1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 3 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:36,694 When Adolf Hitler led the German nation into 4 00:01:36,760 --> 00:01:39,380 the most horrific war humanity had ever witnessed, 5 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:42,214 a conflict that would cause an unimaginable loss 6 00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:44,494 of life spreading far into the East and 7 00:01:44,560 --> 00:01:47,254 penetrating beyond the borders of the West, few 8 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:49,534 would have imagined such a meteoric rise to 9 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,020 global dominance by any nation was possible. 10 00:01:56,280 --> 00:02:00,254 Allied with fascist Italy and imperial Japan, Nazi 11 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:02,454 Germany would form an axis of evil to 12 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:04,614 fight against the Allied forces of Great Britain 13 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,660 and the Commonwealth, France and later Russia, followed by America. 14 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:16,334 Waging relentlessly for six gruelling years from 1939 15 00:02:16,400 --> 00:02:20,014 to 1945, the Second World War claimed in 16 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,694 excess of 50 million lives and the question 17 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,814 of how Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, once a 18 00:02:25,880 --> 00:02:28,140 destitute artist living on the streets of Vienna, 19 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:32,134 inspired generals, politicians and the German people themselves 20 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:35,294 to embark upon a catastrophic journey that would 21 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:38,254 alter the course of history has never been fully explained. 22 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,734 Not all Germans supported Adolf Hitler and many 23 00:03:08,800 --> 00:03:11,340 risked their lives to shatter his cruel regime, 24 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:13,854 but equally there were also those who were 25 00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:19,000 as dangerous as the foundation of the Third Reich. 26 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:27,454 Josef Goebbels, the brilliant propagandist, faithful to Hitler 27 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,614 to the very end, Heinrich Himmler, the leader 28 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:33,214 of the deadly SS who oversaw the extermination 29 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:37,374 of millions of Jews, and Hermann Goering, who 30 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:41,414 was at the Fuhrer's side from the beginning of his rise to power, are just a 31 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:43,494 few of the protagonists who will be featured 32 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,680 as we consider Adolf Hitler and the Germans at war. 33 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:54,574 But before we step back in time to 34 00:03:54,640 --> 00:03:56,814 explore the dramatic events of the Second World 35 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,334 War, we should travel even further back to 36 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:02,614 the 19th century and rural Austria, where Farmer's 37 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,980 daughter Maria Anna Schickelgruber gave birth to an illegitimate son. 38 00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,574 Maria was Hitler's grandmother and when she later 39 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:15,974 married a man called Hiedler, he gave his 40 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:21,100 name to her son, Adolf's father Alois, which in turn was changed to Hitler. 41 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,574 There's no clear evidence who Hitler's grandfather was 42 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:31,574 but Maria's relationship with her Jewish employer's son 43 00:04:31,640 --> 00:04:34,054 may well have had a dreadful irony suggesting 44 00:04:34,120 --> 00:04:36,654 that the man who persecuted the Jews so 45 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:40,060 vehemently may in fact have had Jewish ancestry. 46 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,374 Despite the humiliation of his illegitimacy, Alois Hitler 47 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,174 was determined to make his way in the world and by the time he married his 48 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,374 second wife Clara in 1885, he had a 49 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:58,940 successful career working as a customs official. 50 00:05:01,840 --> 00:05:04,654 Clara was in fact Alois's niece and papal 51 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:08,080 dispensation had to be sought to allow their marriage. 52 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,740 Long after they were married, Clara continued to call her husband uncle. 53 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:17,534 The couple lost their first three children to 54 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:20,734 diphtheria but in 1889 they were blessed with 55 00:05:20,800 --> 00:05:23,260 a healthy baby boy who they named Adolf, 56 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:24,740 meaning noble wolf. 57 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:32,620 Five years later another son, Edmund, was born followed by a daughter, Paula. 58 00:05:36,000 --> 00:05:38,614 As the children grew, a strong bond formed 59 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:41,334 between Adolf and his mother but his relationship 60 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:43,654 with his father was far from affectionate and 61 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,820 he received plenty of beatings from the domineering Alois. 62 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:55,214 Young Adolf was the apple of his mother's 63 00:05:55,280 --> 00:05:58,054 eye, a creative though lazy boy who found 64 00:05:58,120 --> 00:05:59,900 it difficult to socialize with others. 65 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:04,974 He was determined to become an artist and in 1907 sat the entrance exam for the 66 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:09,180 academy of fine arts in Austria's capital Vienna but failed to impress. 67 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:18,254 When he returned home to Braunau am Inn, there was little to console him as the 68 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:22,380 family doctor had diagnosed Clara with cancer, giving her only months to live. 69 00:06:26,360 --> 00:06:28,734 Adolf was devastated and did everything he could 70 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,854 to care for his mother, tending to her 71 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:33,660 every need and begging the doctor to relieve her pain. 72 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:40,780 Just days before Christmas on December 21st 1907, 73 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:45,420 Clara died and Adolf lost the only person he'd ever loved. 74 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,254 Distraught with grief, Adolf left Braunau am Inn 75 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:54,054 after Clara's death and returned to Vienna, using 76 00:06:54,120 --> 00:06:55,614 money that had been left to him to 77 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,294 live in relative comfort only streets away from 78 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,374 the Hofburg Palace, where Austrian politicians planned the 79 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:02,460 future of the empire. 80 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:10,334 Enjoying life in the glorious city, Hitler was 81 00:07:10,400 --> 00:07:13,660 a regular visitor to the opera house, particularly fond of Wagner. 82 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:17,334 He continued to study art, determined to fulfill 83 00:07:17,400 --> 00:07:18,974 his dream of becoming a painter. 84 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,700 But such aspirations were beyond his grasp. 85 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,654 When he sat the exams the second time, he fared even worse than he had on 86 00:07:35,720 --> 00:07:36,700 his first attempt. 87 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:42,774 Hitler fell into a deep depression and haunted 88 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:45,374 by the memory of his dying mother, the 89 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,460 tortured 18-year-old's life seemed to collapse around him. 90 00:07:54,480 --> 00:07:57,134 The pathetically bedraggled figure that roamed the streets 91 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,094 and alleys of Vienna was almost unrecognizable as 92 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,100 the young man who'd previously dressed so immaculately. 