they were pinned down in the city by a single Chinese division long enough for other Chinese units to surround them with a counter-encirclement . Heavy casualties and the loss of their supply lines then forced the Japanese to withdraw , returning territorial control to the original status quo . Some contemporary Western newspapers depicted the battle as a Chinese victory . American government film footage showed victorious Chinese troops with Japanese prisoners and captured Japanese flags and equipment on display after the battle . In addition , an American newsreel titled Chinese troops drive Japs from Changteh showed Chinese troops firing , with dead and captured Japanese on display . A British newsreel titled Japs Loose Changteh Aka Japs Lose Changte ' showed similar footage .
The Debt is a 2010 remake of the 2007 Israeli thriller film Ha-Hov , directed by John Madden from a screenplay by Matthew Vaughn , Jane Goldman and Peter Straughan . It stars Helen Mirren , Sam Worthington , Jessica Chastain , Ciarán Hinds , Tom Wilkinson , Marton Csokas and Jesper Christensen . Although ready for release in July 2010 , and scheduled for a December 2010 release in the United States , the film only toured various film festivals during the autumn of 2010 and spring of 2011 . It did n't see a general release until it was released in France on 15 June 2011 , followed by Kazakhstan and Russia in July 2011 , and the United States , Canada and India on 31 August 2011 .
John Philip Madden ( born 8 April 1949 ) is an English director of theatre , film , television , and radio . He is known for directing Shakespeare in Love ( 1998 ) , which won the Academy Award for Best Picture . He has also gained recognition for directing The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ( 2011 ) and its sequel The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ( 2015 ) .
The Auschwitz concentration camp ( Konzentrationslager Auschwitz ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II and the Holocaust . It consisted of Auschwitz I , the main camp ( Stammlager ) in Oświęcim ; Auschwitz II-Birkenau , a concentration and extermination camp built with several gas chambers ; Auschwitz III-Monowitz , a labor camp created to staff a factory for the chemical conglomerate IG Farben ; and dozens of subcamps . The camps became a major site of the Nazis ' Final Solution to the Jewish Question . After Germany sparked World War II by invading Poland in September 1939 , the Schutzstaffel ( SS ) converted Auschwitz I , an army barracks , into a prisoner-of-war camp for Polish political prisoners . The first inmates , German criminals brought to the camp in May 1940 as functionaries , established the camp 's reputation for sadism , beating , torturing , and executing prisoners for the most trivial reasons . The first gassings - of Soviet and Polish prisoners - took place in block 11 of Auschwitz I around August 1941 . Construction of Auschwitz II began the following month , and from 1942 until late 1944 freight trains delivered Jews from all over German-occupied Europe to its gas chambers . Of the 1.3 million people sent to Auschwitz , 1.1 million died . The death toll includes 960,000 Jews ( 865,000 of whom were gassed on arrival ) , 74,000 non-Jewish Poles , 21,000 Roma , 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war , and up to 15,000 other Europeans . Those not gassed died of starvation , exhaustion , disease , individual executions , or beatings . Others were killed during medical experiments . At least 802 prisoners tried to escape , 144 successfully , and on 7 October 1944 two Sonderkommando units , consisting of prisoners who staffed the gas chambers , launched an unsuccessful uprising .
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps ( German : Konzentrationslager , KL or KZ ) [ a ] throughout the territories it controlled before and during the Second World War . The first Nazi camps were erected in Germany in March 1933 immediately after Hitler became Chancellor and his Nazi Party was given control of the police by Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick and Prussian Acting Interior Minister Hermann Göring . Used to hold and torture political opponents and union organizers , the camps initially held around 45,000 prisoners . In 1933-1939 , before the onset of war , most prisoners consisted of German Communists , Socialists , Social Democrats , Roma , Jehovah 's Witnesses , homosexuals , and persons accused of 'asocial ' or socially 'deviant ' behavior by the Germans . Heinrich Himmler 's Schutzstaffel ( SS ) took full control of the police and the concentration camps throughout Germany in 1934-35 . The role of the camps expanded to hold so-called undesirables such as Jews , Romanis/Sintis , Serbs , Soviet POWs , Poles , disabled people , and clergymen . The number of people in the camps , which had fallen to 7,500 , grew again to 21,000 by the start of World War II and peaked at 715,000 in January 1945 . Beginning in 1934 the concentration camps were administered by the Concentration Camps Inspectorate ( CCI ) , which in 1942 was merged into SS-Wirtschafts-Verwaltungshauptamt , and they were guarded by SS-Totenkopfverbände ( SS-TV ) . Holocaust scholars draw a distinction between concentration camps ( described in this article ) and extermination camps , which were established by Nazi Germany for the industrial-scale mass murder of Jews in the ghettos by way of gas chambers .
