GET 35% OFF YOUR FIRST YEAR!

Limited time - use promo code: FALL35 at checkout

Live stream preview

Watch this video and more on OVID.tv

Watch this video and more on OVID.tv

Start your free trial

Already subscribed? Sign in

The Good War and Those Who Refused to Fight It

World War II • 56m

Directed by Judith Ehrlich and Rick Tejada-Flores • Documentary • With Ed Asner • 2002 • 57 minutes

Millions of people from Allied countries fought to liberate Europe from Hitler’s grip during World War II . Yet 40,000 Americans refused to shoulder weapons in “the good war.” 

Narrated by Ed Asner, this important film tells the story of a previously ignored chapter of WWII – the American conscientious objectors who refused to fight. It is a story of personal courage, idealism and nonconformity based on both ethical and religious beliefs – about men whose love of country could not extend to killing their fellow man. 

Many were Quakers or others whose religious beliefs interpreted the commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill” to include war; others were passionate pacifists who felt morally incapable of cooperating with a violent conflict, no matter how worthy the cause. 

All lived with the scorn of a nation, and often family and friends as well. While it has been more than half a century since WWII , this particular war story has been almost entirely lost to history until now.

"'A fascinating compelling look at WWII conscientious objectors...Highly Recommended. Editor's Choice." * * * * Video Librarian

Tags
20th century, american studies, americas, asa watkins, bill sutherland, bullfrog films, carlos cortez, citizenship, conflict resolution, conscientious objectors, cos, critical thinking and ethics, dave dellinger, doc, ethics, exclusive1, expository, george houser, good war, history, human rights, ovid, ovid_ca, philosophy, psychology and mental health, s_0041, s_0099, s_0150, s_0260, s_0286, s_0306, s_0425, s_0445, social issues, social movements and activism, social psychology, steve cary, the, the good war and those who refused to fight it, title_defgh, title_g, united states, war and peace, world regions, world war ii

Up Next in World War II

  • Harbour of Hope
    1:16:26
    Harbour of Hope

    Harbour of Hope

    Directed by Magnus Gertten • Documentary • With Irene Krausz-Fainman • 2013 • 76 minutes

    In Spring 1945 Red Cross liberated thousands of concentration camp survivors and rescued them to the Malmö Harbour, Sweden. Among the thousands of survivors brought to Malmö were Irene Krausz-Fainman, Ewa Ka...

  • Hitler - A Career
    2:30:19
    Hitler - A Career

    Hitler - A Career

    Directed by Joachim Fest • Documentary • With Stephen Murray (narrator) • 1977 • 150 minutes

    "Hitler - A Career" is Joachim Fest's controversial German documentary film about the inevitability of Hitler and Fascism within Germany. Narrated by Stephen Murray, it tells the story of Hitler's rise t...

  • I Am Become Death: They Made the Bomb
    56:12
    I Am Become Death: They Made the Bomb

    I Am Become Death: They Made the Bomb

    Directed by Arthur MacCaig • Documentary • 1995 • 55 minutes

    On July 16, 1945 at 5.30 a.m., in a remote site in the New Mexico desert, America successfully detonates its first atomic bomb. In El Paso, Texas, one hundred miles away, the city's residents are awakened by a silent but blinding light...

×