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In the 1930s, Adolf Hitler made
the most ambitious boasts imaginable
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about what lay ahead.
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And just a few years later,
it seemed to millions of Germans
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that Hitler had indeed created
a future that belonged to them.
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In 1941, when this film was taken,
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Hitler was all but worshipped
by his followers.
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In pursuit of his racist vision,
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Hitler had led the German army
to a series of momentous victories.
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His promises were taken as gospel.
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My diary of the time has that line:
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"Come what may,
the Fuhrer will sort it."
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I wrote that myself.
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I also believed, "Gosh,
he's achieved so much already!"
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That was the point -
all the things he'd achieved!
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But as the war progressed,
the successes stopped coming.
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And then, the end. We were abandoned.
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We had to suffer our fate.
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With insights from those
who lived through these times -
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most of whom were interviewed
by the BBC over the last 20 years -
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this film reveals how Hitler tried
to retain his charismatic appeal,
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as the bond between
the German people and Hitler
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was tested as never before.
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Adolf Hitler loved this landscape.
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It was here, amidst the mountains
of southern Bavaria,
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that he said his ideas matured.
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And on 31st July 1940,
at his house, the Berghof,
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he announced his most ambitious idea
yet to his military leaders.
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Now that the Germans had conquered
much of Western Europe,
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Hitler was thinking in epic terms.
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He wanted plans drawn up to invade
the Soviet Union - a country which
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in his warped view of the world was
led by Jewish/Bolshevik criminals.
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But it was also a country he'd
signed a non-aggression pact with,
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as well as a country
twice as large as Europe.
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The generals listened
to Hitler's idea and many thought,
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"Shouldn't be too difficult."
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People thought, and the military
leaders were among them,
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that it would be relatively easy
to eliminate the Russian army
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with one short, forceful blow.
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Based on the information
we had about the Russian army,
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I also believed that it would not
be much of a problem.
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These soldiers knew that Hitler
had been saying for years
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that the biggest danger Germany
faced was the Soviet Union,
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and many thought
their Fuhrer was right.
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Fresh from their
recent victory over France,
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German soldiers were full
of confidence in Hitler's judgment.
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So much so, that he was called
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"the greatest
military commander of all time"
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by one of his leading generals.
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Hitler was more
than an ordinary leader.
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By now, he was considered
by many to be almost superhuman.
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And it wasn't just Hitler who was
thought to be a superior being.
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His connection with those Germans
he considered racially pure
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was based, in part,
on a shared sense of superiority.
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Millions of ordinary Germans,
especially the young,
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had been told
that they were special, too.
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We had been taught that only the
Germans were valuable human beings.
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There was a little booklet called,
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German Inventors,
German Poets, German Musicians.
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Nothing else existed.
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And we devoured it,
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and we were absolutely convinced
that we were the greatest.
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And since Hitler boasted that
the Germans were a superior race,
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he believed that victory over those
he considered racially inferior,
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like the people of the Soviet Union,
would be relatively straightforward.
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And so, on 22nd June 1941,
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the Germans launched
the largest invasion
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in the history of the world.
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Within just a week, the Germans
had advanced more than 200 miles
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into Soviet territory and reached
Minsk, capital of Belorussia.
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This wasn't just
the biggest invasion in history,
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it was turning out
to be one of the quickest, as well.
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You thought it was a doddle.
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The Russians were all defecting
in droves or were taken prisoner.
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And we would have a splendid life
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and the war would be over
in six months - a year at most.
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There were soldiers
who advanced singing.
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It's hard to believe,
but it's a fact.
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And soon,
German troops were celebrating.
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Back in Berlin, on 3rd October 1941,
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Hitler publicly gloried in the
successes on the Eastern Front.
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At the Sportpalast, he basked
in the adulation of the crowd.
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Faith in Hitler's
charismatic leadership
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had been built on his ability
to deliver success after success.
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And here he was, so it seemed,
successful, once again.
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Hitler even went so far as to say
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explicitly that the Red Army
had been defeated.
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All this euphoria about the invasion
of the Soviet Union
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highlighted a key aspect
of Hitler's charismatic leadership.
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His ability
to allow those who worked for him
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to dream
of wildly ambitious schemes.
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To work, as their Fuhrer did,
unhindered by moral restraint.
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German technocrats knew that Hitler
had called for this to be a war
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of annihilation,
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and for months before the invasion,
had been working out
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how many people in the Soviet Union
should be starved to death.
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These people were surplus
to Nazi requirements.
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And one calculation was that
there were 30 million of them.
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When the German army
occupied the Soviet city of Kharkov,
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they deliberately tried
to starve the population.
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German soldiers,
who'd been told to steal provisions
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from the locals, in order to feed
themselves, sealed the city,
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and only gave food
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to the small number of people
who worked for them.
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The rest began to die of hunger.
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In the final stages of starvation,
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your lips get somehow stretched, and
it's what they call a hungry grin.
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You don't know whether a person
is grinning or crying.
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But the teeth are bare.
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Then, diarrhoea,
the so-called hungry diarrhoea.
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And then comes
a bitter taste in the mouth.
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This murderous policy
was based on the belief
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that the Germans were superior.
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But what if they weren't?
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The arrival of the Russian winter
brought the first major military
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setback for the Germans since
the end of the First World War.
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When soldiers during the night had
no opportunity to warm up somewhere,
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they got frozen toes and fingers.
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We were totally under-equipped.
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The soldiers were overwhelmed by
fatigue and couldn't think straight.
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Nearly numbed by fatigue.
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Hitler and his generals had been
so confident of swift victory
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that soldiers hadn't been provided
with proper cold weather equipment.
