1
00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:10,120
By the summer of 1944,
the terror and tyranny
2
00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:13,280
of the Nazi Third Reich
shrouds most of Europe.
3
00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,720
Occupied countries
resist as they can.
4
00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,960
But with the advance of
Soviet forces in the east,
5
00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:23,240
and the success of the Normandy
invasion in the west,
6
00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:25,120
two of the world's great cities
7
00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:28,360
organize in force and fight back.
8
00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:31,360
Even in the place of
greatest horror,
9
00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,520
there is resistance.
10
00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:37,520
All wars change the world,
11
00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:39,400
but none of them
changed the world
12
00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:41,480
like the Second World War did.
13
00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:44,840
Japan's on the march,
Germany's on the march.
14
00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,040
No one can imagine the nightmare
they're about to unleash.
15
00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:52,000
The most destructive
war in human history.
16
00:00:52,160 --> 00:00:55,000
Suddenly, the world
is turned upside down
17
00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:57,320
and all hell is let loose.
18
00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,040
The West is stunned by
the speed of the advance.
19
00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:05,600
You get the Allies
led by the big three:
20
00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,960
Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin.
21
00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,040
Men who are dealing with
22
00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:13,000
immensely
complicated questions.
23
00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,040
It's the biggest military
operation of human history.
24
00:01:17,200 --> 00:01:19,040
The Allies have to come together,
25
00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:21,160
not just militarily,
but industrial scale.
26
00:01:21,320 --> 00:01:23,520
It's a global perspective.
27
00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:25,120
They have to fight in
every climate
28
00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,160
from the Arctic to the jungles
of the Pacific,
29
00:01:28,320 --> 00:01:30,760
to the deserts of Africa
30
00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:32,720
and the depths of the ocean.
31
00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:37,360
But there was no
certainty of victory.
32
00:01:37,520 --> 00:01:40,320
It was going to be
a horrific bloodbath.
33
00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,400
We see humans at
their absolute worst,
34
00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:44,520
how they treat other human beings,
35
00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:46,800
and we see them at their
absolute best,
36
00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:49,000
willing to give their lives
that others might live.
37
00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:50,960
World War II was a struggle
38
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,960
in which there could be
one victor...
39
00:01:54,120 --> 00:01:55,680
...and one vanquished.
40
00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:29,560
Since the fall of France,
the BBC has broadcast
41
00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:32,520
daily radio programming
to occupied Europe.
42
00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:37,040
Embedded within the broadcasts
are coded messages.
43
00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:44,520
The night before D-Day,
the Allied invasion
44
00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:45,960
of Western Europe,
45
00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:47,920
the broadcast to occupied France
46
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,800
includes a line from a poem
by Paul Verlaine.
47
00:02:57,880 --> 00:02:59,920
The French resistance is waiting,
48
00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:01,920
and when the BBC announces:
49
00:03:02,080 --> 00:03:03,960
"Wound my heart with
a monotonous languor,"
50
00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:06,400
this is the word that they
have been waiting to hear:
51
00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,680
the invasion is on.
52
00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:13,560
The Allies want that
resistance movement to rise up,
53
00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:15,520
to blow up German railroads, to
54
00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,520
ambush German patrols,
and to disrupt the Germans
55
00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:20,200
in any way they can.
56
00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:22,920
All of their planning,
57
00:03:23,080 --> 00:03:24,840
all of their networking
now goes into action
58
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:27,360
to slow the German response
59
00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:28,960
so that the Allies
can win the race
60
00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:30,840
to build up and break out.
61
00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,320
So many men and women
throughout France
62
00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:37,160
have risked so
much to get to this night
63
00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:40,200
and the beginning of
their country's liberation.
64
00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:44,600
After the
fall of France in 1940,
65
00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:45,840
there are two Frances.
66
00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,280
There's the France
that is directly occupied by
67
00:03:48,440 --> 00:03:49,960
the Germans, including Paris,
68
00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:53,720
and there is a puppet regime
with its capital at Vichy.
69
00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,920
So resistance
groups form in each one.
70
00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,080
From the start, the
inspiration for French resistance
71
00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:05,120
to Germany
was embodied by one man.
72
00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:09,720
A veteran of the Great War,
73
00:04:09,880 --> 00:04:11,880
General Charles De Gaulle.
74
00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:13,600
Charles De Gaulle
75
00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:15,840
fought all the way
through the German invasion
76
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:17,920
of France in 1940.
77
00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:19,760
Rather than
surrender to the Germans,
78
00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:21,640
rather than go along
with the French government,
79
00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,200
he arrives in Britain by himself
80
00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:24,400
and just says, "By the way,
81
00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:26,040
I'm now
the leader of the Free French."
82
00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:27,480
He's self-appointed.
83
00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:30,360
Churchill goes,
"Eh, he might be useful."
84
00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:32,440
He gives him an office,
gives him a radio,
85
00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:33,840
lets him do some broadcasts.
86
00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:42,560
He's gonna announce:
87
00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:44,400
"The Vichy
government is illegitimate."
88
00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:46,560
Anybody who's in France
should come over to England,
89
00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:48,280
and we're gonna start
to put together an army
90
00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:49,800
that's gonna liberate ourselves.
91
00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:51,320
If you can't get here,
you should start
92
00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:52,760
resisting while you're there."
93
00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:56,320
This is an
extremely important event
94
00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:58,200
in galvanizing
the French people.
95
00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:01,160
Up to that point, they'd been
in a state of despondency
96
00:05:01,320 --> 00:05:04,120
at the rapid defeat at
the hands of the Germans.
