All language subtitles for Channel4.Warlords.1of4.Hitler.vs.Stalin.x264.AC3.MVGroup.Forum.eng

Narrator: ON JULY 6, 1940,
IN BERLIN,

ADOLF HITLER CELEBRATED
HIS VICTORY IN EUROPE.

HIS ARMY CHIEF CALLED HIM "THE
GREATEST WARLORD IN HISTORY."

FROM MOSCOW,
HITLER'S COLLABORATOR,

THE RUSSIAN LEADER
JOSEF STALIN,

HAD SENT HIS CONGRATULATIONS.

IN LONDON, THE BRITISH PRIME
MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL

WAS ISOLATED.

IN WASHINGTON, THE AMERICAN
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT

STOOD ALOOF.

IN THE COMING 5 YEARS,

EVERYTHING IN THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN THESE 4 MEN
WOULD CHANGE

IN WAYS THAT SEEMED
UNIMAGINABLE.

Narrator: WHILE THEIR NATIONS
FOUGHT A WAR OF WEAPONS...

THESE 4 GREAT WARLORDS
OF THE 20th CENTURY

FOUGHT A WAR OF THE MIND.

President Roosevelt:
WHAT STARTED AS A EUROPEAN WAR

HAS DEVELOPED INTO
A WAR FOR WORLD DOMINATION.

Narrator: AT THE HEART
OF THIS PRIVATE WAR WAS

A SERIES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DUELS
IN WHICH THEY LIED,

SCHEMED, CHARMED, FLATTERED,
AND DECEIVED TO WIN.

WHAT WAS CURIOUS WAS THAT
THESE DUELS TOOK PLACE

NOT BETWEEN ENEMIES BUT
BETWEEN MEN WHO, AT THE TIME,

WERE ALLIES.

YET, THEIR BEHAVIOR WAS
EGOTISTIC, TEMPESTUOUS,

MONSTROUS, AND POLITICALLY,
DESPITE THE ROSY GLOW

IN WHICH SOME ARE SEEN TODAY,
ALWAYS SELFISH.

WE SHALL NEVER CEASE
TO PERSEVERE AGAINST THEM

TILL THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT
A LESSON WHICH THEY...

Narrator: THE DUELS OF THE
WARLORDS DECIDED THE STRATEGY

FOR THE GREATEST BATTLES
IN HISTORY.

THEY WERE ALSO THE EPICENTER OF
A SEISMIC SHIFT IN WORLD POWER.

FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN EMPIRES
TO THE AGE OF

TWO IDEOLOGICALLY OPPOSED
SUPERPOWERS

WITH DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES

FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS
OF PEOPLE.

Narrator: OVER SALZBERG
IN SOUTHERN GERMANY,

ONE OF THE WORLD'S
LOVELIEST PLACES...

IT WAS HERE IN AUGUST 1939
THAT ADOLF HITLER WAS THINKING

THE UNTHINKABLE.

HITLER HAD SET HIS HEART
ON INVADING POLAND,

AND HIS GENERALS HAD TOLD HIM

HE MUST ATTACK
BEFORE THE AUTUMN RAINS CAME.

BUT BRITAIN AND FRANCE HAD SAID
THEY WOULD GO TO WAR FOR POLAND.

ONE THING STOOD IN HITLER'S WAY:

THE FEAR THAT RUSSIA WOULD
ALSO TURN AGAINST HIM

AND PROPEL INTO A WAR
ON TWO FRONTS.

THIS WAS THE VERY THING
IMPRINTED IN HITLER'S MIND,

AS HAVING HELPED TO LOSE GERMANY
THE FIRST WORLD WAR

20 YEARS BEFORE.

THERE WAS ONLY ONE WAY OUT:

A PACT WITH HIS GREATEST
IDEOLOGICAL ENEMY--JOSEF STALIN.

HITLER PUT OUT FEELERS
TO MOSCOW.

THOUGH HE LITTLE REALIZED IT,

HE WAS INSTIGATING
A MENTAL DUEL WITH STALIN,

WHICH OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS,
WOULD DECIDE THE DESTINY

OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

STALIN WAS DEEPLY SUSPICIOUS
OF HITLER'S APPROACH.

HE SPENT HOURS READING
"MEIN KAMPF,"

WRITTEN 15 YEARS BEFORE
UNDERLINING KEY PASSAGES,

LIKE HITLER'S VIEWS OF
THE BOLSHEVIK LEADERS--

MEN SUCH AS STALIN HIMSELF.

Actor as Hitler:
"NEVER FORGET THAT THE RULERS

"OF PRESENT-DAY RUSSIA ARE
COMMON, BLOOD-STAINED CRIMINALS,

THAT THEY ARE
THE SCUM OF HUMANITY."

Narrator: BUT STALIN
COULD SEE THAT HITLER WAS

NOW DESPERATE FOR A DEAL
AND OFFERING TO SEND

HIS FOREIGN MINISTER,
RIBBENTROP, TO MOSCOW.

STALIN DECIDED
HE WOULD GO WITH HITLER.

HITLER'S PROPAGANDA CHIEF,
JOSEPH GOEBBELS

NOTED IN HIS DIARY:

Actor as Goebbels:
"22 OF AUGUST, 1939.

"NON-AGGRESSION PACT
WITH MOSCOW PERFECT.

"RIBBENTROP IN MOSCOW
ON WEDNESDAY.

"THAT IS SOMETHING.
WE'RE ON TOP AGAIN.

NOW WE CAN SLEEP
MORE EASILY."

Narrator: ON AUGUST 23,
RIBBENTROP LANDED IN MOSCOW.

BUT HITLER NEEDED ONE PIECE
OF REASSURANCE.

HE SENT HIS PERSONAL
PHOTOGRAPHER HEINRICH HOFFMANN

TO FILM STALIN'S EARLOBES

TO SEE WHETHER THEY WERE
INGROWN AND JEWISH

OR SEPARATE AND ARYAN.

THEY WERE SEPARATE.

STALIN PASSED HITLER'S TEST.

SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT,
ON AUGUST 24, 1939,

THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT
WAS SIGNED

AND WITH IT A SECRET PROTOCOL
UNDER WHICH GERMANY AND RUSSIA

WOULD CARVE POLAND
INTO TWO.

HITLER PHONED RIBBENTROP.

Actor as Hitler: "THIS WILL HIT
LIKE A BOMBSHELL."

Narrator: BUT, AS GOEBBELS
NOTED, IT WAS NOT STRENGTH

BUT FEAR OF STALIN KNIFING HIM
IN THE BACK THAT HAD FORCED

HITLER INTO HISTORY'S
BIGGEST U-TURN.

Actor as Goebbels: THE FUHRER
BELIEVES HE'S IN THE POSITION

OF SCROUNGING FOR FAVORS,
AND BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS.

