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By the start of 1943,
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Germany and Japan have been at war
for several years.
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Although the people of both nations
have endured
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battlefield casualties
from the beginning,
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two critical events
are about to bring the war home.
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The leaders of Nazi Germany
and Imperial Japan
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respond in very different ways.
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All wars change the world,
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but none of them changed the world
like the Second World War did.
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Japan's on the march,
Germany's on the march.
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No-one can imagine the nightmare
they're about to unleash...
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...the most destructive war
in human history.
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Suddenly, the world
is turned upside down,
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and all hell is let loose.
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The West is stunned
by the speed of the advance.
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You get the Allies
led by the big three,
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Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin:
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men who were dealing with
immensely complicated questions.
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It's the biggest military
operation of human history.
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The Allies have to come together,
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not just militarily but industrial
scale: it's a global perspective.
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They have
to fight in every climate,
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from the Arctic
to the jungles of the Pacific,
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to the deserts of Africa
and the depths of the ocean.
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But there was
no certainty of victory.
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It was going to be
a horrific bloodbath.
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We see humans
at their absolute worst...
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how they treat other human beings.
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And we see them
at their absolute best,
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willing to give their lives
that others might live.
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World War II was a struggle in
which there could be one victor...
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and one vanquished.
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{\an8}By early 1943, the Nazi Third
Reich has absorbed much of Europe.
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{\an8}Great cities have been bombed.
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{\an8}Whole nations have been occupied.
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{\an8}But in Germany,
success on the battlefield
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{\an8}allows life to go on as before.
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{\an8}Hitler wants to maintain
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{\an8}the semblance of normalcy
even in wartime.
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{\an8}So theatres remain open,
stadiums remain open,
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{\an8}sporting events go on as scheduled.
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{\an8}Germans are encouraged
to go about their daily business.
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{\an8}The Germans,
from the beginning of the war,
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{\an8}have really been sheltered
and shielded by Hitler
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because there is a belief
that Hitler has
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that one of the main reasons
that Germany collapsed in 1918
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was because the population
didn't have enough to eat,
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their morale failed,
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and all of a sudden,
they turned against the government.
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Hitler constantly tells the
German people they're a master race.
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But, you know, deep down inside,
he doesn't trust them at all.
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He was seared by the events
of the First World War.
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Nothing could've looked stronger
than the Kaiser's government,
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in 1918, and it was overthrown in
a revolution lasting a single day.
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And so Hitler believes
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that the German people are,
in a sense, fickle.
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If they aren't given what they want,
if they don't have enough to eat,
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if they don't have the materiel,
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that they're going
to somehow turn on him.
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And so he is very, very determined
to make sure that the German people
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don't feel the pinch of the war.
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But in early February,
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Germans across the Reich are told
in a short radio broadcast...
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that the 6th Army
has been destroyed at Stalingrad.
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Germany suffered enormous
casualties at Stalingrad.
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90,000 captured...
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...and over 200,000 dead.
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Hundreds of thousands,
if not millions,
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of Germans had a family member,
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00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,960
or a friend, or knew
someone who fought at Stalingrad.
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This is the greatest catastrophe
in German history.
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Nobody's
been prepared for this.
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For the families of people who are
serving on the Stalingrad front,
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{\an8}it unleashes a wave of panic.
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It is the first admission
of a Wehrmacht defeat.
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But Hitler and his military leaders
are busy planning a counter-attack.
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00:04:56,640 --> 00:04:59,920
Hitler is now up in
the Wolf's Lair, the Wolfsschanze,
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his massive headquarters
up in East Prussia,
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in almost complete isolation.
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He rarely appears in public,
and so the task of rebuilding morale
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00:05:08,720 --> 00:05:10,840
amongst the people
is left to others.
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00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:13,360
Joseph Goebbels,
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Hitler's Reich Minister
of Enlightenment and Propaganda,
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has been at the centre
of the Nazi Party
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00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:20,760
since it was formed in the 1920s.
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Joseph Goebbels is one
of the most unusual Nazi officials.
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00:05:25,280 --> 00:05:30,040
And he looks like anything
but the image of the Nazi superman.
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He has no military background,
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but he's brilliant
about the use of propaganda.
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Goebbels decides that the time
has come to deliver a speech
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{\an8}exposing the German people
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{\an8}to the realities
of what 1943 is gonna give 'em.
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For the first time,
a Nazi Party official
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00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:02,840
stands up and says
the war isn't going well.
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Only the German people
are capable of lifting Germany up
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from the defeated at Stalingrad
to ultimate victory.
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It's time to fight total war.
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00:06:12,800 --> 00:06:15,720
Total war is
the commitment to a complete
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and full national mobilisation,
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meaning that all businesses
and then all people,
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00:06:20,880 --> 00:06:23,880
all men, all women,
absolutely everyone,
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00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:26,800
become dedicated
toward securing victory.
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00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,240
The 'Total War' speech is both
an attempt to rally public opinion
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and an attempt to persuade Hitler
to go to total war.
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Think of this as like
a closing argument at a trial.