97
00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:06,200
Now, here was a voice,
98
00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,640
one of their own,
offering them hope.
99
00:05:09,800 --> 00:05:12,440
He says,
"The flame of French resistance
100
00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:16,480
Must not be extinguished,
and will not be extinguished."
101
00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:19,200
These are words
that French men and women
102
00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:20,600
were longing to hear.
103
00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:23,440
It's not only the beginning
of the resistance,
104
00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:26,040
it's the beginning of the rise
of Charles De Gaulle
105
00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:28,000
to political power in France.
106
00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:32,920
Resistance pops
up all over the country.
107
00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,280
But these groups aren't connected,
108
00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:37,080
and they all stand
for different things.
109
00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:40,200
There are
aristocratic Catholics,
110
00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:42,440
Communists, Republicans.
111
00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,000
There are all different
groups jockeying for position
112
00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:46,960
between themselves
and fighting against
113
00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:48,200
the Germans as well.
114
00:05:49,280 --> 00:05:51,640
A cross-section
of French citizens,
115
00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:55,360
teachers, lawyers,
farmers, factory workers,
116
00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,240
take part in the resistance.
117
00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:01,360
Women play a substantial role.
118
00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:05,760
One of the
most important activities
119
00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:08,920
of the resistance was
a network of agents
120
00:06:09,080 --> 00:06:10,920
and secret codes
and safe houses
121
00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:14,880
that helped smuggle downed
Allied flyers out of France
122
00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:17,440
and back to safety in Britain.
123
00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:21,880
This underground railroad helped
about 5,000 Allied flyers
124
00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:24,360
make it to freedom
in the course of the war.
125
00:06:26,040 --> 00:06:28,760
It's the
potential of the Allied invasion
126
00:06:28,920 --> 00:06:32,000
eventually reaching
France that cause volunteers
127
00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:33,880
to flock to the resistance.
128
00:06:35,680 --> 00:06:39,360
They're gathering equipment,
supplies, weapons
129
00:06:39,520 --> 00:06:41,800
because they think:
"Eventually, we will be freed.
130
00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:43,600
How do we help accelerate that?"
131
00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:50,240
The night before D-Day,
132
00:06:50,400 --> 00:06:53,280
dozens of Allied agents are
dropped behind German lines
133
00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,520
to coordinate with groups
of the French resistance,
134
00:06:56,680 --> 00:06:59,480
so-called "Jedburgh teams."
135
00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:02,720
Three-man teams
136
00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:04,480
who parachute into occupied
137
00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,960
an American, a British,
and a French agent.
138
00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:10,880
They
bring weapons with them.
139
00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:12,840
They'd bring a radio set
so they could communicate.
140
00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:16,080
They coordinate activities,
141
00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:19,360
and they inform the groups
what the Allies are up to.
142
00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,440
The Jedburghs have an ultimate
goal, and that is to
143
00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:27,600
ease the invasion plan
for June, 1944.
144
00:07:31,840 --> 00:07:34,080
Once the Allies
land in June 6th,
145
00:07:34,240 --> 00:07:36,360
the resistance
becomes emboldened.
146
00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,120
But many pay a grievous
price for their courage.
147
00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:43,560
Germans, with the help
of French collaborators,
148
00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,280
hunt down anyone
assisting the Allies.
149
00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,160
The costs
of being in the resistance
150
00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:51,600
or around the resistance
are incredibly high.
151
00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:53,480
They could be
arrested and put in jail,
152
00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:55,640
they could be sent to
a labor camp, hung,
153
00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,120
oftentimes without trial
and in public
154
00:07:58,280 --> 00:07:59,960
as a deterrence
to everyone else.
155
00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:03,880
The Gestapo
carryout reprisals.
156
00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,000
"For every one of
our soldiers killed,
157
00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:08,160
we will kill 50
resistance fighters."
158
00:08:11,360 --> 00:08:13,760
Four days after the invasion,
159
00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:16,480
near the village of
Oradour-sur-Glane,
160
00:08:16,640 --> 00:08:20,440
the local resistance kills
an SS battalion commander.
161
00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:24,400
Nazi retribution is
swift and merciless.
162
00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:27,200
They take all the men and they
163
00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:28,720
shove them into
a bunch of barns,
164
00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:30,320
shoot them,
and set the barns on fire.
165
00:08:31,280 --> 00:08:33,040
They take all the
women and children
166
00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:34,560
and put them in a church
167
00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:36,880
and then burn the church
to the ground,
168
00:08:37,040 --> 00:08:39,680
shooting anyone
who tries to climb out.
169
00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:44,160
Collective vengeance
for the act of resistance.
170
00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,000
On July 25th,
the Americans launch
171
00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:52,000
a massive air and ground attack:
172
00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,000
Operation Cobra.
173
00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,120
After a month
and a half of combat
174
00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:00,040
among the hedgerows
of Normandy,
175
00:09:00,200 --> 00:09:02,600
the Allies now break through
176
00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:04,760
the German defensive perimeter.
177
00:09:06,680 --> 00:09:10,000
Paris is the center
of the German occupying force.
178
00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:13,160
But the Allies were not
super interested in Paris.
179
00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:16,720
Cities are an enormous
military problem.
180
00:09:16,880 --> 00:09:18,920
Do you go into Paris
knowing that you could
181
00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,080
end up fighting an urban battle
that you don't want to fight?
182
00:09:22,240 --> 00:09:24,120
The streets narrow
your ability to maneuver.
183
00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:26,720
So fighting inside a city
is nobody's idea
184
00:09:26,880 --> 00:09:28,440
of what you want to do.
185
00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,440
Of course, if you're French, the
situation is completely different.
