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The war was wreaking havoc in the East
since 1937,
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00:00:09,220 --> 00:00:11,460
when Japan invaded China.
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00:00:12,780 --> 00:00:15,980
It arrived in Europe
on September 1, 1939,
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00:00:16,180 --> 00:00:18,460
when Germany invaded Poland.
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00:00:19,460 --> 00:00:23,320
It has gained worldwide scope
on December 7, 1941,
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00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:28,460
when the Japanese planes attacked
the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.
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The war affected all continents...
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00:00:37,660 --> 00:00:40,060
...and it lasted six years.
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00:00:45,180 --> 00:00:49,780
It ended with a new weapon,
for a new era.
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00:00:50,820 --> 00:00:55,120
This is the story of the greatest
event in human history
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and these men
they took part in it.
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They witnessed the shootings
and the tragedies of war
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from wherever battles took place.
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Their testimony is an element
from the history of the formation of our world...
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...by those who could pay...
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...and by those who
they couldn't take it anymore...
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...the price of empire.
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00:01:27,260 --> 00:01:31,760
WORLD WAR II:
THE PRICE OF EMPIRE
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00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:36,820
In the first episode of the series,
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the unprovoked invasion of Japan
propelled China into war
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and brought Europe
on the brink of conflict.
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In Italy, Benito Mussolini brought
fascism on the political stage.
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00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,720
In Germany, the National Socialists
they came to power,
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and their leader became führer,
Adolf Hitler destroyed democracy.
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We are all part of it
from the same nation!
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Two great European powers,
Great Britain and France,
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not ready for another war,
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they gave in to Germany's demands
up to a certain point.
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When they saw the belligerent position
of Germany against Poland,
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they made a commitment: if Hitler
he didn't retreat, there was going to be war.
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Adolf Hitler did not retreat,
probably not believing them.
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00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:59,600
EPISODE 2:
THE FAKE WAR
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The invasion of Poland by the Germans
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00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,940
it was the first attack after the ascension
Hitler in power.
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To his victories
from 1933 to 1939
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the armed forces had not contributed either.
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This did not mean that the German army
she was not ready for war.
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00:03:26,020 --> 00:03:32,180
On July 17, 1936, in Spain
a violent civil war broke out.
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00:03:33,260 --> 00:03:37,380
The old kingdom, once the center
the most powerful empire,
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it had been in decline for a long time.
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The rise of the left and the formation
a new effective people's government
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there were changes that the powers that be
traditional, such as the aristocracy,
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00:03:48,740 --> 00:03:51,660
the army and the church,
they could not ignore them.
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00:03:53,020 --> 00:03:55,440
History calls the left
"republican force",
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and the right, the "nationalist force".
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The two camps faced each other
over three terrible years.
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Republicans were getting help
from the Soviet Union
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00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:17,040
and they had foreign volunteers
within the international brigades.
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00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:23,840
The nationalists, at the head of which
General Francisco Franco arrived,
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00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,240
they were receiving military aid
and from Italy, and from Germany.
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00:04:30,900 --> 00:04:32,400
Marshal Hermann Göring,
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00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:34,640
the leader of the Luftwaffe,
german air force,
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00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:38,640
he saw the advantages of training
"young pilots".
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00:04:40,220 --> 00:04:44,240
And General von Reichenau, who will
leads the army in Poland and Russia,
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00:04:44,500 --> 00:04:47,240
he said two years of war
they mattered more
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00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,000
than ten years of instruction
in peacetime
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"for our still immature army".
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00:04:57,060 --> 00:05:01,140
Barcelona fell into hands
to Franco on January 26, 1939.
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00:05:01,380 --> 00:05:06,400
In February, Great Britain
and France recognized his regime.
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00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:09,960
Adolf Hitler could face it now
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00:05:10,220 --> 00:05:13,360
victorious soldiers, sailors and pilots
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and he could think
to the next stage
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00:05:16,660 --> 00:05:19,460
of his plan
for the Millennium Reich.
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00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:25,600
And Benito Mussolini,
Hitler's ally, the Italian "Duke",
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00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:28,440
he had bled his troops in Spain.
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00:05:29,220 --> 00:05:32,580
He was eager to prove himself
the value in the fascist alliance,
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but also the position of main leader.
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00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:40,460
He was in power in Italy for ten years
before the rise of Hitler.
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00:05:40,980 --> 00:05:44,980
Mussolini was the first to give
the start of other military operations.
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00:05:46,200 --> 00:05:50,560
On April 7, 1939, he invaded Albania,
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00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:54,280
which was then and remains now
the poorest country in Europe.
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00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:57,860
The campaign lasted five days.
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00:05:58,220 --> 00:06:00,980
The 100,000 Italian soldiers
they quickly defeated
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00:06:01,200 --> 00:06:03,860
albanian army,
made up of 15,000 soldiers.
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00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:07,400
The Albanian parliament has voted
in favor of union with Italy,
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00:06:07,700 --> 00:06:12,100
giving Mussolini control
on the Adriatic Sea.
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00:06:13,580 --> 00:06:15,760
Albania, the small Balkan country
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00:06:15,960 --> 00:06:18,640
invaded by Italy on Good Friday,
shocked the world.
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00:06:19,020 --> 00:06:21,060
The details are well known,
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00:06:21,420 --> 00:06:25,620
but the film of King Zog's marriage
with Queen Geraldine is emotional.
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00:06:26,760 --> 00:06:28,240
This bridgehead
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00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:32,220
which allowed the expansion of the empire
in the Balkans and in Greece
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00:06:32,440 --> 00:06:33,780
he was going to bring Mussolini
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00:06:33,995 --> 00:06:37,915
and Hitler, who had intervened
to save his ally from disaster,
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00:06:38,180 --> 00:06:41,180
dangerously far
in the years that followed.
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00:06:41,660 --> 00:06:45,000
But for now,
Hitler had his eyes fixed
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00:06:45,260 --> 00:06:49,280
on a brighter trophy
than impoverished Albania.
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00:06:49,640 --> 00:06:53,200
Hitler's political philosophy
it is well documented.
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00:06:53,500 --> 00:06:55,860
From 1923, from Mein Kampf,
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00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:00,580
in all his official speeches
a consistency is seen.
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00:07:00,940 --> 00:07:03,100
Hitler never said
that he will attack in the west,
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00:07:03,340 --> 00:07:05,460
to regain Alsace and Lorraine.
93
00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:07,800
Nor that he will attack in the south,
94
00:07:08,100 --> 00:07:12,240
to annex the regions where they
he spoke German in Switzerland and Italy.
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00:07:12,540 --> 00:07:16,140
He was always talking
only about an attack to the east.
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00:07:16,420 --> 00:07:19,920
This was his destiny
and the destiny of Germany.
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00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:25,200
And to the east were Poland,
Ukraine, Belarus and Russia.
