8.2125 minSeason 1 • Episode 7
LatestMarch 1945 - December 1945: A few weeks after the death of President Roosevelt shocks the country, Germany surrenders. Meanwhile, American sailors, soldiers and Marines endure the worst battle of the Pacific - Okinawa. In August, American planes drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese, too, surrender. Millions return home - to try to learn how to live in a world without war.
The story of the Second World War through the personal accounts of a handful of men and women from four American towns. The war touched the lives of every family on every street in every town in America and demonstrated that in extraordinary times, there are no ordinary lives.
Direction
Ken Burns' signature pan-and-zoom makes photos breathe.
Writing
Letters home read by legends — Wallach, Jackson, Hanks.
Production
Four towns, hundreds of voices, one devastating tapestry.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Ken Burns spent six years on this, calling it his 'most important' work — and refused to compress it for younger attention spans.
Released in 2007 during Iraq War fatigue, it deliberately echoed contemporary divisions while insisting on historical specificity.
US