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Goebbels is making a case
to Adolf Hitler
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that if this war
is going to prevail,
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you're gonna have to accept
the commitment to total war.
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And so this hand-selected crowd
of followers and sycophants...
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00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:13,840
...they're saying 'Ja!'
to every word that he says.
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And Adolf Hitler
is saying, 'Nein.'
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Hitler is reluctant.
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He promised triumph, not sacrifice.
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People say Goebbels giving
that speech, that's the switch
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{\an8}when Germany really
goes to total war, but it isn't.
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That would, for example,
have meant mobilising women
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00:07:36,240 --> 00:07:38,800
into industrial jobs, as had
happened in the United States.
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The conservative Nazi regime
wants women to stay in the home...
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...so they can raise children,
care for the family.
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00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:51,160
But with so many men
serving in the Wehrmacht,
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primarily on the Eastern Front...
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...Germany desperately needs workers.
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Albert Speer, Reich Minister
of Armament and War Production,
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must find a solution.
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Albert Speer
is a complex figure.
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He begins his career
as an architect,
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and he is the architect
for the Nuremberg rallies.
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And these become
a huge propaganda success.
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In 1942, Hitler appoints
Speer as his new armaments minister.
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Speer has absolutely no background
in armaments production at all.
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But nevertheless,
he's a good organiser,
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and he does quite an amazing job.
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But if you're gonna
increase production
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but not tap into the German people
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because we're trying to keep
everything normal back home,
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well, you gotta find
that manpower somewhere.
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Albert Speer
has another strategy at hand,
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and that's to use slave labourers...
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recruited from the various
occupation zones.
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Massive numbers of people
were brought into the Reich
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to work as slave labourers,
people from Western Europe,
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from France, from the Netherlands,
but also from Poland, from Ukraine.
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In 1943, 12-15 million people were
brought in from 20 other countries
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to effectively make up for
the manpower that Germany has lost.
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However, it is also
at a high human and moral cost.
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They're barely fed. They're
practically chained to the machine.
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Whenever we look
at the dramatic increase
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in German arms productions in 1943,
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we should always
look behind the gleaming weapons,
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and tanks, and aircraft, to realise
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that these were produced
by human skeletons banging out
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parts for German weapons
until they died.
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Production will rise 56%
in the first six months.
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It is an armaments miracle.
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It also gives Germany
a propaganda story to tell.
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Look at what we've done.
We've turned armaments around.
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Look how many planes,
look how many tanks we're producing.
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Things are difficult,
but it's going to be OK.
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But the RAF
and the American Eighth Air Force
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are expanding
their relentless bombing campaign
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aimed at destroying
Germany's industrial infrastructure
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and German morale.
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The Germans may not yet
be fighting total war,
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but the war is coming home
to Germany in 1943,
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and it's the Anglo-American
round-the-clock bombing campaign.
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American B-17s
flying from England
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bomb the Reich's war factories
by day.
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00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,320
At night,
the RAF hits German cities.
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Germany is forced to divert
more and more men and materiel
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to defend the skies
over their cities.
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In facing
the Allied bombing campaign,
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the Nazi regime does take steps.
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It builds these monumental
flak towers,
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which... they're almost
impossible to demolish.
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These massive flak towers
are also air raid shelters.
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They have infirmaries,
they have schools.
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The German government
is saying to its people,
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00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:09,600
'These air raid shelters
are there to protect you.'
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But there's never enough
for the population.
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And when the bombers come,
most Germans wind up
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going into a neighbourhood cellar.
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They're cramped, they're hot.
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You're there all night long, and the
children are getting sick from fear.
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It was a terrifying experience
and also exhausting.
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This happened night
after night after night.
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You stay down there
for hours.
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Maybe you're down there
until the next morning.
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And then finally,
somebody cracks the door,
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and you walk outside, and you see
your neighbourhood is gone.
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This is the first time that war
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has really come home
to the German people.
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And many of them are asking,
'Where is our government?'
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While German cities are being
bombed by the Western Allies,
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the skies over Japan remain clear.
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Germany is
much more vulnerable than Japan
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{\an8}because it is within flying range
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00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:35,000
of the British
and the American bombers.
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Bombing Japan is not possible
for the Allies in 1943
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because Japan enjoyed
an enormous defence perimeter.
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00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:49,160
The Japanese have conquered
an empire that spans much of Asia.
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00:12:50,480 --> 00:12:54,080
Distance, and the capture
of several remote Pacific islands,
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00:12:54,240 --> 00:12:58,280
have created a defensive perimeter
of over three million square miles
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that protects this empire.
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00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,640
{\an8}But American victories
at Midway and Guadalcanal
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00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,040
{\an8}have breached this defensive ring.
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00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,760
Japan's home front
still has not faced daily air raids,
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00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,560
but military leaders know...
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00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:18,360
{\an8}...the tide is shifting against them.
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In June 1943,
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00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:30,640
Tokyo citizens gather to pay tribute
to a fallen war hero.
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00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,280
It's a solemn event.
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00:13:48,480 --> 00:13:51,840
Admiral Yamamoto
was this huge figure in Japan,
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00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,880
the mastermind of Pearl Harbor,
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00:13:54,040 --> 00:13:56,720
{\an8}the hero of the early months
of the war, and now he's gone.
