Editing George Stevens (section)

===1943–1946: World War II===
{{Quote box|width=25em|quote="I quit the film business [...] I wanted to be in the war—I didn't want to make films at that time. I had an opportunity to go overseas right away if I'd go in the Army at a certain time."|source=—Stevens, in a 1967 interview with [[Robert Hughes (critic)|Robert Hughes]]{{sfn|Cronin|2004|p=67}}}}

Stevens had seen the [[Nazi propaganda]] film ''[[Triumph of the Will]]'' (1935) and was provoked to join the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] in [[World War II]].<ref name=":3" /> On January 6, 1943, Stevens's draft board explained he would be "sent by the [[Special Services (entertainment)|Special Service Division]] of the War Department on a mission outside the continental limits of the United States for an indefinite period."{{sfn|Harris|2014|p=195}} On February 18, he was sworn in as a [[Major (rank)|Major]] under the [[U.S. Army Signal Corps]] division and departed from Los Angeles.{{sfn|Moss|2004|pp=101–102}} 

However, he was hospitalized at [[Fort Jay]] near Manhattan for pneumonia and took weeks to recover. On April 13, Stevens arrived in [[Egypt]] and stayed until June 15. That same month, he arrived in [[Algiers]] to document the [[Tunisian campaign]], but later discovered the [[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]] had been soundly defeated and was one day from surrender.{{sfn|Harris|2014|p=196}} 

On June 30, 1943, Stevens was transferred to [[Iran]] (then known as Persia). Within two weeks, he arrived at a military post in [[Andimeshk]], a town near the [[Iran–Iraq border]], where refugee [[Polish people|Poles]], most of whom were women, had escaped to and were being extradited elsewhere. Stevens left Persia on August 20.<ref>{{harvnb|Moss|2004|pp=104–106}}, {{harvnb|Harris|2014|p=239}}</ref> 

Stevens then flew to New York and stayed there and in Washington, D.C. from September 15 through October 26. He landed in [[London]] where he received orders from U.S. General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] to recruit forty-five people for the Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU). Stevens's unit included writers Irwin Shaw, [[William Saroyan]] and [[Ivan Moffat]]; cameramen [[William C. Mellor]], Jack Muth, Ken Marthey and Dick Hoar; sound operator Bill Hamilton, and assistant director [[Hollingsworth Morse]]. The Special Coverage Unit was placed under the control of the [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force]] (SHAEF).{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=107}} This unit recorded footage—including the only color film of [[European theatre of World War II|the war in Europe]] (which remained archived for decades)—as well documented the [[Normandy landings]] (D-Day).<ref name=":0" /> {{Rp|page=47:00}} 

By the summer of 1944, Stevens's unit accompanied the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th Infantry Division]] as they headed toward [[Paris]]. Eisenhower allowed the [[2nd Armored Division (France)|2nd Armored Division]] commanded by General [[Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque|Philippe Leclerc]] to advance into the city first, followed by the American infantry. Stevens obtained permission for his unit to ride with the French, as they documented the [[liberation of Paris]].<ref name=":0" /> {{Rp|page=51:00}}{{sfn|Harris|2014|pp=338–339}} In a letter to his wife Yvonne, dated on September 1, Stevens wrote: 

<blockquote>The morning that we came into Paris was the wildest thing that I have ever seen. The civilians lined the streets and went mad as the Tanks and armored cars came in. They stood in the streets and cheered as the shooting went on all around them.{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=111}}</blockquote> 

In November 1944, the Allied Forces advanced into Germany more quickly than anticipated. On December 16, the Germans launched a counteroffensive assault against the Americans known as the [[Battle of the Bulge]]. Fatigued, the Americans retreated, of which Stevens observed "the stunned look on the faces" of soldiers in his journal on his fortieth birthday. In January 1945, Stevens was pulled away to London to help supervise the war documentary ''[[The True Glory]]'' (1945) directed by Garson Kanin and [[Carol Reed]]. The film won the 1945 [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature]].<ref>{{harvnb|Moss|2004|pp=113–114}}, {{harvnb|Harris|2014|pp=346–347}}</ref>  

On April 25, 1945, the U.S. and the [[Red Army|Soviet]] troops met at the [[Elbe]], footage of which Stevens's unit recorded.{{sfn|Harris|2014|p=368}} Stevens then ventured southwards to [[Dachau, Bavaria|Dachau]], located outside of [[Munich]]. The Allied liberated Dachau on April 29, and Stevens reached the [[Dachau concentration camp|concentration camp]] two days later.<ref name=":0" /> {{Rp|page=57:00}}{{sfn|Moss|2004|pp=115–117}} For the remainder of 1945, Stevens remained in Germany to compile  concentration camp footage and other audiovisual materials, along with screenwriter [[Budd Schulberg]] for ''[[The Nazi Plan]]'' (1945) to be presented as evidence for the [[Nuremberg trials]].{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=118}} In 2008, Stevens's footage was entered into the U.S. [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as an "essential visual record" of the war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |access-date=2020-10-05 |website=Library of Congress |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250428220124/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/ |archive-date=2025-04-28 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

Stevens returned to the United States aboard the [[RMS Queen Mary|RMS ''Queen Mary'']]. Back in Los Angeles, Stevens retired from the U.S. Army in March 1946 with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.{{sfn|Moss|2004|p=118}}