The attack on Pearl Harbor [ nb 3 ] was a surprise , preemptive military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States ( a neutral country at the time ) against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu , Territory of Hawaii , just before 08:00 , on Sunday morning , December 7 , 1941 . The attack led to the United States ' formal entry into World War II the next day . The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI , and as Operation Z during its planning . Japan intended the attack as a preventive action to keep the United States Pacific Fleet from interfering with its planned military actions in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom , the Netherlands , and the United States . Over the course of seven hours there were coordinated Japanese attacks on the U.S.-held Philippines , Guam and Wake Island and on the British Empire in Malaya , Singapore , and Hong Kong . The attack commenced at 7:48 a.m. Hawaiian Time ( 18:18 GMT ) . [ nb 4 ] The base was attacked by 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft ( including fighters , level and dive bombers , and torpedo bombers ) in two waves , launched from six aircraft carriers . All eight U.S. Navy battleships were damaged , with four sunk . All but USS Arizona were later raised , and six were returned to service and went on to fight in the war . The Japanese also sank or damaged three cruisers , three destroyers , an anti-aircraft training ship , [ nb 5 ] and one minelayer . 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed ; 2,403 Americans were killed and 1,178 others were wounded . Important base installations such as the power station , dry dock , shipyard , maintenance , and fuel and torpedo storage facilities , as well as the submarine piers and headquarters building ( also home of the intelligence section ) were not attacked .
Habermann ( Czech : Habermannův mlýn ) is a 2010 Czech-German-Austrian drama film directed by Juraj Herz . In the story , a German mill owner in the Sudetenland and his family 's lives are changed as Europe heats up in 1938 . The movie is based on true events and is the first major motion picture to dramatize the expulsion of 3 million Germans from Czechoslovakia .
Juraj Herz ( 4 September 1934 - 8 April 2018 ) was a Czech film director , actor , and scene designer , associated with the Czechoslovak New Wave movement of the 1960s . He is best known for his 1968 horror/black comedy The Cremator , often cited as one of the best Czechoslovak films of all time , though many of his other films achieved cult status . He directed for both film and television , and in the latter capacity he directed episodes of a French-Czech television series based on George Simenon 's Maigret novels .
A Jewish Girl in Shanghai ( Chinese : 犹太女孩在上海 ) is a 2010 Chinese animated family film written by Wu Lin and based on his graphic novel of the same name . It is directed by Wang Genfa and Zhang Zhenhui , and voiced by Cui Jie , Zhao Jing and Ma Shaohua . Set mainly in and around the Shanghai Ghetto in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during the Second World War , the film tells the story of three children . Rina and her younger brother Mishalli are Jewish refugees who escaped Europe but are without their parents . A-Gen is a Chinese orphan boy who meets Rina and helps her and her brother to survive . The children form strong friendships and have adventures as they try and fend off the Japanese army occupying the city , and their allies , the Nazis . In the background , the Second Sino-Japanese War takes place , while the children must face the uncertainty that concerns the fate of Rina and Mishalli 's parents in Europe . Well received in China and internationally , A Jewish Girl in Shanghai has been heralded as the first animated Chinese film to address the Holocaust , and has been described as China 's first homegrown Jewish film . The film has been nominated for awards in China and Israel , and has been considered an important step towards improving China 's relations with Israel and intercultural relations between the Chinese and Jewish peoples .
A Jewish Girl in Shanghai ( Chinese : 犹太女孩在上海 ) is a 2010 Chinese animated family film written by Wu Lin and based on his graphic novel of the same name . It is directed by Wang Genfa and Zhang Zhenhui , and voiced by Cui Jie , Zhao Jing and Ma Shaohua . Set mainly in and around the Shanghai Ghetto in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during the Second World War , the film tells the story of three children . Rina and her younger brother Mishalli are Jewish refugees who escaped Europe but are without their parents . A-Gen is a Chinese orphan boy who meets Rina and helps her and her brother to survive . The children form strong friendships and have adventures as they try and fend off the Japanese army occupying the city , and their allies , the Nazis . In the background , the Second Sino-Japanese War takes place , while the children must face the uncertainty that concerns the fate of Rina and Mishalli 's parents in Europe . Well received in China and internationally , A Jewish Girl in Shanghai has been heralded as the first animated Chinese film to address the Holocaust , and has been described as China 's first homegrown Jewish film . The film has been nominated for awards in China and Israel , and has been considered an important step towards improving China 's relations with Israel and intercultural relations between the Chinese and Jewish peoples .
A Jewish Girl in Shanghai ( Chinese : 犹太女孩在上海 ) is a 2010 Chinese animated family film written by Wu Lin and based on his graphic novel of the same name . It is directed by Wang Genfa and Zhang Zhenhui , and voiced by Cui Jie , Zhao Jing and Ma Shaohua . Set mainly in and around the Shanghai Ghetto in Japanese-occupied Shanghai during the Second World War , the film tells the story of three children . Rina and her younger brother Mishalli are Jewish refugees who escaped Europe but are without their parents . A-Gen is a Chinese orphan boy who meets Rina and helps her and her brother to survive . The children form strong friendships and have adventures as they try and fend off the Japanese army occupying the city , and their allies , the Nazis . In the background , the Second Sino-Japanese War takes place , while the children must face the uncertainty that concerns the fate of Rina and Mishalli 's parents in Europe . Well received in China and internationally , A Jewish Girl in Shanghai has been heralded as the first animated Chinese film to address the Holocaust , and has been described as China 's first homegrown Jewish film . The film has been nominated for awards in China and Israel , and has been considered an important step towards improving China 's relations with Israel and intercultural relations between the Chinese and Jewish peoples .