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00:13:58,320 --> 00:14:01,240
Acting on
intercepted radio messages,
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00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:05,200
the American air force shot down
Admiral Yamamoto's plane...
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00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:08,280
...over the Solomon Islands.
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00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:12,120
His body was found
and sent back to Japan.
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00:14:13,280 --> 00:14:15,960
Japan tightly censors
all news of the war.
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00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,760
But the death of
the navy's Supreme Commander...
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00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,560
cannot be hidden
from the Japanese people.
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00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:27,800
You've got up to a million people
lining the streets
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00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:31,960
as this funeral cortege goes past,
a hugely sombre occasion.
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There's a sense of a really
significant figure passing.
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Imagine what losing
MacArthur would've done.
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00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:42,280
These figures
are seen as irreplaceable.
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00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,760
{\an8}And so when this pierces
the news blackout for the public
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00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:48,840
{\an8}on what's really going on
in the war, it's huge.
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00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,800
This is a real concern
in the Japanese government.
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00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:55,040
Prime Minister Hideki Tojo...
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00:14:55,200 --> 00:14:58,880
was an early advocate
for war against the United States.
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00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,720
{\an8}Tojo at this point
has been in power in Japan
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00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,400
{\an8}since shortly before Pearl Harbor.
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00:15:05,240 --> 00:15:08,680
As the war situation
is going increasingly badly,
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00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:13,520
he needs a victory to be able
to continue in power in Japan.
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00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:16,760
{\an8}Tojo is driven by honour.
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00:15:16,920 --> 00:15:19,240
{\an8}He's driven by loyalty
to the Emperor.
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And more than anything else,
he wants to make sure that Japan...
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00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,240
escapes the war
with its empire intact.
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00:15:27,240 --> 00:15:30,240
The Japanese intended
the attack on Pearl Harbor
241
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:33,120
to be a knockout blow
against the Americans.
242
00:15:34,040 --> 00:15:37,400
They understood they couldn't win
a protracted war
243
00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:40,840
against the economic might
of the United States.
244
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,520
Even when Japan was winning
in the initial phase of the war,
245
00:15:44,680 --> 00:15:47,240
Japan's wartime production capacity
is, roughly,
246
00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:49,680
only one-tenth
of the United States'.
247
00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:54,200
So by 1943, the government
really needs to use
248
00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:56,480
whatever they can get their hands on
249
00:15:56,640 --> 00:15:58,560
to keep
the wartime production going.
250
00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:02,640
Oil from the East Indies,
251
00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:06,480
rubber from Malaya,
iron ore from Manchuria...
252
00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:09,880
...are all vital
to Japanese war industries.
253
00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,600
The problem is
is that you look at a map,
254
00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:16,640
you can see that that has to be
transported over water.
255
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,320
They have a huge merchant marine,
the third largest in the world,
256
00:16:21,480 --> 00:16:24,000
to move resources
from Southeast Asia.
257
00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:27,080
Now, all of it is threatened
258
00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,280
by the tightening stranglehold
of the American navy.
259
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:34,920
{\an8}The United States'
submarine operations
260
00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:37,640
{\an8}have been quite successful...
261
00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,360
...in cutting Japanese supply routes.
262
00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:48,160
{\an8}Japanese natural resources
263
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:50,520
{\an8}are increasingly lying
at the bottom of the ocean.
264
00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:52,840
So we begin to see
critical material shortages
265
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:54,920
on the Japanese home front.
266
00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,240
To maintain
the nation's war effort,
267
00:16:57,400 --> 00:16:59,200
Prime Minister Tojo
and his government
268
00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:01,320
impose severe austerity...
269
00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:03,920
...on the Japanese people.
270
00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:06,640
Unlike Nazi Germany, in Japan,
271
00:17:06,800 --> 00:17:08,560
there never was this phenomenon
272
00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:12,240
of trying to keep the Japanese
people totally comfortable.
273
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:17,080
In general, Tojo believed that
if Japan were to be successful
274
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:21,280
against the Americans and others,
in lieu of natural resources,
275
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:25,400
it'd take the active mobilisation of
its human resources, its people.
276
00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:28,560
The message
to people is if they will make
277
00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:32,480
these sacrifices at home, then
soldiers abroad will keep them safe.
278
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:37,040
They will keep the Allies at bay,
they will do their bit...
279
00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,280
if people at home
do what they're supposed to do.
280
00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:41,800
They must sacrifice everything.
281
00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:49,360
The American naval blockade...
282
00:17:49,520 --> 00:17:51,760
is choking the Japanese.
283
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:53,880
Food is scarce.
284
00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:56,680
The everyday necessities
of modern life disappear.
285
00:17:57,920 --> 00:18:02,040
But Prime Minister Tojo
demands even greater sacrifice.
286
00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,880
We certainly have rationing
going on in the United States.
287
00:18:07,040 --> 00:18:09,640
{\an8}This is on a national scale
that is unmatched,
288
00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:11,760
{\an8}really,
in a lot of the Allied nations.