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And when the Red Army
counter-attacked,
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it looked like the whole
German offensive might collapse.
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It was the greatest test yet
for Hitler's leadership.
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And he responded
by telling his soldiers
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simply to hold their nerve
and stand fast.
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In the cold Soviet forests,
they might die,
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but that was what soldiers
were supposed to do when asked.
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Do you think Frederick the Great's
grenadiers were happy to die, either?
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In the same way,
I consider myself entitled to ask
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every German soldier
to lay down his life.
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Hitler's lack of compassion, lack
of pity, hadn't mattered to most
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of these German soldiers, as long
as they were winning easy victories.
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But now, Hitler's Darwinian beliefs
meant that he could
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see his soldiers die without a care.
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After all, hadn't he always said
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that the weak
didn't deserve to live?
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Ever since he came to power,
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Hitler had been portrayed
as a man of strength.
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A man who could not make a mistake.
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Goebbels, the propaganda minister,
had said that building this image
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had been one
of his greatest achievements.
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Via the creation
of the Fuhrer myth,
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Hitler has been given
the halo of infallibility.
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But now, Hitler was beginning
to appear all too fallible.
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He'd told the German people that
the Red Army would never rise again.
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But it just had.
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To help solve this difficulty,
Goebbels turned to history.
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In March 1942, a film was released
about a charismatic leader
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from Germany's past - the
Prussian king, Frederick the Great.
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And every German knew that Frederick
had also suffered setbacks,
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but had triumphed in the end.
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Frederick the Great
was supposed to symbolise Hitler.
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The German who watched it
was supposed to think
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that here was a similar situation
to the present,
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that the war could be as desperate
as that, that there were still
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possibilities to turn it round,
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and that it could
be brought to victory.
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Since the start of the campaign
against the Soviet Union,
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Germany's new Frederick the Great,
Adolf Hitler, had chosen
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to spend his time here, isolated
in a forest in East Prussia.
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This was his field headquarters,
known as the Wolf's Lair.
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Hitler said to one of his generals
that it was important to keep one's
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distance from the suffering on the
front line, so as not to feel pity.
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But even though he and his staff
were hundreds of miles away
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from the fighting, it still
wasn't possible to hide from
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the stark realities of this war.
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Just after the Soviets
started their counter-offensive,
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in December 1941, Hitler had gained
a new enemy - the Americans,
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with their vast industrial capacity.
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It was around this time that Hitler
held important discussions
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about increasing
the Nazi persecution of the Jews.
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How Hitler did this
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reveals a great deal
about how his leadership worked.
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Hitler hated
formal government meetings.
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Even though there was officially
still a German cabinet,
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Hitler had not allowed the cabinet
to meet since 1938.
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A charismatic leader like Hitler
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didn't want to take part
in some sort of committee meeting,
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where he might have to listen
to the views of others.
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Instead, at the Wolf's Lair,
Hitler met Heinrich Himmler,
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head of the SS,
on 18th December, 1941.
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And the killing of Jews
was discussed.
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Just between the two of them -
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unter vier Augen - under four eyes.
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Several hundred thousand Jews had
already been killed by the Nazis,
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mostly in the Soviet Union,
but now, starting in 1942, the Nazis
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tried to round up the Jews of Europe
and systematically murder them.
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Hitler authorised
the killings of the Holocaust,
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but many others sorted out
the detail of how it was to happen.
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And despite the scale of the crime,
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Hitler never had to deal with
any mass public protest in Germany
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about the deportation of the Jews.
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Hitler was always sensitive to
the mood of the general population,
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even during the war.
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What happened here in Bavaria
in 1941 shows just how responsive
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the Nazis could be to the feelings
of ordinary Germans.
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Bavaria was a largely Catholic area,
and when a leading Bavarian Nazi
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decreed that schools
should stop displaying crucifixes
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in the classroom,
there was public outrage.
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As a mother of eight,
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our Fuhrer awarded me
with the Mother's Cross in gold.
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It is incomprehensible to me
that my youngest,
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whom last Monday I led to school
for the first time,
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should not see a crucifix there,
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after his seven siblings
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have grown up in the shadow
of the crucifix, hitherto.
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I often contemplate and cannot solve
the mystery how such a measure
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is possible at all, since our Fuhrer
stands by his soldiers in the east
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and fights against Bolshevikism.
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00:21:14,260 --> 00:21:18,740
Despite the fact that Hitler
loathed Christianity himself,
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00:21:18,740 --> 00:21:21,740
the Nazis reversed the policy
on crucifixes,
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because it was damaging
German morale.
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With the disappearance
of the Russian winter,
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the Germans started
to recover their optimism.
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The Red Army counter-attack
had ground to a halt
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and, by the summer of 1942,
German units were advancing again,
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travelling across the steppes
in the south of Russia.
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00:22:02,300 --> 00:22:06,900
In less than eight weeks,
they advanced 500 miles.
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We were better soldiers
than the Russians. We were better.
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It filled us with pride
to advance that far to the east,
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further and further.
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We were all inspired by the belief
that we succeed in whatever we do,
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and that for us,
nothing is impossible.
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In August 1942,
the German Sixth Army reached
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the River Volga,
1,400 miles east of Berlin.
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And then, suddenly,
a broad silvery ribbon, the Volga.
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We knew this was the goal,
the ultimate goal of the war, maybe,
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to get to the Volga.
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It was an exciting feeling.
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But on the bank
of the Volga lay a city
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00:23:22,300 --> 00:23:27,020
still occupied by the Soviets,
a city then called Stalingrad.