Shanghai ( Chinese : 上海 ; Shanghainese pronunciation : [ zɑ̃.hɛ ] ( listen ) , Putonghua pronunciation : [ ʂâŋ.xài ] ( listen ) ) is one of the four municipalities of the People 's Republic of China . It is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze , and the Huangpu River flows through it . With a population of 24.2 million as of 2018 [ update ] , it is the most populous urban area in China and the second most populous city proper in the world . Shanghai is a global center for finance , innovation , and transportation , and the Port of Shanghai is the world 's busiest container port . Originally a fishing village and market town , Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to trade and its favorable port location . The city was one of five treaty ports forced open to foreign trade after the First Opium War . The Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession were subsequently established . The city then flourished , becoming a primary commercial and financial hub of the Asia-Pacific region in the 1930s . During the Second Sino-Japanese War , the city was the site of the major Battle of Shanghai . After the war , with the CPC takeover of mainland China in 1949 , trade was limited to other socialist countries , and the city 's global influence declined . In the 1990s , economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense redevelopment of the city , especially the Pudong district , aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city . The city has since re-emerged as a hub for international trade and finance ; it is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange , one of the largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization , and the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone , the first free-trade zone in China .
Feliks Falk ( born 25 February 1941 ) is a Polish film and theater director as well as writer of film scripts , stage plays , television plays , and radio shows . A 1966 graduate of Warsaw 's Academy of Fine Arts , he also is a painter and graphic artist . Falk is one of creators of the 1970s wave of Polish cinematography , called Cinema of Moral Anxiety . Among his most famous films there are Wodzirej ( Top Dog ) ( 1977 ) and Samowolka ( AWOL ) ( 1993 ) . Falk has won a number of major filmmaking awards . His 1987 film Hero of the Year was entered into the 15th Moscow International Film Festival where it won the FIPRESCI Prize and a Special Prize .
Kraków ( /ˈkrækaʊ , -koʊ/ , also US : /ˈkreɪk- , ˈkrɑːkaʊ/ , UK : /ˈkrækɒf/ , Polish : [ ˈkrakuf ] ( listen ) ) , traditionally known in English as Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland . Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Province , the city dates back to the 7th century . Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 and has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic , economic , cultural and artistic life . Cited as one of Europe 's most beautiful cities , its Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site . The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement to Poland 's second most important city . It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Central Europe in 965 . With the establishment of new universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Second Polish Republic in 1918 and throughout the 20th century , Kraków reaffirmed its role as a major national academic and artistic centre . The city has a population of about 770,000 , with approximately 8 million additional people living within a 100 km ( 62 mi ) radius of its main square . After the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany at the start of World War II , the newly defined Distrikt Krakau ( Kraków District ) became the capital of Germany 's General Government . The Jewish population of the city was forced into a walled zone known as the Kraków Ghetto , from which they were sent to German extermination camps such as the nearby Auschwitz never to return , and the Nazi concentration camps like Płaszów . However , the city was spared from destruction and major bombing . In 1978 , Karol Wojtyła , archbishop of Kraków , was elevated to the papacy as Pope John Paul II - the first ever Slavic pope , and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years .
The King 's Speech is a 2010 historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler . Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who , to cope with a stammer , sees Lionel Logue , an Australian speech and language therapist played by Geoffrey Rush . The men become friends as they work together , and after his brother abdicates the throne , the new king relies on Logue to help him make his first wartime radio broadcast on Britain 's declaration of war on Germany in 1939 . Seidler read about George VI 's life after overcoming a stuttering condition he endured during his own youth . He started writing about the relationship between the therapist and his royal patient as early as the 1980s , but at the request of the King 's widow , Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother , postponed work until her death in 2002 . He later rewrote his screenplay for the stage to focus on the essential relationship between the two protagonists . Nine weeks before filming began , Logue 's notebooks were discovered and quotations from them were incorporated into the script . Principal photography took place in London and around Britain from November 2009 to January 2010 . Hard light was used to give the story a greater resonance and wider than normal lenses were employed to recreate the Duke of York 's feelings of constriction . A third technique Hooper employed was the off-centre framing of characters . The King 's Speech was a major box office and critical success . It was widely praised by film critics for its visual style , art direction , screenplay , directing , score , and acting .