IN TIMES OF FAMINE,
THE DEVIL FEEDS ON FLIES.

Narrator: IN THE KREMLIN,
STALIN PROPOSED A TOAST.

Actor as Stalin: I KNOW HOW MUCH
THE GERMAN NATION LOVES

ITS FUHRER.

I SHOULD, THEREFORE,
LIKE TO DRINK HIS HEALTH.

Narrator: BUT LIKE HITLER,

STALIN WAS ALSO
ACTING FROM FEAR

THAT HITLER WOULD ATTACK HIM.

THAT EVENING,
HE TOLD HIS INNER CIRCLE:

Actor as Stalin:
OF COURSE, IT'S ALL A GAME

TO SEE WHO CAN FOOL WHOM.

HE THINKS HE'S OUTSMARTED ME,

BUT ACTUALLY IT'S
I WHO'S TRICKED HIM.

Narrator: STALIN HAD FOUND
A BEDFELLOW FOR WHOSE CUNNING

HE HAD HELD A LONG
AND SNEAKING ADMIRATION.

BACK IN 1934, STALIN HAD
OBSERVED HITLER ELIMINATE

HIS RIVALS WITHIN THE NAZI PARTY

IN THE SO-CALLED
"NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES."

HE REMARKED:

Actor as Stalin: DID YOU HEAR
WHAT HAPPENED IN GERMANY?

SOME FELLOW, THAT HITLER.
SPLENDID.

THAT'S A DEED OF SOME SKILL.

Narrator: HITLER HAD FELT
NO SUCH MUTUAL ADMIRATION.

IN HIS EARLY YEARS IN POWER,

HE WAS SET ON THE DREAMS
OF "MEIN KAMPF--"

AN ALLIANCE WITH BRITAIN'S
SEA EMPIRE,

WHILE HE EXPANDED TO THE EAST
AND BUILT HIS GERMAN LAND EMPIRE

ON THE CONTINENT.

ONLY WHEN THAT PLAN
HAD CLEARLY FAILED

DID HITLER BEGIN
TO SEE IN STALIN

SOMEONE HE MIGHT
DO BUSINESS WITH.

STALIN WAS THE FIRST OF THE TWO
TO BE A MASS MURDERER.

HIS TERRORS KILLED MILLIONS.

HE ONCE COMPARED HIS VICTIMS
WITH THE BOYAR LANDOWNERS

MASSACRED BY IVAN THE TERRIBLE
400 YEARS BEFORE.

Actor as Stalin: WHO'S GOING
TO REMEMBER ALL THIS RIFF RAFF

IN 10 OR 20 YEARS' TIME?

NO ONE!

WHO REMEMBERS THE NAMES
NOW OF THE BOYARS

IVAN THE TERRIBLE GOT RID OF?

NO ONE.

Narrator: A WEEK BEFORE
HE INVADED POLAND,

HITLER MADE AN EERILY SIMILAR
REMARK TO HIS GENERALS.

Actor as Hitler: GENGHIS KHAN
HAD MILLIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN

KILLED BY HIS OWN WILL

AND WITH A GAY HEART.

HISTORY SEES HIM ONLY
AS A GREAT STATE BUILDER.

AND WHO, AFTER ALL, SPEAKS
TODAY OF THE ANNIHILATION

OF THE ARMENIANS?

Narrator: FOR BOTH MEN, MASS
MURDER WAS JUST ANOTHER WEAPON

IN THE IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE.

THE STATE--WHETHER COMMUNIST
OR NAZI--WAS SUPREME.

INDIVIDUALS WERE
ITS DISPOSABLE TOOLS.

THEY EVEN EXTENDED THIS IDEA
TO THEIR DOMESTIC LIVES.

HITLER HAD SECRET MISTRESSES--

MOST NOTABLY EVA BRAUN,
BUT IN PUBLIC,

NO WOMAN COULD COME BETWEEN HIM
AND HIS NATION.

ONE OF HIS SECRETARIES RECALLED
THAT HE EMPHASIZED

AGAIN AND AGAIN:

Actor as Hitler:
MY LOVER IS GERMANY.

Narrator: STALIN DID
MARRY--TWICE AND HAD CHILDREN.

BUT THE SUICIDE OF HIS SECOND
WIFE NADYA IN 1932

FURTHER BRUTALIZED HIM.

ECHOING HITLER,
HE TOLD AN ASSOCIATE:

Actor as Stalin: A TRUE
BOLSHEVIK SHOULDN'T AND COULDN'T

HAVE A FAMILY BECAUSE
HE SHOULD GIVE HIMSELF

WHOLLY TO THE PARTY.

Narrator: STALIN
TOLD HIS SON, VASSILY:

Actor as Stalin: I'M NOT STALIN.
STALIN IS SOVIET POWER.

Narrator: NOW, IN AUGUST 1939,
THESE TWO GREAT

IDEALOGICALLY-OPPOSED WARLORDS
WERE INEXTRICABLY LINKED.

8 DAYS AFTER THE SIGNING
OF THE PACT,

HITLER INVADED POLAND.

BRITAIN DECLARED WAR.

WINSTON CHURCHILL REJOINED
THE BRITISH CABINET.

STALIN PUBLICLY SUPPORTED
HIS NAZI COLLABORATOR.

HE TOLD THE WORLD:

Actor as Stalin: IT IS NOT
GERMANY WHO HAS ATTACKED

ENGLAND AND FRANCE,
BUT ENGLAND AND FRANCE

WHO HAVE ATTACKED GERMANY.

Narrator: THE ENSLAVEMENT
OF POLAND FURTHER UNITED

THE TWO EXTREME PROPONENTS
OF TOTALITARIAN VIOLENCE.

SS UNITS KILLED 60,000 JEWS
AND MEMBERS OF

THE POLISH RULING CLASS.

IT WAS HITLER'S FIRST EXPERIENCE
OF MASS MURDER

AND PROFOUNDLY
INFLUENCED HIM.

IT SHOWED HIM HIS FOLLOWERS
WOULD ACTUALLY DO IT.

STALIN'S SECRET POLICE,
THE N.K.V.D.,

LONG-VERSED IN MASS KILLING,
WOULD CARRY OUT

SIMILAR MASSACRES
IN THE EAST OF POLAND.

AMONG THEIR VICTIMS WERE
MORE THAN 20,000 POLISH OFFICERS

AND POLITICAL PRISONERS WHOSE
BODIES WOULD BE DISCOVERED

3 YEARS LATER.

AS THEIR SECRET POLICE
MUTILATED POLAND,

THE TWO DICTATORS FACED
THEIR DESTINIES HAND IN HAND.

OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS,
IN A MIND WAR UNPARALLELED

IN WORLD HISTORY,

THEY WOULD BOTH BECOME GRIPPED
BY A SERIES OF DELUSIONS

THAT WOULD LEAD THEM
INTO COLOSSAL ERROR

AND THE BLOODIEST CONFLICT
THERE HAS EVER BEEN.

