1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:04,880 [soft suspenseful music] 2 00:00:04,960 --> 00:00:07,200 ♪ 3 00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:08,600 - When I was a kid, 4 00:00:08,680 --> 00:00:11,840 every adult I knew shared one thing in common-- 5 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:16,120 a gap in their lives when everything appeared uncertain 6 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,760 and time itself seemed to stand still. 7 00:00:19,840 --> 00:00:21,000 When they talked about it, 8 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:23,960 they simply called it "the war." 9 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:27,720 For six dark years, the world was on fire. 10 00:00:27,800 --> 00:00:29,280 Cities were demolished 11 00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,920 and whole populations threatened. 12 00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,600 When would the war end? No one knew. 13 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,880 How would it end? No one knew. 14 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:40,800 Life was in stasis. 15 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:43,040 The war is now a part of our culture, 16 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:45,280 portrayed in movies and on television 17 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,280 and novels and history books. 18 00:00:47,360 --> 00:00:50,000 The Allies usually defeat the enemy 19 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,560 and save the world. 20 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:54,280 But the grim reality of the war 21 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:56,960 is almost impossible to comprehend. 22 00:00:57,040 --> 00:01:00,320 Over 65 million people are killed-- 23 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:02,440 the majority civilians. 24 00:01:02,520 --> 00:01:04,840 Everyone fought some version of the war, 25 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:06,840 beginning with the mothers and fathers 26 00:01:06,920 --> 00:01:09,000 who sent their children overseas 27 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:13,120 not knowing when or if they would ever see them again. 28 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:15,360 And, of course, the soldiers, sailors, 29 00:01:15,440 --> 00:01:18,200 airmen, and marines-- often just a bunch of kids-- 30 00:01:18,280 --> 00:01:20,600 who served with honor and bravery 31 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:25,280 to liberate enslaved peoples and preserve human dignity. 32 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:29,280 In doing so, they saved that which is most precious 33 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,920 and valued by us all-- 34 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:33,640 freedom. 35 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:35,360 The Second World War 36 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:37,920 is the largest event in human history. 37 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,680 No part of the globe is unaffected. 38 00:01:40,760 --> 00:01:44,680 World War II changed everything for all of us. 39 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,160 [dramatic music] 40 00:01:47,240 --> 00:01:49,720 - All wars change the world, 41 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:51,680 but none of them changed the world 42 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:53,600 like the Second World War did. 43 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,600 - Japan's on the march, Germany's on the march. 44 00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:59,000 - No one can imagine 45 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,800 the nightmare they're about to unleash-- 46 00:02:01,880 --> 00:02:04,680 the most destructive war in human history. 47 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,360 - Suddenly the world is turned upside down, 48 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:08,840 and all hell is let loose. 49 00:02:08,920 --> 00:02:11,160 ♪ 50 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,680 - The West is stunned by the speed of the advance. 51 00:02:14,760 --> 00:02:18,640 - You get the Allies, led by the big three-- 52 00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,200 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin-- 53 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:23,080 men who are dealing 54 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:26,280 with immensely complicated questions. 55 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,440 - It's the biggest military operation of human history. 56 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:32,880 - The Allies have to come together, 57 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:34,280 not just militarily, 58 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:35,720 but industrial scale 59 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:37,520 it's a global perspective. 60 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,560 - They have to fight in every climate, 61 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:43,240 from the Arctic to the jungles of the Pacific 62 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:46,400 to the deserts of Africa and the depths of the ocean. 63 00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:49,280 ♪ 64 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:52,160 - But there was no certainty of victory. 65 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,600 It was going to be a horrific bloodbath. 66 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:57,600 - We see humans at their absolute worst, 67 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,120 how they treat other human beings. 68 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:01,720 And we see them at their absolute best, 69 00:03:01,800 --> 00:03:04,120 willing to give their lives that others might live. 70 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,200 - World War II was a struggle in which there could be 71 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,640 one victor and one vanquished. 72 00:03:10,720 --> 00:03:15,320 ♪ 73 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:17,920 [explosions, air raid sirens wailing] 74 00:03:18,000 --> 00:03:25,280 ♪ 75 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:38,720 [distant bells tolling] 76 00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:44,800 ♪ 77 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,840 - Sometimes the most monumental events 78 00:03:47,920 --> 00:03:51,680 begin without fanfare... 79 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:53,360 before the world wakes. 80 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:55,440 ♪ 81 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:57,560 And so it is 82 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,880 on the 1st of September, 1939, 83 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:05,120 as dawn breaks over a sleeping city on the Baltic Sea, 84 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:09,240 that the bloodiest conflict in all history begins. 85 00:04:09,320 --> 00:04:15,960 ♪ 86 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:18,800 [gunfire] 87 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,800 ♪ 88 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:25,000 - This is the national program from London. 89 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,240 Germany has invaded Poland. 90 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:29,840 - Heavy outbreaks of fighting 91 00:04:29,920 --> 00:04:32,640 along the German-Polish frontier. 92 00:04:32,720 --> 00:04:34,600 - [speaking German] 93 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:41,960 ♪ 94 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,400 - [speaking German] 95 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:56,160 ♪ 96 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:02,760 [air raid sirens wailing] 97 00:05:02,840 --> 00:05:05,200 [people shouting] 98 00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:09,920 ♪ 99 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,920 - In just a matter of hours, a million and a half men... 100 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,360 1,300 planes... 101 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,800 and 2,750 tanks 102 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:25,160 crossed the Polish border at lightning speed. 103 00:05:25,240 --> 00:05:27,320 ♪ 104 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:29,520 - September 1, 1939-- 105 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,000 a storm breaks over Poland. 106 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:35,520 ♪ 107 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:38,720 - The Germans are racing through with tanks 108 00:05:38,800 --> 00:05:42,760 and with artillery, following up with the infantry 109 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:45,880 and accompanied by the Luftwaffe. 110 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:48,360 [bombs whistling] 111 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:50,160 ♪ 112 00:05:50,240 --> 00:05:51,960 And all of a sudden, people were waking up 113 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,560 to the sound of tanks rumbling through the town 114 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:56,960 not really knowing what was happening. 115 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:58,840 - You're going to see waves of trucks 116 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:01,480 and mechanized and motorized vehicles. 