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00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:29,220
Poland has had a history
unhappy because of her position,
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00:07:29,420 --> 00:07:33,600
between Slavic Russia
and Germanic territories.
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00:07:33,980 --> 00:07:38,080
The Polish state has existed since the 10th century,
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00:07:38,380 --> 00:07:44,000
but it had ceased to exist
as an independent state since 1795.
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00:07:44,260 --> 00:07:50,560
It regained its autonomy only later
The Versailles Peace Treaty of 1919.
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00:07:52,020 --> 00:07:55,220
That treaty had dispossessed Germany
of territories,
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00:07:55,480 --> 00:07:59,340
practically disenfranchised
ethnic German communities.
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00:07:59,660 --> 00:08:02,400
But any attempt at reacquisition
of territories and population
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00:08:02,620 --> 00:08:04,620
raised a problem for Hitler.
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00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:08,700
The Soviet Union would stay
with your hands in your chest?
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00:08:09,820 --> 00:08:12,080
And revolutionary Russia
had lost territories
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00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,400
following the peace with Germany in 1918.
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00:08:15,780 --> 00:08:18,780
In 1919, that territory
became polish
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00:08:19,060 --> 00:08:24,220
and recovery efforts had been
thwarted even in 1920,
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00:08:24,500 --> 00:08:28,300
when the Polish forces had repulsed
a soviet invasion.
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00:08:29,300 --> 00:08:30,940
The Russians asked for peace.
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00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:35,760
Hitler could assume that the USSR,
stronger and better equipped now,
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00:08:36,020 --> 00:08:39,320
he wanted not only revenge,
but also to gain territories.
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00:08:39,620 --> 00:08:42,700
That's why, with a diplomatic move
of genius,
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00:08:42,940 --> 00:08:46,140
developed a partition plan
of Poland
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00:08:46,380 --> 00:08:49,500
and alliance with the Soviet Union.
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00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,280
On August 20, 1939,
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00:08:53,540 --> 00:08:57,660
Hitler sent him a telegram
Joseph Stalin
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00:08:58,340 --> 00:09:02,660
which began with "Dear Mr. Stalin"
he proposed a treaty.
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00:09:03,100 --> 00:09:07,920
The reply telegram, addressed
the chancellor of Germany, A. Hitler,
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00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,100
he invited the foreign minister
German in Moscow.
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00:09:11,340 --> 00:09:16,700
Hitler then said:
"Wonderful! I have the world at my feet."
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00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:20,920
We present the main ones
events of the week.
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00:09:21,120 --> 00:09:23,120
The departure of von Ribbentrop
in Moscow announces
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00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,480
a new, incomprehensible chapter
in German diplomacy.
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00:09:27,880 --> 00:09:31,900
The non-aggression pact, called
after the two foreign ministers,
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00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,580
Molotov-Ribbentrop,
valid for 10 years,
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00:09:36,060 --> 00:09:42,440
was signed by Germany and the USSR
on August 24, 1939.
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00:09:44,520 --> 00:09:49,240
The fate of Poland and, as far as it came out
in the open, the war or peace dilemma,
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00:09:49,500 --> 00:09:53,800
was cut through a
secret protocol included in the pact.
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It stipulated that,
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00:09:55,540 --> 00:09:59,440
in the event of a
political and territorial reorganizations
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00:09:59,700 --> 00:10:02,800
of the territories belonging to
the Polish state,
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00:10:03,060 --> 00:10:06,500
spheres of influence
of Germany and the USSR
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00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:12,920
will be bounded, approximately,
by the Narew, Vistula and San rivers.
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00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:17,160
The question of whether interests
both sides
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00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:21,120
make the maintenance desirable
an independent Polish state,
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00:10:21,420 --> 00:10:23,520
can receive a categorical answer
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00:10:23,730 --> 00:10:27,390
only during
subsequent political events.
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00:10:27,740 --> 00:10:32,060
Germany was taking Polish territories
from the west of the Vistula,
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and the Soviet Union,
those from the east.
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00:10:36,260 --> 00:10:41,620
British historian Michael Burleigh
described this pact very eloquently.
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00:10:42,340 --> 00:10:47,580
"Poland has been crucified
between two robbers," he said.
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00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:54,500
One of the robbers had already clarified
what expectations does he have from the invasion.
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00:10:55,660 --> 00:10:58,600
On August 22,
Hitler told his generals
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00:10:58,858 --> 00:11:05,238
"to send the Totenkopf divisions
with orders to kill without mercy"
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00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:07,460
"on all men, women and children"
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00:11:07,700 --> 00:11:10,400
"of Polish origin
or Polish speakers."
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00:11:11,420 --> 00:11:17,100
"That's the only way we can get it
the living space we need."
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00:11:22,960 --> 00:11:28,180
By resorting to an understandable strategy,
Hitler had shaken hands with the devil.
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00:11:30,280 --> 00:11:33,040
But why did Stalin make a pact?
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00:11:33,300 --> 00:11:37,720
with a fascist dictator who
was he killing his communist opponents?
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00:11:38,940 --> 00:11:41,720
Stalin signed the treaty
on August 24,
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convinced by certain events
from a great distance
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that he could join
the destruction of Poland
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without subduing his empire
no danger.
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00:11:52,460 --> 00:11:56,800
To understand why,
let's turn our attention to the distance,
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where some skirmishes
with the Mongol cavalry
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00:12:00,540 --> 00:12:03,320
threatened to transform
in total war.
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00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:09,140
On the border of Manchukuo,
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00:12:09,340 --> 00:12:12,140
puppet state led by Kang-Te,
former Chinese emperor,
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00:12:12,380 --> 00:12:16,320
There were bloody clashes between
the Japanese forces and the Soviet forces.
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Invading Manchuria in 1931,
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Japan has doubled
the size of the empire
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and ended up having a common border
with the Soviet Union,
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00:12:30,260 --> 00:12:32,400
border he was guarding
with greatness,
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00:12:32,620 --> 00:12:36,680
to prevent the Russian revolution
to spread across the border
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and ultimately reach
in Japan.
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00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:44,260
On August 20,
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00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:48,240
four days before the signing
the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact,
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The Soviet Union had succeeded
a great victory on this border,
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at Halhîn Gol,
through General Gheorghi Zhukov.
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It was a classic battle,
of historical importance,
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00:13:04,900 --> 00:13:09,780
the first in which it mattered decisively
the use of armored units.
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00:13:10,220 --> 00:13:14,560
Zhukov sent the infantry
towards the center of the Japanese front,
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00:13:14,860 --> 00:13:17,180
immobilizing the main force
of the enemy.
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00:13:17,460 --> 00:13:20,600
He then sent his armor to the flanks,
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00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:23,980
to fall behind the Japanese,
already circled.
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00:13:24,620 --> 00:13:29,220
Being attacked from the air and by
artillery, the Japanese were destroyed,
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and Stalin escaped fear
another offensive in the East.