93 00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,814 Now penniless, Hitler was utterly alone and as 94 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:11,294 he sought someone to blame, it was in this dark period that he began to meet 95 00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:14,740 others living in poverty who blamed the Jews for their predicament. 96 00:08:23,240 --> 00:08:26,174 Antisemitism was not a new ideology for the 97 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:29,374 Austrians and Hitler hungrily consumed political articles and 98 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:31,780 speeches that gave him a reason to hate. 99 00:08:32,920 --> 00:08:35,254 Spurred on by anger and a little financial 100 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:37,854 help from his half-sister, Hitler began to 101 00:08:37,920 --> 00:08:41,140 recover himself and even earned a little money from his painting. 102 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,334 But without warning, his entire world and that 103 00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,534 of millions of Europeans suddenly changed. 104 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,134 On June 28th, 1914, the heir to the 105 00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:04,454 Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated 106 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:07,900 by a Bosnian Serb, a member of the Black Hand gang. 107 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:12,734 The retaliation of the empire against the tiny 108 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,974 Serbian kingdom triggered a series of alliances which 109 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:17,700 propelled the world into war. 110 00:09:19,800 --> 00:09:23,174 Britain, France, Russia and later America amongst others 111 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:26,614 would form the Entente powers which now confronted 112 00:09:26,680 --> 00:09:32,100 the central powers of Austro-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire in Turkey. 113 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:38,734 The all too familiar images of vast tracts 114 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,420 of muddy trenches that characterize World War I, 115 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,134 where so many soldiers struggled and died, make 116 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:46,534 it all the more extraordinary today that when 117 00:09:46,600 --> 00:09:50,414 war was first declared, it was celebrated with great exuberance. 118 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:58,694 Soldiers readily enlisted on all sides to fight 119 00:09:58,760 --> 00:10:02,140 for king and country, convinced that they'd be home within months. 120 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,614 Hitler was among those joyfully celebrating and later wrote, 121 00:10:06,680 --> 00:10:11,174 “to me, those hours seemed like a release from the painful feelings of my youth. 122 00:10:11,240 --> 00:10:15,094 I fell down on my knees and thanked heaven from an overflowing heart. 123 00:10:15,160 --> 00:10:16,814 Our fight for freedom had begun.” 124 00:10:29,560 --> 00:10:33,180 But although Hitler was quick to enlist, it was not in the Austrian army. 125 00:10:33,560 --> 00:10:36,534 He'd left Austria for Munich in 1913 and 126 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:39,780 asked permission to join the Bavarian army to fight for Germany. 127 00:10:42,920 --> 00:10:45,974 It seems the Hitler's life in Austria and 128 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,614 the prospect of fighting alongside Czechs and Jews 129 00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:51,080 had driven him from the nation of his birth. 130 00:10:53,240 --> 00:10:55,294 When he was called upon for conscription into 131 00:10:55,360 --> 00:10:58,940 the Austro-Hungarian army, he was safely on German soil. 132 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:06,620 Now aged 25, Hitler traveled to the front on October 21st, 1914. 133 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:11,214 However, Kaiser Wilhelm's promises that the soldiers would 134 00:11:11,280 --> 00:11:13,174 be home before the autumn leaves had fallen 135 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,060 from the trees proved to be wildly inaccurate. 136 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:21,660 It was soon obvious that this terrible conflict was nothing to celebrate. 137 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:25,934 In a letter, Hitler described lying huddled together 138 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:28,614 with his fellow soldiers as a terrible shindig 139 00:11:28,680 --> 00:11:31,094 that began in the distance as the shell 140 00:11:31,160 --> 00:11:35,980 bursts came so thick and fast they merged into one continuous roll. 141 00:11:41,040 --> 00:11:43,694 Despite the shocking conditions, Hitler would prove his 142 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:47,740 worth as a soldier, even being awarded the iron cross for his efforts. 143 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:50,294 But after four years of fighting for his 144 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:52,494 country, he was only promoted to the rank 145 00:11:52,560 --> 00:11:56,054 of lance corporal because his superiors, ironically, were 146 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,520 convinced that he lacked the ability to lead others. 147 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:06,894 During those dreadful war years, Hitler miraculously escaped 148 00:12:06,960 --> 00:12:09,574 death many times and one day, as he 149 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:11,780 limped within the range of a British soldier, 150 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:14,940 the fate of millions may have taken a very different turn. 151 00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:21,094 But Private Henry Tandy, pitying the thin injured 152 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,060 soldier, didn't pull the trigger. 153 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,054 Two decades later, the British Prime Minister, Neville 154 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,334 Chamberlain, on a mission to forge peace with 155 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:31,734 Germany, would be astounded to find a photograph 156 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:33,774 of Tandy at Hitler's Berghof Villa. 157 00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:41,654 Chamberlain was quick to inform the soldier, by 158 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,054 then the most decorated private in the British 159 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,940 army, who he'd saved with his merciful act. 160 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:49,974 As Tandy took shelter, while Coventry was decimated 161 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:52,894 by a Nazi bombing raid in 1940, he 162 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,854 no doubt deeply regretted his compassionate act. 163 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:03,894 This was just one of Hitler's many extraordinary 164 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:06,420 escapes, but just months before the war ended, 165 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:09,820 he became a victim of a gas attack in August 1918. 166 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,620 He stumbled off the battlefield, seized with pain, 167 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:17,060 and later recalled how a few hours later, 168 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:21,180 his eyes had turned into glowing coals and everything had grown dark. 169 00:13:22,080 --> 00:13:23,534 Hitler had been blinded. 170 00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:29,854 It was only a matter of months, as 171 00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:32,540 Hitler still lay recovering in a military hospital, 172 00:13:32,920 --> 00:13:36,460 that Germany surrendered as the Entente powers were victorious. 173 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:41,294 On November 11th, 1918, the armistice was signed 174 00:13:41,360 --> 00:13:43,614 in a railway carriage in the Compiègne forest 175 00:13:43,680 --> 00:13:45,974 in France, and the outcome of the First 176 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:49,620 World War couldn't have been more disastrous for the proud German nation. 177 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,574 There had been six million German casualties, and 178 00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:58,860 a year later, at the Palace of Versailles, 179 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:01,854 the leaders of the Entente powers stripped Germany 180 00:14:01,920 --> 00:14:04,854 of valuable industrial land, all of its overseas 181 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:07,820 colonies, and perhaps worst of all, its pride. 