117 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:03,320 It looks a bit like a science-fiction novel, 118 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:05,720 like all those novels written in the '20s and '30s 119 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,000 about what the war of the future would look like. 120 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,200 And, suddenly, in 1939, the future is now. 121 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:14,080 [tense orchestral music] 122 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:19,680 ♪ 123 00:06:19,760 --> 00:06:21,600 - At 11:00 a.m., 124 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:24,320 Hitler arrives at a Berlin opera house 125 00:06:24,400 --> 00:06:27,040 where he's gathered the Reichstag. 126 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:29,240 [crowd cheering] 127 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:31,520 ♪ 128 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:45,680 ♪ 129 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:51,720 - This is the moment Hitler's been waiting for all his life. 130 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,200 He's been the leader of the Nazi party since 1921. 131 00:06:55,280 --> 00:06:58,760 He comes to power in '33. He rearms the country in '35. 132 00:06:58,840 --> 00:07:02,480 And since then, it's been prepare, prepare, prepare. 133 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:04,240 But Hitler wants a war. 134 00:07:13,680 --> 00:07:16,160 [cheers and applause] 135 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,040 - The invasion follows months of diplomatic tension 136 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:23,440 over a strip of land known as the Polish Corridor-- 137 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:26,920 land that had once been part of Germany... 138 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:30,520 but was ceded to Poland to give her access to the sea 139 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,640 after the First World War. 140 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,160 ♪ 141 00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:39,720 20 years earlier, global leaders gathered 142 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:41,480 in the French city of Versailles 143 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:45,360 to sign the historic treaty ending that war. 144 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:47,960 After four years of brutal fighting, 145 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,400 an alliance led by Britain and France 146 00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:53,160 and supported by the United States 147 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:54,800 emerged victorious. 148 00:07:54,880 --> 00:07:56,040 ♪ 149 00:07:56,120 --> 00:07:58,400 Germany, its military exhausted 150 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,920 and its people near starvation, had lost. 151 00:08:02,000 --> 00:08:06,200 And now they would pay the price of defeat. 152 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:07,840 - The Treaty of Versailles 153 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:09,480 takes territories away from Germany. 154 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,560 It strips Germany of populations and raw materials. 155 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:14,920 It turns the entire German merchant marine 156 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:16,240 over to the Allies. 157 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:19,200 It imposes reparations on the Germans. 158 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:22,240 - The Allies were attempting to limit 159 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:24,520 the future power of Germany. 160 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:27,280 The effects of the First World War were so grave, 161 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:28,520 they were so catastrophic 162 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:30,800 that no one wanted to see a repeat of that. 163 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,880 - One young Austrian corporal fighting for the German army 164 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:37,160 is Adolf Hitler. 165 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,440 Like many, he is shocked by the way the war ends. 166 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:43,360 - Your average German was surprised by the news 167 00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:45,640 of the armistice because it happened so suddenly. 168 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:47,240 The army was still in the field, 169 00:08:47,320 --> 00:08:49,400 and there was the sense that we haven't been invaded 170 00:08:49,480 --> 00:08:51,240 and thoroughly beaten. 171 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,040 - It was personally a tragedy for Hitler. 172 00:08:54,120 --> 00:08:55,840 He heard the news of the armistice 173 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:59,760 when he was still ill from injuries sustained in battle. 174 00:08:59,840 --> 00:09:03,760 He did not process the end of the war well. 175 00:09:03,840 --> 00:09:07,360 He did not accept the defeat of Germany. 176 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,640 - Surviving soldiers come home angry 177 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:12,800 and confused. 178 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:14,880 - Frankly, the response of many of them 179 00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:16,200 is disillusionment. 180 00:09:16,280 --> 00:09:17,760 Four years at the front, 181 00:09:17,840 --> 00:09:19,600 I managed to dodge all those bullets, 182 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:22,040 and now I came home and this is what I fought for? 183 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:23,400 [suspenseful music] 184 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,000 - When Hitler comes back from the war, 185 00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:28,640 he learns to talk to former soldiers 186 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:31,120 who are now disgruntled and begins to feel the fact 187 00:09:31,200 --> 00:09:33,240 that he's actually quite a good speaker. 188 00:09:33,320 --> 00:09:36,240 - [speaking German] 189 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:37,920 [people cheering] 190 00:09:38,000 --> 00:09:39,840 - He attends a meeting of a small group 191 00:09:39,920 --> 00:09:41,160 which will become 192 00:09:41,240 --> 00:09:43,240 the National Socialist German Workers, 193 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:45,160 or Nazi Party. 194 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:46,680 He finds something attractive. 195 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:48,040 This is a party of grievance 196 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,160 talking about how Germany could be transformed 197 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,160 and Germany could be made powerful again. 198 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:55,040 In 1921, Hitler's talent for public speaking 199 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,320 makes him the leader of this tiny party. 200 00:09:58,400 --> 00:10:01,680 - Hitler's first move is an attempted coup 201 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,360 against the Bavarian state government in Munich. 202 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:05,920 ♪ 203 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:09,160 But it fails, and he's arrested for treason. 204 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:10,560 ♪ 205 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:12,840 At his trial, the judge allows Hitler 206 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,880 to publicly share his movement's grievances 207 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:20,760 against war guilt, reparations, and communism. 208 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:23,760 In jail, he publishes his memoir, 209 00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,760 "Mein Kampf," or "My Struggle." 210 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:28,760 ♪ 211 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,760 With Hitler's notoriety, Nazi Party membership grows 212 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:34,960 as Germany's Weimar Republic 213 00:10:35,040 --> 00:10:38,320 moves through the unstable '20s. 214 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,560 The economy is burdened by heavy war reparations. 215 00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,560 In 1923, the cost of one loaf of bread 216 00:10:46,640 --> 00:10:50,200 rockets from 3 marks to 80 billion. 217 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:52,520 ♪ 218 00:10:52,600 --> 00:10:55,920 The years that follow are unstable, chaotic. 219 00:10:56,000 --> 00:10:57,520 ♪ 220 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:00,120 Hitler's Nazi Party fuels racial hatred 221 00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:04,240 against Jews and fears about communism. 222 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,520 Then, just as the economy is recovering, 223 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:12,400 the Great Depression throws 6 million Germans out of work. 224 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:16,240 - People in Germany are confused, bewildered, unhappy. 