289
00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:15,080
Electricity
is being rationed.
290
00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,320
They're relying on sort of primitive
ways of even just cooking food...
291
00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:22,520
{\an8}...and having to burn their libraries
for fuel to try and keep warm.
292
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,400
No-one has enough to eat.
293
00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:27,120
You've even got people going
into the countryside to forage.
294
00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:29,880
The Japanese
are producing cars that run on coal
295
00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:32,640
rather than oil because oil is being
taken for the war effort
296
00:18:32,800 --> 00:18:34,480
on such a large scale.
297
00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:38,640
You've got temple bells, railings,
pots and pans being melted down
298
00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:40,920
so that they can make
bullets and armour.
299
00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,560
In many ways,
Japan is reverting...
300
00:18:43,720 --> 00:18:47,120
to almost a pre-industrial society
as the war goes on.
301
00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:53,240
However, Japanese people
are not automatons.
302
00:18:53,400 --> 00:18:56,880
They don't necessarily
willingly part with their food.
303
00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,440
The police realise
there are widespread black markets
304
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,080
all over Japan,
so this is a real problem.
305
00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:08,880
{\an8}And so Japanese leaders mobilise
these neighbourhood associations:
306
00:19:09,040 --> 00:19:11,080
{\an8}in Japanese, called Tonarigumi.
307
00:19:12,320 --> 00:19:15,480
The Tonarigumi
has been woven into Japanese culture
308
00:19:15,640 --> 00:19:17,760
for over a century.
309
00:19:18,600 --> 00:19:22,400
But in wartime, it becomes a tool
for the neighbours to keep an eye...
310
00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:24,280
on each other.
311
00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:29,240
{\an8}The Tonarigumi are groups
of five to ten households
312
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:34,360
{\an8}that work as a means of mobilising
the people behind Japan's war.
313
00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:39,720
They ration the food.
They carry out civil defence drills.
314
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:43,360
They do many of the things
that we would think
315
00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:46,000
that government officials
would do elsewhere,
316
00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:48,680
but it's done
by the people themselves.
317
00:19:49,680 --> 00:19:51,680
But really,
the key is mutual surveillance.
318
00:19:51,840 --> 00:19:54,880
{\an8}The idea that Japan's leaders
have is that the cheapest
319
00:19:55,040 --> 00:19:57,080
{\an8}and the surest way
to keep an eye on people
320
00:19:57,240 --> 00:20:00,120
{\an8}is to get people, essentially,
to keep an eye on each other.
321
00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:02,600
Someone is always watching you.
322
00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:06,680
By the end of 1943,
323
00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:09,480
{\an8}this whole network
of neighbourhood associations
324
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:12,800
looks like a very well-oiled
machine, and operates like that,
325
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,520
collecting resources
for the home front.
326
00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,200
But Tojo and his government,
327
00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:22,320
they have an enormous problem:
labour shortages.
328
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:27,640
As in Germany, because
of massive military conscription...
329
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:31,120
...Japan suffers from
the serious labour shortfall.
330
00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:36,600
Women have been working in Japanese
war industries for some time.
331
00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:40,760
Now...
they employ their children as well.
332
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,200
They're increasingly using
very young labour, teenagers,
333
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:51,320
boys and girls who are not very
skilled, quite hungry themselves.
334
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,800
If you're older than 12,
study days were cut short.
335
00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:02,120
There is extremely limited time
in class
336
00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:04,520
{\an8}because most of their day
is spent in factories.
337
00:21:04,680 --> 00:21:06,680
Everybody is mobilised.
338
00:21:08,560 --> 00:21:11,200
Despite the American blockade,
339
00:21:11,360 --> 00:21:13,960
Japanese manufacturing continues.
340
00:21:14,120 --> 00:21:17,840
Keeping the wartime production
going to some extent
341
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:20,240
is truly remarkable.
342
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:23,880
There is one motto that...
343
00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:26,160
the Japanese people live by
during the war.
344
00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:30,120
'Don't ask or want anything
until we win.'
345
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,680
So essentially, let's sacrifice
everything until we win.
346
00:21:36,160 --> 00:21:39,440
But now,
in its seventh year of war,
347
00:21:39,600 --> 00:21:43,400
the Japanese military
needs to replenish its ranks.
348
00:21:43,560 --> 00:21:45,240
So up until this point,
349
00:21:45,400 --> 00:21:47,520
students are being kept out
of the war effort.
350
00:21:47,680 --> 00:21:50,040
For the Japanese, education
is extraordinarily important.
351
00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:52,800
So you can get an exemption
from conscription
352
00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:55,040
if you're studying at university.
353
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,080
But by October 1943, things have
become so serious in Japan,
354
00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:01,480
you can no longer have
that exemption.
355
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,320
October 21st 1943.
356
00:22:13,320 --> 00:22:17,200
25,000 university students
arrive in Tokyo Stadium.
357
00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:22,640
These students are being inducted
into the Japanese armed services.
358
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:33,560
This is something
we see in other nations.