182 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:15,174 Hitler's adopted homeland had to take full responsibility 183 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:17,894 for the war, pay huge reparations to the 184 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:21,054 victors, and while the Kaiser abdicated as the 185 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:24,254 country became a republic, Hitler later expressed the 186 00:14:24,320 --> 00:14:27,614 horror he'd felt on receiving the news that he'd fought in vain. 187 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:35,860 There followed terrible days and even worse nights, 188 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:36,760 he wrote. 189 00:14:37,160 --> 00:14:38,580 I knew that all was lost. 190 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,020 In these nights, hatred grew in me. 191 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:43,660 Hatred for those responsible for this deed. 192 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:50,054 Many speculate about what exactly happened to Hitler 193 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:52,654 during his time in hospital, but it seems 194 00:14:52,720 --> 00:14:55,134 that when he eventually regained his sight, he'd 195 00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,700 become convinced that he'd been shown the way to restore German pride. 196 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:04,214 He believed it was now his duty, and his alone, to save the nation from Marxism 197 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:05,094 and capitalism. 198 00:15:13,400 --> 00:15:16,654 His passionate, anti-semitic feeling and oratory skills 199 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:19,334 impressed the army, and when he finally left 200 00:15:19,400 --> 00:15:22,334 hospital, he was made an educational officer to 201 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:25,334 lecture new recruits before becoming an undercover agent 202 00:15:25,400 --> 00:15:28,814 in 1919 to inform on Marxist uprisings in 203 00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:31,094 the increasingly unstable German cities. 204 00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:39,254 In September 1919, he was sent to investigate 205 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:41,134 a small group in Munich known as the 206 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,214 German Workers' Party, but rather than find fault 207 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:47,814 with the organization, their anti-semitic ideology gripped 208 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:49,900 Hitler, and he quickly joined them. 209 00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:55,614 Among the men within the party, Hitler found 210 00:15:55,680 --> 00:15:59,580 many companions who would accompany him on his journey to ultimate power. 211 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,334 One of them was Hermann Göring, who was 212 00:16:02,400 --> 00:16:04,254 as furious as Hitler about the defeat of 213 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:07,334 Germany, feeling that the nation's politicians had stabbed 214 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:11,054 their glorious army in the back by accepting the Treaty of Versailles. 215 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,374 He also met Rudolf Hess, a young political 216 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:23,454 student who became devoted to Hitler after hearing him speak. 217 00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:45,814 It didn't take long for the man the 218 00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,454 army officers had dismissed as incapable of leading 219 00:16:48,520 --> 00:16:53,494 to work his way up to become the Führer of the party, and by the time 220 00:16:53,560 --> 00:16:55,774 it had been renamed the Nazi party, with 221 00:16:55,840 --> 00:16:58,814 the swastika established as the party symbol, the 222 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:00,814 number of members had grown by thousands. 223 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:13,014 Hitler now had his own private army of 224 00:17:13,080 --> 00:17:16,174 stormtroopers, commonly known as the Brown Shirts or 225 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:18,734 the SA, whose aggressive violence would form a 226 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:21,060 vital part of the Nazi party's character. 227 00:17:24,760 --> 00:17:27,854 In 1923, along with his troops and accompanied 228 00:17:27,920 --> 00:17:30,814 by Göring and Hess, Hitler seized his chance 229 00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:35,060 to take on the German government in the famous Munich Beer Hall Putsch. 230 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,340 At this early stage, they were unsuccessful, however, 231 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,840 and Hitler fled as national troops arrived on the scene. 232 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:49,420 Both he and Hess were given jail sentences, 233 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:52,220 while Göring recovered from the wounds he'd received, 234 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:54,680 which would trouble him for the rest of his life. 235 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:02,214 Once behind bars in Munich's Landsberg prison, Hitler 236 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:04,294 didn't stop his quest for power, as the 237 00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:06,534 stream of feelings and anger he felt were 238 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:09,460 written down by Hess to create Mein Kampf, 239 00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:11,020 or My Struggle. 240 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,260 The ideas in this book would form the blueprint for Nazi ideology. 241 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:20,054 He discussed the Jewish conspiracies and hailed the 242 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:25,660 Aryans as the supreme race over the inferior Jews, Czechs, Poles and Russians. 243 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:28,820 The Aryans were entitled to more living space, 244 00:18:28,960 --> 00:18:31,214 or Lebensraum, and this land would be acquired 245 00:18:31,280 --> 00:18:33,820 by force, beginning with France in the West, 246 00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:36,454 to avenge Germany's defeat in World War I. 247 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:45,374 Little attention was paid to the work at 248 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:47,814 the time, but as life became harsher in 249 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,214 the country within a few years, people began 250 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,774 to take Hitler's radical ideas more seriously. 251 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:03,414 On 29th of October, 1929, the Wall Street 252 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,054 crash in America threw Europe into an economic 253 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:09,340 depression that had devastating consequences for Germany. 254 00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:14,340 Inflation rocketed, and as the economy froze, millions were made bankrupt. 255 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:21,614 Verging on starvation, the desperate nation now soaked 256 00:19:21,680 --> 00:19:23,894 up the passionate speeches of Adolf Hitler as 257 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:25,494 he offered them salvation and hope. 258 00:19:31,080 --> 00:19:33,254 Hitler had also added other important members to 259 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:35,540 the party, who now stood by his side. 260 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,174 Heinrich Himmler was a fanatical nationalist with a 261 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:41,054 deep-seated hatred of the Jews who was 262 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:44,214 appointed leader of Hitler's bodyguard, the SS, and 263 00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,214 later became commander of the Gestapo. 264 00:19:55,280 --> 00:19:58,174 This terror-fuelled organisation was responsible for the 265 00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,294 administration of the dreaded concentration camps and the 266 00:20:01,360 --> 00:20:04,414 coordinated killing of millions of Jews, Poles and 267 00:20:04,480 --> 00:20:07,614 Communists, along with other ethnic groups, as well 268 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,974 as imprisoning and torturing countless numbers of Germans. 269 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,054 Another member of Hitler's Nazi party was Josef 270 00:20:31,120 --> 00:20:35,014 Goebbels, a talented propagandist who became crucial in 271 00:20:35,080 --> 00:20:36,380 gathering support for Hitler. 