David Reynolds
Acting
Biography
David Reynolds, FBA is a British historian. He is Emeritus Professor of International History at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge. Reynolds has made thirteen documentaries on 20th-century history for the BBC, most recently the three-part BBC Two series "Long Shadow", based on his award-winning book about the legacies and memory of 1914–18 and a trilogy of films about the Big Three allies in the Second World War: "World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel", "World War Two: 1942 and Hitler's Soft Underbelly" and "World War Two: 1945 and the Wheelchair President". All these films have been directed by Russell Barnes. Reynolds was also the writer and presenter of the award-winning ninety-part series "America, Empire of Liberty", broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
Known For
David Reynolds traces the legacy of the Great War across 100 years and 10 different countries, examining how the war haunted a generation and shaped the peace that followed.
Long Shadow
English historian David Reynolds reassesses Stalin's role in the life-and-death struggle between the Soviet Union and Germany in World War II.
World War Two: 1941 and the Man of Steel
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World War Two: 1942 and Hitler's Soft Underbelly
David Reynolds re-examines the war leadership of American president Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired millions with stirring visions of a new and better postwar world.
1945 and the Wheelchair President
The British fought the Second World War to defeat Hitler. This film asks why, then, did they spend so much of the conflict battling through North Africa and Italy? Historian David Reynolds reassesses Winston Churchill's conviction that the Mediterranean was the 'soft underbelly' of Hitler's Europe. Travelling to Egypt and Italian battlefields like Cassino, scene of some of the worst carnage in western Europe, he shows how, in reality, the 'soft underbelly' became a dark and dangerous obsession for Churchill. Reynolds reveals a prime minister very different from the jaw-jutting bulldog of Britain's 'finest hour' in 1940 - a leader who was politically vulnerable at home, desperate to shore up a crumbling British empire abroad, losing faith in his army and even ready to deceive his American allies if it might delay fighting head to head against the Germans in northern France. The film marks the seventieth anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein in 1942.
World War Two: 1942 and Hitler's Soft Underbelly
After World War II, the British public voted a Labour Government into power on the promise of sweeping social reforms. Led by the modest and unremarkable Clement Attlee, the victory was a surprise to almost everyone as it was general wisdom that the Tory party would return but with a reduced majority. Prof David Reynolds tells the story of Labour's postwar government and examines the achievements of Clement Attlee , including the introduction of the NHS in Britain.