225 00:11:16,320 --> 00:11:17,920 And so there's a real opening 226 00:11:18,000 --> 00:11:20,000 for a leader who will speak all these lines perfectly 227 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:21,880 and talk about, how I'm going to bring the Germans 228 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:23,400 back together. 229 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:28,160 - In the 1932 elections, Germany is deeply divided. 230 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:30,160 ♪ 231 00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:31,960 But President von Hindenburg, 232 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,360 backed by conservative businessmen, 233 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:37,000 appoints Hitler chancellor to run the government 234 00:11:37,080 --> 00:11:39,360 at the beginning of 1933. 235 00:11:39,440 --> 00:11:42,000 ♪ 236 00:11:42,080 --> 00:11:44,640 - In 1934, Hitler declares 237 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:47,520 that he will now continue to be chancellor 238 00:11:47,600 --> 00:11:50,840 and take over the role of the president as well. 239 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:54,040 He's transformed what was a democracy in Germany 240 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,720 into a one-party and a one-man dictatorship. 241 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:02,160 He's become the German leader, the Fuehrer. 242 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,360 ♪ 243 00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:08,160 - His first promise as Fuehrer is to reclaim the land 244 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,400 Germany lost at Versailles. 245 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:12,320 He seizes the Rhineland, 246 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,720 Austria, and the Sudetenland-- 247 00:12:14,800 --> 00:12:17,200 German-speaking parts of Czechoslovakia. 248 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,720 By 1938, just four years later, 249 00:12:20,800 --> 00:12:23,920 he's reshaped the map of Europe. 250 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:26,600 Desperate to avoid another war, 251 00:12:26,680 --> 00:12:30,840 Britain and France allow Hitler to expand his empire. 252 00:12:30,920 --> 00:12:32,720 - In 1938 at Munich, 253 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:34,760 Neville Chamberlain, the British Prime Minister, 254 00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:39,280 and the French actually made a deal with Hitler. 255 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,280 What he wanted was the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia. 256 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:43,880 The British had said, fine, 257 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:47,600 we'll just dismantle an entire country to keep you happy. 258 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:49,760 - But when Hitler turns to Poland, 259 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:53,240 the West finally takes a stand. 260 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:58,360 The Poles have already endured centuries of foreign rule. 261 00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:00,360 The country regains its independence 262 00:13:00,440 --> 00:13:03,040 as part of the Versailles Treaty. 263 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:06,880 But its new borders now include 20,000 square miles 264 00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:09,360 of what had been German land. 265 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:11,960 ♪ 266 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:15,400 In summer 1939, the British and the French 267 00:13:15,480 --> 00:13:17,920 sign a guarantee with the Poles 268 00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:22,360 promising military assistance if the Germans invade. 269 00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:24,400 ♪ 270 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:26,640 - Hitler, speaking to his officers-- 271 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:28,040 they're asking him questions. 272 00:13:28,120 --> 00:13:29,880 Well, what is the attitude of the West gonna be 273 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:31,120 if you attack Poland? 274 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:32,800 And he snorted. Don't worry, he said. 275 00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:35,040 I've seen my opponents at Munich. 276 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:36,680 They're little worms. 277 00:13:36,760 --> 00:13:38,400 - Hitler doesn't believe 278 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:41,360 the West has the will to go to war. 279 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:42,760 ♪ 280 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,480 So he moves across the border, 281 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:48,440 ready to invade with the full force 282 00:13:48,520 --> 00:13:50,160 of the Nazi Wehrmacht. 283 00:13:50,240 --> 00:13:50,960 ♪ 284 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:57,080 [tense music] 285 00:13:57,080 --> 00:13:58,360 ♪ 286 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:01,400 - In the first 24 hours of the invasion... 287 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:03,120 ♪ 288 00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:05,360 The Germans take out railroads, 289 00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:07,720 bridges, and airfields. 290 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,720 ♪ 291 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:12,760 The destruction paves the way 292 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,160 for their army to advance deep into Poland. 293 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:17,880 ♪ 294 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,960 - The Poles have a modern army. 295 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,320 It's the fifth-largest army in the world. 296 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,000 ♪ 297 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,440 And it's equipped with modern tanks, 298 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:32,560 with all sorts of artillery and armored trains. 299 00:14:32,640 --> 00:14:35,800 But Hitler has been putting almost all his resources 300 00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:38,440 into equipping the military. 301 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:40,920 The Poles were outgunned by the Germans, 302 00:14:41,000 --> 00:14:44,320 who had three-to-one tanks and five-to-one airplanes. 303 00:14:44,400 --> 00:14:47,680 So there's no question that the Germans were a superior force. 304 00:14:47,760 --> 00:14:49,240 ♪ 305 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:50,800 - Despite those odds, 306 00:14:50,880 --> 00:14:54,560 the Poles are determined to defend their country. 307 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:57,320 ♪ 308 00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:58,760 - Everyone had to help, 309 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:01,440 and soldiers conscripted civilians on the street, 310 00:15:01,520 --> 00:15:03,160 putting them to work. 311 00:15:03,240 --> 00:15:05,840 I saw one man who was stopped six times on his way home 312 00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:07,520 with a loaf of bread. 313 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,960 ♪ 314 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:14,160 - The Poles remain resilient. 315 00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,280 ♪ 316 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:18,120 But the question is, 317 00:15:18,200 --> 00:15:21,200 what will Britain and France do? 318 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:23,240 - Here, as ever in critical days, 319 00:15:23,320 --> 00:15:26,760 has seen the coming and going of the leaders of the country. 320 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,320 - The British and French had an alliance with the Poles. 321 00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,000 They have to defend Poland. 322 00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:35,040 But they're not militarily prepared to do so, 323 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:37,320 and they're not mentally prepared to do so. 324 00:15:37,400 --> 00:15:39,720 The home fronts in Britain and France 325 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,760 are dead set against war. 326 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,080 - British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain 327 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,560 tells Parliament he's considering 328 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:49,480 issuing an ultimatum. 329 00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:51,320 But many feel he's backtracking 330 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:52,800 on his promise to Poland. 331 00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:54,400 ♪ 332 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,360 - This is a profound injury to British honor, 333 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,400 that if we don't act and declare war, 334 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,320 no other country will ever trust 335 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:05,200 a treaty with Britain ever again. 336 00:16:05,280 --> 00:16:08,080 - Britain delivers an ultimatum to Berlin 337 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,360 on the morning of September 3, 1939. 