World War II: Behind Closed Doors

Award-winning producer and writer Laurence Rees brings us a completely fresh telling of the history of World War II, revealing the ruthless machinations of ultimate power. Drawing on material only available since the opening of the archives in the East, the key decisions of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt will be re-examined to give the reader a unique understanding of the extraordinary way in which the most powerful men in the world exercised their judgement and in the process decided the fate of millions.

From the dramatic events which made the war possible, since erased from the post-war history of the Soviet Union, to some of the most crucial decisions taken in the twentieth century, WWII: Behind Closed Doors is full of surprises, even for those who think they know the history.

Laurence Rees concludes on one of the most controversial events of history, the dividing up of post-war Europe at Yalta. The myth that World War II was - uniquely in the twentieth century - an entirely moral war is destroyed in Laurence Rees' re-examination of the decision-making process. The stark reality was that the end of World War II laid the seeds for the start of the Cold War. For Britain and America the victory had not been unqualified - a verdict that was confirmed by the subsequent fate of the people of Eastern Europe for the next 45 years...