A History of Communism: The Peak Years (1940-1953)

Through the European communist parties, the Soviet Union played a decisive role in resisting fascist ideologies during World War II. The failure of Operation Barbarossa and the capture of Berlin by the Red Army made Stalin the big winner of the standoff that pitted a large part of the countries of Europe against the Nazi Hydra. At the end of the conflict, the Soviet model spread in the States where the communist leaders of the Resistance had been brought to power, laying the foundations of the Warsaw Pact. When Mao took power in 1949, the red flag extended its influence from the banks of the Elbe to those of the China Sea.

0:00 The documentary
1:13 The rise of communism in the Soviet Union, its role in fighting fascism during World War II, and its impact on Eastern Europe.
9:41 The rise of communism in France and Italy and its impact on politics and society.
16:23 The Cold War began when Europe was divided between America and the Soviet satellite states, with Stalin's influence expanding.
24:30 The impact of communism in Eastern Europe, with emphasis on the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and China.
29:50! The rise of communism and the Cold War between East and West.
39:25 The rise of communism and anti-American sentiment in France in the 1950s.
45:00 Communism offered a sense of purpose and belonging, with an emphasis on collective well-being and the abolition of personal profit.

A film by Patrick Rotman, Patrick Barberis
Produced by Michel Rotman
Written by Patrice Chereau
Series of documentaries Faith of the Century

All episodes:

Utopia in Power (1917-1928)
This volume covers 1900 to 1928, a period which saw the death of Lenin, the creation of the KGB and the coming to power of Stalin.

The Two Faces of Communism (1929-1939)
This episode includes Stalin's purge, Communism the defender of democracy, the great famine of the Ukraine and the Spanish civil war.

The Peak Years (1940-1953)
This episode includes the defeat of Germany, the take over of Eastern Europe, the Korean War and the Cold War.

End Without End (1953-1999)
This episode includes Stalin's death and Krushchev taking power, uprisings crushed in East Germany and Hungary, the propaganda of the space race, Castro taking over Cuba, Vietnam, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the unleashing of freedom, the remnants of a discredited philosophy.