It is a part of their history that has been erased. British actor Idris Elba, one of whose grandfathers fought in World War II, aims to correct an injustice in his history and in History. To that end, he is producing a documentary series about the black soldiers who fought during the war and whose role was largely obscured.
The documentary series titled The obligatory heroes of World War IIe, tells the fate of black and Native American soldiers and combines archival footage and interviews. Produced by National Geographic, it will be broadcast in France on Disney +.
Racial hate
The series, narrated by the actor luther, remembers the role of the 8 million racialized people who fought on D-Day, at Dunkirk, at Pearl Harbor or during the Battle of the Bulge. It notably evokes the history of 320th Balloon Battalion bombardment, the only black unit of the Landings, and that of Force K6, an Indian regiment that distinguished itself in Dunkirk in 1940, during Operation Dynamo recounted by Christopher Nolan in his film Dunkirk.
The documentary also analyzes the racism they faced in the United States, where Jim Crow laws – in force in the southern states – imposed racial segregation.
“Many of these men and women had never felt human before going to Europe and being treated like normal human beings by the white population,” director Shianne Brown told the AP, referring to the experience of these soldiers who, after fighting against Nazism, they faced racial hatred in their own country.
Source: BFM TV
