1945: What Happened At The End Of WWII? | The Year That Changed The World | Timeline

The series’ narrative thread is an examination of the power struggle over who will win the peace. The fight takes place between the big three wartime allies: The Soviet Union, Britain and America. Each country and leader is embedded in each programme as central characters; we become familiar with their approach and their particular cocktail of double-dealing.

The five programmes follow a chronological order which enable us to track the shifting fortunes of the big three as a new world order is established. At the start of 1945 the Allies know that the war will be over – it is a matter of time – so while the actual military victory still has to be won the real intrigue takes place behind the scenes as World rule for the next 50 years is thrashed out.

So while the first two programmes deal with the military campaign in Europe and the Pacific this is set against the political infighting among the big three allies to cast the post war world in their own separate images. The outcome of these negotiations was to define the way we live around the globe for the next half a century.