338 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,640 ♪ 339 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,360 Hitler has until 11:00 a.m. to withdraw his forces. 340 00:16:17,440 --> 00:16:19,480 ♪ 341 00:16:19,560 --> 00:16:20,640 [bell tolls] 342 00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:22,160 It's ignored. 343 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:23,960 [bell tolling] 344 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:25,160 - This morning, 345 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:27,720 the British ambassador in Berlin 346 00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:31,320 handed the German government a final note. 347 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:33,600 And, consequently, 348 00:16:33,680 --> 00:16:38,400 this country is at war with Germany. 349 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:40,840 [air raid sirens wailing] 350 00:16:40,920 --> 00:16:42,280 - In cities across Britain, 351 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:46,360 air raid sirens signal a strange new era, 352 00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:50,480 and millions of gas masks are sent to British homes. 353 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:54,360 ♪ 354 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:55,960 Across the Atlantic, 355 00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:59,520 America is just emerging from the Great Depression 356 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:01,920 and not prepared for war. 357 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:03,640 ♪ 358 00:17:03,720 --> 00:17:05,760 The peacetime army is small. 359 00:17:05,840 --> 00:17:07,360 ♪ 360 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:09,280 And neutrality laws 361 00:17:09,360 --> 00:17:11,760 make it nearly impossible to aid the Allies. 362 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:13,720 ♪ 363 00:17:13,800 --> 00:17:16,560 In the White House, the press gathers for one 364 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:20,440 of President Roosevelt's fireside chats. 365 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:23,480 - I have said, not once but many times, 366 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,040 that I have seen war 367 00:17:26,120 --> 00:17:28,840 and that I hate war. 368 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:32,040 I say that again and again. 369 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:35,600 I hope the United States will keep out of this. 370 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:40,240 And I give you assurance and reassurance 371 00:17:40,320 --> 00:17:42,600 that every effort of your government 372 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:45,600 will be directed toward that end. 373 00:17:45,680 --> 00:17:48,280 - Most Americans, when they're asked, 374 00:17:48,360 --> 00:17:50,880 should the United States get involved? 375 00:17:50,960 --> 00:17:54,360 90% of Americans say absolutely not. 376 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:57,360 But Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 377 00:17:57,440 --> 00:18:01,440 he's watching what's happening in Europe very closely. 378 00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:05,080 The question is about freedom and democracy. 379 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:07,160 He understands what is at stake. 380 00:18:07,240 --> 00:18:08,760 ♪ 381 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:11,280 - In Germany, Hitler is surprised 382 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:13,760 when Britain and France declare war. 383 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:16,400 - When the British declaration of war is made, 384 00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:18,160 Hitler receives it in silence. 385 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:20,040 And for a couple of moments, 386 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:22,880 he stares at his foreign minister, Ribbentrop. 387 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:26,400 And then with a quite vicious tone to his voice, 388 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:28,600 he says, what now? 389 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:31,400 [tense music] 390 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:33,960 ♪ 391 00:18:34,040 --> 00:18:37,640 - Despite the British and French declaration, 392 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,640 Hitler continues his master plan for Poland 393 00:18:40,720 --> 00:18:43,160 and sends in the Luftwaffe. 394 00:18:43,240 --> 00:18:45,480 ♪ 395 00:18:45,560 --> 00:18:49,640 Hitler's air force is led by a trusted member 396 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:51,840 of his inner circle... 397 00:18:51,920 --> 00:18:54,200 Field Marshal Hermann Goering. 398 00:18:54,280 --> 00:18:56,200 ♪ 399 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:58,360 - Goering's a German celebrity. 400 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:00,920 World War I, he was the head of the Flying Circus, 401 00:19:01,000 --> 00:19:03,920 the Fliegender Zirkus, this elite group of fighter pilots. 402 00:19:04,000 --> 00:19:05,280 ♪ 403 00:19:05,360 --> 00:19:07,440 And so he's well-known in Germany. 404 00:19:07,520 --> 00:19:10,760 He's very handsome, very charismatic guy. 405 00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:13,400 But there's also a very dark side to Goering. 406 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:16,440 He feels deeply embittered by the way the war ended, 407 00:19:16,520 --> 00:19:19,200 and he falls under Hitler's spell. 408 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:23,040 And he's able to get huge appropriations from Hitler 409 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:24,760 for Luftwaffe procurement. 410 00:19:24,840 --> 00:19:26,080 ♪ 411 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:28,560 - Goering's elite pilots are young 412 00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:30,880 and have spent thousands of hours in training. 413 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:32,680 ♪ 414 00:19:32,760 --> 00:19:35,960 From the cockpits of heavy bombers, they drop explosives. 415 00:19:36,040 --> 00:19:37,920 ♪ 416 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:40,280 But it's the precision dive bombers 417 00:19:40,360 --> 00:19:42,040 that wreak the most terror. 418 00:19:42,120 --> 00:19:44,080 ♪ 419 00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:45,520 - The Sturzkampfflugzeug, 420 00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:48,640 the Stuka as it's usually abbreviated-- 421 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:51,520 you know, it's not a particularly swift craft. 422 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,800 But they dive at an almost 90-degree angle... 423 00:19:54,880 --> 00:19:56,840 ♪ 424 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:59,120 And literally drop a bomb in your lap. 425 00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:02,600 ♪ 426 00:20:02,680 --> 00:20:05,760 And there's even a bit of psywar here as well. 427 00:20:05,840 --> 00:20:09,480 As they're coming down on you, there's a siren screaming. 428 00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:12,680 [Stuka siren wailing] 429 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:16,920 - In Poland, there are pilots flying at low altitude 430 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:20,400 who can see women and children fleeing the roads 431 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:22,960 who actually target them deliberately. 432 00:20:23,040 --> 00:20:26,160 [Stuka siren wailing] 433 00:20:26,240 --> 00:20:29,080 [somber music] 434 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:30,480 ♪ 435 00:20:30,560 --> 00:20:33,400 Polish civilians experience modern war 436 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,360 in an unbelievably horrifying way. 437 00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:41,960 ♪ 438 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:43,560 They see people killed. 439 00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:45,680 They see bodies all around them. 440 00:20:45,760 --> 00:20:47,760 It's a nightmare. 441 00:20:47,840 --> 00:20:49,840 ♪ 442 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,160 - Poland is being destroyed. 443 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:57,040 ♪ 444 00:20:57,120 --> 00:20:58,960 It is not clear when 445 00:20:59,040 --> 00:21:03,160 or even if Britain and France can send forces to help. 446 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:04,640 ♪ 447 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:09,760 [tense music] 448 00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:11,080 ♪ 449 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:13,080 - On day three... 450 00:21:13,160 --> 00:21:16,880 Adolf Hitler boards his heavily armored private train, 451 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:18,240 the "Amerika." 452 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:19,600 ♪ 453 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:21,680 He named it after his admiration 454 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:25,400 for the way America settled a vast continent. 455 00:21:25,480 --> 00:21:27,800 Now traveling towards Poland, 456 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,840 he looks out on the territory he needs to conquer-- 457 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:35,320 land stretching deep into Eastern Europe, 458 00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:40,040 Lebensraum, living space for his new German empire. 