186
00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,760
The French people are
thinking that the Allies are
187
00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:38,800
just a few hundred
kilometers from the city of Paris,
188
00:09:38,960 --> 00:09:41,640
and they believe
that Paris will be next
189
00:09:41,800 --> 00:09:44,640
in the great capitals of
Europe to be liberated
190
00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:46,880
from Nazi fascism.
191
00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:50,000
To the French, Paris
is not just the capital of France.
192
00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,720
It is the most important,
most symbolic city
193
00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:54,320
that you're going to liberate.
194
00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,880
And the man who thinks
he's going to take control
195
00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:58,720
of all of this is
Charles De Gaulle.
196
00:10:01,360 --> 00:10:02,640
Throughout the war,
197
00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:06,040
he builds up Free French
forces in London and in Africa.
198
00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,880
French soldiers
flock to his colors.
199
00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:12,280
And, by D-Day,
he has something of
200
00:10:12,440 --> 00:10:14,200
a Free French armed force.
201
00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:18,000
And De Gaulle is astonished
and appalled
202
00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:20,640
to hear that the Allies are not
203
00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:23,200
focusing on Paris
as a key objective.
204
00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:27,400
Paris is like the beating
heart of the French republic.
205
00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:29,200
There is no France
without Paris.
206
00:10:30,040 --> 00:10:33,440
And De Gaulle said,
"If you're not going, I'm going."
207
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,640
Allied forces
advance across France
208
00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:49,760
to force the Wehrmacht's retreat
to the Rhine and beyond.
209
00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:54,880
Liberating Paris
from German occupation
210
00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:57,240
is not their main
strategic concern.
211
00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,760
But Parisians have other ideas.
212
00:11:00,920 --> 00:11:02,320
The problem
for Paris is that,
213
00:11:02,480 --> 00:11:03,800
when the Normandy invasion
happens,
214
00:11:03,960 --> 00:11:06,800
it cuts the city off from
its principal food supply.
215
00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:08,960
And the Germans are
trying to take everything
216
00:11:09,120 --> 00:11:10,440
that they can out of the city.
217
00:11:10,600 --> 00:11:13,880
So it's a very, very unstable,
very insecure place.
218
00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:16,640
And so there is the beginnings
219
00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:18,680
of popular uprising in Paris.
220
00:11:18,840 --> 00:11:21,800
A lot of that is being driven
by the communist resistance.
221
00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:23,600
De Gaulle is quite
keen to get to Paris,
222
00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:26,520
because what he doesn't
is Paris to
223
00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:29,120
become liberated by
the communist resistance.
224
00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:31,560
He does not want
to liberate France
225
00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,280
only for it to fall into
the hands of communism.
226
00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:39,440
To ensure that
French troops liberate Paris,
227
00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:41,480
General De Gaulle
requires the support
228
00:11:41,640 --> 00:11:43,440
of the Supreme
Allied Commander:
229
00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:45,920
General Dwight Eisenhower.
230
00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:48,080
De Gaulle
didn't have that many cards
231
00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:49,920
to play in 1944,
232
00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,480
but he played them
as skillfully as anybody.
233
00:11:52,640 --> 00:11:54,920
There is a French unit,
the Second Armored Division,
234
00:11:55,080 --> 00:11:56,720
controlled by General
Philippe Leclerc, that
235
00:11:56,880 --> 00:11:58,920
has been disobeying American
orders to get closer
236
00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:00,800
and closer and closer to
the city so that it could
237
00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:02,240
go into Paris if it had to.
238
00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,720
And so De Gaulle
became very aggressive about
239
00:12:06,880 --> 00:12:09,200
steering the Second
Armored Division toward the city.
240
00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,520
He gave General
Leclerc specific
241
00:12:11,680 --> 00:12:13,960
instructions to, "No matter what
these Americans tell you,
242
00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:15,640
I need you to get to Paris."
243
00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:18,400
As Winston
Churchill would say,
244
00:12:18,560 --> 00:12:20,400
he tends to love to bite
the hand that feeds him.
245
00:12:20,560 --> 00:12:22,000
You have to give
him credit, though,
246
00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:23,680
for he has his eye on one thing,
247
00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:24,960
and that's a free France.
248
00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:34,680
Shortly after D-Day,
in coordination with
249
00:12:34,840 --> 00:12:37,320
their Western allies,
the Soviets throw
250
00:12:37,480 --> 00:12:40,320
the massed might of the Red
Army against the Germans.
251
00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,240
Operation Bagration is
252
00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:44,960
the gigantic Soviet offensive
253
00:12:45,120 --> 00:12:46,680
in summer of 1944.
254
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:48,120
Roughly timed to coincide
255
00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:50,320
with the Allies
landing in Normandy.
256
00:12:51,440 --> 00:12:54,360
It is just
a monstrous offensive.
257
00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:56,480
About two and a half million
258
00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:58,120
Soviets are thrown into battle.
259
00:12:58,280 --> 00:13:01,680
Half a million Germans are killed,
wounded, or captured.
260
00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,800
It erased an entire
German army group from the map,
261
00:13:06,960 --> 00:13:10,840
the entire central portion of
the German front in the east.
262
00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:16,680
Now the Soviet army
is moving in to Poland,
263
00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:18,920
and you've gotta remember that,
of course,
264
00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,400
Poland was the reason
the war started.
265
00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,800
{\an8}In the fall of 1939,
Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin
266
00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:28,840
{\an8}agreed to divide Poland.
