Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer, Part 2

"Why We Fight: Divide and Conquer, Part 2" is the concluding segment of the third film in Frank Capra’s "Why We Fight" series, produced in 1943 for the U.S. War Department and co-directed by Capra and Anatole Litvak. This documentary continues the narrative of Nazi Germany’s conquest of Western Europe, focusing on the dramatic fall of France in 1940. It details the rapid German advance through the Low Countries, the encirclement of Allied forces, and the pivotal Dunkirk evacuation, using archival footage and Walt Disney Productions’ animated maps to illustrate the Blitzkrieg’s devastating impact. Narrated by Walter Huston, the film highlights the collapse of French resistance, the capitulation at Compiègne, and Britain’s solitary stand against the Axis, emphasizing the Luftwaffe’s shift to bombing British cities as a precursor to the Battle of Britain. Aimed at American troops, Part 2 underscores the Nazi strategy of division and conquest, reinforcing the urgency of unified Allied resistance through a compelling mix of historical analysis and wartime propaganda.