459 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:41,400 ♪ 460 00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,840 This is his and Germany's destiny. 461 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:47,400 - Hitler talks about a thousand-year Reich. 462 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,320 Its borders would stretch from the Atlantic in the west 463 00:21:50,400 --> 00:21:51,760 to Scandinavia in the north 464 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:53,600 and the Mediterranean in the south. 465 00:21:53,680 --> 00:21:55,400 Poland and the lands to the east 466 00:21:55,480 --> 00:21:58,320 play a special role in Hitler's foreign-policy plans. 467 00:21:58,400 --> 00:22:00,200 They're wide-open spaces, 468 00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:03,800 farmland as far as the eye could see. 469 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:07,200 - In order to achieve this vast empire, 470 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:10,120 Germans must clear out the people living there 471 00:22:10,200 --> 00:22:12,360 in a remorseless race war. 472 00:22:12,440 --> 00:22:14,200 ♪ 473 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,080 - Adolf Hitler's whole worldview 474 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:20,520 is based on a kind of neo-Darwinism 475 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:25,240 in which every single act is a biological struggle, 476 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:28,120 warfare between different races. 477 00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:31,040 ♪ 478 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:33,680 He believes that the Aryan race, the Germans, 479 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:36,120 is the superior race on the planet. 480 00:22:36,200 --> 00:22:39,640 It's destined to rule Europe and indeed the world. 481 00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:41,160 ♪ 482 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:43,240 - Until now, Hitler's main target 483 00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:47,160 has been Germany's Jewish population. 484 00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:50,800 Under his orders, they lost their status as citizens, 485 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:53,280 had their wealth and property seized, 486 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:56,040 and many were forced into exile. 487 00:22:56,120 --> 00:22:58,280 - Hitler believes that humanity is locked 488 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:00,120 in this existential battle 489 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,560 between Aryans, as he describes them, and Jews. 490 00:23:03,640 --> 00:23:05,960 And Jews are supposedly responsible 491 00:23:06,040 --> 00:23:10,080 for all of society's and the world's ills. 492 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:11,400 - So who is responsible 493 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:13,960 for the German loss in World War I? 494 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:15,520 Jewish people. 495 00:23:15,600 --> 00:23:18,960 Who is responsible for economic inequality? 496 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:20,520 Jewish people. 497 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,000 They control media, newspapers, 498 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:24,600 all the businesses. 499 00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:25,920 The reason you are poor 500 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,800 is because they are hoarding money. 501 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,040 - What the Nazis are seeking to do at this stage 502 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:31,880 is to make life so unpleasant, 503 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:34,600 so difficult for Jewish people within the Reich 504 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:36,600 that they want to leave. 505 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:41,120 - Hitler also wants to remove the Slavs of Eastern Europe, 506 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:44,440 including the people of Poland. 507 00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:49,720 ♪ 508 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:51,040 Day four-- 509 00:23:51,120 --> 00:23:53,400 Hitler reaches the Polish front lines, 510 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:57,000 where he holds a photo opportunity with his troops. 511 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,440 - He makes himself very visible, 512 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,920 goes to the front, and he's greeted 513 00:24:02,000 --> 00:24:03,960 by these thousands and thousands of people. 514 00:24:04,040 --> 00:24:05,760 They're all vying with one another 515 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,200 to get close to Adolf Hitler. 516 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,880 - He's fought in World War I. He's a battle-tested leader. 517 00:24:11,960 --> 00:24:15,160 He's taken back historic German territory. 518 00:24:15,240 --> 00:24:16,840 He's built the armed forces. 519 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:18,320 They listen to him. 520 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:21,800 ♪ 521 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:23,920 - These German soldiers marching on Poland 522 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,120 believe in Germany's destiny... 523 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:31,000 that they will be the creators of the great new Germany. 524 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,520 - This is the first action they've had militarily 525 00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:36,920 since the Black Day of the German Army in 1918. 526 00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:39,320 And it is an average infantryman 527 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:42,040 from the First World War who's leading it. 528 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:43,360 ♪ 529 00:24:43,440 --> 00:24:45,720 So this is redemption 530 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:50,240 20 years after what never should have happened happened. 531 00:24:50,320 --> 00:24:52,720 ♪ 532 00:24:52,800 --> 00:24:54,560 - Shadowing his invading forces 533 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,040 is another wing of the Nazi regime... 534 00:24:57,120 --> 00:24:58,440 ♪ 535 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,840 The Protection Squadron-- 536 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:05,520 in German, the Schutzstaffel, or SS. 537 00:25:05,600 --> 00:25:07,720 They were Hitler's personal bodyguards 538 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,240 as he rose to power. 539 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,080 But under the leadership of Heinrich Himmler, 540 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,320 they become a paramilitary outfit 541 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,360 at the heart of the regime. 542 00:25:18,440 --> 00:25:20,720 - Himmler is somebody 543 00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,440 who has a sadistic streak. 544 00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:25,120 He's quite meek, he's not particularly assuming, 545 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:27,200 he's certainly not very physically impressive, 546 00:25:27,280 --> 00:25:29,520 but he's somebody who's got a burning desire 547 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:30,760 to achieve things. 548 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:33,640 He gets drawn into the Nazi loop, 549 00:25:33,720 --> 00:25:35,120 and then over a period of time, 550 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:37,720 he eventually takes control of the SS. 551 00:25:37,800 --> 00:25:39,400 - Himmler has developed the SS 552 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,120 from a small kind of a bodyguard unit 553 00:25:42,200 --> 00:25:44,080 that's supposed to really protect Hitler... 554 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:45,360 ♪ 555 00:25:45,440 --> 00:25:48,440 Into a vast militarized force. 556 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:49,800 ♪ 557 00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:52,560 - In Poland, the SS units fan out 558 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,200 across the newly occupied territory, 559 00:25:55,280 --> 00:25:58,920 as does a special wing of the SS-- 560 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:01,520 the Einsatzgruppen... 561 00:26:01,600 --> 00:26:03,840 mobile death squads. 562 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:04,640 ♪ 563 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:10,200 [tense music] 564 00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:12,000 ♪ 565 00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:17,080 - In September 1939, during the invasion of Poland, 566 00:26:17,160 --> 00:26:18,520 the Nazi Einsatzgruppen 567 00:26:18,600 --> 00:26:21,840 are under orders to neutralize any opposition. 568 00:26:21,920 --> 00:26:23,600 ♪ 569 00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,800 - The Einsatzgruppen are specifically set up 570 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:29,800 to go into towns, villages, 571 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:31,720 and other areas of Poland 572 00:26:31,800 --> 00:26:33,640 to kill civilians. 