NEVER-before-seen colour footage has been made into a film by the son of an official World War II filmographer.
George Stevens was assigned by General Dwight Eisenhower to head up the "special coverage combat unit" during the conflict.
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Troops ride out on tanks through the Arc de Triomphe after the liberation of Paris where the German garrison surrendered the French capital on 25 August 1944
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A 16mm camera captured behind-the-scene coloured shots from the war
He took his 16mm personal camera to capture behind-the-scene coloured shots which were extremely rare at the time.
Years after his death, his son found the forgotten footage lying in a storeroom.
The stunning colourised images detail events from D-Day through to the end of the war, capturing the brutal reality behind the lives of the men who fought on the front lines.
The Liberation of Paris
Colour shots capture the hundreds of US army tanks as soldiers make their through the iconic Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
The historic moment would be a major turning point in Allied forced controlling the Nazis and leading the resistance into Germany in August 1944.
Stevens filmed the standoff at Montparnasse train station and the exact moment Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison, signed the official surrender.
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A Cromwell tank leads a British Army column from the 4th County of London Yeomanry, 7th Armoured Division, inland from Gold Beach after landing on D-Day in Ver-sur-Mer, France, on June 6, 1944 in this handout photo provided by the National Archives of CanadaCredit: Reuters
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Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German garrison, prepares to surrender
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Charles de Gaulle, President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, prepares to take back control of France
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The historic moment was captured in colour film
Liberation of Dachau
US soldiers arrived at the Dachau concentration camp on April 29, 1945.
In describing Stevens' work, his son recalled: "He realised that rather than just being a recorder of events, he became a gatherer of evidence".
The filming team came across large piles of dead bodies - victims from the torture of the camps.
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Large piles of dead bodies - victims from the torture of the camps - were filmed
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A solider stands at the station at the Dachau concentration camp
D-Day
The historic invasion, which marked the beginning of final phase of World War II, was also captured on camera.
A massive military force led by British, American and Canadian units set out from England towards France before dawn.
They landed on five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy coastline.
The landings were the start of a fierce period of conflict in occupied Europe before the Nazis were finally defeated in May 1945.
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An army commander directs his troops ahead of D-Day, the historic invasion which marked the beginning of final phase of World War II
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Allied forces are seen here working together to defeat the Germans
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A US army tank rolls into a town destroyed by bombing from the war
German Defeat
At 2.41pm on May 7, 1945, Germany had surrendered.
The following day, allied forces announced the surrender of Germany in Europe.
Millions of people around the world would watch the footage on news reels in movie theatres.
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Thousands of people lined the streets to celebrate the end of the war
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These cameramen captured behind-the-scene coloured shots which were extremely rare at the time
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Landing craft await the 2nd Battalion US Army Rangers, tasked with capturing the German heavy coastal defence battery at Pointe du Hoc to the west of the D-Day landing zone of Omaha Beach, in Weymouth, England, on June 5, 1944Credit: Reuters
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US Army paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division drive a captured German Kubelwagen on D-Day at the junction of Rue Holgate and RN13 in Carentan, France, June 6, 1944Credit: Reuters
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US Army troops congregate around a signal post used by engineers on the site of a captured German bunker overlooking Omaha Beach after the D-Day landingsCredit: Reuters
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German prisoners-of-war march along Juno Beach landing area to a ship taking them to England, after they were captured by Canadian troops at Bernieres Sur Mer, France on June 6, 1944Credit: Reuters
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American assault troops of the 16th Infantry Regiment, injured while storming Omaha BeachCredit: Reuters
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An American flag lies as a marker on a destroyed bunker two days after the strategic site overlooking D-Day beaches was capturedCredit: Reuters
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Omaha Beach secured after D-Day in June 1944Credit: Reuters
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Canadian troops patrol along the destroyed Rue Saint-Pierre after German forces were dislodged from Caen in July 1944Credit: Reuters
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Members of an American landing party assist troops whose landing craft was sunk by enemy fire off Omaha beach, near Colleville sur Mer, France, June 6, 1944Credit: Reuters
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The body of a dead German soldier lies in the main square of Place Du Marche after the town was taken by US troopsCredit: Reuters
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Crossed rifles in the sand are a comrade's tribute to this American soldier who sprang ashore from a landing barge and died at the barricadesCredit: Reuters
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The Coast Guard LCI(L)-85, battered by enemy fire after approaching Omaha Beach, prepares to evacuate the troops to the U.S.S. Samuel Chase, June 1944Credit: Reuters
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The Coast Guard LCI(L)-85, battered by enemy fire after approaching Omaha Beach, prepares to evacuate the troops to the U.S.S. Samuel Chase, June 1944Credit: Reuters
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US Army soldiers of the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, move out over the seawall on Utah BeachCredit: Reuters
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British LCT's line the Normandy shore, each with a barrage balloon designed to discourage enemy air attack, sometime before the D-Day invasionCredit: Reuters