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00:13:34,760 --> 00:13:38,700
A cease and desist agreement was reached
of the fire on September 15,
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two days before
for the Red Army to attack Poland.
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00:13:44,380 --> 00:13:48,960
Germany was already fighting on the ground
Polish for two weeks.
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00:13:50,020 --> 00:13:53,060
The German invasion had been launched
on September 1,
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with the typical and the strange
German concern
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for the appearance of legality.
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00:14:00,220 --> 00:14:05,860
The Germans gathered a group of prisoners
Germans, gave them Polish uniforms,
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00:14:06,100 --> 00:14:11,140
then Schutzstaffel, meaning the SS
or "Protection Echelon", shot them.
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00:14:12,020 --> 00:14:14,500
This "incident" at the border,
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00:14:14,820 --> 00:14:18,300
in which the German prisoners were
described as infiltrating Poles,
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00:14:18,540 --> 00:14:22,740
it was presented as a case of murder
of some German prisoners
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00:14:22,980 --> 00:14:24,620
by German criminals.
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00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,860
For Hitler, it was a casus belli,
a reason for war.
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00:14:30,260 --> 00:14:35,360
On September 1, 1939,
German Air Force, Luftwaffe,
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00:14:35,620 --> 00:14:41,100
attacked the Polish town of Wielun
and destroyed three quarters of it.
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00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:51,200
This was the beginning of the
of the second world conflagration.
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00:14:53,860 --> 00:14:58,360
Five minutes after the air raid,
the German battleship Schleswig-Holstein
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00:14:59,820 --> 00:15:03,800
opened fire on the warehouse
military from Westerplatte.
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00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:09,440
At 08:00, the German troops have
attacked near the Polish town of Mokra.
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00:15:09,980 --> 00:15:15,060
Later, they attacked the borders
west, south and north.
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00:15:15,740 --> 00:15:18,640
The German planes started
attacks on cities.
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00:15:18,900 --> 00:15:21,400
The Polish defense was overwhelmed
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00:15:21,600 --> 00:15:25,940
on all the almost 2,500 km
of the front.
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00:15:26,740 --> 00:15:29,920
It was a war of brute force.
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00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:33,820
German bombers
they appeared suddenly.
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00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:35,660
No one had declared war.
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00:15:36,380 --> 00:15:42,860
I knew it had started because I could hear them
always propaganda on the radio.
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00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:45,800
Poland was at war.
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00:15:48,100 --> 00:15:51,700
One and a half million German soldiers,
divided into 67 divisions,
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00:15:51,900 --> 00:15:55,340
they invaded Poland,
with air and naval support.
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00:15:55,860 --> 00:15:59,240
Three Slovak divisions supported
the attack of Germany.
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00:15:59,620 --> 00:16:05,200
Slovakia had become a German protectorate
after the annexation of Czechoslovakia.
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00:16:06,040 --> 00:16:07,900
When the Russians joined,
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00:16:08,140 --> 00:16:11,500
the total strength of the Axis exceeded
2,000,000 soldiers.
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00:16:12,220 --> 00:16:16,380
The Polish army had none
not even half.
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00:16:17,100 --> 00:16:22,860
Polish aviation fighting
with 400 planes against 6,000.
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00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:24,960
In two weeks of attacks,
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00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,660
Poland would be left with less
of 60 functional planes.
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00:16:30,700 --> 00:16:36,600
Even more dangerous were the 7,500
of the invaders' tanks.
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00:16:36,940 --> 00:16:39,720
The Poles didn't even have 900.
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00:16:40,100 --> 00:16:44,200
The deployment of these forces
for crushing the Polish defenses
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00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:48,500
had been facilitated by the occupation
Czechoslovakia by the Germans.
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00:16:48,820 --> 00:16:52,500
That had provided a springboard
against the southern Polish flank
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00:16:52,750 --> 00:16:55,970
and brought to Germany
tanks, planes,
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00:16:56,170 --> 00:17:00,220
best quality artillery,
as well as ammunition factories
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00:17:00,420 --> 00:17:04,640
which would contribute immensely
to the Axis war effort.
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00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:08,480
It turned out that this place, which
British Prime Minister Chamberlain
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00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:13,200
he had called him during the crisis
from Munich, "a distant country,"
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00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,740
"populated with inhabitants
about which we know nothing"
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00:17:17,100 --> 00:17:23,020
it was a country that the allies should have
to take a close interest.
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00:17:24,580 --> 00:17:26,480
Undoubtedly, Poland was hoping
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00:17:26,680 --> 00:17:30,300
that her allies will intervene now,
who had promised to defend her
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00:17:30,580 --> 00:17:32,260
according to the engagement made with them,
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00:17:32,540 --> 00:17:40,760
as explained by the foreign minister
British at the news journal.
237
00:17:41,100 --> 00:17:44,740
The British don't get used to it
to waive the assumed obligations.
238
00:17:45,820 --> 00:17:48,960
It has often been said,
by right or wrong,
239
00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:51,500
that the last war could be prevented
240
00:17:52,020 --> 00:17:55,080
if the British Govt
he was making his position known.
241
00:17:56,180 --> 00:17:59,300
Now, when it's possible again
to break out a conflict,
242
00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:03,280
the government made its position public
243
00:18:03,980 --> 00:18:08,020
not only in front of the world, but also in one
message addressed to Herr Hitler.
244
00:18:09,340 --> 00:18:13,140
Before it expires on September 2,
of the British-French ultimatum,
245
00:18:13,380 --> 00:18:16,600
across the Atlantic it happened
something that went unnoticed.
246
00:18:16,820 --> 00:18:21,040
We must note
that it had a special significance.
247
00:18:23,340 --> 00:18:26,920
on that day
the most famous scientist in the world
248
00:18:27,140 --> 00:18:30,400
sent him a letter
the president of the USA.
249
00:18:31,340 --> 00:18:36,680
"Sir, a recent work
of E. Fermi and L. Szilard"
250
00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:40,660
"makes me believe
that the chemical element called uranium"
251
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:44,920
"could be turned into a source
new and important energy."
252
00:18:45,420 --> 00:18:50,400
"The new phenomenon could lead
and the construction of bombs."
253
00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,520
"I understood that Germany
stopped the sale of uranium"
254
00:18:55,820 --> 00:18:59,600
"from the Czechoslovak mines
which they now control."
255
00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,340
The author of the letter was concerned
because of the research done
256
00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:10,460
at the "Kaiser Wilhelm" Institute
from Berlin.
257
00:19:12,260 --> 00:19:17,280
And signed:
"Sincerely, Albert Einstein."
258
00:19:23,300 --> 00:19:26,500
The day after Einstein
sent the prophetic letter
259
00:19:26,740 --> 00:19:29,240
in which he anticipated the weapon
who, after six years,
260
00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:33,140
it would hasten the end
war and change the world,
261
00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:37,740
the ultimatum given to Germany has expired
by Great Britain and France.