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00:23:33,700 --> 00:23:36,740
Hitler ordered the commander
of the German Sixth Army,
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00:23:36,740 --> 00:23:40,020
Friedrich Paulus,
to take Stalingrad at once.
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And in a speech a few weeks later,
Hitler said:
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"You can rest assured no human being
can remove us from this place."
238
00:23:51,420 --> 00:23:55,180
But there was a growing disconnect
between the promises
239
00:23:55,180 --> 00:23:58,900
Hitler was making, and the ability
of his troops to achieve them.
240
00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:03,940
The basis
of his charismatic leadership
241
00:24:03,940 --> 00:24:07,980
had always been his certainty
that his vision was attainable.
242
00:24:07,980 --> 00:24:11,420
But now, with supply lines stretched
almost to breaking point,
243
00:24:11,420 --> 00:24:15,660
German generals questioned whether
their troops had the resources
244
00:24:15,660 --> 00:24:17,540
to do what their Fuhrer wanted.
245
00:24:31,820 --> 00:24:37,660
A meeting, here in Berlin in August
1942, at the aviation ministry,
246
00:24:37,660 --> 00:24:41,260
showed just how Hitler's
unrealistic style of leadership
247
00:24:41,260 --> 00:24:43,580
influenced those Nazis
closest to him.
248
00:24:47,580 --> 00:24:51,540
This giant office block,
one of the biggest in the world
249
00:24:51,540 --> 00:24:56,340
when it was opened, was built for
Reich Marshall Hermann Goering.
250
00:24:58,220 --> 00:24:59,780
A former fighter pilot,
251
00:24:59,780 --> 00:25:02,500
Goering was not only head
of the German airforce,
252
00:25:02,500 --> 00:25:05,100
he was also helping
to run the German economy.
253
00:25:10,860 --> 00:25:13,660
On the 6th August,
Goering met Nazi officials
254
00:25:13,660 --> 00:25:15,540
from the occupied territories.
255
00:25:15,540 --> 00:25:17,540
And Goering,
attempting to manage them
256
00:25:17,540 --> 00:25:21,420
in the same way Hitler would,
simply told them what he wanted.
257
00:25:23,180 --> 00:25:27,260
I have here reports from you
on how much you expect to deliver.
258
00:25:28,660 --> 00:25:32,140
This is nothing in view
of your territories.
259
00:25:32,140 --> 00:25:35,420
Last year, France delivered
550,000 tons of grain,
260
00:25:35,420 --> 00:25:38,940
and now, I demand 1.2 million.
261
00:25:38,940 --> 00:25:41,540
There will be
no discussion about it.
262
00:25:46,740 --> 00:25:49,380
They were unobtainable demands.
263
00:25:49,380 --> 00:25:51,700
And Goering
was constantly making them.
264
00:25:53,220 --> 00:25:57,940
So much so, that some people
who worked directly for him chose to
265
00:25:57,940 --> 00:26:01,780
kill themselves, when they couldn't
deliver what was asked of them.
266
00:26:04,860 --> 00:26:10,980
Luftwaffe General Ernst Udet
shot himself in 1941.
267
00:26:12,060 --> 00:26:15,900
As did Hans Jeschnonnek, chief
of the Luftwaffe General staff,
268
00:26:15,900 --> 00:26:17,460
in 1943.
269
00:26:20,980 --> 00:26:24,420
Jeschonnek left a suicide note,
in which he said:
270
00:26:24,420 --> 00:26:27,980
"It is no longer possible
to work with the Reich Marshall.
271
00:26:27,980 --> 00:26:29,220
"Long live the Fuhrer."
272
00:26:35,180 --> 00:26:38,860
Also desperate, as autumn
turned to winter in Stalingrad,
273
00:26:38,860 --> 00:26:41,580
were soldiers
of the German Sixth Army.
274
00:26:41,580 --> 00:26:44,420
They were finding
that fulfilling Hitler's order
275
00:26:44,420 --> 00:26:46,780
to take the city
was all but impossible.
276
00:26:55,460 --> 00:26:58,260
This was street fighting,
at close quarters,
277
00:26:58,260 --> 00:27:03,180
and the Germans were used to driving
their tanks across the steppes.
278
00:27:12,260 --> 00:27:15,700
You had to make your way
to the front ducking, crouching,
279
00:27:15,700 --> 00:27:18,540
kneeling.
Shots rang out from all sides,
280
00:27:18,540 --> 00:27:20,580
from the front, from behind,
281
00:27:20,580 --> 00:27:22,940
from above, from below.
282
00:27:22,940 --> 00:27:26,180
And all around you was the noise
of the artillery salvos.
283
00:27:27,860 --> 00:27:32,540
We were repeatedly told, another
100 metres, and you've done it,
284
00:27:32,540 --> 00:27:35,780
but how can it be done if you
just don't have the strength?
285
00:27:39,780 --> 00:27:43,980
Each attack resulted in such
a high number of losses, that it was
286
00:27:43,980 --> 00:27:47,820
easy to calculate how long it would
be before there was no-one left.
287
00:27:55,300 --> 00:27:59,540
In November 1942, Hitler learnt
that the Red Army had launched
288
00:27:59,540 --> 00:28:03,220
a huge offensive near Stalingrad,
and the German Sixth Army,
289
00:28:03,220 --> 00:28:06,060
fighting inside the city,
was now cut off.
290
00:28:09,420 --> 00:28:12,340
But he wouldn't let them
make a fighting retreat.
291
00:28:12,340 --> 00:28:15,380
He ordered them
to stay where they were.