Narrator: STALIN HAD ENTERED
HIS PACT WITH HITLER

WITH OPEN EYES.

HE NEVER DOUBTED HE WAS
SUPPING WITH THE DEVIL.

BUT HE BELIEVED THE PACT WOULD
GIVE THE SOVIET UNION

BOTH PROTECTION
AND OPPORTUNITY.

JUST A WEEK AFTER
THE NAZIS INVADED POLAND,

HE TOLD HIS INNER CIRCLE:

Actor as Stalin: A WAR IS ON
BETWEEN TWO GROUPS

OF CAPITALIST COUNTRIES.

HITLER, WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING IT
OR DESIRING IT,

IS SHAKING AND UNDERMINING
THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM.

WE CAN MANEUVER, PIT ONE SIDE
AGAINST THE OTHER

TO SET THEM FIGHTING WITH EACH
OTHER AS FIERCELY AS POSSIBLE.

Narrator: STALIN WAS ALSO EYEING
UP A FURTHER DESIRABLE OUTCOME:

THE CHANCE TO EXPAND
HIS COMMUNIST EMPIRE.

Actor as Stalin: WHAT WOULD BE
THE HARM IF, AS A RESULT OF

THE ROUT OF POLAND, WE WERE
TO EXTEND THE SOCIALIST SYSTEM

ONTO NEW TERRITORIES
AND POPULATIONS?

Narrator: FOR HITLER,
THE PACT ALSO OPENED THE DOOR

TO CONQUEST.

HE COULD NOW TURN
ALL HIS ENERGY AND ATTENTION

TO PLANNING THE INVASION
OF FRANCE.

JOSEPH GOEBBELS NOTED
HITLER'S HOPES

FOR A LONG-TERM COLLABORATION
WITH STALIN.

Actor as Goebbels:
1 OF OCTOBER 1939:

CONFERENCE WITH
THE FUHRER IN PRIVATE.

HE IS CONVINCED
OF RUSSIA'S LOYALTY.

AFTER ALL, STALIN IS SET
TO POCKET A HUGE PROFIT.

Narrator: BUT STALIN SAW
NO SUCH LOYALTY IN HITLER.

"MEIN KAMPF"
WAS ETCHED IN HIS MIND--

ABOVE ALL, HITLER'S YOUTHFUL
AMBITIONS TO CONQUER

RUSSIAN TERRITORY
FOR THE NEW GERMAN REICH.

Actor as Hitler: IF WE SPEAK
OF TERRITORY IN EUROPE TODAY,

WE CAN PRIMARILY HAVE IN MIND

ONLY RUSSIA AND HER VASSAL
BORDER STATES.

Narrator: BECAUSE HE CALCULATED
THAT HITLER MIGHT STILL

ONE DAY TURN ON HIM,
STALIN SET OUT TO BUILD

A LINE OF BUFFER ZONES
TO PROTECT HIMSELF

AGAINST POSSIBLE NAZI ATTACK.

HE FORCED THE BALTIC STATES--
LITHUANIA, ESTONIA, AND LATVIA--

TO ACCEPT RUSSIAN GARRISONS.

HE TOLD A LATVIAN DELEGATION:

Actor as Stalin: THERE HAS BEEN
AN UNEXPECTED TURN

BUT ONE CANNOT RELY UPON IT.

WE MUST BE PREPARED IN TIME.

OTHERS WHO WERE NOT PREPARED
PAID FOR IT.

THE GERMANS MIGHT ATTACK.

Narrator: STALIN ALSO TRIED
TO BULLY FINLAND

INTO GIVING HIM A SWATHE OF
TERRITORY AS A FURTHER BUFFER.

THE FINS REFUSED.

STALIN INVADED THEIR COUNTRY.

IT WAS A DISASTER.

WITHIN DAYS, THOUSANDS OF
FROZEN RUSSIAN CORPSES

LITTERED THE SNOW.

FINALLY, THE FINS WERE BEATEN
BUT NOT BEFORE KILLING

125,000 RUSSIAN SOLDIERS.

STALIN SENT IN HIS
POLITICAL COMMISSARS

TO SHOOT THE SOVIET COMMANDERS.

BUT THE REAL FAULT
WAS HIS OWN.

HIS TERROR HAD GOT RID OF
THE RED ARMY'S BEST OFFICERS.

AS GOEBBELS NOTED,
THE RED ARMY'S INCOMPETENCE

OFFERED HITLER
YET MORE COMFORT.

Actor as Goebbels:
15 OF MARCH 1940.

THE RUSSIANS CAN NEVER
BECOME DANGEROUS FOR US.

IF STALIN SHOOTS
HIS OWN GENERALS,

WE WON'T NEED TO DO IT.

SO FAR, WE'VE HAD NOTHING
BUT ADVANTAGES

FROM OUR ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA.

Narrator: ON MAY 10, 1940,

HITLER, WITH HIS EASTERN
FRONT SECURED BY STALIN,

LAUNCHED HIS BLITZKRIEG
TO THE WEST.

THE GERMAN ARMY SLICED THROUGH
FRANCE, BELGIUM, AND HOLLAND.

THE BRITISH WERE DRIVEN
FROM THE CONTINENT.

FOR HITLER, IT WAS A TRIUMPH.

FOR STALIN, A DISASTER.

NIKITA KRUSCHEV,
LATER RUSSIA'S PRIME MINISTER,

RECALLED STALIN'S REACTION
TO HITLER'S LIGHTNING VICTORIES.

Actor as Kruschev:
I REMEMBER BEING WITH STALIN

HE WAS EXTREMELY NERVOUS.

HE WAS RACING AROUND,
CURSING LIKE A CAB DRIVER.

HE CURSED THE FRENCH,
HE CURSED THE ENGLISH,

HOW COULD THEY ALLOW HITLER
TO DEFEAT THEM,

TO CRUSH THEM?

STALIN NOT ONLY SAW THE
SUPERIORITY OF THE GERMAN ARMY,

HE KNEW THAT THE GERMANS
SENSED OUR WEAKNESS

BECAUSE OF THE WAR
WE HAD FOUGHT WITH FINLAND.

Narrator: ON JUNE 17, 1940,

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT
SUED FOR PEACE.

THE LONG-LASTING AND MUTUALLY
DESTRUCTIVE WAR

OF THE CAPITALIST
AND FASCIST STATES

WHICH STALIN HAD
SO GLEEFULLY ANTICIPATED

WAS OVER IN A TRICE.

THE NEXT DAY, AS HITLER
CELEBRATED IN MUNICH

WITH THE ITALIAN DICTATOR
MUSSOLINI,

STALIN, WITH GRITTED TEETH,
SENT HIS CONGRATULATIONS

ON THE WEHRMACHT'S
SPLENDID SUCCESS.

