Great War Diaries

I've never seen a docu-drama on WWI done this well. The sets, the acting, the breadth of coverage from nearly all sides, including both Allied, Central Power, civilian, soldier, male, female, old and young. The series suffers from repeating a great deal of the material in episode 7 from episode 6, although the new material in episode 7 is very high quality. A shame that they didn't have the budget (apparently) to add to episode 7 something from the American perspective and also the story of the development of the tank and the aircraft. Had they done this, the production would get a rating of 10 out of 10 from me.

31 December 2014. America seems like a small footnote in the history of war after experiencing the penetrating and raw footage and dramatization of this mostly overlooked World War. With extensive use of real film footage along with measured use of actors and set designs, World War I is brought to as close to life and real documentation as possible. Some of the episodes are unabashed for their explicit themes like sex and brutality. The stories are poignant and draw on prolonged exposure to war. The only seeming weaknesses of this production seem to be the lack of follow up to those that survived and the almost complete lack of any understanding or explanation of America's involvement and strategy in the relatively quick ending scenes of the war. Much more appealing and compelling than Ken Burn's rendition of either the Civil War or World War II, The Great War Diary is a powerful look into the real lives of people who endure any war, and as such this war was particularly cruel and inhumane. Note: one version appears to contain technical problem of an unintentional duplication of scenes found in Episodes Six and Seven.

The Great War created misery and devastation on a scale unprecedented in the world up to that time. August 1914 to November 1918 demonstrated the shear futility of war while displaying the callousness and horror that mankind was able to thrust on itself. We are observing the second year of the 100th anniversary of the Great War with numerous books, documentaries and films. I suspect that not many will pay a lot of attention to the observance of this world changing event.

But we should.

I have been captivated with the Great War since I purchased a book entitled The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century. This was a book I picked up in Montreal in October 2005 as I attended an IAQG meeting. It is a companion to the PBS series of the same name. The focus of the book was the effect the war had on subsequent history. It was interesting as it gave extensive coverage to the poets and artists of the time - especially those who served in the British army - Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, for example. This book and the PBS series sparked my interest.

Since then I have devoted a considerable part of my life and my library to the Great War. My fascination with it only grows.

So, it was with a great deal of anticipation that I started the Netflix streaming series called 14 Diaries of the Great War.

I have seen numerous movies and documentaries about the Great War, but none as well presented, poignant or hard hitting as this series. Produced by the BBC and released in connection with the 100th anniversary of the start of the war, this series presents the thoughts, beliefs and experiences of 14 people who were caught up in the maelstrom which was the Great War. The people who are featured in the series (authors of the diaries) are listed in the wikipedia description of the series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14_- _Diaries_of_the_Great_War.

The artistic approach to the series is the best I have seen. Supporting the diary accounts with live actors and archival footage of war and domestic scenes is riveting. The transition from color to black and white footage gives a sense of accuracy and immediacy to the stories being described in the diaries.

These diaries are presented in the context of the overall strategic situation of the war during the time covered - with clear animation. These three factors - live actors living out the diary entries; archival footage supporting the story; and the animation combine to make this the most effective depiction of the horrors of war on people I have seen.

The focus of this series is people. The universality of the war experience on soldiers, nurses, civilians, prisoner-of-war, and children is demonstrated by the series. It is clear that all the people of the world whose countries were directly involved in the war suffered the same misery: the death of loved ones and, almost worse, the inability to bury them; hunger, starvation, lack of the fundamentals of life - food, water, shelter, proper medical treatment, etc. This is very dramatically presented as the story rapidly presents short excerpts from the diaries of French, German, Austria, Turkish, British, Australian etc. diarists.

The diaries of the soldiers on all sides suffered from the same privations, especially in the trenches. They were mislead by pompous, uninformed (and uncaring) generals, who stuck with obviously outmoded tactics (incessant bombardments of the enemy lines - a week long bombardment before the Somme); over the top, suicidal charges which were easily dispensed by scores of machine guns; antiquated and ill conceived philosophies about how to keep the soldiers and civilians in support of the war - and so on.

Four of the first five episodes cover ground which is familiar to those who have studied the Great War: causes of the conflict; opening battles; misdirected tactics, etc. In spite of the familiarity of the subject, the presentation is captivating. Episode 4, in my opinion gazed too long on the sexual aspects of the war - young men away from home, the emerging sexual revolution among women. etc. The main point was made early, then repeated many times during the episode. That is my only serious criticism of the series, having watched six of the eight episodes.

Episode 6 "The Home Front" was particularly devastating as it portrayed the horrors thrust on the civilian population. If you do not have a "hard crust," do not watch this episode. It is almost more than I could bear. The most poignant story in this episode was the story of Elfriede Kuhr - a young German girl - a victim of the propaganda and super nationalism of the early days of the war. As a totally committed school girl, she strips her home when food and metal is needed to support the German war effort. She volunteers in a children's hospital - watching over dozens of malnourished babies by herself the entire evening. Her failed suicide attempt is emblematic of the despair and homelessness of people caught up in this catastrophe. The actress, Elise Monse, is brilliant.

At the beginning of this review I said that everyone should pay attention to this world changing event. There is no better way to do that than to watch this hard hitting series. You will not look at war the same.

Assuming this is the same series as the one on Netflix titled, "14: Diaries of the Great War," which it seems to be, judging from the reviews, this is a fantastic series about WWI, told through the actual words of people who lived through it, with some additional background info for context. Sometimes the episodes can be hard to watch, as the suffering is not skimmed over (thought it's not exploited for gory effect, either). The design is a bit flashy, but that's probably good for educational purposes, as kids today are used to fast-moving imagery. The production design and acting are top-notch (each character speaks in his or her own language, with voiceovers and subtitles), and the stories at least touch on I think every nationality that was involved in WWI; they don't just focus on Germany, France and England. They also give attention to homefront activities; basically they try to cover every aspect of the war, not just the battles, but the way war touches a variety of lives--people of different occupations, ages and classes--in unexpected ways.

I am in the 3rd episode of this series and recommend it highly. They have taken 14 diaries of people - from combatants to family members, and through good acting brought them to life.

We see a 15 year old Cossack girl who fights the Turks - a German girl who befriended a student pilot....

Follow an upper class British woman who volunteers as a nurse for the front lines...Or a German family who lets their son volunteer in 1914...

This series shows you on a multi faceted level the horrible effect the Great War had on society.

Think Ken Burn's Civil War series (itself excellent) brought to life.