292
00:28:15,380 --> 00:28:17,860
Hitler's stubbornness,
his intransigence,
293
00:28:17,860 --> 00:28:20,300
his refusal to listen
to the advice of others -
294
00:28:20,300 --> 00:28:23,220
qualities that had helped
make him seem a strong leader
295
00:28:23,220 --> 00:28:26,340
before the war -
were now revealed as weaknesses.
296
00:28:28,940 --> 00:28:32,100
Weaknesses compounded
during the Stalingrad crisis
297
00:28:32,100 --> 00:28:36,500
by Hitler's willingness to rely
on the promises of Herman Goering.
298
00:28:42,820 --> 00:28:45,820
Goering had boasted
that the Luftwaffe could supply
299
00:28:45,820 --> 00:28:47,420
the Sixth Army from the air.
300
00:28:52,220 --> 00:28:55,820
So all these soldiers
had to do in Stalingrad,
301
00:28:55,820 --> 00:28:58,700
freezing,
and surrounded by their enemy,
302
00:28:58,700 --> 00:29:02,780
was to rely on Hermann Goering
to keep his word.
303
00:29:11,820 --> 00:29:13,300
Back in Germany,
304
00:29:13,300 --> 00:29:18,420
the population was largely ignorant
of what was happening in Stalingrad.
305
00:29:18,420 --> 00:29:21,580
This was the film
that Goebbels's propaganda ministry
306
00:29:21,580 --> 00:29:24,340
chose to release for Christmas 1942.
307
00:29:37,260 --> 00:29:40,580
An emotional attempt to show
how German women and children
308
00:29:40,580 --> 00:29:43,620
still believed in victory,
and stood behind
309
00:29:43,620 --> 00:29:47,940
husbands and fathers at the front
line, and, crucially, their Fuhrer.
310
00:29:53,620 --> 00:29:58,100
But increasingly, it was a fantasy,
and this was the reality.
311
00:30:07,900 --> 00:30:11,780
On the 2nd of February 1943,
the last German soldiers
312
00:30:11,780 --> 00:30:14,500
surrendered to the Red Army
in Stalingrad.
313
00:30:17,180 --> 00:30:20,540
Goering's Luftwaffe hadn't been able
to provide the Sixth Army
314
00:30:20,540 --> 00:30:24,780
with adequate supplies and all
attempts to rescue them had failed.
315
00:30:36,180 --> 00:30:38,780
The Red Army
took more than 90,000 prisoners.
316
00:30:52,740 --> 00:30:56,060
The commander of the Sixth Army,
Friedrich Paulus,
317
00:30:56,060 --> 00:30:58,780
also fell into Soviet hands.
318
00:30:58,780 --> 00:31:01,620
He had been promoted by Hitler
to the rank of Field Marshal
319
00:31:01,620 --> 00:31:04,260
just before the German surrender.
320
00:31:04,260 --> 00:31:08,700
It was a hint that Hitler
wanted Paulus to commit suicide.
321
00:31:08,700 --> 00:31:10,900
German Field Marshals
were not expected
322
00:31:10,900 --> 00:31:12,700
to be captured alive in battle.
323
00:31:26,860 --> 00:31:30,780
Hitler was furious when he heard
that Paulus hadn't killed himself.
324
00:31:37,860 --> 00:31:40,660
At his headquarters,
he raged against him.
325
00:31:43,420 --> 00:31:47,060
"It hurts me so much, because
the heroism of so many soldiers
326
00:31:47,060 --> 00:31:51,020
"is obliterated by one single
spineless weakling.
327
00:31:51,020 --> 00:31:55,580
"What does this mean, "life"?
The individual has to die, anyway.
328
00:31:55,580 --> 00:31:57,620
"What lives on is the people."
329
00:32:00,820 --> 00:32:05,020
Hitler also spoke of how he wanted
those around him to behave,
330
00:32:05,020 --> 00:32:07,300
if the situation
ever seemed hopeless.
331
00:32:08,620 --> 00:32:12,020
"You stand together,
form an all-round defence,
332
00:32:12,020 --> 00:32:14,500
"and shoot yourself
with the last bullet."
333
00:32:17,620 --> 00:32:21,740
It was another sign of the potential
downside of having faith in Hitler.
334
00:32:23,060 --> 00:32:24,940
He couldn't have made it clearer.
335
00:32:24,940 --> 00:32:27,020
This war was all or nothing.
336
00:32:27,020 --> 00:32:28,380
Life or death.
337
00:32:29,820 --> 00:32:32,260
And death now seemed
the more likely option
338
00:32:32,260 --> 00:32:36,180
as the boasts of victory on the
Eastern Front rang ever more hollow.
339
00:33:28,220 --> 00:33:30,420
Now, in the spring of 1943,
340
00:33:30,420 --> 00:33:33,260
with the war going as badly
as this for the Germans,
341
00:33:33,260 --> 00:33:36,740
there were concerted attempts
to get rid of Hitler.
342
00:33:47,460 --> 00:33:50,900
Officers serving with Army Group
Centre on the Eastern Front
343
00:33:50,900 --> 00:33:54,980
wrapped up a bomb, pretending
it was two bottles of liqueur.
344
00:34:00,460 --> 00:34:03,660
One of them then passed on
the package to a passenger
345
00:34:03,660 --> 00:34:06,860
who was travelling
with Hitler on his plane.
346
00:34:06,860 --> 00:34:11,420
The conspirators wanted Hitler's
death to be blamed on a plane crash.
347
00:34:11,420 --> 00:34:14,500
That way, they wouldn't be
criticised by other officers
348
00:34:14,500 --> 00:34:16,940
who remained loyal to Hitler.