267
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:31,720
When Hitler took Poland,
268
00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:36,800
he treated it like the laboratory
for his racial ideas,
269
00:13:36,960 --> 00:13:40,480
his plans to annihilate
the Jewish people
270
00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:45,160
and to treat the
Eastern Slavic people
271
00:13:45,320 --> 00:13:49,080
as essentially a slave
race to work to death.
272
00:13:51,200 --> 00:13:54,760
Poland has been
stained in blood and killing,
273
00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:57,280
crushed beneath
the German jackboot,
274
00:13:57,440 --> 00:13:59,920
its soil watered with the blood of
275
00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:02,080
vast numbers of its
Jewish community.
276
00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:08,120
The Poles have been
living through hell for five years.
277
00:14:08,280 --> 00:14:10,920
If you're a resident of Warsaw,
you are one of the most
278
00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:12,840
unlucky people
ever to have lived.
279
00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,760
Throughout this
horror show that has been
280
00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:21,080
inflicted upon the Poles,
they have maintained
281
00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,440
a shadow government,
a kind of national cohesion.
282
00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,200
They have a government-in-exile
in London,
283
00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,000
and it is sending orders
to a home army,
284
00:14:29,160 --> 00:14:30,960
a sort of
secret army of underground
285
00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:33,360
resistance fighters in Poland.
286
00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,160
The Polish Home Army
was formed really
287
00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:40,480
immediately after
the Germans invaded.
288
00:14:40,640 --> 00:14:41,720
There was a real sense,
289
00:14:41,880 --> 00:14:43,520
in amongst the Polish community,
290
00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:45,840
and especially the young
people: "We're gonna fight."
291
00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,280
It was always set up as a
formal military organization.
292
00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:51,400
It wasn't just an ad hoc
bunch of partisans.
293
00:14:52,360 --> 00:14:54,880
They undertook intelligence
gatherings of troop movements.
294
00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:57,240
They gathered
information about the camps,
295
00:14:57,400 --> 00:14:59,320
about Auschwitz, and others.
296
00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:03,800
The Home Army is
led by a former cavalry officer
297
00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,640
who has been fighting
the Germans since 1939...
298
00:15:09,080 --> 00:15:11,600
General Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski.
299
00:15:15,800 --> 00:15:18,240
On July 29th, 1944,
300
00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,480
as the Allies are
slicing through France,
301
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:24,080
the Soviets reach
the outskirts of Warsaw.
302
00:15:27,160 --> 00:15:29,080
The Polish Home Army
is waiting for the moment
303
00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:30,880
when the Germans
are about to retreat
304
00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:33,840
and just before
the Soviets arrive.
305
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:35,680
Because that is the opportunity
306
00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,560
to reassert Polish independence,
the Polish state.
307
00:15:42,120 --> 00:15:43,720
They
wanted to prove to the world
308
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:45,520
that they stood
on their own feet
309
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:47,560
and that they fought to
liberate their own country.
310
00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:50,320
They don't want to give
up the Nazi dictatorship
311
00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,120
and just have it replaced
with a Soviet dictatorship.
312
00:15:55,600 --> 00:15:59,160
The Polish Home Army
and General Bór-Komorowski
313
00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:01,560
have long planned
for this moment.
314
00:16:03,480 --> 00:16:06,640
There are weapons caches,
command structures.
315
00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:08,920
There are instructions
coming from senior officers
316
00:16:09,080 --> 00:16:11,520
based in London.
There is a plan.
317
00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:15,760
Tens of thousands
of Home Army troops
318
00:16:15,920 --> 00:16:17,560
will go all over the city
319
00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:19,320
and go for the
most important things:
320
00:16:19,480 --> 00:16:20,840
the airports, the bridges,
321
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,040
the main focal
points of Nazi power.
322
00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,640
It was a moment where
timing was everything.
323
00:16:27,800 --> 00:16:30,960
If they did it too soon,
the Germans would crush them.
324
00:16:31,120 --> 00:16:34,640
If they did it too late,
the Soviets would conquer them.
325
00:16:39,400 --> 00:16:40,680
The Red Army was coming.
326
00:16:40,840 --> 00:16:42,680
It looked as if there
was just this juggernaut
327
00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:45,160
that was gonna force
the Germans out of the city.
328
00:16:46,440 --> 00:16:49,280
Outside Warsaw,
the Germans regroup
329
00:16:49,440 --> 00:16:51,480
on the banks of the Vistula River.
330
00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:54,760
The Poles hear
the sounds of fighting,
331
00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:56,080
think the Red Army's gonna win,
332
00:16:56,240 --> 00:16:58,240
and they're about to
come into Warsaw.
333
00:16:59,320 --> 00:17:01,720
General Bór-Komorowski
gives the order
334
00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:03,840
to begin the uprising.
335
00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:17,280
The Poles have
been resisting the Germans
336
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:18,960
for almost five years.
337
00:17:19,120 --> 00:17:22,080
Now, with the Soviets on
the other side of the Vistula,
338
00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:25,600
the Polish Home Army
seizes its opportunity.
339
00:17:25,760 --> 00:17:27,960
Because of the Red Army
coming so quickly
340
00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:29,600
up to the gates of Warsaw,
341
00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,240
General Bór-Komorowski gives
the order to start the uprising.
342
00:17:33,400 --> 00:17:35,760
The Polish Home Army
think this is the right moment.
343
00:17:35,920 --> 00:17:38,640
The Russians are approaching,
the Germans are clearly
344
00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:41,160
preparing to evacuate,
and the Poles
345
00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:44,320
appear out of the sewers,
out of the backstreets,
346
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,880
out of the cellars, and
they raise the flag of rebellion.
347
00:17:50,000 --> 00:17:52,200
Civilians are thrilled, they're jubilant.