Thomas George Hooper ( born 5 October 1972 ) is a British-Australian [ n 1 ] film and television director . Hooper began making short films as a teenager and had his first professional short , Painted Faces , broadcast on Channel 4 in 1992 . At Oxford University Hooper directed plays and television commercials . After graduating , he directed episodes of Quayside , Byker Grove , EastEnders , and Cold Feet on British television . In the 2000s , Hooper directed the major BBC costume dramas Love in a Cold Climate ( 2001 ) and Daniel Deronda ( 2002 ) , and he was selected to helm the 2003 revival of ITV 's Prime Suspect series , starring Helen Mirren . Hooper made his feature film debut with Red Dust ( 2004 ) , a British drama starring Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor , before directing Helen Mirren again in the Company Pictures/HBO Films historical drama Elizabeth I ( 2005 ) . He continued working for HBO on the television film Longford ( 2006 ) and in John Adams ( 2008 ) , a seven-part serial on the life of the American president . Hooper returned to features with The Damned United ( 2009 ) , a fact-based film about the English football manager Brian Clough ( played by Michael Sheen ) . The following year saw the release of the historical drama The King 's Speech ( 2010 ) , starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush , which was met with critical acclaim . Hooper 's next film was Les Misérables ( 2012 ) , which featured an all-star cast led by Hugh Jackman . His 2015 film , The Danish Girl , was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Film . Recently , Hooper has directed two episodes of His Dark Materials and a critically panned live-action adaptation of the musical Cats .
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ( AMPAS ) since the awards debuted in 1929 . This award goes to the producers of the film and is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible to submit a nomination and vote on the final ballot . Best Picture is the final award of the night and is considered the most prestigious honor of the ceremony . The Grand Staircase columns at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood , where the Academy Awards ceremonies have been held since 2002 , showcase every film that has won the Best Picture title since the award 's inception . There have been 563 films nominated for Best Picture and 92 winners .
George VI ( Albert Frederick Arthur George ; 14 December 1895 - 6 February 1952 ) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death . He became known as a symbol of British determination to win the Second World War against Germany . Known as Bertie among his family and close friends , George VI was born in the reign of his great-grandmother Queen Victoria and was named after his great-grandfather Albert , Prince Consort . As the second son of King George V , he was not expected to inherit the throne and spent his early life in the shadow of his elder brother , Edward . He attended naval college as a teenager and served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force during the First World War . In 1920 , he was made Duke of York . He married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1923 , and they had two daughters , Elizabeth and Margaret . In the mid-1920s , he had speech therapy for a stammer , which he never fully overcame . George 's elder brother ascended the throne as Edward VIII upon the death of their father in 1936 . However , Edward was forced to choose between the crown and marriage to divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson . With the abdication of Edward to marry Simpson , George ascended the throne as the third monarch of the House of Windsor . In September 1939 , the British Empire and Commonwealth - except Ireland - declared war on Nazi Germany .
Legend of the Fist : The Return of Chen Zhen is a 2010 Hong Kong superhero martial arts film directed and produced by Andrew Lau and starring Donnie Yen as Chen Zhen , a role made famous by Bruce Lee in the 1972 film Fist of Fury . The film is a sequel to the 1994 film Fist of Legend , which starred Jet Li as Chen Zhen . Principal photography for Legend of the Fist : The Return of Chen Zhen began in November 2009 and ended in early February 2010 ; shooting took place in Shanghai , China . The film was shown out of competition during the opening night of the 67th Venice International Film Festival , and 2010 Toronto International Film Festival . The film was released in Chinese theatres on 21 September 2010 and two days later in Hong Kong on 23 September 2010 .
Andrew Lau Wai-Keung ( born 4 April 1960 ) is a Hong Kong film director , producer , and cinematographer . Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s , serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam , Wong Jing and Wong Kar-wai . In the 1990s , Lau decided to have more creative freedom as a cinematographer by becoming a film director and producer . Apart from making films in his native Hong Kong , Lau has also made films in China , Korea and the United States . A highly prolific filmmaker , Lau has made films in a variety of genres , and is most notable in the West for his action and crime films which include the Young and Dangerous film series , the Infernal Affairs trilogy ( the latter co-directed together with Alan Mak ) , and Revenge of the Green Dragons ( executive produced by Martin Scorsese ) .
The Edge ( Russian : Край , translit . Kray ) is a 2010 Russian drama film directed by Alexei Uchitel . The film was nominated for the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and was also selected as the Russian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards but it did n't make the final shortlist . Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired all U.S. rights to The Edge which was negotiated with Sergei Bespalov , president of Sunrise Films .
Aleksei Yefimovich Uchitel ( Russian : Алексей Ефимович Учитель ; born 31 August 1951 in Leningrad ) is a Russian film director . In 2002 he received the title People 's Artist of Russia .