262
00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,860
In London, Neville Chamberlain
he immediately went to the radio.
263
00:19:43,360 --> 00:19:46,580
On a Sunday morning
we were ordered to go to the canteen,
264
00:19:47,380 --> 00:19:50,580
to listen
the announcement made by the prime minister.
265
00:19:52,120 --> 00:19:54,940
He stated:
"We are at war with Germany."
266
00:19:56,540 --> 00:19:59,060
The peak is
that we didn't think who knows what.
267
00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:01,220
I didn't know what it was like in war.
268
00:20:02,400 --> 00:20:07,360
In less than an hour we were making plans
let's go have lunch.
269
00:20:09,180 --> 00:20:13,260
Very visibly,
it would be the first modern war.
270
00:20:13,460 --> 00:20:19,640
The world finds out almost in real time
what was happening and where was it happening
271
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,700
through the radio.
272
00:20:22,160 --> 00:20:24,800
Hitler and the Minister of Propaganda,
Joseph Goebbels
273
00:20:25,120 --> 00:20:28,200
they knew how to use both the radio,
as well as the cinema,
274
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,800
to project the triumphs
of the Reich in journals and films.
275
00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:35,600
American President Roosevelt
he understood too
276
00:20:35,820 --> 00:20:38,460
that the radio is like a visitor
who enters your house.
277
00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:43,140
He started speaking weekly
on the radio in a calm and friendly tone,
278
00:20:43,460 --> 00:20:46,700
opening the series of
"Discussions at the mouth of the stove".
279
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:50,540
In the evening of the announcement
made by Chamberlain,
280
00:20:50,740 --> 00:20:55,440
almost 1,500,000 women and children
they had been taken from the British cities
281
00:20:55,680 --> 00:20:59,220
and taken to the country, where it was hoped
that I am sheltered.
282
00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,640
In the interwar years,
the threat of bombing the population
283
00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:05,560
including toxic gases
284
00:21:05,840 --> 00:21:09,060
had been greatly exaggerated,
taking on apocalyptic proportions.
285
00:21:12,260 --> 00:21:14,400
States have invested massively
in bombers.
286
00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:19,460
Everywhere, people were building,
they were looking for or digging shelters.
287
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:25,680
The British had received 38,000,000
of gas masks,
288
00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:29,300
which they didn't need
as seen.
289
00:21:31,340 --> 00:21:33,320
The cities were camouflaged.
290
00:21:34,180 --> 00:21:36,640
Anti-aircraft patrols had been established.
291
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:40,120
Everyone was waiting for the bombs to fall.
292
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:48,360
The windows were taped up
and covered with blinds, shutters...
293
00:21:48,620 --> 00:21:50,500
Let no eyelash of light be seen.
294
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:54,240
The street lights were on
extinguished, or they were very weak.
295
00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:57,200
The buses were running like that,
with the headlights on low beam.
296
00:22:02,780 --> 00:22:06,460
England and France declared war
Germany, according to the ultimatum,
297
00:22:06,700 --> 00:22:08,400
"to defend Poland".
298
00:22:10,660 --> 00:22:14,360
But after two weeks
when the USSR also invaded Poland,
299
00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:18,100
neither of them said anything
he didn't react at all.
300
00:22:20,320 --> 00:22:23,720
As both countries had great empires
in other parts of the world
301
00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:29,540
their declarations of war gave
the conflict of global proportions.
302
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:34,460
The leaders of colonies and dominions
they were reporting on this war
303
00:22:34,660 --> 00:22:39,100
in which their peoples
they were now automatically involved.
304
00:22:40,200 --> 00:22:43,740
We had sworn obedience
the king and the queen.
305
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:48,200
Today I don't think that happens anymore.
306
00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:51,720
nowadays,
in this era
307
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,680
we are a democratic society,
which is autonomous.
308
00:22:58,180 --> 00:23:01,140
At that time,
you felt safe
309
00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:03,960
if you were part
from the British Empire.
310
00:23:05,660 --> 00:23:09,580
The violence of the war did not affect
immediately the empires.
311
00:23:10,260 --> 00:23:13,460
Poland's hope that they will intervene
in the war it was shattered.
312
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,980
France advanced 8 km in the Saar,
313
00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:20,180
then he ordered the troops
to withdraw.
314
00:23:21,580 --> 00:23:24,900
Great Britain threw 13 tons
of flyers in Germany,
315
00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:27,380
hence the phrase
"confetti war".
316
00:23:27,620 --> 00:23:32,360
12,000,000 tempting tickets
the German people at peace.
317
00:23:32,680 --> 00:23:38,200
That's all Britain has done.
Meanwhile, Poland was torn apart.
318
00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:44,160
On September 8, the city of Łódź
was under German occupation.
319
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:49,240
They went into effect immediately
all kinds of racial laws.
320
00:23:51,040 --> 00:23:56,500
From the moment the German army entered
in the city, terror began.
321
00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:02,760
They started arresting teachers,
union leaders. It didn't matter the job.
322
00:24:13,300 --> 00:24:14,920
The day after Stalin found out
323
00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:19,600
that the Soviet armistice with Japan
had been signed on September 16,
324
00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,300
he gave the order to be invaded
the eastern regions of Poland.
325
00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,520
Stalin was of the opinion
that the destruction of Poland
326
00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:30,700
reduced the number of bourgeois states
fascists to fight.
327
00:24:30,980 --> 00:24:35,040
As stipulated in the secret agreement in the pact
of non-aggression with the Nazis,
328
00:24:35,300 --> 00:24:37,840
Soviet troops invaded Poland
from the east.
329
00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:43,040
On September 17, Poland was fighting
already on two fronts.
330
00:24:44,740 --> 00:24:48,180
65,000 Polish soldiers
they died during the fighting.
331
00:24:48,384 --> 00:24:52,244
420,000 fell
in the hands of the Germans
332
00:24:52,500 --> 00:24:56,100
and 240,000, in the hands of the Soviets.
333
00:24:56,420 --> 00:24:59,640
Germany occupied the western part
and administer the south,
334
00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,120
the so-called General Governorate.
335
00:25:03,260 --> 00:25:06,400
East side, more than 50%
from Polish territory
336
00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:12,440
and over 35% of the population,
had now fallen into the hands of the Soviets.
337
00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:17,640
This allowed Stalin
to destroy any possibility
338
00:25:17,900 --> 00:25:21,760
for the Polish army to
reorganize and fight back.
339
00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:25,800
He ordered them to be deported
60,000 Polish soldiers,
340
00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,340
with families with everything, in Kazakhstan
341
00:25:28,680 --> 00:25:34,700
and the killing of 21,892
by Polish officers,
342
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:39,980
in five wooded places,
the most famous being Katyn.
343
00:25:42,420 --> 00:25:45,580
Dad was caught by the Russians.
344
00:25:46,120 --> 00:25:52,020
He came to visit us
in the camp near Kyiv
345
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:57,320
and told us that we will be taken to the USA.
