| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (45 min. 59 sec.) ; 277512205 bytes |
| Summary |
In January 1945, as the Red Army resumed its relentless advance towards Germany, the inmates of prisoner-of-war camps in Poland were marched west towards Germany. Amongst them were thousands of British, Australian and Commonwealth soldiers, many of whom had spent the previous four years working in mines and factories with barely adequate sustenance. They were now ordered at gunpoint to march many hours a day through the snow and ice of a Polish winter, alongside concentration and death camp survivors. It was to be one of the forgotten atrocities of the Second World War.In the final episode, survivors tell harrowing stories of an aimless journey, of famine, cruelty and sudden death, seeing friends dying beside them, and the desperate attempt to endure the horrors, with fast fading hope of any chance at survival. Until finally, they experience the exhilaration of liberation.The prisoners at last met Allied forces, desperately receiving food and a change of clothes. Fleets of bomber and transport aircraft were requisitioned for the use of returning them home. The veterans tell of the struggle to adjust to normal life, returning to their families and the world of a hard won peace. The memories of the Long March to freedom still haunt them to this day. (From the UK) (Documentary Series) (Final) M (V) CCFollow the conversation on Twitter # SBSdoco |
| Event |
Broadcast 2012-05-11 at 21:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: M |
| Subject |
Allied Forces.
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Fighter planes.
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Prison violence.
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Prisoners of war -- Conduct of life.
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Prisoners of war -- Social conditions.
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World War (1939-1945)
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Poland.
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Germany.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Saunders, Stephen, director
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Hill, Bernard, host
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Barthorpe, Sydney, contributor
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Buckledee, Harry, contributor
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Clark, Robert, contributor
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Clarke, Charles, contributor
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Cleaver, Reg, contributor
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Constable, Stan, contributor
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Galloway, Neil, contributor
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Hawkins, Douge, contributor
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Jones, Maurice, contributor
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Lee, Ronald, contributor
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Mead, Mark, contributor
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Miland, Frank, contributor
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Smith, Stancombe, contributor
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Tayler, Frank, contributor
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Tuck, Howard, contributor
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Wade, Stanley, contributor
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Waite, Charles, contributor
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Weeks, John, contributor
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Whiteman, Mike, contributor
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Wiseman, Andrew, contributor
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