359
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,800
For instance, in the United States,
they are progressively conscripting
360
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:39,200
more and more university students
as well,
361
00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:41,400
but not so much at this scale.
362
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,560
I mean, this is Japan's future,
363
00:22:46,720 --> 00:22:50,720
these ambitious young people,
where so much investment...
364
00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:52,840
{\an8}has been made
over their entire lives,
365
00:22:53,000 --> 00:22:55,440
{\an8}education, raising, the whole thing.
366
00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:00,760
It's the mark
of a pretty desperate war effort.
367
00:23:01,680 --> 00:23:06,320
You can't think about the future
when the near future is very dire.
368
00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:27,240
So this event is really
a giant piece of propaganda by Tojo.
369
00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:30,560
These young people are being asked
to make the ultimate sacrifice.
370
00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:34,240
Who's going to be next?
The inevitable message is...
371
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:35,920
everyone.
372
00:23:52,840 --> 00:23:55,600
As 1943 draws to a close,
373
00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,920
every Japanese citizen
feels the war's impact.
374
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,560
But in Berlin,
stores and cinemas are still full.
375
00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:09,600
Goebbels and the Nazis continue
to deceive the German people
376
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:12,280
with propaganda from the front.
377
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,680
A rout on the Eastern Front
is called a strategic retreat.
378
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,560
Allied bombers
are consistently shot down...
379
00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,240
...and do little damage.
380
00:24:34,240 --> 00:24:37,880
The German people in Berlin
are being fed a pretty steady diet
381
00:24:38,040 --> 00:24:41,560
{\an8}of positive propaganda
about the progress of the war.
382
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,040
They had every reason
to remain optimistic.
383
00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:48,800
And then at the end of 1943,
everything changes.
384
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:51,080
The RAF has been
concentrating its bombing
385
00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:53,720
on the Ruhr, the industrial
heartland of Germany.
386
00:24:53,880 --> 00:24:56,080
But in November of 1943,
387
00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,600
{\an8}they shift their focus to an even
juicier morale target.
388
00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:02,160
{\an8}Berlin.
389
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:11,200
It's an incendiary raid.
390
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,680
That is, bombs that are meant
to start fires throughout the city.
391
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,120
The bombers believe that
if you break the morale of Berlin...
392
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,680
...you've broken the Third Reich.
393
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:39,120
It's always important
to have somebody taking care
394
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:41,280
of the population at a time
of great trauma,
395
00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,840
very much like Churchill
in London during the Blitz.
396
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,800
But Hitler's gone off
to the Wolf's Lair.
397
00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:50,080
He won't have anything to do with
the population of Germany any more.
398
00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,120
He seems to have
abandoned them almost.
399
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:57,120
{\an8}And once again, the person who takes
up that gauntlet is Joseph Goebbels.
400
00:25:58,480 --> 00:26:00,560
Goebbels
is meeting the survivors.
401
00:26:00,720 --> 00:26:02,840
So he'll bring a crew with him,
they'll film.
402
00:26:03,000 --> 00:26:05,920
And what he's doing
is reassuring the German people:
403
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,400
if bombers show up over your city,
we'll be there to help you.
404
00:26:08,560 --> 00:26:10,600
First aid stations are set up,
405
00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:13,800
free food and drink
handed out to the population.
406
00:26:13,960 --> 00:26:17,400
And a big huge show
is put up into showing
407
00:26:17,560 --> 00:26:19,920
how we're going to protect
the population.
408
00:26:20,080 --> 00:26:21,880
Propaganda can come back up
and say,
409
00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,040
'Look at these terrible things
they're doing.
410
00:26:24,200 --> 00:26:26,280
Look what would happen
if they win the war.'
411
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,920
And in some ways, the bombing raids
actually increased morale
412
00:26:30,080 --> 00:26:32,280
and increased
the determination to fight on.
413
00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:43,320
Japan remains out of range
of American bombers,
414
00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:46,880
but Prime Minister Tojo,
and other Japanese leaders,
415
00:26:47,040 --> 00:26:49,440
understand that it may be
only a matter of time
416
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:52,040
before the Americans
secure air bases
417
00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:54,960
within flying distance
of the home islands.
418
00:26:55,120 --> 00:26:56,960
{\an8}Once the military leaders...
419
00:26:57,120 --> 00:26:59,800
{\an8}saw that fire bombs
had been used against Germany,
420
00:26:59,960 --> 00:27:02,840
they realise that this
may be in Japan's future.
421
00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:08,160
{\an8}The cities that are being bombed
in Europe have big stone buildings
422
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:11,360
{\an8}in a lot of places,
and it's still a nightmare.
423
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,120
The Japanese use a lot of wood.
424
00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:16,120
These are wooden cities.
425
00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,360
They are particularly vulnerable
to these kinds of attacks.
426
00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:23,040
And you don't have to be a genius to
figure out that's gonna be an issue
427
00:27:23,200 --> 00:27:25,600
if all of a sudden,
you have round-the-clock raids.
428
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:29,880
{\an8}There's a big difference
in civil defence
429
00:27:30,040 --> 00:27:31,760
{\an8}between Nazi Germany and Japan.