349
00:34:20,060 --> 00:34:23,940
But the bomb failed to go off,
and Hitler's plane landed safely.
350
00:34:29,540 --> 00:34:33,260
Though some army officers were
prepared to try and blow Hitler up,
351
00:34:33,260 --> 00:34:37,220
no-one could be found in 1943
who had access to Hitler
352
00:34:37,220 --> 00:34:42,060
and could bring himself to shoot
his Fuhrer face to face.
353
00:34:42,060 --> 00:34:46,060
At least one conspirator said
he was just not equal to the task.
354
00:34:48,940 --> 00:34:51,060
The legacy of his personal charisma
355
00:34:51,060 --> 00:34:53,820
might well have saved
Hitler's life that year.
356
00:34:58,020 --> 00:35:00,540
In the aftermath
of the defeat at Stalingrad,
357
00:35:00,540 --> 00:35:02,740
Hitler wasn't keen
to speak in public,
358
00:35:02,740 --> 00:35:05,700
and Josef Goebbels
attempted to raise morale.
359
00:35:49,140 --> 00:35:52,500
But Goebbels didn't just
offer the German people
360
00:35:52,500 --> 00:35:54,780
this fanatical talk of "total war."
361
00:35:54,780 --> 00:35:57,860
He also gave them
something else - escapism.
362
00:36:08,340 --> 00:36:09,820
In March 1943,
363
00:36:09,820 --> 00:36:14,220
one of the most expensive German
films of the period was released,
364
00:36:14,220 --> 00:36:16,540
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.
365
00:36:37,100 --> 00:36:40,620
"The entertainment film
had a political purpose.
366
00:36:40,620 --> 00:36:44,380
"That political purpose was to
get the audience off the streets,
367
00:36:44,380 --> 00:36:47,620
"away from their household cares
and family worries."
368
00:37:25,700 --> 00:37:28,100
Almost until the last day
of his life,
369
00:37:28,100 --> 00:37:31,700
Hitler would try to sell
his own fantasy to those around him,
370
00:37:31,700 --> 00:37:34,820
that Germany could still somehow
win this war.
371
00:37:37,020 --> 00:37:39,580
And to do this,
he relied in large part
372
00:37:39,580 --> 00:37:42,220
on his remaining charismatic powers.
373
00:37:45,140 --> 00:37:49,540
"I experienced examples of it,
of men who came to tell him
374
00:37:49,540 --> 00:37:53,380
"it could not go on any longer,
and even said that to him.
375
00:37:53,380 --> 00:37:58,300
"And then he talked for an hour
and then they went and said,
376
00:37:58,300 --> 00:38:00,100
"I want to give it another try."
377
00:38:01,500 --> 00:38:05,620
"Well, he had an enormously
strong will, you know, and he had
378
00:38:05,620 --> 00:38:09,660
"powers of persuasion that could
gloss over any rational arguments."
379
00:38:13,980 --> 00:38:17,420
This amateur footage
of Hitler with General Manstein
380
00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:20,900
gives a rare opportunity
to see Hitler interacting
381
00:38:20,900 --> 00:38:22,700
with his military commanders.
382
00:38:28,860 --> 00:38:30,500
"At the end of every meeting,
383
00:38:30,500 --> 00:38:33,820
"he would always personally turn
to the Field Marshal in charge
384
00:38:33,820 --> 00:38:37,620
"and say,
"But you're not going to abandon me."
385
00:38:37,620 --> 00:38:40,540
"And he took both his hands
and shook them.
386
00:38:40,540 --> 00:38:44,300
"He had an immense ability
to manipulate and influence people."
387
00:38:53,940 --> 00:38:56,260
When Hitler said goodbye
to Manstein,
388
00:38:56,260 --> 00:39:00,180
he looked him straight in the eye
and held on to his hand for longer,
389
00:39:00,180 --> 00:39:01,820
much longer, than normal.
390
00:39:31,020 --> 00:39:34,940
But Hitler's motivational tricks
were falling increasingly flat.
391
00:39:45,620 --> 00:39:51,020
On the 6th of June 1944 came D-Day,
the Allied landings in Normandy.
392
00:39:53,140 --> 00:39:56,860
'Fast rocket boats showered
the enemy with their rain of death.'
393
00:39:58,340 --> 00:39:59,780
Two weeks later,
394
00:39:59,780 --> 00:40:03,740
the Red Army launched a massive
offensive on the Eastern Front.
395
00:40:06,180 --> 00:40:09,300
All this demonstrated
the sheer scale of the resources
396
00:40:09,300 --> 00:40:11,860
at the disposal of the Allies,
397
00:40:11,860 --> 00:40:14,580
resources the Germans
could not hope to match.
398
00:40:14,580 --> 00:40:17,100
'Our beachhead to Berlin
was established.'
399
00:40:29,300 --> 00:40:30,980
It was against the background
400
00:40:30,980 --> 00:40:33,700
of these military catastrophes
for the Germans
401
00:40:33,700 --> 00:40:37,140
that the most famous attempt
on Hitler's life was made,
402
00:40:37,140 --> 00:40:41,060
here at the Wolf's Lair
on the 20th of July, 1944.
403
00:40:44,900 --> 00:40:48,020
Paradoxically, it would also show
the lingering power
404
00:40:48,020 --> 00:40:50,140
of Hitler's charismatic authority.
405
00:40:53,300 --> 00:40:55,260
Count Claus von Stauffenberg,
406
00:40:55,260 --> 00:40:58,060
appalled at the way
Hitler was leading Germany,
407
00:40:58,060 --> 00:41:01,900
planted a bomb under the table
at Hitler's midday conference.