346
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:00,080
It was a lie.
347
00:26:01,200 --> 00:26:07,020
All 22,000 were taken
at Katyn, where they were shot.
348
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,160
Vasili Blohin was wearing an apron
leather butcher shop
349
00:26:11,360 --> 00:26:14,380
to do his work as an executioner,
being Stalin's favorite
350
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:19,040
and probably the person who killed
with his hand more people
351
00:26:19,340 --> 00:26:21,640
than any other criminal
of all time.
352
00:26:21,940 --> 00:26:26,860
Blohin killed no less
of 7,000 Polish officers
353
00:26:27,140 --> 00:26:29,100
shooting them in the back of the head.
354
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:33,900
He used German pistols,
important ballistic evidence,
355
00:26:34,140 --> 00:26:36,940
meant to support the lie
about the guilt of the Germans,
356
00:26:37,200 --> 00:26:41,680
which the Russians recognized
only in 1989.
357
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:46,660
And other truths would remain
hidden for years.
358
00:26:47,000 --> 00:26:48,980
After the surrender of Poland,
359
00:26:49,200 --> 00:26:54,320
the Germans began to apply
typical policy in occupied countries:
360
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,580
Schrecklichkeit or "terror".
361
00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:01,440
Two days after he surrendered
and the last Polish unit,
362
00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:03,560
Hitler appointed Heinrich Himmler
363
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,700
"Commissar of the Reich
for the strengthening of German ethnicity",
364
00:27:08,080 --> 00:27:12,860
sometimes translated "Commissar
for the protection of the German race",
365
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,260
although none were
of "German race".
366
00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:21,100
Germans are not a race,
but a people of the same language.
367
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:27,420
But this scientific differentiation
did not disarm the virulence of Nazi racist theories.
368
00:27:30,140 --> 00:27:33,340
In the case of Poland,
five weeks of fierce fighting
369
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:37,380
they would be followed for five years
of repressive German occupation
370
00:27:37,660 --> 00:27:41,100
and 44 years of Soviet control.
371
00:27:41,380 --> 00:27:42,980
An unexpected result
372
00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:48,160
because, in order to defend its sovereignty,
England and France had entered the war.
373
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:53,220
Poland would lose the war
17% of the population,
374
00:27:53,460 --> 00:27:58,080
mostly the most significant
Jewish population of Europe.
375
00:28:00,700 --> 00:28:07,740
There were 3,474,000 Jews
in Poland in 1939.
376
00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,240
Only 350,000 had
to survive the war.
377
00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,900
Hitler had taken a political risk,
but also militarily with this invasion.
378
00:28:19,280 --> 00:28:21,780
He went on the offensive
the bulk of the army,
379
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:25,400
leaving only 23 divisions
and no tank
380
00:28:25,620 --> 00:28:28,700
on the western front
to face Great Britain and France.
381
00:28:28,900 --> 00:28:33,580
If they were to attack, to do it
to withdraw from Poland,
382
00:28:33,840 --> 00:28:40,540
would have found a very weak defense
in the way of their 110 divisions.
383
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:42,840
But they did not attack.
384
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:48,460
After the surrender, the Polish troops
who managed to flee into exile regrouped,
385
00:28:48,740 --> 00:28:53,160
to continue fighting alongside the Allies
and defend his lost homeland.
386
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:59,580
They fought from September 1, 1939
until the last day of the war.
387
00:28:59,800 --> 00:29:01,820
Although they were in exile,
388
00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:05,660
remained among the largest
armies that fought the Wehrmacht.
389
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,260
Like Germany,
and imperial Japan was convinced
390
00:29:13,460 --> 00:29:16,680
that it must expand
to survive
391
00:29:17,200 --> 00:29:22,220
to find vital space, resources
and sufficient food reserves.
392
00:29:22,500 --> 00:29:24,040
But where to go?
393
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:30,220
Those who supported the expansion to the north
they had been silenced
394
00:29:30,420 --> 00:29:35,860
of Zhukov's victory at
Halhîn Gol, on the border with Mongolia.
395
00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:42,460
This setback strengthened the position of the camp
which supported the expansion to the south.
396
00:29:43,680 --> 00:29:48,120
There were the colonial territories
of the Dutch East Indies,
397
00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:52,880
French Indochina, British Malaya,
Burma and even India.
398
00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:58,720
Before he started towards them,
on September 13,
399
00:29:58,920 --> 00:30:01,940
not even two weeks
after the Nazi invasion of Poland
400
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:05,180
and before the Red Army
to invade her too,
401
00:30:05,460 --> 00:30:08,980
six Japanese divisions,
with 120,000 soldiers in total,
402
00:30:09,300 --> 00:30:11,720
they penetrated even more
on the territory of China,
403
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:17,540
extending what they called
always "The China Incident".
404
00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,960
They headed south,
to Chang-sha.
405
00:30:22,360 --> 00:30:27,360
The Japanese were initially repulsed,
but, on September 19, 1939,
406
00:30:27,600 --> 00:30:31,360
they attacked again
this time with toxic gases.
407
00:30:33,680 --> 00:30:37,320
On October 6,
overwhelmed by counterattacks,
408
00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:40,000
the Japanese had to
to withdraw.
409
00:30:42,920 --> 00:30:44,460
The world was at war
410
00:30:44,780 --> 00:30:50,620
but few considered the wars
from the East and the West a single conflagration.
411
00:30:54,460 --> 00:30:58,720
Three days after the final capitulation
of Poland, on October 9,
412
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:05,000
The führer issued Directive 6,
who ordered an offensive to the west.
413
00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:10,760
An attack to eliminate France
and his allies in the war.
414
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:14,500
Although Hitler's fight was in the east,
415
00:31:14,800 --> 00:31:18,420
he wanted to annihilate first
the danger coming from behind.
416
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:25,080
The code name of the offensive
it was the "Yellow Plan".
417
00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:29,240
The express purpose was
obtaining a territory
418
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:35,240
as a basis for launching operations
air and naval against England.
419
00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:41,840
This plan proposed an attack
using the tactics tried by the Germans
420
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:44,100
at the beginning of the First World War.
421
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:45,660
As he saw,
422
00:31:45,960 --> 00:31:49,900
some strange circumstances
they forced them to abandon it.
423
00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:53,640
It was replaced by something more daring,
424
00:31:53,980 --> 00:31:58,620
which came to be called
Blitzkrieg.
425
00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:02,320
But later.
426
00:32:02,620 --> 00:32:06,420
For now, an unbelievable calm
lay over Europe.
427
00:32:06,800 --> 00:32:10,600
A US senator appointed him
"the strange war".
428
00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:18,040
The British, the "boring war", the French,
la drôle de guerre, "the bloody war",
429
00:32:18,300 --> 00:32:23,320
and the Germans, sitzkrieg,
"set war".
