as we conclude our discussion on frank capra, how the world war ii and the postwar years change this ? >> all five of the directors i write about, capra was the one who expected to come back and have the best career in hollywood after the war. instead, he had the worst. he founded a company with two of the other directors called liberty films. this is one of the first independent movie companies that was meant to get powerful directors out from under the oppressive restriction of movie studios and give them some autonomy over what material they chose and how was made and budgeted. the plan was for each of the three directors to make three movies, but the company never got past the first movie, which was capra's film, "it's a wonderful life." although we now consider that movie a parental -- perennial holiday classic, it was not a financial success when it came out. it was not a popular movie. it was overshadowed by "the best years of our lives." it came out in the same year. and it bankrupted the company. capra was so shattered by the failure and the loss of liberty films, his insecur

frank capra told john huston to go to italy in search of a town that the bride images of things like joyful and grateful villagers emerging from their hiding places with rounds of cheese and loaves of bread to greet the victorious americans. john huston got to italy and town, but thet battle was already over. the town had been retaken. there were no villagers in sight. was, with the full knowledge and enthusiastic cooperation of the army to restage the battle, this is all reenactment. reenactments done on that location and with actual u.s. soldiers, but none of it is real. it was very successfully passed off to the american public as predominantly actual battle footage and the army put out press releases saying john huston and his men were so brave that they preceded the army on the front so that they could turn around and film the approaching, which is one way you always know that battle documentary has been faked. film makers do not go first. what is interesting is even though this was a big piece of fakery, only a minute or two of it is real footage, it also visual forte a new wha

looks as an immigrant -- >> as an immigrant, you featured think cap rep -- frank capra in your book. take us back to the mindset of the late 1930's and early 1940's. thing that it is hard to recapture now is the idea that before the war, the relationship andeen hollywood washington, d.c., and between hollywood and much of america was very suspicious. there were many isolationists in congress.d in there were certainly many anti-semites in america at a considerable overlap between isolationism and anti-semitism. there were a lot -- the way that played out in the way washington and america related to hollywood was the suspicion that this kind business, where there was mob infiltration of the unions, where most of the men who ran the studios were first or second generation immigrants. much of them were jewish. a suspicion that these people were not real americans. fomenting an appetite for war that they were creating, interventionist propaganda in their entertainment movies with an eye towards dragging america into war to protect their financial interest and to protect their relatives in

a lot of open discussion in the war department and with people like frank capra, saying why aren't our good example of how the english really knew what they were doing. >> in setting up our conversation about this film, we touched briefly on the concentration camps. and what george stephen salter of germany and he later put a film together on the nazi concentration camps. what did he learn about that? >> he lingered in germany and he was still in uniform and on duty. he did not help go home quickly after the war was done. he was still in uniform and on duty. his task was to prepare two evidentiary films that were to be shown at the nuremberg trials. one of them was called "the nazi plan," which was intended to demonstrate that this was a well calculated systematic effort in a way to prove intent and conspiracy. the other film was to document the atrocities that stevens and his men had seen when they went through the gates and filmed there. at dachau. >> by george p stevens of the united states, i hereby certify that i was on active duty with the united states army signal corps. >> both

first frank capra's film "your job in germany" that was used as a training tool for troops occupying germany after its defeat. then a look at george stevens documentary "the true glory" about the d-day invasion of normandy. followed by a film on the battle of midway from filmmaker john ford. later john houston's film on the 19

government during world war ii, we feature frank capra, who made and supervised dozens of films during the war. including the "why we fight" series. up next, the 14 minute "your job in germany," a training film for troops occupying the defeated nation. we will show you a four-minute animated private snafu training film. but first we talk to a story in -- journalist and film historian mark harris. >> a story of hollywood and the second world war, and joining us from new york is mark harris. thank you for being with us.

john ford, john huston, william wyler, frank capra, and george stevens. >> these guys were artists, sowanted to make great movies. they were patriots, so they wanted to serve their country, and just as men, they wanted to tell the truth. >> reporter: filmmaker george stevens, jr. remembers when his father signed up to serve. >> he saw the triumph of the will, the film about nuremberg. and the next day he arranged to go in the army. >> reporter: but it was a discovery that stevens made in his father's archive almost 40 years ago that would change forever how we view d-day and the war in europe. some old rolls of film perfectly preserved. >> went and sat by myself in the screening room and up on the screen came this blue sky, ships, barrage balloons in the sky, and i said, my god, that's d-day. >> reporter: a war that was in black and white in our collective memory. >> the full drama of the fateful hour. >> reporter: suddenly in vibrant, startling color. >> you see along the roads going through france, they'd see dead german bodies, and you see the picture, and there's just something so

government films during world war ii, real america features academy award andctor frank capra, commentaryaward-winning authors. one of american history tv on c-span3. for over 35 years, c-span brings public affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room with congressional hearings, white house events, readings and conferences. and offering complete gavel-to-gavel coverage of the u.s. house, all as a public service of private industry. we are c-span, created by the cable tv industry and 85 years ago, and brought to you as a public service i your local cable and satellite provider. like us on facebook, follow us on twitter. washington journal continues. host: we want to welcome back amy harder of the wall street journal, your headline this week, the epa set to unveil the climate proposal. from ms.ch tomorrow mccarthy. what we learn? see thee will cornerstone of barack obama's climate change plan, which he laid the foundation for last june in a major climate change speech in washington. we will see the details of these epa regulations that will control carbon emissio