WW1-WW2 Era Courses & Multimedia

This collection of links offers a range of learning modalities—from formal Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) provided by universities to documentaries and historical overviews. The resources are divided into key chronological and thematic areas, covering the causes, conflicts, and devastating consequences of the World War era, the rise of totalitarianism in the Interwar period, and the distinct, yet intertwined, tragedies of the Holocaust and Stalin’s regime. These materials are ideal for students seeking structured learning and history enthusiasts looking for deep dives into specific topics.

---

Comprehensive Academic Surveys (WW1 - WW2)

• Open Yale Courses: European Civilization, 1648-1945
• The Second World Wars (Hillsdale College Online Courses)
• WWII History from Historians and Curators at The National WWII Museum (Excellent historical overviews and multimedia from a leading institution.)

---

The Great War (1914-1918) 🕊️

• The Great War (1914-1918) WW1 German PoWs

• World War I: Summary, Causes & Facts | HISTORY.com
• World War 1: Trauma, Memory, Controversy
• World War 1: A History in 100 Stories
• World War 1: Paris 1919 – A New World Order?
• World War 1: Lessons and Legacy of the Great War
• The Great War and Modern Philosophy
• World War I
• Woodrow Wilson
• Battle of the Somme
• World War One (Epic History)

---

Between the World Wars (1919-1939) 📉

• 1932: The Crisis: The End of the Weimar Republic
• Weimar Germany: GCSE History Narrated By Barbara Njau
• Nazi Germany – Pictures of the Madness (1937 – 1939)

---

The Second World War (WW2) 💣

• The Complete History of the Second World War | World War II Documentary | Part 1
• The Complete History of the Second World War | World War II Documentary | Part 2
• Berlin in 1945

The Holocaust/ Shoah

• Nazi Germany: Ideology, The Jews and the World – Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
• The Final Solution – Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)
• Holocaust Shoah: Topics | HISTORY.com
• The Holocaust – An Introduction (I): Nazi Germany: Ideology, The Jews and the World
• The Holocaust – An Introduction (II): The Final Solution
• Antisemitism: From Its Origins to the Present

Vertreibung/ Flucht – Post WW2 German Expulsions

• Article on the topic from the BBC
• Die große Flucht (1/5) Der große Treck (Doku in HD)
• Die große Flucht (2/5) Der Untergang der Gustloff
• Die große Flucht (3/5) Die Festung Breslau
• Die große Flucht (4/5) Die Zeit der Frauen
• Die große Flucht (5/5) Die verlorene Heimat

---

Stalin-era USSR ☭

• Stalin and Stalinism in Russian History (Coursera MOOC) (Added: Structured, university-level course detailing Stalin's rise, actions, and the phenomenon of Stalinism.)
• MIT OpenCourseWare: Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society, 1917 to the Present

Holodomor

• Holodomor: Stalin’s Secret Genocide (2016 documentary short)
• “Harvest of Despair” (English) – a documentary film about Holodomor in Ukraine in 1932 – 1933
• Conspiracy of Silence: Covering up the Holodomor (Part 1) | Casual Historian
• Conspiracy of Silence: Covering Up the Holodomor (Part 2) | Casual Historian
• Holodomor: How Millions Of Ukrainians Died of Starvation During Stalin-Era Mass Famine
• Holodomor Ukraine Genocide 1932-1933

Stalin

• Joseph Stalin: Created Worst Man-made Famine in History – Fast Facts | History
• Joseph Stalin: The Red Terror
• 10 Brutal Realities of Life in Stalin’s Soviet Union

GULAGS

• Gulag: Soviet Forced Labor Camps and the Struggle for Freedom
• Gulag Online — virtual museum
• Generation GULAG
• Brutal! Drawings from the Gulag

---

Credits

Compiled by Mark Rabideau, Opa & Professional Genealogist.