272 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:40,574 Although Goebbels was rejected from the army because 273 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:42,694 of his physical limitations due to a club 274 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:45,734 foot, he was intellectually brilliant and prepared to 275 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:48,374 do anything for his Führer, even when Hitler's 276 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:50,740 policies went against his socialist principles. 277 00:20:51,320 --> 00:20:56,414 To him, Hitler was both great and simple at the same time, what one calls a 278 00:20:56,480 --> 00:20:57,080 genius. 279 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:06,414 Goebbels waged a furious poster campaign in preparation 280 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:09,494 for the election of 1932 as Hitler aimed 281 00:21:09,560 --> 00:21:11,934 to become leader of the country legally, and 282 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:14,534 thousands of Nazi rallies were held all over Germany. 283 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:30,580 He even made use of the latest technology, 284 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,494 producing films that could be distributed to the public. 285 00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:43,574 In the spring of 1932, with six million 286 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,614 unemployed, starvation rife and Berlin in chaos, people 287 00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,134 now turned to Hitler in their millions, and 288 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,934 Goebbels' posters and lavish events attracted more and 289 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,860 more people to the Nazi ideology. 290 00:21:55,360 --> 00:21:58,574 However, as the election campaign gained momentum, another 291 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:00,934 family tragedy hit the Führer hard. 292 00:22:06,560 --> 00:22:09,334 In 1929, his half-sister had moved to 293 00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,060 his Bechtesgaden villa to work as a housekeeper, 294 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,054 bringing her daughter, Julie, with her. 295 00:22:14,120 --> 00:22:16,414 Hitler adored the young woman and would do 296 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,740 anything for her, but was also insanely jealous, 297 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:22,214 despite the fact that he was already embroiled 298 00:22:22,280 --> 00:22:24,940 in an affair with the 19-year-old Eva Braun. 299 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:31,654 The pressure must have been immense on the 300 00:22:31,720 --> 00:22:35,660 21-year-old Julie, who found herself a prisoner in her own home. 301 00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:40,720 On 18th September 1931, she shot herself in the heart. 302 00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:47,054 Hitler was devastated, and official Nazi photographer Heinrich 303 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:49,974 Hoffmann said that after her death, the seeds 304 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,254 of inhumanity began to grow inside him. 305 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,174 What's more, Gailey wasn't the only woman Hitler 306 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:07,140 was involved with, who attempted to take her own life. 307 00:23:08,040 --> 00:23:10,854 Just a year later, Eva Braun, who was 308 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,340 always kept from public view, tried to shoot herself in the neck. 309 00:23:15,400 --> 00:23:18,894 Unlike Julie, Eva survived, and her secret relationship 310 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:22,780 with Hitler would continue right through until their deaths in 1945. 311 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,334 By 1932, the presence of the SA, the 312 00:23:30,400 --> 00:23:33,534 Nazi stormtroopers now led by Ernst Röhm, began 313 00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:35,454 to strike terror into the heart of the 314 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,294 democratic government, and many believed that the brown 315 00:23:38,360 --> 00:23:44,060 shirts, now reaching 400,000 in number, would take over Germany by force. 316 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:52,134 Heinrich Brüning, the Chancellor of the German Republic, 317 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,860 attempted to stand up to Hitler and the Nazis by banning the SA and the SS, 318 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,540 but the Führer was one step ahead and, 319 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,614 using contacts in the Reichstag, ensured the swift 320 00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:04,620 removal of the dissenting politician. 321 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:11,654 When Chancellor Brüning handed in his resignation to 322 00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:14,540 the ailing President Hindenburg, chaos ensued. 323 00:24:18,840 --> 00:24:21,174 On 15th June, the ban on the Nazi 324 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:23,974 brown shirts was lifted, and violence erupted on 325 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,900 the streets on a scale that Germany had never seen before. 326 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:30,414 This was only the beginning, because by January 327 00:24:30,480 --> 00:24:33,694 1933, when Hitler was finally made Chancellor of 328 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:37,134 Germany, millions rejoiced, although there were those who 329 00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:38,460 were less than enthusiastic. 330 00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:46,254 General Erich Ludendorff, one of the great German 331 00:24:46,320 --> 00:24:48,374 commanders of the First World War, who'd fought 332 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:50,934 alongside Hitler at the Beer Hall Putsch, sent 333 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:54,214 a telegram to President Hindenburg, voicing his concerns. 334 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:01,574 “You have just handed over our sacred German Fatherland 335 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:07,014 to one of the greatest demagogues of all time, I prophesy to you, this evil man 336 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:09,294 will plunge our Reich into the abyss and 337 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:11,660 will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. 338 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,374 Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action.” 339 00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,334 As the Reichstag was burnt to the ground 340 00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,220 and bonfires of books blazed on Goebbels's orders, 341 00:25:27,840 --> 00:25:29,740 it seemed Ludendorff was not mistaken. 342 00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:32,740 A hundred years before Hitler rose to power, 343 00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,180 a German-Jewish poet, Heinrich Heine, had said, 344 00:25:36,520 --> 00:25:40,140 wherever books are burnt, human beings are destined to burn too. 345 00:25:41,040 --> 00:25:43,574 As the profound writings of Proust, Freud and 346 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:46,374 Hemingway turned to ashes, many feared the worst. 347 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:05,700 Within months of Hitler's rise to power, individual freedom no longer existed. 348 00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,134 With his regime of terror led by the 349 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:12,094 dreaded Gestapo, thousands began to flee the fatherland in fear. 350 00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:22,054 Even members of Hitler's own party, the brown 351 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:25,940 shirts led by Ernst Röhm, were murdered for becoming too independent. 352 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,414 When President Hindenburg died on the 2nd of 353 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,214 August 1934, Hitler added the presidential powers to 354 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,180 those he already held as Chancellor, and effectively, 355 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,934 Germany became a dictatorship totally under Hitler's control. 356 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,334 A nation that had once boasted fine universities 357 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:55,694 among the world's greatest centres of learning and 358 00:26:55,760 --> 00:26:59,414 scientific innovation, sacked its professors and exchanged rational 359 00:26:59,480 --> 00:27:01,060 thinking for Nazi propaganda. 