If you don’t have anything else to do on a boring night, you may as well take a trip into the past with our list of the 11 best history documentaries on Hulu.
I was always passionate about history and firmly believe that the saying “Historia est Magistra Vitae” (history is life’s teacher) is on point. When I was younger, I couldn’t get enough of history books and read everything I could get my hands on. Ancient civilizations, recent historical events, it didn’t matter. That is when I discovered that history isn’t unanimous, as crazy as that may sound. The best explanation for that is Winston Churchill’s quote “History is written by the victors”. And it really is. I will just take the example of the mass raping that took place in World War II. After the occupation of Germany, it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of women were raped by Soviet Troops, with more than 200,000 women dying. British, French and American soldiers also committed the same crimes, although in considerably fewer numbers. Let me remind you that all of this happened when the war was basically over. Did you read about this in your history books? I doubt it, since this is a rarely mentioned dark side of the Allies in World War II.
I am mentioning the subject of World War II because it is one of the most important events in our recent history. That being the case, World War II is a huge inspiration for many documentary filmmakers. The conflict was huge, was happening all over the world, and had an impact on billions of lives. Because of that, there are many stories left to be told and presented to people. We are not talking just about the overall presentation of the conflict, but also stories about common people that deserve to be told. One more thing that makes the topic of World War II interesting for filmmakers is the availability of material evidence and even witnesses. So, don’t be surprised if you see lots of documentaries exploring this subject on our list of the 11 best history documentaries on Hulu. In case you have opted for Netflix instead of Hulu (or have both), you may want to check this list of the 11 Best History Channel Documentaries on Netflix as well.
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A joint venture of Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS), Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA), and Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (NASDAQ:FOX), Hulu was founded in 2006 with the goal of being the preeminent video streaming platform, thanks to the wealth of content at its fingertips from its creators. Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) also took a 10% stake in the venture as well, and added its own content into the mix. Hulu also carries programming from several other entertainment companies, including Showtime (for an extra $8.99/month), Starz, Dreamworks Animation Skg Inc (NASDAQ:DWA), MGM, Sony Pictures, and more. The streaming platform also produces original programming.
To get our list of best history documentaries on Hulu, we browsed through the catalog of Hulu documentaries available on Something To Stream. We checked each documentary and singled out those which talk about historic events or rely on history as their main subject. Each documentary was then checked on IMDb for its rating among movie buffs. Those that had the highest ratings are featured on this list. Let the journey into history begin on the next page.
11. The Battle of Hood and Bismarck
IMDb rating: 7.3
We will begin our list of best history documentaries on Hulu with a documentary that will let you get more familiar with what is thought to be the greatest naval battle in World War II. Called the Battle of the Denmark Strait, it was a battle between the Prince of Wales and Hood, which were part of the British Royal Navy, and Bismarck, which was part of the German Kriegsmarine. The battle ended with Hood being sunk, but what is thought to be a tactical victory for Nazi Germany ended being an operational victory for Great Britain, since Bismarck was damaged enough for it not to be functional in the way the Nazis wanted. The documentary uses archival footage, interviews, and computer reconstruction in order to tell the story of the battle.
10. My Knees Were Jumping: Remembering the Kindertransports
IMDb rating: 7.4
This documentary from 1966 talks about events taking place just before World War II was about to begin. You may have been familiar with the theme if you watched Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, which is also available on Hulu and featured on our list of the 37 best documentaries on Hulu. Sensing that horrific crimes could be committed against the Jewish population in Nazi Germany, Great Britain organized a rescue of Jewish children, in order to keep them safe in London. Although the plan was to reunite them again with their parents after the crisis ended, that unfortunately never happened for the majority of those kids. The documentary features recollections and stories from those who survived, and it is one of the 11 best history documentaries on Hulu.
My Knees Were Jumping; Remembering the Kindertransports – excerpt from mbh on Vimeo.
