Words of War

The story of the Second World War revealed in eye-witness letters, speeches and diaries

By: Anthony Richards, Imperial War Imperial War Museum

Narrated by: Daphne Kouma, Homer Todiwala, Matthew Spencer, Peter Kenny

The Imperial War Museum open its world-famous archives to celebrate the letters, diaries and spoken words of those who witnessed the key events of the Second World War.

During the Second World War, across the frontline as well as on the Home Front, millions of people recorded their thoughts of their experiences - whether in letters, their personal diaries or those prosecuting the war giving speeches. Much as Letters of Note celebrated the great letters written through history, so Words of War allows the Imperial War Museum to showcase it's incredible array of first-hand material to shine a light on how people journeyed through the 1939-45 conflict.

Ten chapters take the listener chronologically through the key moments of the war: from the retreat to Dunkirk to the battle of the Atlantic; the savage fighting in the jungles of the far East to the RAF Bomber Command's campaign in Europe; the discovery of the Nazi's concentration camp system to the war's ultimate conclusion at the Nuremburg trials. One hundred documents are researched and selected by the Imperial War Museum's expert archivists, with commentary from their head Antony Richards explaining the significance of each and placing it in context to the war's progression. Listeners will be able to engage and empathise with the writers in a thought-provoking and immediate way.

(P) 2021 Headline Publishing Group Ltd.©2021 The Trustees of the Imperial War Museum

Critic reviews

It is a remarkable treasure trove, beautifully assembled, and a snapshot testimony to the incredible breadth and extent over which the war was fought and experienced first-hand. (James Holland)

Extraordinarily powerful and mesmerising - there is a haunting intimacy and immediacy about these recovered letters, documents and images that opens a window directly into the past, vividly summoning the darkest days but also the greatest courage and endurance and the fascinating quirks and passions of human nature in war. (Sinclair McKay)