360 00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:06,134 Believe, obey, fight, was now taught in schools 361 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:10,520 as Hitler demanded a brutal, domineering, fearless, cruel youth. 362 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:14,820 The free splendid beast of prey must once again flash from its eyes. 363 00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:18,700 This is how I will eradicate thousands of years of human domestication. 364 00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,014 That is how I will create the new order. 365 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,854 Anyone refusing to conform was sent to concentration 366 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:43,894 camps, but those who remained to do Hitler's bidding were rewarded. 367 00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:55,254 Among the gifted Germans who didn't flee Hitler's 368 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,254 regime were Albert Speer, who became the first 369 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,974 architect of the Reich, and Leni Riefenstahl, a 370 00:28:02,040 --> 00:28:05,174 beautiful actress turned director who recorded the extraordinary 371 00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,974 Nazi rallies that elevated Hitler to an almost 372 00:28:08,040 --> 00:28:11,974 godlike status, an effort crucial to Nazi propaganda. 373 00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:24,494 Now Hitler had reached an unassailable position in 374 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:27,094 Germany, he could concentrate on his two greatest 375 00:28:27,160 --> 00:28:30,854 goals, Lebensraum, finding living space for the German 376 00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:33,254 people and the destruction of the Jews. 377 00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,134 He rapidly began building the German army and 378 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,494 increasing the naval fleet, flagrantly breaking the limitations 379 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:52,214 set after World War I. 380 00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:00,220 In a secret conference on 5 November 1937, 381 00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:03,014 he disclosed to his generals plans to invade 382 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:05,294 Poland and go to war with France and Britain. 383 00:29:12,360 --> 00:29:15,854 Two senior generals, Werner von Blomberg and Werner 384 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:18,574 von Fritsch, were horrified and spoke out against 385 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,534 Hitler, but when the Führer ordered their humiliating 386 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:25,014 removal, he alienated traditionalists in the Wehrmacht. 387 00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:36,014 By the beginning of 1938, the old generals 388 00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:38,334 feared their country would once more be plunged 389 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:40,814 into war, but it was impossible to sway 390 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,180 Hitler from the decisions he'd already made. 391 00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:47,900 When faced with opposition, he would remove it. 392 00:29:49,080 --> 00:29:52,494 On the 4th of February 1938, Hitler abolished 393 00:29:52,560 --> 00:29:55,934 the entire war ministry, sacking 16 senior generals 394 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:59,214 and announced, from now on I take over 395 00:29:59,280 --> 00:30:02,740 personally the command of the whole armed forces. 396 00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:06,660 44 generals resigned. 397 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,294 So, with the German nation and the armed 398 00:30:12,360 --> 00:30:15,534 forces under his total control, Hitler prepared for 399 00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,660 his first move, greedily eyeing the land of his birth, Austria. 400 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:22,334 Yet he was unaware that there were those 401 00:30:22,400 --> 00:30:25,300 who stood in the shadows, ready to thwart his plans. 402 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,854 Wilhelm Canaris, a decorated officer fluent in many 403 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,134 languages, had been made head of the German 404 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:37,660 high command's counterintelligence service in 1935. 405 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:42,814 Canaris had been a major influence on Hitler's 406 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:45,214 decision to side with General Franco during the 407 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:48,534 Spanish Civil War in 1936, which led to 408 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:50,854 the terrible Nazi destruction of the village of 409 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:55,014 Chwernica, famously recorded in Picasso's painting of the same name. 410 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:07,414 Wever Canaris did not remain under Hitler's spell 411 00:31:07,480 --> 00:31:10,414 for long, and after witnessing the terrible treatment 412 00:31:10,480 --> 00:31:12,654 of Jews and the destruction being wrought by 413 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:16,940 the Third Reich, began his careful opposition to the aggressive new order. 414 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:22,540 As Hitler finalised his plans to occupy Austria, 415 00:31:22,880 --> 00:31:25,374 fearing a war with Britain, Canaris sent a 416 00:31:25,440 --> 00:31:28,694 secret emissary to communicate with MI6 in London, 417 00:31:28,760 --> 00:31:31,214 presenting his ideas to overthrow the Nazis. 418 00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:38,974 Keen to promote peace however, the Prime Minister 419 00:31:39,040 --> 00:31:41,654 Neville Chamberlain showed no sign of preparing to 420 00:31:41,720 --> 00:31:44,300 take action as the Nazis marched into Austria, 421 00:31:44,600 --> 00:31:46,534 and while Hitler's troops began to edge towards 422 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:50,174 Czechoslovakia, Chamberlain met the Nazi leader to ratify 423 00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:53,414 a peace treaty accepting Germany's occupation of a 424 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:56,494 part of Czechoslovakia, on condition that Hitler agreed 425 00:31:56,560 --> 00:31:58,254 to halt any further invasions. 426 00:32:13,800 --> 00:32:16,534 The German generals who'd plotted against Hitler could 427 00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,694 do no more than watch in dismay as 428 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:21,460 Britain stood back and appeased the Nazi regime. 429 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,414 Chamberlain's error of judgement soon became apparent when 430 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:30,814 Hitler revealed his horrifying plans for his next 431 00:32:30,880 --> 00:32:33,020 invasion as Poland was targeted. 432 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:39,014 As Göring drove his army across the Polish 433 00:32:39,080 --> 00:32:42,100 border, obliterating all that stood in his way, 434 00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:45,940 reports of mass murder throughout the country filtered back to Canaris. 435 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:53,700 The nobility and clergy were targeted for extermination, 436 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,320 entire villages were wiped out and Jews burnt to death. 437 00:32:59,480 --> 00:33:02,414 Efforts by regular soldiers to prevent brutalities were 438 00:33:02,480 --> 00:33:05,454 swept aside by Himmler's Gestapo, and there followed 439 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,100 a rapid deterioration in army discipline. 440 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,334 Canaris warned General Wilhelm Keitel, the High Commander 441 00:33:15,400 --> 00:33:17,494 of the Armed Forces, that the military would 442 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,060 be held responsible for the atrocities being committed, 443 00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:26,260 but the General responded that he was simply following Hitler's orders. 444 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:32,294 Even so, some years later, just as Canaris 445 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:36,860 had predicted, Keitel was held accountable and executed by the Allies. 446 00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:45,414 The situation in Poland forced Neville Chamberlain and 447 00:33:45,480 --> 00:33:47,294 the British to go to war with Germany, 448 00:33:47,360 --> 00:33:51,460 which was officially declared on September the 3rd, 1939. 