430
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:36,560
The Japanese make the decision not
to construct huge concrete bunkers,
431
00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:40,120
and air raid shelters,
that could hold thousands of people,
432
00:27:40,280 --> 00:27:43,440
thinking that it would be better off
devoting their scarce resources
433
00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:47,720
to the military and
not spending much money on defence.
434
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:50,640
The Japanese government
basically said, 'Look.
435
00:27:50,800 --> 00:27:54,280
You have to prepare yourselves. You
want a shelter? Dig it yourself.'
436
00:27:58,200 --> 00:28:00,040
If there was a fire,
there would be, basically,
437
00:28:00,200 --> 00:28:02,480
a sand and water bucket brigade
438
00:28:02,640 --> 00:28:04,560
that would try to put out
the fires this way.
439
00:28:05,640 --> 00:28:09,720
And then they came up with
the strategy to tear down houses,
440
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,440
to isolate areas
so that the fire wouldn't spread.
441
00:28:15,120 --> 00:28:18,560
So ordinary people are given
hand tools, they're given ropes,
442
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,760
{\an8}and in some cases, they're literally
pulling down their own homes
443
00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:23,920
{\an8}and carting away the pieces.
444
00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:26,480
In places like Tokyo and Osaka,
445
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:30,120
tens of thousands of houses
were torn down.
446
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,160
These really cold messages
go out from the government
447
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:36,800
that essentially say, 'Ask your
family if you can stay with them.
448
00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:38,640
Maybe someone will house you.'
449
00:28:38,800 --> 00:28:41,400
Yet, again, there's a sense
that the government...
450
00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:44,200
just consider ordinary civilians
to be expendable.
451
00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:54,800
In the summer of 1944...
452
00:28:56,080 --> 00:28:59,760
...Japan suffers a major defeat
in the Pacific.
453
00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:05,000
A key piece of Tojo's
inner defensive ring has fallen.
454
00:29:08,640 --> 00:29:10,920
After a month and a half
of heavy combat,
455
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,800
Japan has lost Saipan...
456
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:17,080
and the entire Mariana Island chain.
457
00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:22,000
This puts the Americans
and their B-29 Superfortress
458
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,760
in range of Japan's major cities...
459
00:29:24,920 --> 00:29:26,760
including Tokyo.
460
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:28,640
For the Japanese,
461
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:31,960
{\an8}the loss of the Marianas
is absolutely catastrophic.
462
00:29:33,080 --> 00:29:35,560
Because they understand that there
is this new bomber out there,
463
00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:38,080
called the B-29,
and they know that bomber
464
00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:40,880
will now be within range
of almost all of Japan.
465
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:43,680
The fall of Saipan
466
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,560
is a huge psychological blow
back at home in Japan.
467
00:29:46,720 --> 00:29:49,760
Because there's been this pact
that if you do your bit at home,
468
00:29:49,920 --> 00:29:51,880
if you sacrifice,
if you put up with rations,
469
00:29:52,040 --> 00:29:55,040
if you work hard in the factories,
we will protect you.
470
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:57,080
The Allies will come nowhere
near the home islands.
471
00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:59,480
So the government has failed
at its most fundamental promise
472
00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,720
{\an8}to the Japanese people, and only one
person can take the fall for this.
473
00:30:04,200 --> 00:30:05,640
Tojo.
474
00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:31,760
The loss of Saipan
and the Mariana Island chain
475
00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:34,480
is a serious blow to the Japanese.
476
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:36,440
Now Japan itself is at risk.
477
00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,280
{\an8}Now civilian populations
are potentially on the frontline
478
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,440
{\an8}in a way they've never been before.
479
00:30:42,480 --> 00:30:46,000
Now, Japan needs to reflect
on its own leadership.
480
00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,160
There is an undercurrent in Japan
481
00:30:53,320 --> 00:30:55,880
{\an8}that people are
feeling very hostile towards Tojo.
482
00:30:56,720 --> 00:30:59,280
There are stories of people
phoning up Tojo's wife, saying,
483
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:01,360
'Why has your husband
not killed himself yet?'
484
00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,560
Now it's the government
who has to make a sacrifice.
485
00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:08,480
{\an8}And they choose a scapegoat.
486
00:31:11,480 --> 00:31:16,720
{\an8}Emperor Hirohito
has lost confidence in Tojo,
487
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,040
and he steps down.
488
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:30,600
Launching from the Marianas,
489
00:31:30,760 --> 00:31:34,200
hundreds of B-29s
begin bombing Japan's cities.
490
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:39,000
Osaka, Kobe,
491
00:31:39,160 --> 00:31:41,320
Nagoya, Tokyo.
492
00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:46,440
Hundreds of thousands
of civilians are killed.
493
00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:50,280
When the serious bombing
of Japan starts,
494
00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:52,560
it will be unrelenting.
495
00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:56,200
{\an8}The enemy is there.
They're right above you.
496
00:31:59,360 --> 00:32:02,360
The cities will become
killing grounds.
497
00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:17,880
Two days after Tojo's fall...
498
00:32:18,720 --> 00:32:21,440
...there is an attempt
on Adolf Hitler's life.