430
00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:26,060
The Allies were in bad morale.
431
00:32:26,300 --> 00:32:29,940
They had a state of insecurity,
especially since it was bitterly cold.
432
00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:35,620
After the fall of Poland, the intentions
the Soviets were not at all clear.
433
00:32:36,440 --> 00:32:39,800
Winston Churchill, back then
First Lord of the Admiralty,
434
00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:46,660
said on the radio in October:
"I cannot anticipate Russia's actions."
435
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:52,160
"Russia is like a shrouded riddle
in mystery and hidden in an enigma."
436
00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:55,460
The riddle would be solved
after a month.
437
00:32:55,760 --> 00:33:00,340
Stalin, encouraged by efficiency
Red Army against Poland,
438
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:06,000
continued to expand
the Soviet empire, attacking Finland.
439
00:33:06,260 --> 00:33:09,680
The conflict became known
under the name "Winter War".
440
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:15,740
It was Russia's pretext
the security of Leningrad.
441
00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:20,520
Arguing that the current borders
were not viable
442
00:33:20,840 --> 00:33:24,400
The USSR asked Finland
border territory.
443
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:26,920
Like Leningrad
could not be displaced,
444
00:33:27,240 --> 00:33:32,440
the border had to be moved further,
according to Stalin.
445
00:33:33,200 --> 00:33:36,220
The Finns didn't want it
to cede territory,
446
00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:38,560
so Stalin went on the attack.
447
00:33:43,620 --> 00:33:45,700
The Red Army had more soldiers,
448
00:33:45,900 --> 00:33:48,880
30 times more planes
and 100 times, tanks.
449
00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:54,700
But its officers, very few
number, they also lacked experience.
450
00:33:54,900 --> 00:33:56,660
They definitely didn't have a leader
451
00:33:56,860 --> 00:34:00,640
according to the Finnish marshal
Carl Gustaf Mannerheim,
452
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:03,520
born on time
when the Grand Duchy of Finland
453
00:34:03,720 --> 00:34:06,440
was part of the Tsarist Russian Empire.
454
00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:11,360
Mannerheim had been a general
in the Russian Imperial Army.
455
00:34:16,300 --> 00:34:20,600
The Soviet invasion was launched
on November 30, 1939,
456
00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:24,340
with the bombing of the capital Helsinki.
457
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:29,600
A month later, the League of Nations
declared the invasion illegal
458
00:34:29,880 --> 00:34:32,100
and excluded the USSR from the league.
459
00:34:32,440 --> 00:34:36,680
It was almost the last act of one
organizations whose good efforts
460
00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:41,980
were darkened by the memory
his futile attempts
461
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:44,100
to keep the dictators in check.
462
00:34:48,220 --> 00:34:50,560
Russian planes are flying
above the Finnish capital,
463
00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:55,180
bringing the horror of total war
over the innocent population of Helsinki.
464
00:34:59,780 --> 00:35:03,880
After the air raid, the Soviets
they launched a ground offensive.
465
00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:07,020
They were kept in check
with great sacrifices.
466
00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:10,140
The first month of the campaign
it was humiliating.
467
00:35:10,420 --> 00:35:13,600
Finnish fighters, motivated
and well equipped for winter,
468
00:35:13,800 --> 00:35:16,760
knowing how to use it
by the dense forests
469
00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:21,520
which confused the soviet tanks,
they managed to repel the Red Army.
470
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:27,540
The Finns invented a simple weapon
against tanks:
471
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:31,560
a bottle full of gasoline and tar,
which they threw towards the target.
472
00:35:31,760 --> 00:35:36,320
They gave him the name of the Soviet minister
external: the Molotov cocktail.
473
00:35:37,580 --> 00:35:41,760
Finally, the Finnish defense
was overwhelmed numerically by the Soviets.
474
00:35:42,060 --> 00:35:45,960
After four months, Finland was asking for peace.
475
00:35:48,240 --> 00:35:53,000
The "Winter War" is over
with the Moscow Treaty of March 14, 1940.
476
00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:56,840
Stalin had succeeded
to expand the Soviet empire.
477
00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:59,800
Without stopping
after the breakup of Eastern Poland,
478
00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:03,920
he had now mastered one side
from the Finnish Karelia isthmus.
479
00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:07,760
Forced occupation would follow
of the Romanian provinces of Bessarabia
480
00:36:07,960 --> 00:36:11,680
and the north of Bucovina,
as well as the three Baltic states.
481
00:36:11,880 --> 00:36:15,120
Stalin celebrated the successes
Red Army
482
00:36:15,420 --> 00:36:18,560
through the widest promotion
collective from military history.
483
00:36:18,860 --> 00:36:23,500
He raised 479 officers
at the rank of major general.
484
00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:27,140
The advancement of such a large number
of officers had become necessary
485
00:36:27,340 --> 00:36:30,660
because of bloody politics
of Stalin.
486
00:36:31,500 --> 00:36:35,920
His paranoia, fueled
of the materials given by SD,
487
00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:39,220
Sicherheitsdienst,
nazi spy agency,
488
00:36:39,500 --> 00:36:42,240
and of a torn confession
by torture
489
00:36:42,560 --> 00:36:45,220
as if he was getting ready
a put against him,
490
00:36:45,540 --> 00:36:51,760
had led, in the 1930s, to the purge of
army rank of 36,000 officers,
491
00:36:52,200 --> 00:36:54,500
who had fallen victims
Stalin's ideas
492
00:36:54,742 --> 00:36:57,642
that there is a Trotskyist plot.
493
00:36:59,260 --> 00:37:03,100
Many were sent to gulags
and many others were killed.
494
00:37:03,700 --> 00:37:06,320
Joseph Stalin, in this way
and not only
495
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,760
was responsible
of millions of deaths.
496
00:37:10,260 --> 00:37:12,820
Like Hitler, by the way.
497
00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,540
Assessing the number of victims
produced by their ambitions,
498
00:37:16,780 --> 00:37:18,920
let's not forget that Hitler's Germany
499
00:37:19,120 --> 00:37:22,820
and Stalin's USSR
they were real machines.
500
00:37:23,240 --> 00:37:27,980
Maybe they were monsters,
but they each had a machine.
501
00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:32,660
And these machines were allies
when Finland sued for peace.
502
00:37:33,380 --> 00:37:35,640
The map of Europe was being redone.
503
00:37:35,880 --> 00:37:41,120
Those with a spirit of observation saw
the emergence of two new ambitious empires
504
00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:45,920
and felt that their collision,
like titans, it was inevitable.
505
00:37:50,160 --> 00:37:52,600
Before hostilities resume
in Europe,
506
00:37:52,880 --> 00:37:56,840
the world conflagration disturbed
and a distant continent.
507
00:37:57,280 --> 00:38:01,540
In the waters off South America
a naval battle took place.