348
00:17:52,360 --> 00:17:54,000
For the first time since 1939,
349
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:55,600
they can sing
the national anthem.
350
00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:58,320
They push trams over,
they build barricades,
351
00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:00,160
and they make it very,
very difficult
352
00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:01,760
for the Germans to fight there.
353
00:18:03,080 --> 00:18:05,920
It's a heroic moment,
an exciting moment.
354
00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:09,520
Poland is rising like a phoenix
out of the ashes.
355
00:18:12,400 --> 00:18:15,040
But the attack does
not go as well as it was hoped.
356
00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:17,800
They do manage to
seize the Post Office,
357
00:18:17,960 --> 00:18:20,880
they manage to seize
an important German arsenal,
358
00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:22,960
but they don't manage
to secure the airportS.
359
00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,280
So it's up for grabs
by the end of that day.
360
00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:28,240
You get this sort of
twisted patchwork
361
00:18:28,400 --> 00:18:30,280
of Polish and German control,
362
00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:32,560
which ensures that
there is gonna be
363
00:18:32,720 --> 00:18:34,360
the mother of all street fights.
364
00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:38,800
The Polish Home Army
expected the Germans
365
00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:41,280
controlling Warsaw
to be in retreat.
366
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:48,360
Instead, the Wehrmacht attacks
the Red Army at the Vistula...
367
00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:51,520
...and retains their
grip on Warsaw.
368
00:18:55,320 --> 00:18:57,560
Adolf Hitler meets
with Heinrich Himmler,
369
00:18:57,720 --> 00:19:00,120
head of the Nazi SS.
370
00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,640
On the night
of the 1st of August, 1944,
371
00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:05,440
Himmler goes up to
the Wolfsschanze,
372
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,600
he sees Hitler,
and Hitler's raging around.
373
00:19:08,760 --> 00:19:11,200
And Himmler goes,
"You know, Mein Fuhrer,
374
00:19:11,360 --> 00:19:15,240
let's use this as a moment to
erase Warsaw from the map.
375
00:19:15,400 --> 00:19:17,840
Because this wretched city
has stood in our way
376
00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,120
of German expansion to
the East for hundreds of years.
377
00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:21,520
So let's just do it."
378
00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,720
So that evening, they give what's
called "the Order for Warsaw."
379
00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:29,000
The Germans have a plan to
380
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:30,760
wipe Poland literally
381
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:32,200
from the face of the Earth.
382
00:19:33,120 --> 00:19:35,400
One, you wanna send a message
to everybody else
383
00:19:35,560 --> 00:19:37,200
that this is
the cost of defying me.
384
00:19:37,360 --> 00:19:39,720
But the other reason is
you want to destroy Poland
385
00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:41,800
as a national identity.
386
00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:45,640
Every
combatant is to be killed.
387
00:19:45,800 --> 00:19:47,440
All men and women and children,
388
00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:48,840
civilians are to be killed.
389
00:19:49,000 --> 00:19:50,680
And then the city
is to be looted,
390
00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:53,680
and then "glattrasiert,"
that means razed to the ground.
391
00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:00,960
The Germans
poured in ruthless shock troops
392
00:20:01,120 --> 00:20:03,040
with the express purpose
of destroying them.
393
00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,680
The Home Army used up
their caches of weapons very fast.
394
00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:11,880
The Poles
think the Red Army is coming.
395
00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:14,040
The whole thing
depended upon the idea
396
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:15,680
that Germans were either leaving
397
00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:17,360
or could not reinforce
398
00:20:17,520 --> 00:20:19,320
their existing troops within Warsaw.
399
00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,760
Neither of those two things
turned out to be true.
400
00:20:22,920 --> 00:20:24,160
The Germans weren't leaving
401
00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:26,320
and the Soviets weren't coming.
402
00:20:26,480 --> 00:20:28,520
Stalin says,
to everyone's surprise:
403
00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:30,400
"Halt the army."
404
00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:35,240
They can see across the river:
Warsaw is burning.
405
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,280
Although the Soviets
are right across the river,
406
00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,800
they make no effort to support
407
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:44,680
the resistance in its uprising
against the Germans.
408
00:20:44,840 --> 00:20:46,360
Rather, they sit across the river
409
00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:48,840
and watch the Germans
crush the uprising.
410
00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:51,760
Stalin
doesn't just do nothing;
411
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,920
he actively interferes
with the Allies' attempt
412
00:20:54,080 --> 00:20:56,200
to help the Home Army,
the Polish uprising.
413
00:20:57,560 --> 00:20:59,680
From their air bases in Italy,
414
00:20:59,840 --> 00:21:03,960
the British and Americans try
to drop supplies to the Poles.
415
00:21:04,120 --> 00:21:05,920
Churchill asks permission:
416
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:09,000
"Can Allied planes carrying supplies
use Soviet bases
417
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:11,240
to refuel and carry out repairs?"
418
00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:13,040
Stalin says no.
419
00:21:13,840 --> 00:21:15,200
Stalin has always hated
420
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,200
the Polish government in London,
421
00:21:17,360 --> 00:21:20,080
which he regards as bourgeois,
imperialist, capitalist.
422
00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:24,200
He has a small
Polish communist group.
423
00:21:24,360 --> 00:21:26,680
He is always planning
to parachute them
424
00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:28,080
in to Poland as his government.
425
00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,920
And so Stalin is
content to watch the Germans
426
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:33,920
utterly destroy
the Polish Home Army,
427
00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,920
destroy the population of Warsaw,
428
00:21:36,080 --> 00:21:37,920
and destroy the city itself.
