The Final Days

Marking 60 years since Germany's surrender

Sixty years after Germany surrendered to Allied forces on what would come to be known as "Victory in Europe" Day, WHYY-TV broadcasts a mix of programs to remember this pivotal moment in world history. An Independent Lens series also pays tribute to Holocaust Remembrance Month.

Victory in the Pacific

This powerful new documentary examines the final year of the war in the Pacific, offering insight into the rationale for using the atomic bomb and a rare glimpse at Japan's decision-making in the waning months of the conflict. With first-hand accounts from American and Japanese civilians and soldiers, the American Experience program traces that fateful year, from the American capture of the Marina Islands in July 1944 -- which positioned their B-29 bombers within range of Tokyo -- to the unconditional surrender of Emperor Hirohito in August 1945. War historians Edward Drea, Richard Frank and Barton Bernstein also comment on the deadly battle of Okinawa (pictured), staunch Japanese resistance to surrender and the terrible lost of human life during the war in the Pacific. Monday, May 2 at 9 p.m.

Remembering the Holocaust

The first feature film from documentarian Frederick Wiseman tells the moving story of a Russian Jewish doctor living in Nazi-occupied Ukraine, and the poignant letter she writes to her son with the full knowledge that her fate is sealed. Based on the autobiographical work Life and Fate by Vasily Grossman, The Last Letter stars Catherine Samie (pictured) as the mother, who in her letter describes her love for her son and memories from his childhood, revisits her youth and reacts to the horrors she is experiencing. The letter, with its detailed observations of life in the ghetto, reveals the fear, courage, frailty, compassion and dignity of one woman as she reflects on her life and faces her death. The Independent Lens broadcast also includes two related shorts by Elida Schogt: "Zyklon Portrait," a film-poem about Zyklon B, the genocidal gas used by the Nazis to exterminate Jews, and "The Walnut Tree," which examines Holocaust memory, the family and the role of photography in history. Tuesday, May 3 at 10 p.m.

Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness

In the early stages of World War II, Japanese consul to Lithuania Chiune Sugihara (pictured) used his authority to rescue fleeing Jewish refugees, issuing more than 2,000 transit visas to Jews desperate to escape Nazi persecution. This historical documentary chronicles Sugihara's life and his frantic struggle to save innocent lives before Soviet-occupied Lithuania forced the shutdown of all remaining consulates, and also explores little-known relationship between the Japanese and Jews in the 1930s and '40s. Telling the moving story of this heroic individual are members of Sugihara's family; personal home movies, photos and papers; and on-location interviews with the people he saved and their descendants. Thursday, May 5 at 10 p.m.

B-17: Flying Legend

The legacy of the B-17 Flying Fortress -- the ultimate symbol of American air power during World War II -- is unmatched in the history of aviation. Journey back to an era when 13,000 of these supreme flying machines ruled the skies, as former pilots, historians and the restorers who work on the few remaining B-17s today trace the history of the famous aircraft. Stories from the brave men who flew the planes during World War II bring to life the fearsome battles that took place in the skies over Europe, and clarify how the B-17 was crucial in overcoming the German advantage. With only 13 former fortresses still flying, the film also salutes their owners, who -- despite high restoration and upkeep costs -- keep the memory of their role in aviation history alive. Thursday, May 19 at 10 p.m.