408
00:41:12,860 --> 00:41:16,260
Stauffenberg then hurried
to the nearby military airfield
409
00:41:16,260 --> 00:41:20,060
and flew to Berlin, intending
to help co-ordinate the coup there.
410
00:41:28,580 --> 00:41:32,660
Ahead of Stauffenberg, a number
of other plotters had arrived here,
411
00:41:32,660 --> 00:41:36,620
at these offices of the German Army,
on the Bendlerstrasse in Berlin.
412
00:41:41,100 --> 00:41:44,220
Amongst the conspirators
in the building was the man who was
413
00:41:44,220 --> 00:41:47,780
supposed to be the new
German Head of State, Ludwig Beck,
414
00:41:47,780 --> 00:41:50,940
former Chief of Staff of the Army.
415
00:41:50,940 --> 00:41:53,180
He waited to see
how many other officers
416
00:41:53,180 --> 00:41:55,820
would pledge their support
for the coup.
417
00:41:55,820 --> 00:42:00,020
But the question they asked
was this - "Did Hitler still live?"
418
00:42:05,460 --> 00:42:07,580
And the answer was yes.
419
00:42:07,580 --> 00:42:11,260
Hitler had survived the bomb
attempt with only minor injuries.
420
00:42:11,260 --> 00:42:14,100
The wooden walls of the
conference room had blown out,
421
00:42:14,100 --> 00:42:15,740
dissipating the explosion.
422
00:42:20,380 --> 00:42:24,300
That evening, Major Remer, commander
of the Berlin Guard Battalion,
423
00:42:24,300 --> 00:42:29,580
was uncertain what to do, until he
spoke to Adolf Hitler on the phone.
424
00:42:29,580 --> 00:42:32,700
Hitler told him to suppress
the coup at once.
425
00:42:32,700 --> 00:42:34,420
Sofort, mein Fuhrer.
426
00:42:34,420 --> 00:42:37,580
It was the sound of Hitler's voice
that made Remer act.
427
00:42:39,340 --> 00:42:43,980
Forces loyal to Hitler re-took the
Army offices on the Bendlerstrasse.
428
00:42:43,980 --> 00:42:46,620
Stauffenberg and three
other plotters were taken out
429
00:42:46,620 --> 00:42:49,100
into this courtyard
and immediately shot.
430
00:42:50,340 --> 00:42:51,700
Over the next weeks,
431
00:42:51,700 --> 00:42:56,220
several thousand other suspects
were arrested, and 200 killed.
432
00:43:05,140 --> 00:43:09,300
In the early hours of the 21st
of July, Hitler spoke on the radio,
433
00:43:09,300 --> 00:43:12,060
to tell the German people
that he still lived.
434
00:44:03,500 --> 00:44:06,220
But public reaction
to the attempt on Hitler's life
435
00:44:06,220 --> 00:44:10,180
showed how deep the roots of his
charismatic power still reached.
436
00:44:11,180 --> 00:44:12,780
This response was typical.
437
00:44:14,860 --> 00:44:16,780
"I was outraged,
438
00:44:16,780 --> 00:44:20,500
"I was totally outraged that
something like this could happen.
439
00:44:20,500 --> 00:44:23,380
"It was a horrible experience
for me."
440
00:44:23,380 --> 00:44:25,940
"There was widespread relief
that the attack had failed
441
00:44:25,940 --> 00:44:28,620
"and Hitler gained a lot
of sympathy because of it."
442
00:44:29,740 --> 00:44:31,300
But this feeling of gratitude
443
00:44:31,300 --> 00:44:33,900
that Hitler had survived
the assassination attempt
444
00:44:33,900 --> 00:44:37,620
didn't mean that people had faith
that the war could still be won.
445
00:44:52,020 --> 00:44:55,380
Despite the image Goebbels'
propaganda tried to project,
446
00:44:55,380 --> 00:45:00,340
of an idyllic world
peopled by perfect Germans,
447
00:45:00,340 --> 00:45:02,860
Nazi internal intelligence reports
448
00:45:02,860 --> 00:45:07,180
detected a growing disenchantment
with the regime
449
00:45:07,180 --> 00:45:09,500
and real fear about what lay ahead.
450
00:45:17,660 --> 00:45:20,260
And by the autumn of 1944,
451
00:45:20,260 --> 00:45:23,140
the Germans had a great deal
to be fearful about.
452
00:45:37,860 --> 00:45:40,540
The Red Army
was advancing into Germany.
453
00:45:43,140 --> 00:45:46,380
The countryside of East Prussia
was the first German land
454
00:45:46,380 --> 00:45:48,100
to be occupied by the Soviets.
455
00:45:50,940 --> 00:45:53,020
And in some
of the towns and villages,
456
00:45:53,020 --> 00:45:55,100
the Red Army committed atrocities.
457
00:45:55,100 --> 00:45:58,300
For Nazi propaganda, it was a gift,
458
00:45:58,300 --> 00:46:01,260
the reason to keep fighting
was clearer than ever...
459
00:46:01,260 --> 00:46:05,180
to stop people Hitler called
"animals from the steppes of Asia"
460
00:46:05,180 --> 00:46:07,300
from gaining control of Germany.
461
00:46:16,820 --> 00:46:19,540
What the Nazi propaganda
didn't say, of course,
462
00:46:19,540 --> 00:46:23,140
was that a strong motivation
for this terrible Soviet revenge
463
00:46:23,140 --> 00:46:26,260
was the countless horrors
the Germans had perpetrated
464
00:46:26,260 --> 00:46:27,580
in the Soviet Union.