429
00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,240
Stalin
wants to conquer Poland,
430
00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:41,760
but he wants to make sure
431
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:45,440
that it's then turned into
a communist vassal client state.
432
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,840
He wants to wait
until the Nazis have
433
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,800
destroyed the Polish underground
434
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:52,920
before he enters Warsaw.
435
00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:55,160
Let them do his work for him.
436
00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:02,280
Hitler sends in his
most psychopathic crews
437
00:22:02,440 --> 00:22:06,200
of murderous, grotesque sadists.
438
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:10,400
Some of them
are the most brutal murderers
439
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:11,880
of the entire Nazi regime.
440
00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:13,360
Like Oskar Dirlewanger.
441
00:22:13,520 --> 00:22:15,000
Even the SS doesn't
wanna work with him.
442
00:22:16,360 --> 00:22:18,520
They go through
building after building,
443
00:22:18,680 --> 00:22:20,720
and they round these
people up by the thousands
444
00:22:20,880 --> 00:22:22,520
and then mow those people down.
445
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:26,520
When 5,000,
6,000 bodies are lying there,
446
00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,880
then they bring in the
Verbrennungskommando,
447
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:31,160
these burning commandos,
to burn the bodies,
448
00:22:31,320 --> 00:22:32,880
specialists from places
like Treblinka
449
00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:36,360
who've now become specialists
at burning human flesh.
450
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:42,680
They loot the entire city
and then they destroy it.
451
00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:45,200
Building by building,
libraries,
452
00:22:45,360 --> 00:22:47,240
museums, everything is destroyed.
453
00:22:51,040 --> 00:22:54,640
The Polish Home Army
surrenders.
454
00:22:54,800 --> 00:22:59,360
General Bór-Komorowski
is imprisoned by the Nazis.
455
00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,680
By the end of
the Warsaw Uprising,
456
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,640
about 200,000
civilians have been killed.
457
00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:08,840
Then the remaining population
458
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:10,920
are sent to camps like Auschwitz.
459
00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:13,880
Some are sent as slave laborers
into the Reich.
460
00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:15,840
So the destruction of Warsaw is
461
00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:17,680
unique in the destruction of cities
462
00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:19,120
in the Second World War in Europe.
463
00:23:20,240 --> 00:23:22,200
In Warsaw, tragically,
464
00:23:22,360 --> 00:23:25,240
the Germans chose
to meet that desire
465
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:29,040
for Polish independence
with overwhelming force...
466
00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,320
...To kill and smash
and eradicate Polish culture.
467
00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:39,480
To say, "No,
you will not liberate yourselves.
468
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:41,920
In fact,
you have condemned yourselves."
469
00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,600
August, 1944.
470
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:54,080
The Germans are in
full retreat across France.
471
00:23:55,520 --> 00:23:57,640
They begin to evacuate Paris.
472
00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:02,200
Parisians sense a chance
to recapture their city.
473
00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:05,440
But they need a spark.
474
00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:07,800
On the 15th of August,
the Parisian police,
475
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,240
which was 20,000 strong
and had been
476
00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:12,480
collaborating with the Germans
up to that moment,
477
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:14,600
actually switches sides
478
00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:16,920
and raises the flag
on their building,
479
00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:20,720
giving the sign to
the rest of the city
480
00:24:20,880 --> 00:24:22,160
and, of course,
to the partisans,
481
00:24:22,320 --> 00:24:25,200
that this was the moment
the uprising needed to start.
482
00:24:28,720 --> 00:24:32,160
And so the streets of
Paris become a battlefield.
483
00:24:35,680 --> 00:24:38,600
The French resistance has
been preparing for this moment
484
00:24:38,760 --> 00:24:40,400
for a very long time.
485
00:24:43,120 --> 00:24:45,520
And they act against
the Germans quite rapidly
486
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:47,000
and quite successfully.
487
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:51,080
As this happened,
488
00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:53,240
Charles De Gaulle shows up
to Supreme Allied Commander
489
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:54,640
Eisenhower's headquarters
490
00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:57,000
and go, "We have
to march on Paris."
491
00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,280
The Allies
don't particularly like De Gaulle,
492
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,440
but see De Gaulle as a bulwark
against communism.
493
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:04,040
Eisenhower
is smart enough to know
494
00:25:04,200 --> 00:25:05,720
that it would look really,
really good
495
00:25:05,880 --> 00:25:08,560
if the first troops to enter
Paris were the Free French.
496
00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:12,960
Eisenhower decides
to allow the Free French forces
497
00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:15,000
to send one division into the city
498
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,400
and to help the insurgents
to free the city.
499
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,200
Supported by the
American Fourth Division,
500
00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:24,760
General De Gaulle
orders the French
501
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:27,000
Second Armored Division into Paris.
502
00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:29,960
Toward the bitter end,
503
00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:31,680
Adolf Hitler
issues instructions
504
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:34,080
to General von Choltitz,
who was in control of Paris,
505
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:35,560
to destroy the city.
506
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:37,720
Hitler, during a phone
call with von Choltitz,
507
00:25:37,880 --> 00:25:39,440
asks: "Is Paris burning?"
508
00:25:40,680 --> 00:25:42,440
And von Choltitz tells him:
509
00:25:42,600 --> 00:25:44,280
"Yes, my Fuhrer,
we burned the city."
510
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:52,280
Instead,
he negotiates a surrender.
511
00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:02,880
It is the officers
and men of that
512
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:06,440
Second French Armored
Division who first enter Paris.
513
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,200
So De Gaulle can claim
that the French have
514
00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:15,480
liberated their own capital.
515
00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:17,680
And not just any old French,
not the communist French,
516
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:19,760
not the resis...
