HISTORY® COMMISSIONS ‘RACE TO VICTORY’ AS PART OF WWII 75 ANNIVERSARY OF COMMEMORATIVE PROGRAMMING

LONDON, 25 April 2020: A+E Networks® UK has commissioned production company CIC Media to produce a landmark factual series about the Second World War: Race to Victory (6x60’).

Race to Victory features appearances from the former Head of the British Army, General Sir Michael Jackson, as well as the celebrated Dutch military commander, Major-General Rudi Hemmes, who, as a junior officer, served in World War II. The series commemorates the 75th anniversary of Liberation Day in May 2020, and focuses on the critical moments and locations where World War II was won and lost. It was not only a race to defeat the fascist Axis Powers, but also to gain territory, to create alliances and to win the right to shape the post-war world.

The six-part documentary series follows a chronological timeline of how and why the central alliance between Great Britain, the United States and The Soviet Union was formed in the years leading into war and paints an in-depth picture of the race to ultimate victory and post-war supremacy, concluding with Victory in Europe Day on the 8th of May 1945.

The penultimate episode of the series deals with the climactic events of D-Day, and the Allies’ race through Northern Europe in their bid to finish the war by Christmas, 1944. This prompted the ill-fated Operation Market Garden (as seen in the film: ‘A Bridge Too Far’) the Battle of The Bulge and the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, to try and break the Siegfried Line and liberate the Netherlands and Belgium from the tyranny of Nazism.

Each episode begins with a decisive moment in the war – sometimes a great victory, such as El Alamein and Stalingrad, sometimes a moment of horror or shame, such as the attack on Pearl Harbor or the massacre at Katyn – and then back-tracks to explore who was responsible, who rushed to take the credit and who managed to escape the blame.

At the heart of the series is a study of the complex relationship between Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin as the trio maneuvered and grappled behind-the-scenes to exert their will over one another, to win the war on their terms and impose their competing ideologies on what was left of Europe.

Expert interviews with today’s historians, military personnel and political figures give the series a contemporary relevance.

The series was ordered by Dan Korn, VP of Programming at A+E Networks UK, and is produced by Charlotte Fisher, Cristina Irazabal, Marlon Quintero and Owen Morgan at CIC MEDIA Team.

Dan Korn said: On the 75th anniversary of one of the greatest days in British history, Race To Victory, is an opportunity to reflect not only on the enormous sacrifices made by men and women around the world to liberate us from the tyranny of Nazi Germany, but also to explore the secret maneuvering, deal-making and compromise which went on at the highest level to secure victory but which then precipitated the onset of the Cold War.

Race to Victory is currently in production and will premiere on HISTORY in the Netherlands on Thursday 11th June at 19.40 with distribution being finalised.

Marlon Quintero, Managing Director at CIC Media said: This project has been a great collaboration effort with A+E Networks UK and represents an important milestone in the company’s trajectory producing content with both local and global relevance.

CIC MEDIA’s UK Director Owen Morgan added: As Churchill once stated, ‘we do owe so much…’ and hopefully Race to Victory’s novel angle on the relationships of the leaders during WWII inspires others to remember the sacrifices made. Working from start to finish with the team at HISTORY, was an incredibly motivating experience, and we are honored to be involved in commemorating the 75th anniversary of Liberation Day and the end of the Second World War.

Episode One - Mortal Peril is due to air on HISTORY in the Netherlands on Thursday 11 June at 19.40

ENDS

Editor’s Notes

• Website: www.history.nl/show/race-to-victory
• Social: #RaceToVictory @HISTORYBenelux
• For more information on programming please contact the team below.

• HISTORY® is available on Ziggo / KPN / Caiway / Delta / Canal Digitaal / T-Mobile / Online.nl / Tele2 / Trinded / Kabel Noord / Joyne / Cai Harderwijk

• Clips, viewing materials and images to be provided on request when available.
• Interview access available depending on availability.

• To mark the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII and Liberation of Europe, a dedicated slate of programming will air on HISTORY in the Netherlands from Tuesday 5 May at 21.25 local time.
• Further WWII 75 programming includes Engineering Evil: Inside the Holocaust, WWII From Space, WWII in HD: The Air War and D-Day: Untold Stories.