465
00:46:39,900 --> 00:46:43,580
Further inside Germany,
faith in Hitler was being eroded.
466
00:46:47,700 --> 00:46:51,380
Charismatic leadership relies
on a connection between the leader
467
00:46:51,380 --> 00:46:55,540
and the led, a connection based
on faith that the leader knows best.
468
00:46:56,740 --> 00:46:58,940
That was now all but broken...
469
00:47:02,300 --> 00:47:04,620
..in large part
because towns and cities
470
00:47:04,620 --> 00:47:06,740
were being bombed to destruction,
471
00:47:06,740 --> 00:47:10,340
and many blamed
not just the Nazis in general,
472
00:47:10,340 --> 00:47:12,060
but Hitler, in particular.
473
00:47:16,820 --> 00:47:18,900
"The Fuhrer has it easy.
474
00:47:18,900 --> 00:47:21,020
"He doesn't
have to look after a family.
475
00:47:21,020 --> 00:47:23,260
"If the worst
comes to the worst in the war,
476
00:47:23,260 --> 00:47:27,060
"he'll leave us all in a mess
and put a bullet through his head."
477
00:47:31,620 --> 00:47:35,980
"It's always claimed that the Fuhrer
was sent to us from God.
478
00:47:35,980 --> 00:47:38,620
"I don't doubt it.
The Fuhrer was sent to us from God,
479
00:47:38,620 --> 00:47:41,620
"though not in order to save Germany,
but to ruin it."
480
00:47:43,620 --> 00:47:45,420
In the face of such criticism,
481
00:47:45,420 --> 00:47:48,700
Nazi terror increased
against the general population
482
00:47:48,700 --> 00:47:52,740
and thousands of Germans
were shot for defeatism.
483
00:47:56,020 --> 00:47:58,140
The irony was not lost
on these people that,
484
00:47:58,140 --> 00:47:59,940
just before the war began,
485
00:47:59,940 --> 00:48:04,780
one leading German had promised
that no bombs would fall on Germany.
486
00:48:05,860 --> 00:48:09,140
Hermann Goering,
commander of the Luftwaffe
487
00:48:09,140 --> 00:48:11,740
and serial breaker of promises.
488
00:48:21,860 --> 00:48:24,260
With much of Germany in ruins,
489
00:48:24,260 --> 00:48:28,780
in January 1945,
Adolf Hitler spoke on the radio.
490
00:48:28,780 --> 00:48:30,860
And he revealed
the gap that had grown
491
00:48:30,860 --> 00:48:34,100
between him and the German people.
492
00:48:34,100 --> 00:48:37,620
They knew the war was lost.
He didn't appear to.
493
00:49:05,940 --> 00:49:09,380
Amidst this crisis,
Joseph Goebbels thought he knew
494
00:49:09,380 --> 00:49:11,940
how to raise the morale
of the German people.
495
00:49:18,380 --> 00:49:19,940
He released Kolberg,
496
00:49:19,940 --> 00:49:24,700
a historical epic about the heroic
resistance of a small Prussian town
497
00:49:24,700 --> 00:49:28,380
to the invasion of the French,
140 years before.
498
00:49:32,220 --> 00:49:35,660
Goebbels was so keen on this film,
that he ordered thousands
499
00:49:35,660 --> 00:49:38,580
of German soldiers
to act in it as extras.
500
00:49:40,420 --> 00:49:43,860
"Goebbels even said to me
that it was more important
501
00:49:43,860 --> 00:49:47,660
"that the soldiers act in his film,
rather than fight at the front,
502
00:49:47,660 --> 00:49:49,500
"which was no longer worth doing,
503
00:49:49,500 --> 00:49:52,380
"since we were in the middle
of a total collapse."
504
00:49:58,220 --> 00:50:00,740
And the message Goebbels
wanted the German people
505
00:50:00,740 --> 00:50:04,220
to take from the film could scarcely
have been more obvious.
506
00:50:39,180 --> 00:50:45,140
By January 1945, the Red Army
had reached here, the River Oder,
507
00:50:45,140 --> 00:50:48,060
just 40 miles east of Berlin.
508
00:50:49,580 --> 00:50:53,340
They now outnumbered the German
defenders more than three to one.
509
00:51:00,220 --> 00:51:03,660
Over the next weeks,
the Soviets gathered their strength
510
00:51:03,660 --> 00:51:07,100
before crossing the Oder
in April 1945,
511
00:51:07,100 --> 00:51:11,860
and launching 2.5 million soldiers
against the German capital.
512
00:52:05,860 --> 00:52:08,100
In Berlin,
Hitler was living in a bunker
513
00:52:08,100 --> 00:52:10,140
underneath the Reich Chancellery,
514
00:52:10,140 --> 00:52:12,700
which stood on this site
on the Vossstrasse.
515
00:52:14,820 --> 00:52:16,140
As his empire crumbled,
516
00:52:16,140 --> 00:52:20,060
he tried to control
what was left of the German Army.
517
00:52:20,060 --> 00:52:23,740
But he also spent his time
dreaming of this...
518
00:52:33,140 --> 00:52:34,900
The city of Linz in Austria.
519
00:52:34,900 --> 00:52:36,940
Hitler had gone to school here
520
00:52:36,940 --> 00:52:40,020
and his parents were buried
in one of Linz's suburbs.
521
00:52:47,500 --> 00:52:50,180
Hitler had huge plans for Linz
522
00:52:50,180 --> 00:52:53,540
and a large-scale model of the new,
Hitler-approved Linz
523
00:52:53,540 --> 00:52:57,500
had been assembled in a cellar room
of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin,
524
00:52:57,500 --> 00:52:59,100
early in 1945.