499
00:32:22,920 --> 00:32:27,200
A real turning point in the German
home front story is July of 1944,
500
00:32:27,360 --> 00:32:29,800
the assassination attempt
on Hitler's life.
501
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:34,400
A small group of officers
realised that...
502
00:32:34,560 --> 00:32:36,560
the war was probably lost.
503
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,040
{\an8}They believed
that if they killed Hitler,
504
00:32:39,200 --> 00:32:41,640
{\an8}that they would be able
to make peace
505
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:44,080
and start a new German government.
506
00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:48,360
And the person that was chosen
to go and try and kill him
507
00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:50,840
was Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg,
508
00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:55,800
who went on the 20th July 1944
to the Wolf's Lair.
509
00:32:55,960 --> 00:32:58,080
He had a meeting with Hitler.
510
00:32:58,240 --> 00:33:00,720
He planted a bomb
under the conference table
511
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:03,480
where Hitler was speaking
and then took off.
512
00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,560
That bomb, it's positioned
underneath this heavy oak table
513
00:33:07,720 --> 00:33:11,160
{\an8}that absorbs a great deal
of the blast of the weapon.
514
00:33:12,040 --> 00:33:13,840
Stauffenberg
comes back to Berlin
515
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:16,160
thinking that he'd killed Hitler:
he saw the explosion.
516
00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:18,040
He believed Hitler had been killed.
517
00:33:18,200 --> 00:33:20,760
But unfortunately for him,
the Fuhrer was not dead.
518
00:33:29,720 --> 00:33:31,960
{\an8}At one o'clock
in the morning of the 21st,
519
00:33:32,120 --> 00:33:34,040
{\an8}Adolf Hitler comes on the radio.
520
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:38,200
He says there's been an attack
against his life done by traitors.
521
00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:04,240
One of the first responses
when Hitler speaks on the radio
522
00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,080
{\an8}is an outpouring of relief.
523
00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,720
And there's spontaneous
demonstrations across Germany
524
00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:13,080
by the civilian population.
525
00:34:13,240 --> 00:34:15,960
Things are not
going well in 1944.
526
00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,840
The Soviets are on the move
in the east.
527
00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:21,160
The Allies in the west
have landed in Normandy.
528
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:24,440
But German society has
hitched its horse to Adolf Hitler.
529
00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:26,800
It's good to know
his hand's still on the wheel,
530
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:28,960
and that there's
a degree of stability.
531
00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:32,440
On the radio, Hitler vows that
he's going to take revenge
532
00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:34,640
on the traitors
who've tried to kill him.
533
00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:41,600
Stauffenberg and a few other conspirators
534
00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:43,880
are quickly arrested and executed.
535
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:48,160
But their deaths
are only the beginning.
536
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:51,800
{\an8}Hitler had survived
assassination attempts before,
537
00:34:51,960 --> 00:34:53,680
{\an8}but this was something
on another level.
538
00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:55,600
{\an8}And the people
that were trying to kill him,
539
00:34:55,760 --> 00:34:59,040
these are some of
his most important military figures.
540
00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:01,400
Hitler believes
he's been betrayed,
541
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:03,520
and he no longer trusts anyone,
542
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,160
not the army,
not those in his intimate circle,
543
00:35:06,320 --> 00:35:08,000
not even the German people.
544
00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:11,560
Hitler orders
the investigation and arrest
545
00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:15,040
of anybody associated
with the July 20th plot.
546
00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:17,160
Anybody who had
anything to do with this plot,
547
00:35:17,320 --> 00:35:19,040
anybody who's related
to those people,
548
00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:21,880
anybody who might be a problem in
the future, he will hunt them down.
549
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,240
Adolf Hitler takes this
as an opportunity to clean house.
550
00:35:33,680 --> 00:35:35,720
Berlin, 1944.
551
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:37,840
Hundreds of Germans arrested
552
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:40,400
after the attempt on Hitler's life
are put on trial.
553
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:45,160
It's referred to as
the People's Court.
554
00:35:51,640 --> 00:35:54,440
The defendants are brought
in front of Roland Freisler,
555
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:56,360
{\an8}who's the head
of the People's Court,
556
00:35:56,520 --> 00:35:59,160
who's an absolutely fanatical Nazi.
557
00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:01,840
Very often, to humiliate them,
558
00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:04,840
their belts have been taken away
so they have to hold their trousers.
559
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,360
The verdict is never in doubt.
560
00:36:07,520 --> 00:36:09,720
Every defendant is guilty,
561
00:36:09,880 --> 00:36:13,000
and every punishment severe.
562
00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:15,400
They're put in a place
called Plotzensee Prison,
563
00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:17,280
and they're tortured,
they're beaten.
564
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:20,680
These people are executed,
565
00:36:20,840 --> 00:36:24,600
{\an8}and Hitler insists that they will
be hanged from meat hooks.
566
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:27,840
And that it will be filmed.
567
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:31,440
Hitler's vengeance
knows no bounds.