FOR HITLER, VICTORY HAD
LANCED A BOIL.

GERMANY'S DEFEAT IN THE FIRST
WORLD WAR HAD BEEN AVENGED.

NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN HIS POLITICAL LIFE,

HE WANTED A REST FROM CONQUEST.

AND, REVERTING
TO HIS OLD INSTINCTS,

PEACE WITH BRITAIN.

THE ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER,
COUNT GALEAZZO CIANO,

WAS ALSO IN MUNICH
AND OBSERVED

HITLER'S STATE OF MIND.

Actor as Ciano: HITLER MAKES
MANY RESERVATIONS

ON THE DESIRABILITY OF
DISMANTLING THE BRITISH EMPIRE

WHICH HE CONSIDERS EVEN TODAY
TO BE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR

IN WORLD EQUILIBRIUM.

HITLER IS NOW LIKE THE GAMBLER
WHO, HAVING MADE THE BIG WIN,

WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE THE TABLE
RISKING NOTHING MORE.

Narrator: BUT STALIN
FEARED THAT HITLER,

HAVING WON HIS VICTORY
IN THE WEST,

MIGHT IMMEDIATELY BE TEMPTED
BY HIS LONG-HELD AMBITION

OF EXPANDING TO THE EAST.

STALIN NOW EMBARKED ON
A HUGELY RISKY DOUBLE STRATEGY--

GOING ON A 10 DAY LAND GRAB TO
EXPAND AND PROTECT HIS EMPIRE

WHILE ALSO TRYING
NOT TO PROVOKE HITLER.

HE OCCUPIED THE BALTIC STATES
AND BESSARABIA,

THE NORTHERN PROVINCE
OF ROMANIA.

THIS WAS ALLOWED UNDER
THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT.

BUT HE ALSO DECIDED TO INVADE
ANOTHER ROMANIAN PROVINCE--

BUKOVINA.

IT WAS NOT ASSIGNED TO STALIN
UNDER THE PACT.

HITLER'S CHIEF OF STAFF,
GENERAL FRANZ HALDER,

NOTED HITLER'S ALARM
IN HIS DIARY.

Actor as Halder:
25th OF JUNE, 1940.

THE ISSUE OF BUKOVINA RAISED
BY RUSSIA IS NEW

AND GOES BEYOND OUR AGREEMENTS
WITH THE RUSSIANS.

Narrator: AT PRECISELY
THIS MOMENT,

STALIN'S DUEL WITH HITLER
TOOK A SECOND, UNEXPECTED TWIST.

THE SOVIET LEADER RECEIVED
HIS FIRST LETTER

FROM WINSTON CHURCHILL, WHO HAD
BECOME BRITISH PRIME MINISTER

ON THE DAY HITLER LAUNCHED
HIS BLITZKRIEG.

IT WAS AN APPEAL TO STALIN
TO BEWARE OF HITLER

AND COME OVER
TO BRITAIN'S SIDE.

STALIN DID NOT REPLY.

INSTEAD, TO SHOW HITLER
HIS LOYALTY,

HE REPORTED CHURCHILL'S APPROACH
TO BERLIN.

HITLER NOW BEGAN TO MAKE
HIS OWN INTERPRETATION

OF THESE TWO PIECES
OF EVIDENCE:

STALIN'S RAPACITY IN ROMANIA
AND CHURCHILL'S APPROACH.

BEFORE THE WAR, HITLER
HAD DESCRIBED TO HIS ADJUTANT

HIS SECRETIVE MENTAL PROCESSES.

Actor as Hitler: BEAR IN MIND
THAT MY BRAIN WORKS

LIKE A CALCULATING MACHINE.

EACH PERSON WHO MAKES
A PRESENTATION TO ME

INTRODUCES INTO
THIS CALCULATING MACHINE

A SMALL WHEEL OF INFORMATION.

THERE FORMS A CERTAIN PICTURE
OF A NUMBER ON EACH WHEEL.

I PRESS A BUTTON
AND THERE FLASHES INTO MY MIND

THE SUM OF ALL THIS INFORMATION.

Narrator: NOW THE HITLER
CALCULATING MACHINE

BEGAN TO BUILD
A CONSPIRACY THEORY

WHICH WOULD HAVE
DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES.

ON JULY 6, 1940,
HITLER, THE VICTOR IN EUROPE,

RETURNED TO BERLIN
TO A HERO'S WELCOME.

Actor as Goebbels:
OUR WONDERFUL JULY SUN SHINES

ALL OVER THE PLACE.

AN UNIMAGINABLE ECSTASY
FILLS THE CITY.

THE CROWD ROARS.

THE STATION LOOKS LIKE
A GREAT BANQUETING HALL.

THEN THE FUHRER ARRIVES.

A ROAR OF JOY FILLS
THE STATION.

Narrator: ON THIS DAY, HITLER'S
ARMY CHIEF, GENERAL KEITEL,

CALLED HIM "THE GREATEST
WARLORD IN HISTORY."

BUT AMID HIS TRIUMPH, HITLER WAS
INCREASINGLY TORMENTED

BY ONE OVERRIDING THOUGHT:

AS FAR AS HE WAS CONCERNED,
HE HAD WON THE WAR.

SO WHY DID THE BRITISH
NOT RECOGNIZE THAT FACT

AND MAKE PEACE WITH HIM?

HE BEGAN TO CONVINCE HIMSELF
THAT THERE MUST BE

SOME EXTERNAL FACTOR
THAT BRITAIN AND CHURCHILL

WERE RELYING ON.

A WEEK AFTER
THE DAY OF GLORY IN BERLIN,

GENERAL HALDER RECORDED
A MOMENTOUS DEVELOPMENT

IN HITLER'S REASONING.

Actor as Halder:
13 OF JULY, 1940.

THE FUHRER IS GREATLY PUZZLED
BY BRITAIN'S PERSISTENT

UNWILLINGNESS TO MAKE PEACE.

HE SEES THE ANSWER
IN BRITAIN'S HOPE IN RUSSIA.

Narrator: ON JULY 19, 1940,
IN A SPEECH TO THE REICHSTAG,

HITLER MADE HIS FINAL PLEA
FOR PEACE TO BRITAIN.

CHURCHILL AND THE BRITISH
WERE NOT INTERESTED.

LATER THAT DAY,

A FURTHER WHEEL OF INFORMATION
FROM THE UNITED STATES

ENTERED HITLER'S MIND.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS NOMINATED
BY THE DEMOCRAT PARTY

TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT
FOR THE THIRD TIME.

HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH CONTAINED
AN ATTACK ON NAZI AGGRESSION.

HITLER WAS NOW SEEING SPECTERS
ACROSS THE GLOBE.

Actor as Halder:
22 OF JULY, 1940.