525
00:53:02,540 --> 00:53:05,540
So that Hitler,
as the Red Army closed in on him,
526
00:53:05,540 --> 00:53:08,780
could fantasise about what
the new city would look like.
527
00:53:12,020 --> 00:53:14,100
Hitler had planned
to retire to Linz,
528
00:53:14,100 --> 00:53:18,140
and a giant Adolf Hitler museum
was to be built here.
529
00:53:18,140 --> 00:53:21,060
He also wanted the bodies
of his parents to be dug up
530
00:53:21,060 --> 00:53:23,740
from their existing graves
and re-interred
531
00:53:23,740 --> 00:53:27,580
in a specially-constructed bell
tower in the centre of the city.
532
00:53:30,940 --> 00:53:33,500
His ability to construct visions
of the future
533
00:53:33,500 --> 00:53:36,700
had always been a central part
of his charismatic appeal.
534
00:53:38,060 --> 00:53:42,900
But by now, his visions had parted
company completely with reality.
535
00:53:47,700 --> 00:53:50,420
Close by worked another fantasist.
536
00:53:53,060 --> 00:53:56,820
This was Joseph Goebbels'
Propaganda Ministry.
537
00:53:56,820 --> 00:54:00,940
And here, in April 1945,
this was on his mind.
538
00:54:06,220 --> 00:54:08,540
The power of film to alter history.
539
00:54:09,700 --> 00:54:13,540
Goebbels tried to convince his staff
to stay and make a last stand,
540
00:54:13,540 --> 00:54:17,060
because, he said,
"In 100 years time,
541
00:54:17,060 --> 00:54:19,660
"a film will be made
about this epic period."
542
00:54:21,020 --> 00:54:24,380
"Gentlemen, don't you want
to play a part in this film?
543
00:54:24,380 --> 00:54:28,140
"To be brought back to
life in 100 years' time.
544
00:54:28,140 --> 00:54:31,740
"I can assure you that it will
be a fine and elevating picture.
545
00:54:31,740 --> 00:54:35,980
"And for the sake of this prospect,
it is worth standing fast.
546
00:54:35,980 --> 00:54:39,300
"Hold out now,
so that 100 years hence,
547
00:54:39,300 --> 00:54:42,460
"the audience does not
hoot and whistle
548
00:54:42,460 --> 00:54:44,260
"when you appear on the screen."
549
00:54:45,460 --> 00:54:48,460
Goebbels planned what he thought
was a heroic ending
550
00:54:48,460 --> 00:54:51,300
for himself,
his wife and six children.
551
00:54:53,180 --> 00:54:55,540
They all came with him
to Hitler's bunker
552
00:54:55,540 --> 00:54:57,900
where Goebbels
had his children killed.
553
00:55:07,500 --> 00:55:10,420
After these children
had been murdered,
554
00:55:10,420 --> 00:55:13,500
Goebbels and his wife
committed suicide.
555
00:55:25,540 --> 00:55:30,500
Hitler had killed himself
the day before, on 30th April 1945
556
00:55:30,500 --> 00:55:33,460
and his body was taken
by other Nazis
557
00:55:33,460 --> 00:55:37,300
and burnt here, in what was then
the garden of the Reich Chancellery.
558
00:55:39,500 --> 00:55:42,420
Just over a week later,
Germany surrendered.
559
00:55:52,220 --> 00:55:55,780
In his last days,
underground in this bunker,
560
00:55:55,780 --> 00:55:58,460
Hitler had composed
a final testament,
561
00:55:58,460 --> 00:56:02,740
one that revealed his views
of the world had not altered.
562
00:56:02,740 --> 00:56:05,220
He still blamed
the Jews for everything,
563
00:56:05,220 --> 00:56:08,460
and possessed unshakeable confidence
in himself.
564
00:56:12,420 --> 00:56:16,860
"In these three decades, all my
thoughts, my actions, and my life
565
00:56:16,860 --> 00:56:19,020
"have been guided solely
566
00:56:19,020 --> 00:56:21,380
"by the love and loyalty
to my people."
567
00:56:25,180 --> 00:56:28,180
Even in his last hours,
Hitler had not changed.
568
00:56:31,900 --> 00:56:35,180
Almost all the elements
that had enabled him to become
569
00:56:35,180 --> 00:56:39,460
a charismatic leader still existed
within him, until his last breath.
570
00:56:39,460 --> 00:56:43,620
What had changed was other people's
perception of him.
571
00:56:57,220 --> 00:57:03,140
This was Hitler's legacy,
one of unparalleled destruction.
572
00:57:06,860 --> 00:57:08,940
Seven million Germans dead.
573
00:57:10,580 --> 00:57:17,100
Around 34 million dead in the
countries that had fought Nazism,
574
00:57:17,100 --> 00:57:20,140
with six million Jews alone
killed in the Holocaust.
575
00:57:26,060 --> 00:57:29,900
Hitler had said that those
he considered racially-pure Germans
576
00:57:29,900 --> 00:57:33,180
were better than anyone else,
and many had believed him.
577
00:57:41,380 --> 00:57:44,860
Hitler had not hypnotised
these people into supporting him.
578
00:57:50,060 --> 00:57:53,620
They had chosen to follow
a leader they felt had charisma.
579
00:58:00,780 --> 00:58:05,460
And this, in the end, was where
their belief in Hitler had led them.
580
00:58:36,580 --> 00:58:39,620
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581
00:58:40,260 --> 00:58:43,313
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51584
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