It Happened Here

It Happened Here (also known as It Happened Here: The Story of Hitler's England) is a 1964 British black-and-white war film written, produced and directed by Kevin Brownlow and Andrew Mollo, who began work on the film as teenagers. The film's largely amateur and independent production took some eight years, using volunteer actors with some support from professional filmmakers. It Happened Here shows an alternative history in which the United Kingdom has been invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. The plot follows the experiences of an Irish nurse working in England, who encounters people who believe collaboration with the invaders is for the best, while others are involved in the resistance movement against the occupiers and their local collaborators. The film's title is an allusion to Sinclair Lewis's 1936 antifascist novel It Can't Happen Here. Plot Setting The film opens with the statement: "The German invasion of Britain took place in 1940 after the retreat from Dunkirk." After months of fierce resistance and brutal reprisals, the occupying forces manage to restore order, largely suppressing the resistance movement. However, due to continued fierce fighting between Soviet and German forces in the Ural Mountains, most German troops are eventually removed from Western Europe to reinforce the Eastern Front. As a result, the garrisoning of Britain is largely carried out by local collaborationist volunteers and auxiliaries in the German Army and the SS.