573 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:35,520 That's their only job. 574 00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,800 Professors, landowners, politicians, 575 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:40,720 newspaper editors, these sorts of people-- 576 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,200 they were targeted and killed because these were the people 577 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:45,440 who are identified as possibly leading 578 00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:48,240 some sort of resistance against the German forces. 579 00:26:48,320 --> 00:26:51,720 And this is something that the Poles could not have known yet 580 00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:53,640 on those first days of the invasion, 581 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:56,280 that this wasn't just going to be a military invasion, 582 00:26:56,360 --> 00:27:00,040 but this was also going to be a war of annihilation. 583 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:02,600 ♪ 584 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:06,720 - For Hitler, this is a chance not just to destroy Poland 585 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:08,600 but to clear Poland, 586 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:11,600 to crush the Polish people, who are Slavs. 587 00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:13,520 And Slavs in the Nazi ideology 588 00:27:13,600 --> 00:27:16,040 are Untermenschen, "underhumans." 589 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:18,920 But it's more than that. There are also Jews in Poland. 590 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,360 ♪ 591 00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,400 - For centuries, Poland has been home 592 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:24,760 to millions of Europe's Jews, 593 00:27:24,840 --> 00:27:28,120 who fled there to avoid religious persecution. 594 00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:30,040 - The Jews originally settled there 595 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:33,400 because it was the freest kingdom in Europe. 596 00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:35,320 Now they found themselves 597 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:38,800 in a terrifying, murderous trap. 598 00:27:38,880 --> 00:27:42,400 - The SS drag Orthodox Jewish men out into the streets, 599 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,720 and they desecrate their clothes and their hair. 600 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:47,920 They smash up synagogues. 601 00:27:48,000 --> 00:27:50,600 They are seeking to amplify the terror 602 00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:52,880 that they've sought to develop within the Reich 603 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:54,840 towards Jews within Poland. 604 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:56,440 ♪ 605 00:27:56,520 --> 00:27:58,200 - These acts of brutality 606 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:00,560 escalate into public executions. 607 00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,920 [tense somber music] 608 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:06,080 In the town of Konskie on September 12th, 609 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,240 German troops order local Jews to the town square... 610 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,040 to dig the grave of a German soldier. 611 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:16,320 ♪ 612 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:21,040 - This rather humiliating forced grave-digging exercise 613 00:28:21,120 --> 00:28:23,640 quickly descends into a pogrom. 614 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:24,880 ♪ 615 00:28:24,960 --> 00:28:26,280 Jews are shot. 616 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:28,440 You know, they try and run away from the scene. 617 00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:29,960 They're quickly apprehended. 618 00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:31,520 ♪ 619 00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:35,240 And in total, 22 Jews are killed on that day. 620 00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:36,600 ♪ 621 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:38,680 This was happening across Poland... 622 00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:40,400 ♪ 623 00:28:40,480 --> 00:28:44,240 The brutal mass murder of innocent civilians. 624 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:50,120 ♪ 625 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:52,480 - Nine days into the invasion, 626 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:56,160 Britain and France continue to mobilize their forces. 627 00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:58,880 Civilians are being killed in the streets, 628 00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:00,640 but the army isn't defeated. 629 00:29:00,720 --> 00:29:04,400 With their capital city, Warsaw, now the target, 630 00:29:04,480 --> 00:29:07,160 two Polish armies stage a counterattack 631 00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:08,920 to the west of the city. 632 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,440 Polish cavalry and reconnaissance tanks 633 00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,840 drive German forces back 12 1/2 miles 634 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:17,080 in the Battle of the Bzura River. 635 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:19,160 - You know, all too often, the Polish campaign 636 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:21,120 is talked about as some kind of pushover. 637 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,080 But the Poles fought hard. 638 00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:24,840 - The classic stereotype of the Poles 639 00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:27,480 is that they're all on their horses with sabers drawn, 640 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:30,120 riding toward tanks who are just shooting them down. 641 00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:31,280 This is absurd. 642 00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:33,360 The Poles were very sophisticated. 643 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:37,960 - Very finely trained soldiers, extremely brave. 644 00:29:38,040 --> 00:29:39,960 ♪ 645 00:29:40,040 --> 00:29:43,800 - As Poles fight under German bombardment... 646 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:45,920 Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain 647 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,840 and French Premier Edouard Daladier meet 648 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:51,120 for a supreme war council 649 00:29:51,200 --> 00:29:54,320 and reach a grave decision. 650 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:55,880 - Daladier and Chamberlain 651 00:29:55,960 --> 00:29:58,800 agree to leave Poland to its fate. 652 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:00,520 They also adopt formally 653 00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:02,680 what they call the long war strategy-- 654 00:30:02,760 --> 00:30:05,440 the idea that they have superior resources to Germany 655 00:30:05,520 --> 00:30:08,520 and that, over time, those resources will come to bear 656 00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:10,240 in the Allies' favor. 657 00:30:10,320 --> 00:30:12,480 - Although the statement that is given 658 00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,840 to the world's press is one of wholehearted support, 659 00:30:15,920 --> 00:30:19,760 Poland is essentially cast to the four winds. 660 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,200 - There is one British politician 661 00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:25,520 who has always wanted to take a more aggressive position 662 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:27,400 against the Nazis. 663 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:29,520 Appointed to the new war cabinet 664 00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,800 is Hitler's most vocal critic in the West-- 665 00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:36,440 First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill. 666 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:38,080 ♪ 667 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:41,400 - Throughout the 1930s, Churchill had spoken up 668 00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,400 with concern about German rearmament, 669 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,080 about the failure to take effective measures 670 00:30:46,160 --> 00:30:48,800 to enforce the Versailles Treaty. 671 00:30:48,880 --> 00:30:52,200 It's clear now that Germany couldn't be trusted 672 00:30:52,280 --> 00:30:54,040 as a diplomatic partner. 673 00:30:54,120 --> 00:31:01,000 ♪ 674 00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,440 - Two weeks into the invasion... 675 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,200 ♪ 676 00:31:06,280 --> 00:31:07,880 The Poles seem abandoned, 677 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:10,440 and their counteroffensive is collapsing. 678 00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,320 ♪ 679 00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:17,240 The German 3rd, 8th, and 10th armies encircle Warsaw. 680 00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:22,000 ♪ 681 00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:24,680 The capital is a city of palaces, 682 00:31:24,760 --> 00:31:27,120 churches, and opera houses-- 683 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,600 the heart of the Polish nation. 