THE FUHRER'S VIEW:

REASONS FOR CONTINUATION OF WAR
BY BRITAIN:

1--IT HOPED FOR
A CHANGE IN AMERICA.

2--IT PUTS HOPE IN RUSSIA.

STALIN IS FLIRTING WITH BRITAIN
TO KEEP HER IN THE WAR

AND TIE US DOWN.

Narrator: HITLER RETREATED TO
THE MOUNTAINS OF OBERSALZBERG.

THE DELUSION WAS BUILDING.

HERE THE SUMMER BEFORE,
HE'D BEEN DREAMING UP

HIS PACT WITH STALIN.

NOW HE SUSPECTED HIM.

AT THE END OF JULY,
HE ANNOUNCED TO HIS GENERALS

THE RESULTS OF WEEKS OF
AGONIZED REFLECTION.

Actor as Halder:
31 OF JULY, 1940.

11:30, BERGHOF.

FUHRER CONCLUDES: RUSSIA IS
THE FACTOR ON WHICH BRITAIN

IS RELYING THE MOST.

SOMETHING MUST HAVE
HAPPENED IN LONDON.

THE BRITISH WERE
COMPLETELY DOWN.

NOW THEY HAVE PERKED UP AGAIN.

WITH RUSSIA SMASHED, BRITAIN'S
LAST HOPE WOULD BE SHATTERED.

THE SOONER RUSSIA IS CRUSHED,
THE BETTER.

IF WERE TO START IN MAY, 1941,
WE WOULD HAVE 5 MONTHS

TO FINISH THE JOB.

Narrator: IT WAS, AS YET,
ONLY AN IDEA.

BUT TWO ENORMOUS DELUSIONS:

THE FIRST, THAT HE HAD ALREADY
WON THE WAR,

AND THE SECOND THAT
SOME SECRET DEAL WAS BREWING

BETWEEN BRITAIN AND RUSSIA,
WERE LEADING HITLER

DOWN THE ROAD TO CATASTROPHE.

Narrator: FOR HITLER,
THE INVASION OF RUSSIA WAS

STILL ONLY
A CONTINGENCY PLAN,

SHOULD ALL OTHER MEANS
OF FORCING THE BRITISH

TO MAKE PEACE FAIL.

THE AUTUMN OF 1940 NOW BROUGHT
4 LONG MONTHS OF FRUSTRATION.

THE R.A.F. DEFEATED
THE LUFTWAFFE

IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN.

PLANS FOR A CROSS-CHANNEL
INVASION WERE QUIETLY SHELVED.

YET, DESPITE THESE SETBACKS,
HITLER KIDDED HIMSELF

THAT HE'D DONE ENOUGH.

Actor as Halder:
15 OF OCTOBER, 1940.

FUHRER ON MILITARY SITUATION:
"WAR IS WON.

REST IS MERE QUESTION OF TIME."

Narrator: BUT HITLER COULD
STILL NOT FORCE TO BRITISH

TO COME TO TERMS.

AND HE HAD BECOME
SPLIT-MINDED ABOUT RUSSIA,

MOVING TROOPS
NEARER HER BORDERS

BUT ALSO WANTING STALIN
TO JOIN HIM IN THE FIGHT

AGAINST BRITAIN.

HITLER'S ADJUTANT,
MAJOR GERHARD ENGEL,

NOTED IN HIS DIARY:

Actor as Engel:
4 OF NOVEMBER, 1940.

FUHRER VISIBLY DEPRESSED.

HE CONVEYS THE IMPRESSION THAT
AT THE MOMENT HE DOES NOT KNOW

HOW THINGS SHOULD PROCEED.

Narrator: THEN CAME
THE DEFINING MOMENT.

ON NOVEMBER 12, 1940,

THE RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER,
VYACHESLAV MOLOTOV,

ARRIVED IN BERLIN
AT HITLER'S INVITATION.

MOLOTOV WAS GIVEN
THE FULL NAZI FANFARE,

BUT THE CONVERSATIONS
THAT FOLLOWED WERE TENSE.

HITLER'S PURPOSE IN SUMMONING
MOLOTOV WAS TO OFFER RUSSIA

A SHARE IN THE SPOILS
OF VICTORY

IF HE'D HELP THEM
FINISH OFF THE BRITISH.

HE TOLD HIM:

Actor as Hitler:
ENGLAND'S FINAL CAPITULATION

IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME.

FRAGMENTS OF ITS EMPIRE
WILL BE LEFT ALL OVER THE WORLD.

IT'S TIME TO THINK ABOUT
DIVISION OF THIS PROPERTY

WITHOUT A MASTER
AFTER OUR VICTORY.

Narrator: BUT STALIN WASN'T
INTERESTED IN JOINING

HITLER'S WAR OR SPECULATIVE
CARVE-UPS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO MOLOTOV
WERE TO FIND OUT

WHAT HITLER'S TROOP WERE UP
TO IN FINLAND AND ROMANIA--

PLACES RIGHT ON HIS DOORSTEP.

MOLOTOV PUT
THE QUESTIONS BLUNTLY.

HITLER GAVE VAGUE
REASSURANCES.

DESPITE THE SUPERFICIAL
COURTESIES,

MOLOTOV'S COLD ARROGANCE
AND HIS NEEDLING ON THE QUESTION

OF TERRITORY IN EASTERN EUROPE
INFURIATED HITLER,

AND IT REINVIGORATED HIM.

Actor as Engel:
15 OF NOVEMBER, 1940.

THE TALKS HAD SHOWN WHERE
THE RUSSIAN PLANS WERE HEADING.

MOLOTOV HAD LET THE CAT
OUT OF THE BAG.

FUHRER WAS REALLY RELIEVED.

IT WOULD NOT EVEN REMAIN
A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE.

Narrator: WHEN MOLOTOV
REPORTED BACK TO MOSCOW

ON THE TALKS IN BERLIN,

STALIN REALIZED THAT HITLER
WAS TURNING AGAINST HIM.

IN EARLY DECEMBER,
HE TOLD HIS GENERALS:

Actor as Stalin: WE KNOW
THAT HITLER IS INTOXICATED

BY HIS VICTORIES AND BELIEVES
THAT THE RED ARMY WILL NEED

AT LEAST 4 YEARS
TO PREPARE FOR WAR.

OBVIOUSLY 4 YEARS WOULD BE
MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR US,

BUT WE MUST BE READY
MUCH EARLIER.

WE WILL TRY TO DELAY THE WAR
FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS.

BUT HITLER WAS MOVING AT A PACE
STALIN COULD NOT IMAGINE.

ON DECEMBER 18, 1940,

HE ISSUED WAR DIRECTIVE
NUMBER 23.

Actor as Hitler: THE GERMAN
WEHRMACHT MUST BE PREPARED

BEFORE THE ENDING OF
THE WAR AGAINST ENGLAND

TO CRUSH SOVIET RUSSIA
IN A RAPID CAMPAIGN.