The Gulag ( /ˈɡuːlɑːɡ/ , UK also /-læɡ/ ; Russian : ГУЛаг , romanized : GULag , [ ɡʊˈlak ] ( listen ) , acronym of Main Administration of Camps , Russian : Главное управление лагерей ) [ a ] was the government agency in charge of the Soviet forced-labour camp system set up under Vladimir Lenin and reached its peak during Joseph Stalin 's rule from the 1930s to the early 1950s . English-language speakers also use the word gulag to refer to any forced-labour camp in the Soviet Union , including camps which existed in post-Stalin times . The camps housed a wide range of convicts , from petty criminals to political prisoners . Large numbers were convicted by simplified procedures , such as by NKVD troikas or by other instruments of extrajudicial punishment . The Gulag is recognised as a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union . The agency was first administered by the GPU , later by the NKVD and in the final years by the Ministry of Internal Affairs ( MVD ) . The Solovki prison camp , the first corrective labor camp constructed after the revolution , was established in 1918 and legalised by a decree On the creation of the forced-labour camps on April 15 , 1919 . The internment system grew rapidly , reaching a population of 100,000 in the 1920s . According to Nicolas Werth , author of The Black Book of Communism , the yearly mortality rate in the Soviet concentration camps strongly varied , reaching 5% ( 1933 ) and 20% ( 1942-1943 ) while dropping considerably in the post-war years ( about 1 to 3% per year at the beginning of the 1950s ) . The emergent consensus among scholars who utilize official archival data is that of the 18 million who were sent to the Gulag from 1930 to 1953 , roughly 1.5 to 1.7 million perished there or as a result of their detention . However , some historians question the reliability of such data and instead rely heavily on literary sources that come to higher estimations . Archival researchers have found no plan of destruction of the gulag population and no statement of official intent to kill them , and prisoner releases vastly exceeded the number of deaths in the Gulag .
The Pacific is a 2010 American television series produced by HBO , Playtone , and DreamWorks that premiered in the United States on March 14 , 2010 . The series is a companion piece to the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers and focuses on the United States Marine Corps 's actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations within the wider Pacific War . Whereas Band of Brothers followed the men of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment through the European Theater , The Pacific centers on the experiences of three Marines ( Robert Leckie , Eugene Sledge , and John Basilone ) who were in different regiments ( 1st , 5th , and 7th , respectively ) of the 1st Marine Division . The Pacific was spearheaded by Bruce C. McKenna ( co-executive producer ) , one of the main writers on Band of Brothers . Hugh Ambrose , the son of Band of Brothers author Stephen Ambrose , served as a project consultant . The Pacific miniseries features the 1st Marine Division 's battles in the Pacific , such as Guadalcanal , Cape Gloucester , Peleliu , and Okinawa , as well as Basilone 's involvement in the Battle of Iwo Jima . It is based primarily on the memoirs of two US Marines : With the Old Breed : At Peleliu and Okinawa by Eugene Sledge and Helmet for My Pillow by Robert Leckie . It also draws on Sledge 's memoir China Marine and Red Blood , Black Sand , the memoir of Chuck Tatum , a Marine who fought alongside Basilone at Iwo Jima .
Carl Franklin ( born April 11 , 1949 ) is an American actor , screenwriter , producer , film and television director . Franklin is a graduate of University of California , Berkeley , and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory , where he graduated with an M.F.A . degree in directing in 1986 .
Timothy Van Patten ( born June 10 , 1959 ) is an American television director , actor , screenwriter , and producer . He has directed episodes of Boardwalk Empire , Black Mirror , Deadwood , Ed , Game of Thrones , The Pacific , Rome , Sex and the City , The Sopranos , and The Wire . As an actor , he is perhaps best known for portraying Mario Salami Pettrino on The White Shadow . He also played the villainous teenager Peter Stegman in Class of 1984 and Max Keller on The Master .
Graham John Yost ( born September 5 , 1959 ) is a Canadian film and television screenwriter . His best-known works are the films Speed , Broken Arrow , and Hard Rain and the TV series Justified . In 2002 , he created the television drama series Boomtown . He has also written for the television series Herman 's Head and Band of Brothers . He also created the short-lived NBC drama Raines . Yost teamed up with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg , along with two of his fellow Boomtown writers Michelle Ashford and Larry Andries , to write and direct episodes of the HBO miniseries The Pacific . Yost is the creator and executive producer of the FX series Justified , and an executive producer on the FX show The Americans . He is currently the head writer and executive producer of the Amazon Studios series Sneaky Pete . Born in Etobicoke , he graduated from the University of Toronto Schools and Trinity College at the University of Toronto . He is the son of Canadian television personality Elwy Yost , the longtime host of the public broadcaster TVOntario 's Saturday Night at the Movies .
Jeremy Podeswa ( born 1962 ) is a Canadian film and television director . He is best known for directing the films The Five Senses ( 1999 ) and Fugitive Pieces ( 2007 ) . He has also worked as director on the television shows Six Feet Under , Nip/Tuck , The Tudors , Queer as Folk , and the HBO World War II miniseries The Pacific . He has also written several films . In 2014 , he directed episodes five and six of the fifth season of the HBO series Game of Thrones , earning a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the latter episode . He returned the next season , directing the season premiere and the second episode . He also directed the season premiere as well as the season finale of the seventh season .
Tony To is a television producer and director and current president of production and development at Lucasfilm . He is best known for producing and also directing for the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers , for which he won an Emmy Award . To later returned to produce and direct for the 2010 companion miniseries The Pacific . He has also directed episodes of House and Harsh Realm . Before his position at Lucasfilm , To served as executive vice president of production for The Walt Disney Studios .