508
00:38:02,380 --> 00:38:07,860
The Germans had built both ships
surface and submarine,
509
00:38:08,120 --> 00:38:11,520
which could disrupt the expeditions
and they could endanger the routes
510
00:38:11,720 --> 00:38:17,160
on which their opponents depended,
especially the British.
511
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:21,000
In the interwar years,
pampered by imperial riches,
512
00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:24,300
Great Britain imports 70%
of his total food.
513
00:38:24,600 --> 00:38:27,860
That's why he had the biggest one
merchant marine in the world.
514
00:38:28,100 --> 00:38:31,560
Almost a third of the goods
world were British.
515
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:36,880
At any given time, 2,500 ships
British ships were crossing the oceans.
516
00:38:39,040 --> 00:38:45,300
As we will see, the Nazi attack on
this naval support would affect England.
517
00:38:48,760 --> 00:38:50,720
Lethal power
of German submarines
518
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:53,660
had been revealed
since the beginning of the war.
519
00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:58,740
On the night of October 13, 1939,
520
00:38:59,080 --> 00:39:03,980
U-47 had broken through the defenses
the large naval base at Scapa Flow
521
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:08,480
and had sunk the British battleship
Royal Oak, at anchor.
522
00:39:12,660 --> 00:39:15,200
The British Navy didn't have much
to be expected
523
00:39:15,400 --> 00:39:17,280
to restore his shattered pride.
524
00:39:17,700 --> 00:39:22,620
He gathered a group of ships,
to destroy a battleship,
525
00:39:22,860 --> 00:39:26,600
Admiral Graf Spee, which he had destroyed
a few merchant ships
526
00:39:26,838 --> 00:39:29,498
in the Indian Ocean
and in the South Atlantic.
527
00:39:29,820 --> 00:39:31,740
A duel ensued
of naval artillery.
528
00:39:31,940 --> 00:39:34,260
The German ship had better guns,
529
00:39:34,560 --> 00:39:37,980
but she was outnumbered
and disadvantaged driver.
530
00:39:38,380 --> 00:39:41,320
Damaged, she had to
to take refuge
531
00:39:41,568 --> 00:39:47,388
in the port of the Uruguayan capital,
Montevideo, for repairs.
532
00:39:47,840 --> 00:39:53,060
Stuck there, the Germans were induced
mistaken by the English for radio messages
533
00:39:53,262 --> 00:39:57,282
which gave the impression of being huge
naval force was going to attack them.
534
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:00,020
Then the commander
German battleship,
535
00:40:00,306 --> 00:40:03,966
Captain Hans Langsdorff,
ordered the ship to board.
536
00:40:04,300 --> 00:40:06,820
The crew went down,
the battleship was destroyed,
537
00:40:07,020 --> 00:40:11,620
and Langsdorff committed suicide
on December 19.
538
00:40:12,640 --> 00:40:15,600
In an equally brave action,
in February 1940,
539
00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:20,720
a team of British marines
boarded the German logistics ship Altmark,
540
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,220
located in Norwegian waters.
541
00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:29,840
The ship was taking them to Germany
sailors captured by Admiral Graf Spee.
542
00:40:30,100 --> 00:40:35,640
It was the last time it was used
the hanger in a battle at sea
543
00:40:35,940 --> 00:40:38,140
and the prisoners were saved.
544
00:40:41,040 --> 00:40:45,000
On April 4, 1940, Chamberlain,
british prime minister
545
00:40:45,300 --> 00:40:48,060
he addressed his supporters
from the Conservative Party.
546
00:40:48,380 --> 00:40:51,740
He told them it was normal
to expect a German attack
547
00:40:51,940 --> 00:40:53,720
when the war broke out.
548
00:40:54,060 --> 00:40:58,240
"It's not a completely unusual fact"
he declared,
549
00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:00,920
"that such a thing has not been tried?"
550
00:41:01,260 --> 00:41:05,540
"Whatever the reason,
one thing is clear."
551
00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:07,840
"He missed the bus."
552
00:41:08,140 --> 00:41:10,200
He said, to the cheers of his colleagues.
553
00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,320
They fired him after not even a week,
554
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:17,200
when they realized
that Hitler was not coming by bus.
555
00:41:17,780 --> 00:41:22,440
On April 9, 1940, after five days
from Chamberlain's speech,
556
00:41:22,740 --> 00:41:26,100
Germany invaded Norway
and Denmark.
557
00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:28,500
Although insufficiently publicized,
558
00:41:28,700 --> 00:41:32,540
the action would have an influence
huge on everything that followed.
559
00:41:32,860 --> 00:41:36,440
It will affect the German forces engaged
until the end of the war
560
00:41:36,740 --> 00:41:41,380
will have considerable effects on
German naval power and tactics
561
00:41:41,740 --> 00:41:45,520
and on the leadership of Great Britain.
562
00:41:46,300 --> 00:41:49,140
Above the Arctic Circle,
in northern Sweden,
563
00:41:49,380 --> 00:41:53,300
it was one of the biggest
iron ore mining,
564
00:41:53,520 --> 00:41:56,420
fuel ore
Germany's steel mills,
565
00:41:56,623 --> 00:41:59,583
vital for ammunition production.
566
00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:05,460
Germany took more than 70%
from the production of the Swedish mine.
567
00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:12,260
It preoccupied the führer incessantly
ore reserve security.
568
00:42:12,940 --> 00:42:18,340
As he knew it, so did they
the British, who took 10% of the production.
569
00:42:19,440 --> 00:42:23,320
Both sides still knew who had it
control over the Norwegian coast
570
00:42:23,520 --> 00:42:27,740
control the sea route
which took the ore to Germany.
571
00:42:27,940 --> 00:42:31,680
In addition, the multitude of fjords
and good anchorages,
572
00:42:31,980 --> 00:42:37,420
it offered the opportunity to the German submarines
to operate near the main routes.
573
00:42:39,380 --> 00:42:42,360
And Great Britain, and Germany,
they started making plans.
574
00:42:42,660 --> 00:42:45,140
Of course, none of them knew
of the intentions of the other,
575
00:42:45,340 --> 00:42:48,080
but these became evident,
almost comically,
576
00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:51,540
when they acted
practically at the same time.
577
00:42:54,700 --> 00:43:00,400
On April 9, Hitler gave the order to
be invaded Norway and Denmark.
578
00:43:01,460 --> 00:43:04,840
The Danes opposed the Germans
a weak resistance.
579
00:43:05,220 --> 00:43:07,480
Denmark was neutral and unprepared.
580
00:43:07,680 --> 00:43:11,700
Within 12 hours, her capital was falling
in the hands of the Germans.
581
00:43:12,760 --> 00:43:14,660
In Norway, also neutral,
582
00:43:14,900 --> 00:43:17,960
German troops arrived
by water and air
583
00:43:18,220 --> 00:43:22,040
in six places: from the south of the country,
from Kristiansand,
584
00:43:22,340 --> 00:43:24,720
to the far north,
at Narvik.