449 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:58,374 An eyewitness account noted that there was no 450 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:00,934 joyous celebration in the German capital on the 451 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,574 eve of this conflict, unlike the excitement surrounding 452 00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,734 the First World War, but rather shock and 453 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:08,734 the silent dread hung over the nation. 454 00:34:17,400 --> 00:34:20,174 Nevertheless, the revolutionary tactics of the German army 455 00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:24,454 would prove astoundingly successful, and despite the entry 456 00:34:24,520 --> 00:34:26,934 of Britain into the conflict, quickly followed by 457 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,974 France, there was no halting the Nazi advance 458 00:34:30,040 --> 00:34:32,334 and Poland quickly fell to be carved up 459 00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:36,334 between Nazi Germany and Communist Russia before the Allies could act. 460 00:34:48,040 --> 00:34:50,894 Denmark and Norway followed, being swiftly occupied by 461 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:54,780 the Nazis, and the Russian leader, Joseph Stalin, 462 00:34:54,920 --> 00:34:57,294 ordered his troops into Finland, and while Hitler 463 00:34:57,360 --> 00:35:00,054 made plans to invade Holland and France, the 464 00:35:00,120 --> 00:35:03,054 German old guard, again, trying to warm the Allies. 465 00:35:15,280 --> 00:35:18,694 Hans Oster, deputy to Canaris, trying to inform 466 00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:21,454 the Netherlands military attaché in Berlin more than 467 00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,574 20 times of the exact date of the 468 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:26,494 constantly delayed invasion of Holland, but the Dutch 469 00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:29,414 government refused to believe him until the paratroopers 470 00:35:29,480 --> 00:35:32,734 descended from the skies, by which time it was too late. 471 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:42,654 Finally, there was a glimmer of hope for 472 00:35:42,720 --> 00:35:45,894 the conspirators when Winston Churchill, a man who'd 473 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,294 famously spoken out against Hitler since the early 474 00:35:48,360 --> 00:35:51,814 1930s, took over from Neville Chamberlain as Prime 475 00:35:51,880 --> 00:35:54,960 Minister of Great Britain on May the 10th, 1940. 476 00:35:58,440 --> 00:36:00,974 Even so, Churchill had a tough task right 477 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:03,574 from day one because, while he was settling 478 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,694 into Downing Street, Hitler's panzer tanks stormed through 479 00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:09,214 France using a sickle-cut manoeuvre to separate 480 00:36:09,280 --> 00:36:12,054 Allied troops, trapping thousands of British and French 481 00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:14,694 soldiers on the beaches of Dunkirk to face 482 00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:17,654 almost certain death in Hitler's well-sprung trap. 483 00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,494 However, Churchill put in place a daring plan 484 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:28,174 to rescue the stranded Allies, just as Hitler 485 00:36:28,240 --> 00:36:30,494 made one of the most extraordinary decisions of 486 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:33,374 the war, calling on his panzer divisions to 487 00:36:33,440 --> 00:36:35,900 halt within a matter of kilometres of Dunkirk. 488 00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,094 Some have suggested the Führer was teaching his 489 00:36:42,160 --> 00:36:44,494 generals that he was in charge and not 490 00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:48,254 to be questioned whatever he did, while others 491 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,894 believe that Hitler intended a gesture of goodwill 492 00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:54,620 as he still hoped to negotiate a peace treaty with the British. 493 00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:58,734 Conversely, it may simply have been arrogance on 494 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:00,774 Hitler's part believing he had all the time 495 00:37:00,840 --> 00:37:04,254 in the world, but Churchill, right from the 496 00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:06,734 moment of his arrival at Number 10, gave 497 00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:09,300 notice that he was not to be underestimated. 498 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:13,014 In just the few days of respite given 499 00:37:13,080 --> 00:37:15,014 by Hitler's delay in finishing the task at 500 00:37:15,080 --> 00:37:18,694 hand, Churchill's Operation Dynamo, complete with a fleet 501 00:37:18,760 --> 00:37:22,014 of civilian craft, rescued more than 300,000 502 00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:24,134 Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk. 503 00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:40,574 Despite the fact that so many Allied soldiers 504 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,414 had escaped to fight another day, Hitler was 505 00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:46,614 undeterred and quickly advanced to take Paris celebrating 506 00:39:46,680 --> 00:39:48,614 his victory over the French. 507 00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,294 Revenge being sweet, Hitler ordered that the very 508 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:01,334 carriage where France and Germany had signed the 509 00:40:01,400 --> 00:40:04,254 armistice in 1918 be removed from its museum 510 00:40:04,320 --> 00:40:08,734 and placed in the exact same spot in the forest of Campania where it had stood 511 00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:09,980 on that fateful day. 512 00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:15,574 Hitler wanted to sit triumphantly in the seat 513 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:18,254 that the French general, Foch, had 20 years 514 00:40:18,320 --> 00:40:20,860 earlier, accepting the German surrender. 515 00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:26,134 This time however, it would be the French 516 00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:29,060 generals who would bow to Hitler and to Nazi Germany. 517 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:33,854 France was now under Nazi control and as 518 00:40:33,920 --> 00:40:36,214 Hitler turned his gaze to Britain, a nation 519 00:40:36,280 --> 00:40:39,220 standing alone against Germany across the English Channel, 520 00:40:39,760 --> 00:40:42,734 he decided it was time to invade the United Kingdom. 521 00:40:56,920 --> 00:40:59,654 Hitler quickly presented plans to destroy the British 522 00:40:59,720 --> 00:41:02,374 Royal Air Force before attempting a landing as 523 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:06,094 part of Operation Sea Lion and in the 524 00:41:06,160 --> 00:41:10,660 summer of 1940, Göring led the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain. 525 00:41:11,560 --> 00:41:15,174 But again, Hitler underestimated his enemy, not only 526 00:41:15,240 --> 00:41:17,294 the brave pilots prepared to give their lives 527 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,534 in the fight for freedom, but also the 528 00:41:19,600 --> 00:41:22,454 nations, people who were determined that Hitler and 529 00:41:22,520 --> 00:41:25,940 his cruel regime would never set foot on British soil. 530 00:41:29,240 --> 00:41:31,494 What's more, Hitler got something of a shock 531 00:41:31,560 --> 00:41:36,300 when on August the 25th, 1940, the RAF bombed Berlin. 532 00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:39,214 Göring had assured the German people this could 533 00:41:39,280 --> 00:41:42,494 never happen and although causing little damage, it 534 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:44,214 shook the confidence of the Berliners. 535 00:41:53,320 --> 00:41:55,374 Hitler was furious and let his anger colour 536 00:41:55,440 --> 00:41:57,854 his judgment when he sought revenge by bombing 537 00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:00,454 London and other major cities day and night 538 00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:04,214 rather than continuing to target the airfields of southeast England. 539 00:42:19,280 --> 00:42:24,294 The RAF were totally exhausted and on their knees by the end of August 1940 and 540 00:42:24,360 --> 00:42:26,940 had the Germans continue to targeting the RAF. 541 00:42:27,920 --> 00:42:29,940 Victory was within their grasp. 542 00:42:31,640 --> 00:42:33,654 Because of the bombing of Britain's cities, the 543 00:42:33,720 --> 00:42:35,654 Air Force had time to recover and the 544 00:42:35,720 --> 00:42:39,200 Nazis lost their advantage before even realizing they'd had it. 545 00:42:41,680 --> 00:42:44,214 The British morale held strong and people continued 546 00:42:44,280 --> 00:42:46,814 to doggedly brew their pots of tea spurred 547 00:42:46,880 --> 00:42:49,220 on by the stirring words of Winston Churchill, 548 00:42:49,760 --> 00:42:52,620 unwavering in their determination to defend their island. 