The 1st Marine Division ( 1st MARDIV ) is a Marine infantry division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton , California . It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force ( I MEF ) . It is the oldest and largest active duty division in the United States Marine Corps , representing a combat-ready force of more than 19,000 men and women . It is one of three active duty divisions in the Marine Corps today and is a multi-role , expeditionary ground combat force . It is nicknamed The Old Breed .
The Pacific Ocean theater , during World War II , was a major theater of the war between the Allies and the Empire of Japan . It was defined by the Allied powers ' Pacific Ocean Area command , which included most of the Pacific Ocean and its islands , while mainland Asia was excluded , as were the Philippines , the Dutch East Indies , Borneo , Australia , most of the Territory of New Guinea and the western part of the Solomon Islands . It officially came into existence on March 30 , 1942 , when US Admiral Chester Nimitz was appointed Supreme Allied Commander Pacific Ocean Areas . In the other major theater in the Pacific region , known as the South West Pacific theatre , Allied forces were commanded by US General Douglas MacArthur . Both Nimitz and MacArthur were overseen by the US Joint Chiefs and the Western Allies Combined Chiefs of Staff ( CCoS ) . Most Japanese forces in the theater were part of the Combined Fleet ( 連合艦隊 , Rengō Kantai ) of the Imperial Japanese Navy ( IJN ) , which was responsible for all Japanese warships , naval aircraft , and marine infantry units . The Rengō Kantai was led by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto , until he was killed in an attack by U.S. fighter planes in April 1943 . Yamamoto was succeeded by Admiral Mineichi Koga ( 1943-44 ) and Admiral Soemu Toyoda ( 1944-45 ) . The General Staff ( 参謀本部 , Sanbō Honbu ) of the Imperial Japanese Army ( IJA ) was responsible for Imperial Japanese Army ground and air units in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific . The IJN and IJA did not formally use joint/combined staff at the operational level , and their command structures/geographical areas of operations overlapped with each other and those of the Allies . In the Pacific Ocean theater , Japanese forces fought primarily against the United States Navy , the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army . The United Kingdom , New Zealand , Australia , Canada and other Allied nations also contributed forces .
The Round Up ( French : La Rafle ) is a 2010 French film directed by Roselyne Bosch and produced by Alain Goldman . The film stars Mélanie Laurent , Jean Reno , Sylvie Testud and Gad Elmaleh . Based on the true story of a young Jewish boy , the film depicts the Vel ' d'Hiv Roundup ( Rafle du Vel ' d'Hiv ) , the mass arrest of Jews by French police who were accomplices of Nazi Germans in Paris in July 1942 .
Roselyne Bosch , also known as Rose Bosch ( born 1961 ) is a French journalist , screenwriter and film director . She was born in Avignon . Her father was a Catalan who fled the Francoist Spain for political refugee , and her mother was an Italian . She worked as a journalist for a French news magazine Le Point , and she reported portraits of Stephen Hawking , Basque conflict , child traffickin in Sri Lanka , famine in Nordeste Brasil , floods in Bangladesh . In 1991 , she is finalist to the Albert Londres prize but did n't win . In 1992 , she became interested in Christopher Columbus while researching a 1987 article on Spain 's long-range plans for celebrating the 500th anniversary of Columbus first voyage , and she wrote the screenplay of the film 1492 : Conquest of Paradise directed by Ridley Scott . In 2010 , she wrote and directed the film The Round Up about the Vel ' d'Hiv Roundup during Vichy France . She is married to film producer Alain Goldman with whom he has two children .
The Vel ' d'Hiv ' Roundup ( French : Rafle du Vel ' d'Hiv ' , an abbreviation of Rafle du Vélodrome d'Hiver ) was a mass arrest of Jews in Paris by the French police , codenamed Opération Vent printanier ( Operation Spring Breeze ) , on 16 and 17 July 1942 . The name Vel ' d'Hiv ' Roundup is derived from the name of the Vélodrome d'Hiver ( Winter Velodrome ) , where a majority of the victims were temporarily confined . The roundup , assisted by French Police , was one of several aimed at eradicating the Jewish population in France , both in the occupied zone and in the free zone . According to records of the Préfecture de Police , 13,152 Jews were arrested , including more than 4,000 children . They were held at the Vélodrome d'Hiver in extremely crowded conditions , almost without food and water and with no sanitary facilities , as well as at the Drancy , Pithiviers , and Beaune-la-Rolande internment camps , then shipped in rail cattle cars to Auschwitz for their mass murder . French President Jacques Chirac apologized in 1995 for the complicit role that French police and civil servants played in the raid . In 2017 , President Emmanuel Macron more specifically admitted the responsibility of the French State in the roundup and , hence , in the Holocaust .
Sarah 's Key ( French : Elle s'appelait Sarah ) is a 2010 French drama directed and co-written by Gilles Paquet-Brenner . The film is an adaptation of the novel with the same title by Tatiana de Rosnay . The film alternates between Sarah ( Mélusine Mayance ) in 1942 and Julia ( Kristin Scott Thomas ) in 2002 who is researching Sarah 's story . It tells the story of a young girl 's experiences during and after the Vel ' d'Hiv Roundup of Jews in German-occupied Paris in 1942 and the participation of bureaucracy in Vichy France and French citizens hiding and protecting Sarah from the French authorities .
Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas DBE ( born 24 May 1960 ) is an English-French actress . Five times a BAFTA Award nominee and five-times Olivier Award nominee , she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Four Weddings and a Funeral ( 1994 ) and the Olivier Award for Best Actress in 2008 for the Royal Court revival of The Seagull . She was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for The English Patient ( 1996 ) . Scott Thomas made her film debut in the Prince-directed Under the Cherry Moon ( 1986 ) , and won the Evening Standard Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer for A Handful of Dust ( 1988 ) . Her work includes Bitter Moon ( 1992 ) , Mission : Impossible ( 1996 ) , The Horse Whisperer ( 1998 ) , Gosford Park ( 2001 ) , The Valet ( 2006 ) , and Tell No One ( 2007 ) . She won the European Film Award for Best Actress for Philippe Claudel 's I 've Loved You So Long ( 2008 ) . Her other films include , Leaving ( 2009 ) , Love Crime ( 2010 ) , Sarah 's Key ( 2010 ) Nowhere Boy ( 2010 ) , Only God Forgives ( 2013 ) , Darkest Hour ( 2017 ) , and Tomb Raider ( 2018 ) .
Sisters of War is a telemovie based on the true story of two Australian women , Lorna Whyte , an army nurse and Sister Berenice Twohill , a Catholic nun from New South Wales who survived as prisoners of war in Papua New Guinea during World War II . Sisters of War was written by John Misto , produced by Andrew Wiseman and directed by Brendan Maher . It made its debut at the Brisbane International Film Festival on 11 November 2010 . It premiered on television on 14 November 2010 on Australian channel ABC1 .
The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945 . During the initial phase in early 1942 , the Empire of Japan invaded the Australian-administered Mandated Territory of New Guinea ( 23 January ) and the Australian Territory of Papua ( 21 July ) and overran western New Guinea ( beginning 29/30 March ) , which was a part of the Netherlands East Indies . During the second phase , lasting from late 1942 until the Japanese surrender , the Allies - consisting primarily of Australian and US forces - cleared the Japanese first from Papua , then the Mandate and finally from the Dutch colony . The campaign resulted in a crushing defeat and heavy losses for the Empire of Japan . As in most Pacific War campaigns , disease and starvation claimed more Japanese lives than enemy action . Most Japanese troops never even came into contact with Allied forces , and were instead simply cut off and subjected to an effective blockade by the US Navy . Garrisons were effectively besieged and denied shipments of food and medical supplies , and as a result , some claim that 97% of Japanese deaths in this campaign were from non-combat causes . According to John Laffin , the campaign was arguably the most arduous fought by any Allied troops during World War II .
The Royal Regina Rifles is a Primary Reserve infantry regiment of the Canadian Army . Prior to 1982 the regiment was known as The Regina Rifle Regiment . The Royal Regina Rifles are part of 3rd Canadian Division 's 38 Canadian Brigade Group . The regiment was nicknamed The Johns during World War II because of the high proportion of Farmer Johns in its ranks .
The 1st Hussars is an armoured Primary Reserve regiment of the Canadian Forces , based in London and Sarnia , Ontario .
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War . The beach spanned from Courseulles , a village just east of the British beach Gold , to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer , and just west of the British beach Sword . Taking Juno was the responsibility of the Canadian Army , with sea transport , mine sweeping , and a naval bombardment force provided by the Royal Canadian Navy and the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Free French , Norwegian , and other Allied navies . The objectives of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on D-Day were to cut the Caen-Bayeux road , seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen , and form a link between the two British beaches on either flank . The beach was defended by two battalions of the German 716th Infantry Division , with elements of the 21st Panzer Division held in reserve near Caen . The invasion plan called for two brigades of the 3rd Canadian Division to land on two beach sectors - Mike and Nan - focusing on Courseulles , Bernières and Saint-Aubin . [ a ] It was hoped that the preliminary naval and air bombardments would soften up the beach defences and destroy coastal strong points . Close support on the beaches was to be provided by amphibious tanks of the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade and specialized armoured vehicles of the 79th Armoured Division ( United Kingdom ) . Once the landing zones were secured , the plan called for the 9th Canadian Infantry Brigade to land reserve battalions and deploy inland , the Royal Marine commandos to establish contact with the British 3rd Infantry Division on Sword and the 7th Canadian Infantry Brigade to link up with the British 50th Infantry Division on Gold . The 3rd Canadian Division 's D-Day objectives were to capture Carpiquet Airfield and reach the Caen-Bayeux railway line by nightfall . The landings initially encountered heavy resistance from the German 716th Division ; the preliminary bombardment proved less effective than had been hoped , and rough weather forced the first wave to be delayed until 07:35 . Several assault companies - notably those of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles and The Queen 's Own Rifles of Canada - took heavy casualties in the opening minutes of the first wave .