HIS French army.
517
00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:27,560
He is the one
leading the parade
518
00:26:27,720 --> 00:26:29,240
through the streets of Paris,
519
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:32,280
presenting himself as the legitimate
leader of the French government.
520
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:39,480
Everyone in
the city has come out now
521
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,560
because they feel that their
moment of liberation is on them.
522
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,200
But there are still
German soldiers in Paris.
523
00:27:05,800 --> 00:27:07,760
General De
Gaulle walked straight ahead
524
00:27:07,920 --> 00:27:09,840
into what appeared to me
to be a hail of fire.
525
00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,640
But he went straight ahead
without hesitation,
526
00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:14,560
his shoulders flung back.
527
00:27:18,120 --> 00:27:20,920
Most Germans
have surrendered or fled.
528
00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,160
The last are tracked down,
529
00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:25,320
along with French collaborators.
530
00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:50,120
He presents
the liberation of Paris
531
00:27:50,280 --> 00:27:52,240
as a story of self-liberation,
532
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:54,360
a Paris that was
able to free itself
533
00:27:54,520 --> 00:27:56,920
from the yoke of
the German occupation
534
00:27:57,080 --> 00:27:58,440
without the help of the Allies.
535
00:28:04,960 --> 00:28:06,480
However, let's say,
536
00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:08,040
the Allied presence in the region
537
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:09,560
also played a major role in
538
00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:11,920
convincing the Germans
that it was time to go.
539
00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:15,320
France will
enter this post-war period
540
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:17,280
with pride and with confidence.
541
00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:19,480
It's difficult to imagine
how that would've happened
542
00:28:19,640 --> 00:28:22,160
if not for the efforts of all
of the resistance groups
543
00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:24,200
that fought against
Nazi aggression.
544
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:33,920
But, in Warsaw,
the outcome is different.
545
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,640
The city is razed by the Nazis.
546
00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:41,080
And what remains is captured
547
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:42,920
and controlled by the Soviets.
548
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,960
Paris, the city of light,
is saved.
549
00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:54,080
Warsaw, and the hope of
the Polish people,
550
00:28:54,240 --> 00:28:56,040
is destroyed.
551
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,640
Resistance is important
552
00:29:15,800 --> 00:29:17,360
for the people of a nation
553
00:29:17,520 --> 00:29:20,000
who do not want
to be subjugated.
554
00:29:21,280 --> 00:29:23,440
While the French and the Poles
555
00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:25,240
rise up against the Germans
556
00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:28,920
within the extermination
camps at Auschwitz and others,
557
00:29:29,080 --> 00:29:32,240
there is also this
spirit of resistance.
558
00:29:36,960 --> 00:29:39,600
The deliberate
killing of Jews by the Nazis
559
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:42,120
began with bullets.
560
00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:45,720
Shortly after the Germans
561
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,800
invaded the Soviet Union
in June, 1941...
562
00:29:50,360 --> 00:29:53,680
...they started to shoot Jewish
children, women, and men...
563
00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:57,520
...and bury them in
ravines and forests.
564
00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:02,680
But eventually the Nazis
required
565
00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:06,240
a more systematic method
of murder.
566
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:08,960
There were tens of
thousands of the camps
567
00:30:09,120 --> 00:30:11,080
by the end of the war.
It's a huge infrastructure.
568
00:30:11,240 --> 00:30:14,680
But there were a very
small number of death camps
569
00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:16,800
within this enormous system.
570
00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,080
Six death camps.
571
00:30:19,240 --> 00:30:20,920
Chelmno,
which is the original death camp,
572
00:30:21,080 --> 00:30:23,400
Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka,
573
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:25,000
and then Auschwitz-Birkenau
574
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:26,600
and Majdanek.
575
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:30,360
As the Red Army
pushes into Poland,
576
00:30:30,520 --> 00:30:33,560
the Nazis attempt to
hide their great crime
577
00:30:33,720 --> 00:30:36,400
by dismantling
the killing centers.
578
00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:40,840
They destroyed documents.
579
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:42,600
They destroyed
the major death camps
580
00:30:42,760 --> 00:30:44,560
at Belzec, Sobibor,
and Treblinka.
581
00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:46,680
They get rid of the vast
majority of the buildings.
582
00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:48,200
They cover them over.
583
00:30:48,360 --> 00:30:49,680
They create farmhouses on the site
584
00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:51,360
to conceal everything
that they've done.
585
00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:53,720
And then as the camps
come into the path
586
00:30:53,880 --> 00:30:57,040
of invading Allied armies,
they evacuate them.
587
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:03,440
At Auschwitz-Birkenau,
there are prisoners
588
00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:06,960
determined to
document the Nazi murders.
589
00:31:07,120 --> 00:31:09,200
The extermination
camp system
590
00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,520
includes the sorting of people.
591
00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:13,080
Some of them are left alive
592
00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,320
because they looked as if they
were young or fit or healthy enough.
593
00:31:16,480 --> 00:31:19,040
Those people work in something
called a Sonderkommando.
594
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:22,360
They are supposed
to sort the clothing,
595
00:31:22,520 --> 00:31:24,680
sort the hair that's
been cut off people,
596
00:31:24,840 --> 00:31:27,240
to move the corpses,
all these terrible,
597
00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:29,080
terrible jobs
that they're given.
598
00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:32,080
In 1944 in
Auschwitz-Birkenau,
599
00:31:32,240 --> 00:31:33,680
members of the resistance movement
600
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:35,920
manage to smuggle
a camera into the camp.