549 00:43:00,840 --> 00:43:03,694 As Erwin Rommel, Hitler's favourite general, was sent 550 00:43:03,760 --> 00:43:06,174 to defeat the British in North Africa, he 551 00:43:06,240 --> 00:43:08,620 boasted many victories much to Hitler's delight. 552 00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:13,614 But Britain's spirit remained unbreakable and by spring 553 00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:18,940 1941 the threat of a full-scale invasion was less and less likely. 554 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,454 Especially as by now Hitler had a more 555 00:43:22,520 --> 00:43:25,534 pressing engagement, opening up an eastern front to 556 00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:28,454 attack the Russians, something he'd always intended to 557 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:31,460 do disregarding the non-aggression pact with Stalin. 558 00:43:35,680 --> 00:43:38,014 This was perhaps the most important invasion of 559 00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:42,140 Hitler's military career and one he had waited for impatiently. 560 00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:46,734 Along with the Jews, Hitler detested the Soviets 561 00:43:46,800 --> 00:43:49,814 and had told Goebbels his main aim was 562 00:43:49,880 --> 00:43:53,060 to finally eliminate the Bolshevik poison from Europe. 563 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:02,174 On June the 22nd, 1941, Hitler's troops marched 564 00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:04,854 into the Soviet Union along a 1,800 565 00:44:04,920 --> 00:44:05,980 mile front. 566 00:44:07,400 --> 00:44:10,174 Only three days before Operation Barbarossa was set 567 00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:13,014 in motion, the Führer had given specific orders 568 00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:15,900 of a campaign should be waged with extreme brutality. 569 00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:20,494 Himmler had instructed the security forces to act 570 00:44:20,560 --> 00:44:23,654 against all populations who were potentially anti-German 571 00:44:23,720 --> 00:44:27,420 or racially inferior by shooting indiscriminately at men, 572 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:30,214 burning villages to the ground and deporting women 573 00:44:30,280 --> 00:44:32,134 and children to the concentration camps. 574 00:44:37,760 --> 00:44:40,414 But despite the Russian people being abused so 575 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:43,174 viciously by October, when torrents of rain fell, 576 00:44:43,240 --> 00:44:45,774 turning the roads and the battlefields into mud 577 00:44:45,840 --> 00:44:48,580 swamps, before the onset of a bitter winter, 578 00:44:49,080 --> 00:44:52,740 the Russian weather was able to dash Hitler's hopes of a swift occupation. 579 00:44:57,040 --> 00:44:58,814 Hitler had promised that when he came to 580 00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:01,174 Russia, the Nazis would have only to kick 581 00:45:01,240 --> 00:45:03,014 in the door and the whole Russian structure 582 00:45:03,080 --> 00:45:05,414 will come crashing down, but he was mistaken. 583 00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:13,614 He had guaranteed Germany a victory within six 584 00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:15,534 months, but as more of his troops were 585 00:45:15,600 --> 00:45:18,894 killed or wounded, even Goebbels' propaganda machine could 586 00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:21,894 do little to hide the fact that all was not going to plan. 587 00:45:26,960 --> 00:45:31,380 Many began to despair and even Germany's greatest heroes lost hope. 588 00:45:32,440 --> 00:45:36,414 Germany's first airman, Ernst Udet, frustrated by Göring's 589 00:45:36,480 --> 00:45:38,334 lies about the lack of raw material to 590 00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:40,774 build more planes, was plunged into a deep 591 00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:43,254 depression over the war with Russia and committed 592 00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:45,854 suicide, and it wasn't long before Hitler had 593 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:49,894 a great deal more to worry about than losing ground to Stalin's Red Army. 594 00:45:56,840 --> 00:46:00,494 On December the 7th, 1941, the Japanese bombed 595 00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:02,494 Pearl Harbour, an act that would at long 596 00:46:02,560 --> 00:46:04,934 last bring America into the conflict, and just 597 00:46:05,000 --> 00:46:07,940 four days later, Hitler declared war on America. 598 00:46:11,680 --> 00:46:14,014 The Axis powers now faced a coalition that 599 00:46:14,080 --> 00:46:17,174 included the world's largest empire, the world's greatest 600 00:46:17,240 --> 00:46:20,174 industrial and financial power, and the world's largest 601 00:46:20,240 --> 00:46:24,374 army, namely Great Britain, the United States of America, and Russia. 602 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:31,494 Those who had for so long supported Hitler 603 00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:33,614 were now beginning to fear the worst, and 604 00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:36,614 along with field marshals, generals, diplomats, and senior 605 00:46:36,680 --> 00:46:39,780 officials, the German resistance gathered momentum. 606 00:46:40,720 --> 00:46:43,374 Among them was Colonel Henning von Tresckow, who'd 607 00:46:43,440 --> 00:46:45,334 been working on a plot to assassinate Hitler 608 00:46:45,400 --> 00:46:47,574 after hearing the furious speech on the war 609 00:46:47,640 --> 00:46:49,654 of annihilation against the Soviet Union. 610 00:46:56,080 --> 00:47:00,294 So, on March the 13th, 1943, von Tresckow 611 00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:02,814 gave a case containing two bottles of cognac 612 00:47:02,880 --> 00:47:05,374 to a member of Hitler's staff, which had 613 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,980 a bomb concealed within it as Hitler flew to the Eastern Front. 614 00:47:13,280 --> 00:47:16,014 Frustratingly, the bomb failed to detonate, and a 615 00:47:16,080 --> 00:47:18,614 week later another attempt was made when a 616 00:47:18,680 --> 00:47:20,934 close friend of von Tresckow went to meet 617 00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:25,260 Hitler on Unter den Linden in Berlin, with his pockets filled with explosives. 618 00:47:28,320 --> 00:47:30,734 He came close to being history's first suicide 619 00:47:30,800 --> 00:47:33,254 bomber, but Hitler left before the bomb went 620 00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:37,060 off, and the explosives had to be diffused as quickly as possible. 621 00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:41,254 While von Tresckow waited for another opportunity, it 622 00:47:41,320 --> 00:47:45,014 was obvious that not only military personnel were trying to resist the Nazis. 623 00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:53,734 A group of working-class teenagers calling themselves 624 00:47:53,800 --> 00:47:56,814 the Edelweiss Pirates pitted their wits against Hitler's 625 00:47:56,880 --> 00:48:00,894 Nazi youth, regularly stuffing Allied leaflets into letterboxes 626 00:48:00,960 --> 00:48:03,574 and using slogans and songs which were more 627 00:48:03,640 --> 00:48:05,580 poignant than they could ever have known. 628 00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:15,134 Hitler's power may lay us low and keep us locked in chains, but we will smash 629 00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:17,334 the chains one day, we'll be free again. 630 00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:27,014 But such was the sense of paranoia amongst 631 00:48:27,080 --> 00:48:29,974 Hitler's henchmen that even gangs of 16-year 632 00:48:30,040 --> 00:48:32,540 -olds were considered a threat by the Gestapo, 633 00:48:32,840 --> 00:48:35,860 and many of the Edelweiss Pirates were brutally executed. 634 00:48:36,960 --> 00:48:38,734 Worse was to come for the German people 635 00:48:38,800 --> 00:48:42,534 when in November 1943 the Allies increased their 636 00:48:42,600 --> 00:48:46,094 attacks, targeting the capital Berlin with a fierce 637 00:48:46,160 --> 00:48:49,260 bombardment on the scale faced by London during the Blitz. 638 00:48:50,240 --> 00:48:53,014 Many national monuments were obliterated and it was 639 00:48:53,080 --> 00:48:55,694 clear that Hitler's war started with such a 640 00:48:55,760 --> 00:48:58,600 flourish was now turning in favour of the Allies. 641 00:49:02,120 --> 00:49:04,854 Goebbels did what he could through propaganda, conjuring 642 00:49:04,920 --> 00:49:07,294 up images of a nation under siege as 643 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:09,414 he spoke to the public rallying the Germans 644 00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:12,014 to defend the fatherland, but as Berlin was 645 00:49:12,080 --> 00:49:16,094 laid to waste it became ever clearer to the rebels that the only way to end 646 00:49:16,160 --> 00:49:18,014 the war was to kill Hitler. 