Prior to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbour on 7th December 1941 and Germany's declaration of war on the U.S. four days later, American public opinion remained largely opposed to involvement in the war. And this despite the contrary efforts of President Roosevelt, who realised that the United States' security could no longer depend upon a policy of isolationism.
With the advent of war, the military authorities obviously felt that members of the rapidly expanding armed forces could be motivated through knowledge of the background to the historic cause in which they were about to engage. The result is a series of films produced by Frank Capra, under the general title of Why We Fight.
The series must have admirably fulfilled its brief, for even today these films are riveting. They consist, for the greater part, of a skilful assemblage of newsreel footage from US, French, German, Russian, British, Italian and Japanese sources. Much of their impact derives from the incisive commentary.
These are propaganda films. They are intended to motivate men to action. They do not have the detached and objective viewpoint of the historian. You will not learn, for instance, of the vital role that radar, a fiercely guarded secret, plays in the air-defence of Britain; you might be forgiven for thinking the British only bomb military targets; and, not unexpectedly, there is no suggestion that Joe Stalin may have committed any crimes.
Instead, these films helped to make history.
Four of the early ones constitute a coherent sequence from 1931, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, to January 1943, the German surrender at Stalingrad :—
| Prelude To War | Divide and Conquer |
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| The Battle of Britain | The Battle of Russia |
Other films in the series are:—
Tunisian Victory
The Battle of China
Know Your Enemy — Japan
Nazi Strike
War Comes to America