568
00:36:31,600 --> 00:36:34,720
He wants to make it clear to anybody
else out there in the Reich:
569
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:37,920
if you try and kill me, this is the
kind of vengeance you can expect.
570
00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:43,560
Not just for you, but for your
family and anybody who knows you.
571
00:36:43,720 --> 00:36:45,400
So you're never going to be safe.
572
00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:50,000
Nazi control of Germany
is now complete.
573
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:53,640
But Hitler's Thousand-Year Reich
is crumbling.
574
00:36:55,120 --> 00:36:57,120
By the fall of 1944,
575
00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:01,040
the Allies are on the verge of
crossing into the German Fatherland.
576
00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:09,680
Up until this point, Hitler
had resisted the call for total war.
577
00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:12,320
{\an8}It wasn't necessary
to enlist the entire population.
578
00:37:13,200 --> 00:37:15,760
But now, if he ever cared
about the German people,
579
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:17,800
he certainly no longer does.
580
00:37:17,960 --> 00:37:20,520
And so why not enlist
every last one of them
581
00:37:20,680 --> 00:37:22,960
and let them
get ground up at the front?
582
00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:24,920
As far as Hitler is concerned,
583
00:37:25,080 --> 00:37:27,720
the entire population
is nothing but cannon fodder.
584
00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:53,720
November 1944.
585
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:56,680
Tens of thousands of Germans gather
586
00:37:56,840 --> 00:37:58,720
before Joseph Goebbels'
headquarters.
587
00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:01,960
After swearing
a blood oath to Hitler,
588
00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,680
they enter the ranks
of the Volkssturm.
589
00:38:05,760 --> 00:38:07,640
The Volkssturm,
literally translated,
590
00:38:07,800 --> 00:38:11,120
means the people's storm
or the people's militia.
591
00:38:11,960 --> 00:38:14,760
These are young boys and old men
592
00:38:14,920 --> 00:38:18,200
put together
into pseudo-military units...
593
00:38:19,160 --> 00:38:22,800
...and sent off to do or die
against the Allied armies.
594
00:38:24,520 --> 00:38:27,600
The Volkssturm units
are given very little training
595
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:31,120
and are supplied with
the most basic German weapons.
596
00:38:36,200 --> 00:38:40,560
An anti-tank missile known as
the Panzerfaust, the armoured fist,
597
00:38:40,720 --> 00:38:42,840
it hits the side of a tank,
and with enormous force,
598
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:44,760
blasts a hole through the armour.
599
00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:47,680
Now, the most important thing
we need to know about it
600
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:50,600
is that it was a single shot,
and that to use it,
601
00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:54,560
you had to come very, very close
to the tank you were firing at.
602
00:38:55,520 --> 00:38:59,880
So we're talking about a 65-year-old
man or a 14-year-old boy
603
00:39:00,040 --> 00:39:04,320
given a single-shot weapon
and sent out as a tank destroyer.
604
00:39:05,200 --> 00:39:07,080
You may destroy the tank,
605
00:39:07,240 --> 00:39:09,520
but you are almost certainly
going to destroy
606
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:12,160
the person wielding the Panzerfaust.
607
00:39:13,400 --> 00:39:16,800
In both
the Eastern and the Western Fronts,
608
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:20,600
the Volkssturm fight and die
in their tens of thousands.
609
00:39:20,760 --> 00:39:24,800
It's the Volkssturm which often goes
on fighting until the bitter end.
610
00:39:30,480 --> 00:39:33,080
For five years,
the Nazis have tried
611
00:39:33,240 --> 00:39:35,560
to shield Germans
from the consequences of war.
612
00:39:38,320 --> 00:39:39,920
But with the Wehrmacht in retreat...
613
00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:43,320
...their cities in ruin,
614
00:39:43,480 --> 00:39:45,360
and hundreds of thousands
of their sons
615
00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:47,680
dead or grievously wounded...
616
00:39:50,280 --> 00:39:52,280
{\an8}...that is no longer possible.
617
00:39:55,040 --> 00:39:58,520
{\an8}That whole bubble of normalcy
is now shattered.
618
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,680
{\an8}All the other things that were being
done in society to shield them...
619
00:40:02,600 --> 00:40:05,760
{\an8}...sporting events, cinemas,
all that, they all get closed down.
620
00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:08,120
{\an8}And the real war that they are in
621
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,600
{\an8}is now readily apparent
to all of German society.
622
00:40:10,760 --> 00:40:13,200
{\an8}This now is the total war vision
623
00:40:13,360 --> 00:40:16,480
{\an8}that Goebbels and Speer had in '43.
624
00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:18,920
{\an8}They finally arrive here in 1944.
625
00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:45,160
By the close of 1944,
the people of Germany and Japan
626
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:47,680
are paying
for their country's aggression.
627
00:40:47,840 --> 00:40:51,760
The price steepens
as the war heads to its conclusion.
628
00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:54,080
In Nazi-occupied Europe,
629
00:40:54,240 --> 00:40:57,160
where violence and terror
have become routine,
630
00:40:57,320 --> 00:40:59,720
increasing numbers of people...
631
00:40:59,880 --> 00:41:01,960
begin to resist.