German and Polish pubcasters team for WWII doc

German public broadcaster ZDF and its Polish counterpart TVP are joining forces to make World War II, a two-part documentary that will launch on the 75^th anniversary of outbreak of war, which started in 1939 when Hitler’s Germany attacked Poland.

ZDF and its commercial arm, ZDF Enterprises will coproduce with TVP’s flagship channel, TVP1. The two-part doc will have analysis and input from academics and witnesses from both sides, with drama reconstruction elements and newly-found amateur film footage.

The series will debut simultaneously on Tuesday, September 2, on ZDF and TVP1.

The first 45-minute instalment will recount the road to war and events of September 1939. The following episode, which will go out on both broadcasters a week later, will examine the effect the start of the war had on the Polish population.

ZDF Enterprises is handling international sales of World War II.