9. JFK: A President Betrayed
IMDb rating: 7.6
Directed by Cory Taylor and narrated by Morgan Freeman, this documentary that ranks 9th in our list of best history documentaries on Hulu talks about the efforts of President John F. Kennedy to try and have a better relationship with his “enemies”. The documentary explores JFK’s attempts to negotiate peace and good cooperation with the leader of Cuba, Fidel Castro, as well as the head of the Soviet Union at the time, Nikita Khrushchev. Unfortunately, his attempts were mostly undermined by his own government, who thought that this made the United States look weak in the eyes of the rest of the world. The documentary features interviews with politicians, historians, and writers alongside the archival footage.
8. The Man Who Cracked the Nazi Code
IMDb rating: 7.6
If you watched the movie The Imitation Game or paid attention to your history classes, you should have a good idea who Alan Turing was. Unlike the aforementioned movie, this documentary will give you good insight into the life of a man who decoded the Nazi’s secret messages and enabled the Allies to win battles that were crucial for steering the course of World War II in their favor. It focuses on Turing’s personal life and explores his tragic death. Turing died after the war ended due to cyanide poisoning, but there are a lot of alternative theories about his death.
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7. The Long Way Home
IMDb rating: 7.6
Another documentary narrated by Morgan Freeman on our list of the 11 best history documentaries on Hulu. This one talks about the aftermath of World War II, focusing its attention on the Jewish refugees and the creation of the State of Israel. It explores in great depth the conditions and challenges that were faced by the refugees and debates the forming of the State of Israel. The documentary was a big success and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
6. Unlikely Heroes
IMDb rating: 7.7
Remember those stories we mentioned in the intro, about common people and events that took place in World War II that deserve to be told? Well, this documentary explores one of those parts of history that isn’t known to most people. It is widely thought that Jewish resistance in World War II was reduced to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. This documentary is here to prove otherwise. It tells seven stories of people who showed real courage and determination in the times of the Holocaust in an effort to make even a small difference. The documentary is narrated by Ben Kingsley.
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5. How Hitler Lost the War
IMDb rating: 7.7
This documentary ranks 5th in our list of best history documentaries on Hulu. It has a really interesting premise, at least to me. It explores the theory that Nazi Germany first won the conflict in Europe and then lost it, all before 1942. To prove the point, the documentary focuses on a series of bad decisions, both political- and military-related, made by Adolf Hitler, which ultimately led to Nazi Germany losing its advantage. The documentary also makes the point that without these mistakes, the United States would have been left alone to fight a war that they would lose.
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4. A Journey into the Holocaust
IMDb rating: 7.8
This documentary ranks 4th in our list of best history documentaries on Hulu. It doesn’t just talk about the Holocaust, it also explores genocide in general. It also investigates how something as horrible as genocide can even happen in modern times and what the motivation of the people doing it was. In order to find the answers, director Paul Bachow undertook enormous research and traveled around the world, conducting interviews with politicians, historians, and other experts.
3. Nanking
IMDb rating: 7.8
This documentary ranks 3rd in our list of best history documentaries on Hulu. It talks about the Nanking Massacre that took place in 1937 during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After capturing the city of Nanking (that served as the capital of the Republic of China at the time), Japanese troops started committing mass murder and mass rape over the course of six weeks. It is estimated that 50,000 to 300,000 Chinese people lost their lives and that 20,000 women were systematically raped. The focus of the documentary is on the individuals who tried their best to stop these monstrous events and save as many people as they could.
2. Honor Flight
IMDb rating: 8.2
At first, this documentary may not look to be historical material. It revolves around a group of volunteers who are trying to gather all World War II veterans in one place for the last time, so they could see the memorial built in their honor in Washington D.C. The real value of the documentary lies in the veterans, who share their stories from the war with the viewers through the film, giving it a personal touch.
1. Finnigan’s War
IMDb rating: 8.6
After all the wars we have gone through on our list of the 11 best history documentaries on Hulu, there is one more to remember. This documentary, narrated by Mark Hamill, talks about a war that hasn’t been explored as much as some others. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, causing a conflict that is known as the Korean War. The United States became involved in the conflict in order to aid its ally South Korea. On the 60th anniversary of this war, filmmaker Conor Timmis embarked on a long journey to honor the forgotten heroes of the Korean War, one of them being his late grandfather.
Disclosure: None