647 00:49:28,560 --> 00:49:30,974 As Mussolini was arrested in Italy and the 648 00:49:31,040 --> 00:49:33,894 Italians turned against Germany, the members of the 649 00:49:33,960 --> 00:49:36,734 resistance hoped they too might remove their leader 650 00:49:36,800 --> 00:49:39,054 with a new and very valuable addition to 651 00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:41,494 their ranks by the name of Klaus Schenk 652 00:49:41,560 --> 00:49:45,460 von Stauffenberg, who'd returned wounded from the fighting in North Africa. 653 00:49:46,160 --> 00:49:49,400 The plans to assassinate Hitler received a huge boost. 654 00:49:52,240 --> 00:49:55,174 As a military man, von Stauffenberg had admired 655 00:49:55,240 --> 00:49:57,660 Hitler's strong leadership when he came to power. 656 00:49:58,120 --> 00:50:00,494 However soon the model soldier was disgusted by 657 00:50:00,560 --> 00:50:03,414 the atrocities being committed and when approached by 658 00:50:03,480 --> 00:50:06,414 General Friedrich Ulbricht, a central figure in the 659 00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:09,814 resistance against Nazism, he immediately agreed to take 660 00:50:09,880 --> 00:50:11,974 part in a coup against the Führer. 661 00:50:19,360 --> 00:50:22,500 In June 1944 the Allies were closing in. 662 00:50:23,000 --> 00:50:25,054 The Soviets had cleared the Nazis from Russia 663 00:50:25,120 --> 00:50:27,414 and were heading towards Germany and the D 664 00:50:27,480 --> 00:50:29,814 -Day landings along the beaches of Normandy were 665 00:50:29,880 --> 00:50:33,574 well underway, so the resistance knew they had to act quickly. 666 00:50:38,920 --> 00:50:42,974 On July the 1st 1944 von Stauffenberg was 667 00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:45,134 appointed chief of staff to the army reserve 668 00:50:45,200 --> 00:50:48,320 in Berlin, putting him in regular contact with Hitler. 669 00:50:48,760 --> 00:50:50,500 It was the perfect opportunity. 670 00:50:51,960 --> 00:50:54,814 Twice he arrived at conferences carrying briefcases containing 671 00:50:54,880 --> 00:50:59,694 explosives, but twice he had to abort his mission as Himmler wasn't present. 672 00:51:07,760 --> 00:51:11,374 Finally on the 20th of July 1944 von 673 00:51:11,440 --> 00:51:14,334 Stauffenberg carried out Operation Valkyrie and took a 674 00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:16,654 briefcase containing a bomb to a meeting at 675 00:51:16,720 --> 00:51:18,860 Hitler's war headquarters in East Russia. 676 00:51:19,880 --> 00:51:22,134 After half an hour he made his excuses 677 00:51:22,200 --> 00:51:25,500 and departed, leaving the briefcase beneath the table. 678 00:51:29,120 --> 00:51:31,454 Hearing the bomb explode from outside the building 679 00:51:31,520 --> 00:51:33,934 he was convinced Hitler would be dead and 680 00:51:34,000 --> 00:51:36,880 flew immediately back to Berlin to organise the coup. 681 00:51:38,200 --> 00:51:41,454 However when von Stauffenberg had left the room 682 00:51:41,520 --> 00:51:44,094 an officer sitting near the briefcase had moved 683 00:51:44,160 --> 00:51:46,580 it further beneath the table and the blast, 684 00:51:47,000 --> 00:51:50,380 although killing some, was minimised by the solid oak table. 685 00:51:51,240 --> 00:51:53,854 As realisation dawned that Hitler had only been 686 00:51:53,920 --> 00:51:58,660 slightly injured the resistance were horrified and knew their fate was sealed. 687 00:51:59,600 --> 00:52:02,054 When von Stauffenberg returned to the army headquarters 688 00:52:02,120 --> 00:52:04,534 where his compatriots stood poised to take on 689 00:52:04,600 --> 00:52:08,980 the Nazis he was captured and executed along with Ulbricht and many others. 690 00:52:09,600 --> 00:52:11,574 Thousands more were arrested in connection with the 691 00:52:11,640 --> 00:52:15,174 assassination attempt and today a memorial now stands 692 00:52:15,240 --> 00:52:18,300 where Stauffenberg bravely uttered his last words, 693 00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:21,300 “Long live holy Germany.” 694 00:52:27,800 --> 00:52:30,334 With the failure of the assassination attempt the 695 00:52:30,400 --> 00:52:32,614 Second World War would continue for another year 696 00:52:32,680 --> 00:52:36,140 claiming many more lives but the Third Reich's days were numbered. 697 00:52:39,560 --> 00:52:41,974 Berlin was left virtually unprotected as the Red 698 00:52:42,040 --> 00:52:44,854 Army speedily advanced towards Hitler's headquarters from the 699 00:52:44,920 --> 00:52:47,680 east and the Americans marched in from the west. 700 00:52:48,480 --> 00:52:52,140 On the 20th of April 1945, Hitler's birthday, 701 00:52:52,480 --> 00:52:55,480 the Soviet artillery began to shell the centre of Berlin. 702 00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:58,254 The Nazis had forbidden civilians to leave the 703 00:52:58,320 --> 00:53:00,540 city in a bid to boost military morale. 704 00:53:01,080 --> 00:53:03,014 Some were even shocked by their own countrymen 705 00:53:03,080 --> 00:53:05,334 for putting white flags outside their houses. 706 00:53:13,520 --> 00:53:17,540 Goebbels propaganda slogans had been scrawled on any buildings left standing. 707 00:53:17,960 --> 00:53:19,940 Every German will defend his capital. 708 00:53:20,400 --> 00:53:23,260 We shall stop the red hordes at the walls of our Berlin. 709 00:53:26,320 --> 00:53:29,174 Now terrified by the approaching Red Army, already 710 00:53:29,240 --> 00:53:33,420 renowned for its own atrocities in Poland, many Berliners began to flee. 711 00:53:35,840 --> 00:53:37,454 In the rubble that had once been the 712 00:53:37,520 --> 00:53:40,654 proud beautiful German capital Hitler's dream of a 713 00:53:40,720 --> 00:53:43,140 thousand-year Reich had crumbled into oblivion. 714 00:53:43,920 --> 00:53:45,814 As elderly men and youths were employed to 715 00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:48,974 defend the city, fighting a hopeless battle, Hitler 716 00:53:49,040 --> 00:53:51,054 and Goebbels hid beneath the city in a 717 00:53:51,120 --> 00:53:53,614 bunker under the Reich Chancellery along with Eva 718 00:53:53,680 --> 00:53:57,014 Braun, Goebbels' wife and children and other Nazi officials. 719 00:54:09,560 --> 00:54:13,214 On April the 28th 1945, Hitler heard the 720 00:54:13,280 --> 00:54:15,694 news that Himmler, his most loyal commander, had 721 00:54:15,760 --> 00:54:18,140 contacted the Allies to negotiate a surrender. 722 00:54:18,760 --> 00:54:21,254 Hitler exploded in a rage and even that 723 00:54:21,320 --> 00:54:23,494 to this late hour sought someone to blame 724 00:54:23,560 --> 00:54:25,820 executing one of the commanders in the bunker. 725 00:54:30,600 --> 00:54:33,654 Later that night Hitler married Eva Braun before 726 00:54:33,720 --> 00:54:37,214 dictating his last political testament which claimed the 727 00:54:37,280 --> 00:54:39,214 war would one day go down in history 728 00:54:39,280 --> 00:54:43,574 as the most glorious and heroic manifestation of a people's will to live. 729 00:54:48,640 --> 00:54:51,454 But Hitler's ultimate demise was far from glorious 730 00:54:51,520 --> 00:54:56,174 and on April the 30th 1945, having heard 731 00:54:56,240 --> 00:54:58,380 that Berlin was on the verge of collapse, 732 00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:01,054 he and his new bride bit into vials 733 00:55:01,120 --> 00:55:03,894 of cyanide and perhaps fearing that even this 734 00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:07,040 would not kill him, Hitler shot himself in the head. 735 00:55:12,240 --> 00:55:14,494 Only two days later the Red Army found 736 00:55:14,560 --> 00:55:17,334 their charred remains in the Reich's Chancellery along 737 00:55:17,400 --> 00:55:21,140 with the bodies of Goebbels and his family who had also taken poison. 738 00:55:24,640 --> 00:55:28,574 Goring and Himmler were captured but they committed 739 00:55:28,640 --> 00:55:31,380 suicide before the sentence could be carried out. 740 00:55:33,960 --> 00:55:35,254 And while the men who had led them 741 00:55:35,320 --> 00:55:37,500 into the abyss were now free from retribution 742 00:55:37,920 --> 00:55:40,900 the people of Germany were left to face the consequences. 743 00:55:43,680 --> 00:55:45,894 Control of Germany was split between the Western 744 00:55:45,960 --> 00:55:48,174 Allies and the Soviet Union and as the 745 00:55:48,240 --> 00:55:50,894 prisoners were freed from the concentration camps the 746 00:55:50,960 --> 00:55:54,934 task of rebuilding what had once been such a proud nation began. 747 00:56:24,760 --> 00:56:27,134 During the years of the Nazi regime there 748 00:56:27,200 --> 00:56:29,734 were no less than 44 attempts on Adolf 749 00:56:29,800 --> 00:56:32,574 Hitler's life but as he cheated death again 750 00:56:32,640 --> 00:56:36,060 and again millions of innocent souls would perish. 751 00:56:37,000 --> 00:56:40,174 Today Berlin has been rebuilt and a spirit 752 00:56:40,240 --> 00:56:43,054 of hope and reconciliation has replaced the Nazi 753 00:56:43,120 --> 00:56:46,334 ideology but if you look carefully the scars 754 00:56:46,400 --> 00:56:50,774 still remain to remind those who come here of the reign of one of the world's 755 00:56:50,840 --> 00:56:54,334 most terrible dictators warning mankind for all eternity 756 00:56:54,400 --> 00:56:57,254 that absolute power corrupts absolutely.