684 00:31:30,680 --> 00:31:33,960 But now Warsaw is in ruins 685 00:31:34,040 --> 00:31:35,640 and under siege. 686 00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:41,000 ♪ 687 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,000 - Bombs were falling, and everybody 688 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:45,760 was trying to help get people out of the rubble. 689 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:46,920 When your roof is burning, 690 00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:48,760 when your children are in hospital 691 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:50,040 because they've been bombed-- 692 00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,080 I mean, these are shocking moments. 693 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:55,400 - American photographer and cameraman Julien Bryan 694 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:57,200 is in Poland's capital 695 00:31:57,280 --> 00:31:59,480 filming suffering and defiance. 696 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:00,960 ♪ 697 00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:03,600 He pleads for Poland. 698 00:32:03,680 --> 00:32:07,160 - President Roosevelt and the people of America, 699 00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:08,840 listen to my story. 700 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:10,200 ♪ 701 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:13,960 America must act. It must help. 702 00:32:14,040 --> 00:32:15,560 - As help is called for, 703 00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:18,320 there is an army preparing to sweep in. 704 00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:19,880 ♪ 705 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,720 They're not coming from the west... 706 00:32:22,800 --> 00:32:24,360 but from the east. 707 00:32:24,440 --> 00:32:26,360 ♪ 708 00:32:30,440 --> 00:32:32,760 [tense music] 709 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:34,280 ♪ 710 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:35,920 - On the 17th of September, 711 00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,960 Joseph Stalin calls the German ambassador 712 00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:41,160 to the Kremlin and says, 713 00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:43,080 we're going to invade Eastern Poland. 714 00:32:43,160 --> 00:32:48,520 ♪ 715 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:51,880 - Poland's fate isn't sealed just by the Nazis. 716 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:54,040 The communists of Soviet Russia 717 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,080 also sense opportunity. 718 00:32:56,160 --> 00:33:00,320 And so does their all-powerful master. 719 00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,560 - Stalin is one of the most extraordinary figures 720 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:06,680 in the history of the 20th century. 721 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:10,280 From the very beginning of the Russian Revolution in 1917, 722 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:12,320 he's been part of the tiny clique 723 00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,160 that's been running Russia and has emerged 724 00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:19,160 as the dominant leader of the whole Soviet Union. 725 00:33:19,240 --> 00:33:21,800 The inner circle called him [speaks Russian]-- 726 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:23,520 the master, the boss. 727 00:33:23,600 --> 00:33:25,640 But in public, he was the [speaks Russian]-- 728 00:33:25,720 --> 00:33:27,280 the leader. 729 00:33:27,360 --> 00:33:28,560 But he was a tough man, 730 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:31,360 a morbid man, a mysterious man. 731 00:33:31,440 --> 00:33:35,280 - He learned the hard way in the Russian Civil War 732 00:33:35,360 --> 00:33:37,640 that you operate ruthlessly. 733 00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:39,800 You sacrifice, you attack, 734 00:33:39,880 --> 00:33:42,720 you show no quarter to your enemies. 735 00:33:42,800 --> 00:33:46,120 Stalin saw the world in geopolitical terms. 736 00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:48,240 He recognized that the Soviet Union 737 00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:52,320 couldn't survive isolated, surrounded by adversaries. 738 00:33:52,400 --> 00:33:56,480 - He had to play the poker game of diplomacy and war. 739 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,240 And the players were the Western democracies, 740 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:03,000 led by England and France, and the dictatorships. 741 00:34:03,080 --> 00:34:06,160 His great fear was that the two sides would gang up 742 00:34:06,240 --> 00:34:09,600 against him and destroy the Soviet Union. 743 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:13,040 And all of his decisions came from this fear. 744 00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:15,480 - In August 1939, 745 00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:19,080 just one week before Germany invades Poland, 746 00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:21,640 Joseph Stalin shocked the world 747 00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:25,560 when he signed a nonaggression pact with Adolf Hitler. 748 00:34:25,640 --> 00:34:28,800 - The revelation of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact 749 00:34:28,880 --> 00:34:31,640 causes mayhem in the Western capitals. 750 00:34:31,720 --> 00:34:34,680 It changes everything. It's a complete shock. 751 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:36,000 ♪ 752 00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:37,760 For the last sort of five years, 753 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:39,240 the two dictatorships-- 754 00:34:39,320 --> 00:34:42,040 Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia-- 755 00:34:42,120 --> 00:34:45,920 had been pouring excrement over each other in the media. 756 00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:49,080 They had been calling each other every name under the sun. 757 00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:53,840 And for each, the other was the quintessential enemy 758 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:56,040 of everything they believed. 759 00:34:56,120 --> 00:34:58,680 And now, suddenly, there's a thawing, 760 00:34:58,760 --> 00:35:00,640 and the next thing you know, 761 00:35:00,720 --> 00:35:03,200 Ribbentrop is flying to Moscow. 762 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,040 ♪ 763 00:35:05,120 --> 00:35:08,800 - In August 1939, by signing a pact with Hitler, 764 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:10,200 Stalin helps to ensure 765 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:12,400 that the Second World War will break out. 766 00:35:12,480 --> 00:35:14,880 In fact, it makes it virtually a certainty 767 00:35:14,960 --> 00:35:16,360 that such a war will break out. 768 00:35:16,440 --> 00:35:17,600 ♪ 769 00:35:17,680 --> 00:35:19,400 - The pact promises 770 00:35:19,480 --> 00:35:23,240 a decade of nonaggression between the two regimes. 771 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:26,000 But there's another secret protocol 772 00:35:26,080 --> 00:35:28,240 which carves up Eastern Europe, 773 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:30,840 sharing the land between them. 774 00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:33,120 First up is Poland. 775 00:35:33,200 --> 00:35:34,480 ♪ 776 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,880 - Neither the Germans nor the Soviets 777 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,280 wanted Poland to exist. 778 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:41,640 They both saw it as an affront. 779 00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:43,080 Poland had historically been 780 00:35:43,160 --> 00:35:44,680 a province of the Russian Empire, 781 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:47,080 and the Soviets want that back as a buffer 782 00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:50,800 against this stronger Germany that's emerging. 783 00:35:50,880 --> 00:35:53,880 - The division of Polish territory favored the Soviets, 784 00:35:53,960 --> 00:35:57,560 who got more territory than the Germans did. 785 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:01,040 So it's actually the Soviet invasion of Eastern Poland 786 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:03,880 that decides the fate of Poland. 787 00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:11,080 ♪ 788 00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:15,560 - The Red Army pours into Poland's eastern provinces. 789 00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:16,840 ♪ 790 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:18,680 They, too, carry orders 791 00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:22,880 to eradicate Polish leaders and culture. 792 00:36:22,960 --> 00:36:25,880 - When the Red Army goes into Eastern Poland, 793 00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:29,960 they are accompanied inevitably by the secret police, the NKVD, 794 00:36:30,040 --> 00:36:32,760 and they arrest all these people-- 795 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:37,360 writers, diplomats, aristocrats, army officers. 796 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,160 Some of them are killed instantly. 797 00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:40,720 Some of them are deported. 