The Normandy landings were the landing operations on Tuesday , 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II . Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day , it was the largest seaborne invasion in history . The operation began the liberation of German-occupied France ( and later western Europe ) and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front . Planning for the operation began in 1943 . In the months leading up to the invasion , the Allies conducted a substantial military deception , codenamed Operation Bodyguard , to mislead the Germans as to the date and location of the main Allied landings . The weather on D-Day was far from ideal , and the operation had to be delayed 24 hours ; a further postponement would have meant a delay of at least two weeks , as the invasion planners had requirements for the phase of the moon , the tides , and the time of day that meant only a few days each month were deemed suitable . Adolf Hitler placed German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in command of German forces and of developing fortifications along the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of an Allied invasion . The amphibious landings were preceded by extensive aerial and naval bombardment and an airborne assault - the landing of 24,000 American , British , and Canadian airborne troops shortly after midnight . Allied infantry and armoured divisions began landing on the coast of France at 06:30 . The target 50-mile ( 80 km ) stretch of the Normandy coast was divided into five sectors : Utah , Omaha , Gold , Juno , and Sword . Strong winds blew the landing craft east of their intended positions , particularly at Utah and Omaha . The men landed under heavy fire from gun emplacements overlooking the beaches , and the shore was mined and covered with obstacles such as wooden stakes , metal tripods , and barbed wire , making the work of the beach-clearing teams difficult and dangerous .
Christian Duguay ( born March 30 , 1956 ) is a Canadian film director .
Pope Pius XII ( Italian : Pio XII ) , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli ( Italian pronunciation : [ euˈdʒɛːnjo maˈriːa dʒuˈzɛppe dʒoˈvanni paˈtʃɛlli ] ; 2 March 1876 - 9 October 1958 ) , was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 to 1958 when he died . Before his election to the papacy , he served as secretary of the Department of Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs , papal nuncio to Germany , and Cardinal Secretary of State , in which capacity he worked to conclude treaties with European and Latin American nations , such as the Reichskonkordat with Nazi Germany . While the Vatican was officially neutral during World War II , the Reichskonkordat and his leadership of the Catholic Church during the war remain the subject of controversy - including allegations of public silence and inaction about the fate of the Jews . After the war , he advocated peace and reconciliation , including lenient policies towards former Axis and Axis-satellite nations . During his papacy , the Church issued the Decree against Communism , declaring that Catholics who profess Communist doctrine are to be excommunicated as apostates from the Christian faith . In turn , the Church experienced severe persecution and mass deportations of Catholic clergy in the Eastern Bloc . He explicitly invoked ex cathedra papal infallibility with the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in his Apostolic constitution Munificentissimus Deus . His magisterium includes almost 1,000 addresses and radio broadcasts . His forty-one encyclicals include Mystici corporis , the Church as the Body of Christ ; Mediator Dei on liturgy reform ; and Humani generis , in which he instructed theologians to adhere to episcopal teaching and allowed that the human body might have evolved from earlier forms . He eliminated the Italian majority in the College of Cardinals in 1946 . After he died in 1958 , Pope Pius XII was succeeded by John XXIII . In the process toward sainthood , his cause for canonization was opened on 18 November 1965 by Paul VI during the final session of the Second Vatican Council .
Pope Pius XII 's response to the Roman razzia ( Italian for roundup ) or mass deportation of Jews on October 16 , 1943 is a significant issue relating to Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust . Under Mussolini , no policy of abduction of Jews had been implemented in Italy . Following the capitulation of Italy in 1943 , Nazi forces invaded and occupied much of the country , and began deportations of Jews to extermination camps . Pius XII protested at diplomatic levels , while several thousand Jews found refuge in Catholic networks , institutions and homes across Italy - including in the Vatican City and Pope Pius ' Summer Residence . The Catholic Church and some historians have credited this rescue in large part to the direction of Pope Pius XII , however , Susan Zuccotti researched the matter in detail and discovered that although the pope was aware of The Holocaust , he did not issue a rescue order . Zuccotti states that there is , in fact , considerable evidence of papal disapproval of the hiding of Jews and other fugitives in Vatican properties . Various historians have given different emphases to accounts of Pius ' actions . According to Michael Phayer , the question of the pope 's silence has become the focus of intense historical debate and analysis because the deportations occurred under his very windows . The term under his very windows was used as the title of a book on the subject by Zuccotti . The phrase is based on an actual quotation from the report of Ernst von Weizsäcker , the German ambassador to the Vatican , who reported to Berlin that the razzia had taken place under the Pope 's windows . It also echoes the reported words of the protest made to von Weizsäcker by the pope 's Secretary of State on the morning of the round up : It is sad for the Holy Father , sad beyond imagination , that here in Rome , under the very eyes of the Common Father , that so many people should suffer only because they belong to a specific race . Phayer and Zuccotti 's emphasis on papal silence can be contrasted with Jewish historian of the Holocaust , Sir Martin Gilbert 's , emphasis on papal action in relation to the roundup .