585
00:43:26,140 --> 00:43:29,460
On April 10, Denmark capitulated.
586
00:43:29,660 --> 00:43:32,380
Further north,
towards the tip of the Scandinavian peninsula,
587
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:38,160
six British destroyers
they attacked the Germans near Narvik.
588
00:43:40,920 --> 00:43:43,760
Both sides lost
two ships each.
589
00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:48,680
The next day, April 11,
590
00:43:48,980 --> 00:43:53,120
the first British military contingent
set off for Norway.
591
00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:57,280
On November 12, the British navy
returned to Narvik.
592
00:43:57,580 --> 00:44:00,220
This time, with dire consequences
593
00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:04,440
for future efficiency
of the German Navy, Kriegsmarine.
594
00:44:04,900 --> 00:44:08,440
Several British destroyers,
supported by the battleship Warspite,
595
00:44:08,692 --> 00:44:10,672
they sank seven of the Germans,
596
00:44:10,920 --> 00:44:15,200
that is, half of everything
German destroyers,
597
00:44:15,500 --> 00:44:21,360
undermining the navy's capability
to support an invasion by sea.
598
00:44:21,660 --> 00:44:26,000
This conflict made the supremacy
aerial over the English Channel
599
00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:29,080
to be imperative in case of invasion
600
00:44:29,380 --> 00:44:32,500
and made it inevitable
Battle of England.
601
00:44:33,420 --> 00:44:36,680
Between April 15 and 18,
British troops landed,
602
00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:41,280
to face the Germans,
at Harstard, Namsos and Aandalsnes.
603
00:44:42,380 --> 00:44:46,100
In less than ten days
the first evacuations would begin.
604
00:44:46,360 --> 00:44:50,580
At the beginning of June, all the soldiers
the British were already withdrawn.
605
00:44:51,200 --> 00:44:53,220
There was no need to act like that.
606
00:44:53,560 --> 00:44:56,880
The expeditionary force sent,
for example, in Trondheim,
607
00:44:57,140 --> 00:44:59,660
it was six times bigger
than the German force.
608
00:44:59,900 --> 00:45:05,020
But it was made up of combatants
disorganized and ill-equipped,
609
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:09,840
who could not face the soldiers
Germans, well equipped and trained.
610
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:14,700
On May 2, the fighting had ended
in southern Norway.
611
00:45:15,040 --> 00:45:17,740
Defeated and incompetence
and by their own charms,
612
00:45:17,940 --> 00:45:21,600
not only by the enemy,
the British were evacuated.
613
00:45:22,140 --> 00:45:26,360
In northern Norway, Narvik fell
in the hands of the Allies on May 28,
614
00:45:26,580 --> 00:45:32,300
although the German garrison succeeded
to flee by train to Sweden.
615
00:45:32,720 --> 00:45:37,540
On May 28, the events in Norway
they already seemed insignificant.
616
00:45:37,820 --> 00:45:43,460
On May 10, France was invaded.
The situation there was desperate.
617
00:45:45,040 --> 00:45:47,380
The new British Prime Minister,
Winston Churchill,
618
00:45:47,580 --> 00:45:50,820
he could not afford to take advantage
the situation in Norway.
619
00:45:51,120 --> 00:45:55,200
That's why he called his troops home,
where the danger was maximum.
620
00:45:55,660 --> 00:45:59,140
King Haakon and his ministers
were taken by the British navy.
621
00:45:59,500 --> 00:46:01,860
He installed himself in power
a collaborationist government,
622
00:46:02,060 --> 00:46:04,360
led by Vikun Quisling.
623
00:46:04,740 --> 00:46:09,220
His name was taken over by the language
English with the meaning of "traitor".
624
00:46:09,700 --> 00:46:11,980
Quisling was found guilty
of betrayal
625
00:46:12,220 --> 00:46:16,460
and was executed by a platoon
in the year 1945.
626
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:20,400
By the end of the war,
Hitler was sure
627
00:46:20,600 --> 00:46:23,980
that the Allies will try
to reconquer Norway.
628
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:29,520
For this reason, they have always been there
at least 12 German divisions.
629
00:46:29,820 --> 00:46:34,800
They had no part of the action. It would be
been of more use elsewhere.
630
00:46:35,580 --> 00:46:39,980
Germany paid dearly for the victory
and by the fact that the Allies laid hands
631
00:46:40,180 --> 00:46:43,440
on the fourth merchant marine
as the largest in the world.
632
00:46:43,740 --> 00:46:48,960
Norwegian vessels of 4,600,000 t in total
they joined the British fleet.
633
00:46:49,720 --> 00:46:54,820
But possibly one of the most important
consequences of the situation in Norway
634
00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:58,140
was the replacement
the prime minister of Great Britain.
635
00:46:58,720 --> 00:47:00,660
On May 7, after five days
636
00:47:00,860 --> 00:47:03,860
from the humiliating eviction
from southern Norway,
637
00:47:04,180 --> 00:47:08,580
The House of Commons debated
two days the British decisions in the war.
638
00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:13,580
Quoting a well-known spoken text
in Parliament 300 years before,
639
00:47:13,940 --> 00:47:18,900
Leo Amery, one of the supporters
of Chamberlain's party, said:
640
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:23,240
"How many good things have you done,
you've already been in office too long."
641
00:47:23,580 --> 00:47:26,780
"I tell you to go,
let's finish with you."
642
00:47:27,100 --> 00:47:29,900
"Leave once,
for God's sake!"
643
00:47:30,300 --> 00:47:32,700
Seeing that he no longer has political support,
644
00:47:32,980 --> 00:47:38,260
Chamberlain left in time
what everyone was chanting: "Go! Go!"
645
00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:44,000
He would have preferred to take his place
Lord Halifax, the Foreign Secretary,
646
00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:48,020
but he refused the position,
which fell to Churchill.
647
00:47:48,860 --> 00:47:53,240
As we shall see, Halifax would have been
otherwise a war leader.
648
00:47:53,580 --> 00:47:56,800
The fate of other nations has been decided.
649
00:47:57,120 --> 00:47:59,300
On the day when Chamberlain
he resigned
650
00:47:59,500 --> 00:48:02,360
and Churchill took office,
651
00:48:02,560 --> 00:48:07,880
Hitler unleashed the invasion
on the Netherlands and Belgium.
652
00:48:17,820 --> 00:48:20,140
In the next episode,
653
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:23,440
we will see how the lightning war
Western Europe is scorching.
654
00:48:23,880 --> 00:48:25,940
France and the Netherlands
are knocked down
655
00:48:26,240 --> 00:48:30,180
and England, whose army escaped
as by miracle of defeat,
656
00:48:30,420 --> 00:48:34,160
it stands alone in the face
of the Third Reich.
657
00:48:37,200 --> 00:48:42,280
Root: Viasat History
Trans-synchro: vonRichthofen
Subs.ro Team @ www.subs.ro