798 00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:44,600 And a large number of them, between 20,000 and 30,000, 799 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:49,320 are stowed in camps near the Katyn woods. 800 00:36:49,400 --> 00:36:53,040 All of these people are to be secretly executed, 801 00:36:53,120 --> 00:36:54,720 shot in the back of the head. 802 00:36:54,800 --> 00:36:57,760 [somber music] 803 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:00,000 [wind whistling softly] 804 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:04,960 - On September 22, 1939, in the town of Brest-Litovsk, 805 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:08,800 Nazi and Soviet generals gather to watch a parade 806 00:37:08,880 --> 00:37:10,840 of both armies. 807 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:13,640 [tense music] 808 00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:16,720 - There's this free mingling of German and Soviet forces. 809 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:18,600 The two sides are sort of mixing, 810 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:20,440 sharing cigarettes, sharing anecdotes. 811 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:23,720 And they even develop almost a slang between them. 812 00:37:23,800 --> 00:37:26,760 [speaks Russian] "Together strong." 813 00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:28,360 ♪ 814 00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:30,160 - If you're a Polish person, 815 00:37:30,240 --> 00:37:34,360 to see these two people that have always been dangerous 816 00:37:34,440 --> 00:37:36,840 on both sides of you 817 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:41,720 working together to see that Poland once again disappears, 818 00:37:41,800 --> 00:37:44,000 you had to feel like there's no help close by. 819 00:37:44,080 --> 00:37:45,600 ♪ 820 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:49,160 - As Poland burns and her enemies celebrate... 821 00:37:49,240 --> 00:37:50,640 ♪ 822 00:37:50,720 --> 00:37:52,560 One city resists... 823 00:37:52,640 --> 00:37:53,960 ♪ 824 00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:55,160 Warsaw. 825 00:37:55,240 --> 00:37:56,320 ♪ 826 00:38:00,440 --> 00:38:01,440 [tense music] 827 00:38:01,440 --> 00:38:02,120 ♪ 828 00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:03,600 [distant explosions] 829 00:38:03,680 --> 00:38:05,360 - Despite weeks of assault, 830 00:38:05,440 --> 00:38:08,160 Warsaw has not yet surrendered. 831 00:38:08,240 --> 00:38:11,400 Surviving Polish troops rush to the capital, 832 00:38:11,480 --> 00:38:15,640 where 300,000 soldiers and civilians hold the city. 833 00:38:15,720 --> 00:38:17,240 ♪ 834 00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:19,000 To break the resistance, 835 00:38:19,080 --> 00:38:22,360 Goering orders the largest air raid ever seen. 836 00:38:22,440 --> 00:38:24,920 ♪ 837 00:38:25,000 --> 00:38:28,080 [air raid sirens wailing, people shouting] 838 00:38:28,160 --> 00:38:30,320 ♪ 839 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:32,560 [bombs whistling] 840 00:38:32,640 --> 00:38:36,080 ♪ 841 00:38:36,160 --> 00:38:37,680 - Goering levels Warsaw 842 00:38:37,760 --> 00:38:39,760 with no regard for civilian casualties. 843 00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:42,040 They strew thousands of pounds of high explosive 844 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,640 and incendiary bombs, firebombs over Warsaw. 845 00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:47,840 And they reduce it to rubble. 846 00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:50,760 [fires crackling] 847 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:53,680 [somber music] 848 00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:57,320 ♪ 849 00:38:57,400 --> 00:38:59,720 - It is the largest incendiary bombing 850 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:02,400 that the world has ever seen. 851 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:04,840 Air raids last for the entirety of the day. 852 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:06,600 People are trapped in their basements, 853 00:39:06,680 --> 00:39:09,360 they're trapped in courtyards, they're trapped in stairwells. 854 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:11,920 Those who crawl out when the bombardment is over-- 855 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:14,760 there's no water, there's nothing to feed them. 856 00:39:14,840 --> 00:39:18,680 ♪ 857 00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:21,840 - 20% of the city is destroyed in one way or another. 858 00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:24,320 And about 18,000 people are injured or killed 859 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:26,000 in these bombardments. 860 00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:29,600 - And the city finally has to surrender. 861 00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:31,760 ♪ 862 00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:35,040 - [speaking Polish] 863 00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:53,120 ♪ 864 00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,960 - In London, Winston Churchill warns his country 865 00:39:59,040 --> 00:40:01,720 that this is just the beginning. 866 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:06,080 - Poland has been overrun by two of the great powers 867 00:40:06,160 --> 00:40:10,040 which held her in bondage for 150 years 868 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:13,240 but were unable to quench the spirit 869 00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:15,840 of the Polish nation. 870 00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:18,640 The heroic defense of Warsaw 871 00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:21,840 shows that the soul of Poland 872 00:40:21,920 --> 00:40:23,760 is indestructible. 873 00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:26,160 ♪ 874 00:40:26,240 --> 00:40:29,560 The British Empire and the French Republic 875 00:40:29,640 --> 00:40:32,560 have been at war with Nazi Germany 876 00:40:32,640 --> 00:40:34,640 for a month tonight. 877 00:40:34,720 --> 00:40:36,360 ♪ 878 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:39,200 Directions have been given by the government 879 00:40:39,280 --> 00:40:43,160 to prepare for a war of at least three years. 880 00:40:43,240 --> 00:40:47,120 ♪ 881 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:50,960 - But Churchill has received a signal of hope. 882 00:40:51,040 --> 00:40:52,640 A few weeks earlier, 883 00:40:52,720 --> 00:40:55,920 President Roosevelt sent him a note congratulating him 884 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,120 on his new role in the war cabinet 885 00:40:58,200 --> 00:41:02,360 and opening up a secret line of communication. 886 00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:06,440 - Once Germany invades Poland, Roosevelt infers that this war 887 00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:09,560 is going to be sizable in its scope 888 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:11,080 and that the United States 889 00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:14,120 is probably going to need to intervene at some point. 890 00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:18,600 Churchill has this reputation of being a fighter. 891 00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:22,040 It's really telling that Roosevelt seeks him out 892 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:25,240 rather than Chamberlain at this critical juncture 893 00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:27,560 at the beginning of the Second World War. 894 00:41:27,640 --> 00:41:30,160 - So there's this relationship that develops 895 00:41:30,240 --> 00:41:32,640 between Franklin Delano Roosevelt 896 00:41:32,720 --> 00:41:34,320 and Winston Churchill. 897 00:41:34,400 --> 00:41:36,520 There's an understanding on the part of Roosevelt 898 00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:39,280 that there is someone in the leadership 899 00:41:39,360 --> 00:41:42,440 of Great Britain who understands what's at stake 900 00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:46,120 and just how dangerous this moment is. 901 00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:47,840 ♪ 902 00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:51,720 It's not simply about the German invasion of Poland. 903 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:53,280 ♪ 904 00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:55,920 They're two men who are united 905 00:41:56,000 --> 00:41:59,000 in their belief that Adolf Hitler 906 00:41:59,080 --> 00:42:01,920 is perhaps the most dangerous man on the planet. 907 00:42:02,000 --> 00:42:03,080 ♪ 908 00:42:03,160 --> 00:42:04,520 - After the surrender, 909 00:42:04,600 --> 00:42:07,880 Hitler travels to Warsaw to survey the ruins. 910 00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:09,560 ♪ 911 00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:11,720 He points at the utter destruction 912 00:42:11,800 --> 00:42:15,200 and tells the officers who are with him... 913 00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:18,000 this is the real meaning of war. 914 00:42:18,080 --> 00:42:21,600 ♪ 915 00:42:21,680 --> 00:42:24,880 In less than a month, a major European nation 916 00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:27,000 has been removed from the map. 917 00:42:27,080 --> 00:42:31,520 It will be engulfed in darkness for most of the next six years. 918 00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:36,320 And it's only the beginning, as Hitler looks to the West.