Narrator: THE INVASION DATE
WAS SET FOR MAY, 1941.

BUT BEHIND THE ORDER
LAY UNCERTAINTY.

Actor as Engel:
18 OF DECEMBER, 1940.

I'M CONVINCED THAT THE FUHRER
HIMSELF DOES NOT KNOW

HOW IT WILL TURN OUT.

HE'S VERY CONCERNED
AT THE LACK OF CLARITY

AS REGARDS THE STRENGTH
OF THE RUSSIANS.

HOPES FOR AN ENGLISH SURRENDER;

DOES NOT THINK AMERICA
WILL ENTER THE WAR.

Narrator: HITLER HAD FINALLY
MADE THE MOMENTOUS DECISION:

A WAR ON TWO FRONTS.

THE VERY THING HE'D SOUGHT
TO AVOID WHEN HE FIRST MADE

HIS PACT WITH STALIN.

BUT HE'D DELUDED HIMSELF
THAT ONE FRONT--BRITAIN--

WAS ALREADY WON.

IT SIMPLY REQUIRED
A KNOCKOUT BLOW AGAINST RUSSIA

FOR THE BRITISH
TO UNDERSTAND THEIR DEFEAT.

HITLER'S LINE OF REASONING
NEVER BEGAN TO OCCUR TO STALIN.

HE BELIEVED THAT HITLER EITHER
HAD TO BEAT CHURCHILL

OR MAKE A DEAL WITH HIM
BEFORE HE COULD THINK

OF TURNING AGAINST RUSSIA.

IN EARLY 1941,
HE TOLD POLITBURO MEMBERS:

Actor as Stalin:
WE MUST CHERISH NO ILLUSIONS.

FASCIST GERMANY IS CLEARLY
PREPARING FOR AN ATTACK

ON THE SOVIET UNION.

WHY DOES HITLER WANT TO MAKE
AN AGREEMENT WITH ENGLAND?

BECAUSE HE WANTS TO AVOID WAR
ON TWO FRONTS.

Narrator: STALIN WAS TRUSTING
HITLER TO ACT RATIONALLY.

AND TO FIGHT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA
AT THE SAME TIME

WAS CLEARLY IRRATIONAL.

BUT STALIN FAILED TO REALIZE

THAT, DESPITE
THEIR SIMILARITIES,

THERE WAS ONE PROFOUND
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

HIM AND HITLER
WHICH MADE HIS PERFECT LOGIC

IRRELEVANT:

HE HIMSELF WAS A METHODICAL,
CALCULATING, HARD-WORKING MAN,

A MASTER OF DETAIL,

PERSONALLY SIGNING DEATH LISTS
AT ONE EXTREME

AND AT THE OTHER KEEPING
THE TINIEST DETAILS OF

GOLD PRODUCTION IN HIS NOTEBOOK.

HITLER, BY CONTRAST,
WAS AT HEART AN IDLE DREAMER.

HE ONCE DESCRIBED WHY
HE'D LOVED THE MOUNTAINS

OF OBERSALZBERG.

Actor as Hitler:
WHEN I GO TO OBERSALZBERG,

I'M NOT DRAWN THERE MERELY
BY THE BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE.

I FEEL MYSELF
FAR FROM PETTY THINGS.

MY IMAGINATION IS STIMULATED.

WHEN I STUDY
A PROBLEM ELSEWHERE,

I SEE IT LESS CLEARLY.

I'M SUBMERGED BY THE DETAILS.

BY NIGHT AT THE BERGHOF,

I OFTEN REMAIN FOR HOURS
WITH MY EYES OPEN

CONTEMPLATING FROM MY BED
MOUNTAINS LIT UP BY THE MOON.

IT'S AT SUCH MOMENTS
THAT BRIGHTNESS ENTERS MY MIND.

Narrator: FOR HITLER,
THE BIG IDEA WAS NEVER

TO BE DISRUPTED BY SMALL FACTS.

AND HAVING MADE UP HIS MIND
TO ATTACK RUSSIA

FOR TACTICAL REASONS,

THE ORIGINAL AND BIGGEST IDEA
OF ALL WAS REASSERTING ITSELF:

THE IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE
AGAINST JEWS AND BOLSHEVIKS.

THROUGHOUT 1940, HITLER
HAD HARDLY MENTIONED THE JEWS.

BUT ON JANUARY 30, 1941,
IN HIS TRADITIONAL SPEECH

MARKING THE ANNIVERSARY
OF THE NAZIS' RISE TO POWER,

HE REPEATED A CHILLING THREAT

HE'D FIRST MADE
BEFORE WAR BROKE OUT.

Narrator: AT A SERIES OF
CONFERENCES WITH HIS GENERALS

IN THE SPRING OF 1941,

HITLER MADE HIS AIMS
BRUTALLY CLEAR.

Actor as Halder:
3 OF MARCH, 1941.

THE FORTHCOMING CAMPAIGN
WILL LEAD TO A SHOWDOWN

BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT
IDEOLOGIES.

THE JEWISH/BOLSHEVIK
INTELLIGENTSIA

MUST BE ELIMINATED.

30 OF MARCH: WE MUST FORGET
THE CONCEPT OF COMRADESHIP

BETWEEN SOLDIERS.

THIS IS A WAR OF EXTERMINATION.

Narrator: WHILE HITLER
PLANNED HIS ANNIHILATION,

STALIN STILL BELIEVED HE HAD
AT LEAST A YEAR TO PREPARE.

ON APRIL 13, 1941,
HE MOVED TO PROTECT HIS BACK,

SIGNING A PACT
WITH HITLER'S ALLY JAPAN.

STALIN WAS THRILLED
WITH HIS COUP

AND GOT HAPPILY TIPSY
WITH THE JAPANESE

FOREIGN MINISTER MATSUOKA.

BUT HE WAS STILL FOLLOWING
HIS DOUBLE STRATEGY.

AS HE SAID GOOD-BYE
TO MATSUOKA,

THE GERMAN MILITARY ATTACHE
IN MOSCOW WAS PRESENT.

STALIN TOLD HIM:

Actor as Stalin:
WE MUST REMAIN FRIENDS,

AND YOU MUST NOW DO
EVERYTHING TO THAT END.

WE WILL STAY FRIENDS
WITH YOU WHATEVER HAPPENS.

BUT STALIN KNEW SUCH LONG-TERM
FRIENDSHIP WAS A FANTASY.

SOON AFTER, HE TOLD GRADUATES
OF MOSCOW'S MILITARY ACADEMY:

Actor as Stalin:
THERE WILL BE WAR,

AND THE ENEMY WILL BE GERMANY.

Narrator: BUT THAT WAR
WOULD NOT HAPPEN YET.

UP UNTIL THIS POINT, STALIN'S
REASONING WAS IRREPROACHABLE.

