For eighty years, the Second World War has remained the most devastating and defining conflict in human history. World War II with Tom Hanks reexamines the war through the lens of a new century. Told over twenty hours and guided by Tom Hanks, whose lifelong passion for this history has shaped some of the most profound screen portrayals of the era, the series captures the full arc of the war — from the rise of fascism in Europe to the fall of Berlin, from Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima, and the uneasy peace that follows. Each episode uncovers new dimensions of the conflict: the decisions that shaped the battlefield, the unseen networks that sustained the war effort, and the aftershocks that still shape our world today. World War II with Tom Hanks is the definitive retelling of that story for a new generation: a sweeping, deeply human portrait of how the modern world was forged in the fires of global war.
What this show covers
Military historyHistorical mysteriesAdolf EichmannNazi huntersHolocaustWWIIHolocaust resistanceNazi occupationResistance movements1944 uprisingsRooseveltIwo JimaPacific TheaterBattle of the BulgeBerlin
What listeners will find here
How Adolf Eichmann Evaded Capture—and the 15-Year Hunt That Ended It
The episode follows the postwar search for Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust, after he repeatedly escaped capture. It centers on the question of how Nazi hunters finally found and captured him after fifteen years on the run.
Two 1944 uprisings, starkly different fates, and resistance under Nazi terror
This preview, based only on the episode notes, points to a wide-ranging look at resistance to Nazi occupation during World War II. It appears to compare two city revolts in summer 1944 and also examine organized resistance during the Holocaust in some of the harshest conditions imaginable.
When victory in Europe nears, the Pacific war turns even more brutal
This preview, based only on the episode notes, points to a WWII installment focused on 1944–45 in the Pacific as U.S. and Japanese losses mount in the Philippines and on Iwo Jima. It appears to explore why Roosevelt saw an even harsher endgame coming in a war shaped by unconditional surrender and refusal to yield.
A show-notes preview of Hitler’s final gamble and the race for Berlin
Based on the published notes, this episode looks at the winter of 1944 as Nazi Germany makes a last-ditch push in the Ardennes while the Soviet Red Army drives west toward Berlin. It appears to combine battlefield history with big-picture analysis from a wide roster of historians and commentators.
A preview of WWII’s final decision point: invasion, surrender, and the atomic option
Based on the show notes, this episode examines the final months of World War II as U.S. leaders conclude Japan must be defeated by force while Emperor Hirohito searches for a way to spare his country. It appears to frame the clash between military pressure, political calculation, and the arrival of the atomic bomb.
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