HE'D FORESEEN THE EVENTUAL
CONFLICT WITH GERMANY

AND WAS STEADILY
PREPARING FOR IT.

BUT A BIZARRE TWIST
WOULD NOW PROPEL HIM

INTO HIS OWN HUGE DELUSION.

IN APRIL 1941, STALIN RECEIVED
HIS SECOND LETTER

FROM WINSTON CHURCHILL.

LIKE THE FIRST, IT WOULD HAVE
AN ELECTRIFYING EFFECT

ON HIS DUAL WITH HITLER.

CHURCHILL TOLD HIM
THE BRITISH HAD RECEIVED

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS
OF GERMAN TROOP MOVEMENTS

WHICH COULD ONLY BE PREPARATIONS
FOR A NAZI ATTACK ON RUSSIA.

STALIN WAS INSTANTLY
SUSPICIOUS--

NOT OF HITLER
BUT OF CHURCHILL.

HE TOLD HIS ARMY CHIEFS:

Actor as Stalin: BRITAIN IS
THREATENING US WITH THE GERMANS

AND THREATENING THE GERMANS
WITH THE SOVIET UNION.

THEY'RE PLAYING US
OFF AGAINST EACH OTHER.

Narrator: THEN ON MAY 10, 1941,

IN ONE OF THE WAR'S
STRANGEST MOMENTS,

HITLER'S DEPUTY RUDOLF HESS
TOOK OFF FROM GERMANY

IN A MESSERSCHMITT FIGHTER,
FLEW ACROSS THE NORTH SEA,

AND PARACHUTED
TO THE GROUND IN SCOTLAND.

AT THAT TIME,
STALIN'S ASSISTANT,

PRESENT AT HIS KEY MEETINGS,
WAS YURI CHEDYEV

WHO NOTED DOWN AND LATER
TYPED UP EVERYTHING STALIN SAID.

FROM CHEDYEV'S SECRET,
UNPUBLISHED RECORDS,

IT IS POSSIBLE TO PIECE TOGETHER
HOW CHURCHILL'S MESSAGE

AND HESS'S FLIGHT BEGAN
TO LEAD STALIN TOWARDS

A CONSPIRACY THEORY
WHICH WOULD HAVE

IMMENSELY DESTRUCTIVE
CONSEQUENCES FOR HIS COUNTRY.

3 DAYS AFTER HESS LANDED,

CHEDYEV RECORDED
THE INTERPRETATION STALIN GAVE

OF THESE TWO EVENTS.

Actor as Stalin: ON THE ONE
HAND, CHURCHILL SENDS US

A PERSONAL MESSAGE IN WHICH
HE WARNS US ABOUT HITLER'S

AGGRESSIVE INTENTIONS.

AND ON THE OTHER HAND,
THE BRITISH MEET HESS

WHO IS UNDOUBTEDLY HITLER'S
CONFIDANTE.

WHAT IS THE CONCLUSION THEN?

APPARENTLY WHEN CHURCHILL
SENT US HIS PERSONAL WARNING,

HE BELIEVED THAT WE WOULD
ACTIVATE OUR MILITARY MACHINE.

THEN HITLER WOULD HAVE DIRECT
AND FAIR REASON TO LAUNCH

A PREVENTIVE CRUSADE
AGAINST THE SOVIET UNION.

Narrator: IN STALIN'S EYES,
CHURCHILL'S WARNING WAS

DELIBERATELY DESIGNED
TO PROVOKE

A WAR BETWEEN
GERMANY AND RUSSIA.

AND CHURCHILL WAS MEETING HESS
TO TELL GERMANY

IT SHOULD STRIKE FIRST.

AS HE BROODED ON THIS IDEA,

STALIN CONCLUDED THAT CHURCHILL
WAS NOT THE ONLY PROVOCATEUR.

ON JUNE 5, HE TOLD
HIS MILITARY CHIEFS:

Actor as Stalin: ENGLAND,
FRANCE, AND AMERICA

SEE IN GERMANY THE ONLY HOPE
TO GET RID OF BOLSHEVISM

AND, THEREFORE, HELP THE NAZIS
IN ALL POSSIBLE WAYS

IN THEIR CRUSADE
TO THE EAST.

Narrator: THIS DEDUCTION--

THAT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONS
OF EUROPE AND AMERICA

WERE GANGING UP ON HIM

BECAME A BLINDING
ARTICLE OF FAITH.

THROUGHOUT MAY AND JUNE,
INTELLIGENCE REPORTS GAVE

WARNING AFTER WARNING
OF IMMINENT GERMAN ATTACK.

STALIN DISMISSED
EVERY ONE OF THEM

AS PART OF THE GREAT CONSPIRACY
TO PROVOKE HIM.

ON JUNE 12,
HE TOLD HIS GENERALS:

Actor as Stalin: I AM CERTAIN
THAT HITLER WILL NOT RISK

CREATING A SECOND FRONT
BY ATTACKING THE SOVIET UNION.

HITLER IS NOT SUCH AN IDIOT.

Narrator: MILLIONS OF
GERMAN TROOPS GATHERED

WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE
OF RUSSIA'S BORDERS.

OPERATION BARBAROSSA,
AS IT WAS NOW CALLED,

WAS SCHEDULED FOR 10 DAYS'
TIME--JUNE 22.

THE DUEL BETWEEN
HITLER AND STALIN

WAS REACHING ITS END GAME.

Narrator: AS OPERATION
BARBAROSSA DREW NEAR,

HITLER CONVINCED HIMSELF
HE WAS FULFILLING HIS DESTINY.

ON JUNE 16, 1941,
WITH 6 DAYS TO GO,

HE TOLD GOEBBELS:

Actor as Hitler: THAT WHICH
WE HAVE SPENT OUR LIVES FIGHTING

WE WILL NOW ANNIHILATE.

WHETHER RIGHT OR WRONG,
WE MUST WIN.

AND WHEN WE HAVE WON,
WHO WILL ASK ABOUT THE METHOD?

Narrator: THAT DAY A SOVIET SPY
IN THE LUFTWAFFE SENT

YET ANOTHER WARNING OF
IMMINENT GERMAN ATTACK.

STALIN RETORTED:

Actor as Stalin:
TELL THE SOURCE IN THE STAFF

OF THE GERMAN AIR FORCE
TO F... HIS MOTHER.

Narrator: ON JUNE 18,
STALIN'S TWO TOP GENERALS,

ZHUKOV AND TIMOSHENKO,

PLEADED WITH HIM
FOR A FULL ALERT.

STALIN REMINDED THEM THAT
HITLER COULD NOT ATTACK

WITHOUT FIRST DOING
A DEAL WITH BRITAIN.

Actor as Stalin: YOU HAVE TO
REALIZE THAT GERMANY WILL NEVER

FIGHT RUSSIA ON THEIR OWN.

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THIS.

Narrator: ON JUNE 20--
TWO DAYS TO GO--

HITLER CHOSE HIS FANFARE
FOR VICTORY:

A PASSAGE FROM LISZT'S
SYMPHONIC POEM "LE PRELUDE."

THOUGH STALIN STILL REFUSED
TO SEE IT COMING,

IT WAS NOW APPARENT
TO HIS CLOSEST ASSOCIATES

THAT THE NAZIS WERE
ON THEIR WAY.

ON JUNE 21, ONE OF THEM,
GEORGI DIMITROV,

WAS IN MOSCOW.

Actor as Dimitrov: RUMORS
OF AN IMPENDING ATTACK ARE

MULTIPLYING ON ALL SIDES.

HAVE TO BE ON GUARD.

CALLED MOLOTOV THIS MORNING.

MOLOTOV SAYS
THE SITUATION IS UNCLEAR.

THERE IS A MAJOR GAME UNDERWAY.

Narrator: ON JUNE 22,
THE SAME DAY NAPOLEON HAD

ONCE INVADED RUSSIA, HITLER
FOLLOWED IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.

Actor as Goebbels:
AT 3:30 A.M. THE ATTACK BEGINS.

THE GREATEST DEPLOYMENT
IN WORLD HISTORY.

THE FUHRER IS AS IF RELEASED
FROM A BAD DREAM.

THE NEARER WE GET
TO THE DECISIVE MOMENT,

ALL HIS TIREDNESS SEEMS
TO DISAPPEAR.

I'M GIVEN A DEEP INSIGHT
INTO HIS THOUGHTS.

"WE HAVE NO OPTION
BUT TO ATTACK.

"THIS CANCEROUS ABSCESS
MUST BE CAUTERIZED.

STALIN WILL FALL."

Actor as Dimitrov: AT 7 A.M.,
I WAS URGENTLY SUMMONED

TO THE KREMLIN.

GERMANY HAS ATTACKED THE USSR.

THE WAR HAS BEGUN.

STALIN TO ME:

"THEY ATTACKED US WITHOUT
DECLARING ANY GRIEVANCES,

"WITHOUT DEMANDING
ANY NEGOTIATIONS.

THEY ATTACKED US VICIOUSLY,
LIKE GANGSTERS."

Narrator: STALIN'S GREAT
CONSPIRACY THEORY

THAT THE DEMOCRACIES WERE
PLOTTING TO PROVOKE HIM

WAS SHATTERED.

HIS MISREADING OF HITLER,

THE MAN HE'D VIEWED
AS A RATIONAL STRATEGIST,

WAS TOTAL.

HITLER HAD COMPLETED
AN EXTRAORDINARY MENTAL JOURNEY.

A YEAR BEFORE, HE HAD SEEN
THE INVASION AS A TACTIC

TO MAKE BRITAIN TREMBLE.

NOW THE IDEOLOGY WITH WHICH
HE HAD SET OUT 20 YEARS BEFORE

HAD ONCE AGAIN TAKEN
PRIDE OF PLACE.

HE WROTE TO HIS ITALIAN ALLY
BENITO MUSSOLINI:

Actor as Hitler: LET ME SAY
ONE MORE THING, DUCE,

SINCE I STRUGGLED THROUGH
TO THIS DECISION

I AGAIN FEEL SPIRITUALLY FREE.

THE PARTNERSHIP
WITH THE SOVIET UNION

WAS OFTEN VERY IRKSOME TO ME
FOR, IN SOME WAY OR OTHER,

IT SEEMED TO ME TO BE A BREAK
WITH MY WHOLE ORIGIN,

MY CONCEPTS, AND MY FORMER
OBLIGATIONS.

I AM HAPPY NOW TO BE RELIEVED
OF THESE MENTAL AGONIES.

Narrator: WHILE OPERATION
BARBAROSSA CLEANSED HITLER,

IT ONLY SHOCKED
AND DEPRESSED STALIN.

HIS FURY WAS DIRECTED
EQUALLY AT HITLER

AND AT HIS OWN GENERALS

WHOSE POSITIONING OF
THEIR FORCES,

INSISTED UPON BY STALIN HIMSELF,
HAD ALLOWED THE GERMANS

TO SMASH THROUGH
RUSSIAN DEFENSES.

Actor as Stalin:
THIS IS A MONSTROUS CRIME.

THOSE RESPONSIBLE MUST LOSE
THEIR HEADS.

Narrator: N.K.V.D. UNITS
WERE SENT TO THE FRONT

TO ARREST THE GUILTY MEN.

THE COMMANDER,
GENERAL PAVLOV, WAS SHOT.

5 DAYS LATER,
STALIN REMARKED:

Actor as Stalin: LENIN FOUNDED
OUR STATE AND WE'VE F... IT UP.

Narrator: THE RED ARMY,
TAKEN BY SURPRISE

BECAUSE STALIN HAD REFUSED
TO ALLOW IT TO PREPARE,

WAS IN HEADLONG RETREAT.

TWO WEEKS AFTER THE INVASION,

GENERAL HALDER NOTED
IN HIS DIARY:

Actor as Halder:
3 OF JULY, 1941.

IT IS PROBABLY NO OVERSTATEMENT
TO SAY THAT THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN

HAS BEEN WON
IN THE SPACE OF TWO WEEKS.

Narrator: MILITARILY, BARBAROSSA
TURNED THE WAR ON ITS HEAD.

AND HIS EXPERIENCE
WITH HITLER ALSO HAD

A VITAL PSYCHOLOGICAL
EFFECT ON STALIN.

HE LATER REMARKED:

Actor as Stalin: WHEN YOU'RE
TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION,

NEVER PUT YOURSELF INTO THE MIND
OF THE OTHER PERSON.

BECAUSE IF YOU DO,
YOU CAN MAKE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.

Narrator: STALIN HAD LOST
THE MIND GAME.

HITLER HAD OUTWITTED HIM.

BUT HITLER WOULD BE
THE EVENTUAL LOSER.

HIS DECISION TO ATTACK RUSSIA
SIGNED THE DEATH WARRANT

OF HIS OWN DREAMS OF EMPIRE

AND OF EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM
IN GENERAL.

AND IT WOULD CREATE
AN UNLIKELY COALITION

OF 3 IDEOLOGICALLY OPPOSED
WARLORDS TO FIGHT HIM.

BUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
THE TWO GREAT DEMOCRATS

IN THAT COALITION BEGAN
WITH ANOTHER MENTAL DUEL

WHICH RAN IN PARALLEL
WITH THE DUEL OF THE DICTATORS.

IT, TOO, WAS RIDDLED
WITH MUTUAL SUSPICIONS,

FALSE PROMISES,
AND EVASION.

IT, TOO, WOULD SHAPE
THE DESTINY OF THE WORLD.