601
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,400
The Sonderkommando,
who were witnessing
602
00:31:38,560 --> 00:31:40,080
all of these things
on a day-to-day basis,
603
00:31:40,240 --> 00:31:41,840
secure this camera,
and their ambition is to
604
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:44,600
use this camera to
record images of
605
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:46,480
what's happening within the camp
606
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,800
in order for those pictures
to stir the world to respond.
607
00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:54,600
One prisoner
manages to photograph the horror.
608
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:03,960
Four images of hell.
609
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:07,680
The really
extraordinary thing about them
610
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:09,840
is that the images
themselves are framed
611
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:11,520
from within the doorway
612
00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:13,680
of the gas chamber building itself.
613
00:32:13,840 --> 00:32:16,960
So the images testify
to the bravery
614
00:32:17,120 --> 00:32:19,000
of what this man was doing
615
00:32:19,160 --> 00:32:21,440
and the appalling depravity
616
00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:23,800
of the process at that stage.
617
00:32:24,840 --> 00:32:26,720
And what we see
within these images
618
00:32:26,880 --> 00:32:30,360
are the burning of bodies
outside the crematoria.
619
00:32:31,920 --> 00:32:34,000
And we see people being undressed,
620
00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,040
waiting to be brought
into the gas chamber.
621
00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,200
The film is
put into a tube of toothpaste
622
00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:45,080
and then smuggled out
to the Polish Home Army.
623
00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:50,040
This is perhaps
the single most valuable
624
00:32:50,200 --> 00:32:53,000
photographic evidence
to emerge from Auschwitz.
625
00:32:56,440 --> 00:32:59,160
The Jews fought back from 1933
626
00:32:59,320 --> 00:33:00,560
to the end of the war.
627
00:33:00,720 --> 00:33:02,000
There are escapes.
628
00:33:02,160 --> 00:33:05,760
There are individual killings
of guards by prisoners.
629
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,840
The Jews are fighting
back this entire time.
630
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,440
Resistance is what
gives us testimony
631
00:33:12,600 --> 00:33:14,080
of what happened
in those places.
632
00:33:18,400 --> 00:33:20,400
In the fall of 1944,
633
00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:23,280
Nazi Germany is retreating
on all fronts...
634
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:24,720
except one:
635
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:27,080
their war against the Jews.
636
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,960
Auschwitz-Birkenau
is now the front line.
637
00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:37,640
Killing Jews is not
a secondary by-product
638
00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:40,640
of their military goals:
It is their military goal.
639
00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:44,840
From Hitler's
perspective, it's worth
640
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:46,640
apportioning resources to it
641
00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:48,960
despite what's
happening elsewhere.
642
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,800
In fact, they accelerate
the process of mass murder.
643
00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:57,520
In 1944,
the Nazis decide to
644
00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:00,280
exterminate the Hungarian
Jewish population.
645
00:34:00,440 --> 00:34:03,320
So a special train line is
built into Auschwitz-Birkenau,
646
00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:05,240
and hundreds of thousands of
647
00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:07,120
Hungarian Jews are rounded up,
648
00:34:07,280 --> 00:34:08,640
and many of them are murdered
649
00:34:08,800 --> 00:34:11,560
within a few hours of
their arriving at the camp.
650
00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:16,600
1944 is
when Auschwitz hits
651
00:34:16,760 --> 00:34:19,520
its terrible, appalling peak
652
00:34:19,680 --> 00:34:22,400
in terms of the number
of people killed.
653
00:34:26,960 --> 00:34:29,600
Requests start to
come to the U.S. government
654
00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:32,240
to bomb either the rail lines,
655
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,960
the gas chambers at Auschwitz,
the crematoria,
656
00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:38,200
the bridges leading
to these camps.
657
00:34:39,680 --> 00:34:41,840
The idea of
bombing death camps
658
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,640
is difficult operationally
and it's difficult morally.
659
00:34:44,800 --> 00:34:46,280
You're going to kill the very people
660
00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:47,880
that you're trying to rescue.
661
00:34:49,960 --> 00:34:52,280
Churchill and
Roosevelt's perspective:
662
00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:54,800
humanitarian concerns
were always secondary
663
00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:56,640
to winning the war.
They would say:
664
00:34:56,800 --> 00:34:59,200
"The best thing that we
can do to help these people
665
00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,720
is to bring the war to an
end as quickly as possible."
666
00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:07,040
Prisoners at
Auschwitz-Birkenau cannot
667
00:35:07,200 --> 00:35:08,960
afford to wait for the war to end.
668
00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:12,560
They want to survive,
they want to escape,
669
00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:16,000
and they want to
stop the killing.
670
00:35:21,520 --> 00:35:23,320
From the beginning,
there has been
671
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:26,440
an underground of resistance
at Auschwitz-Birkenau
672
00:35:26,600 --> 00:35:29,120
made up of various
groups of prisoners,
673
00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:30,960
including the Sonderkommando.
674
00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:34,360
The Sonderkommando
starts to realize that
675
00:35:34,520 --> 00:35:36,320
there are fewer and fewer
of these transports
676
00:35:36,480 --> 00:35:37,840
coming from Hungary.
677
00:35:38,000 --> 00:35:41,800
"The extermination process is
finishing; our time is coming,
678
00:35:41,960 --> 00:35:44,120
and if we don't act quickly,
we're going to be killed."
679
00:35:45,480 --> 00:35:48,240
So they started to
look at ways they could resist.
680
00:35:48,400 --> 00:35:50,080
They might die trying,
681
00:35:50,240 --> 00:35:51,360
there's a very good chance
682
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:52,600
that they'll die trying, but
683
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:54,640
at least they can
give themselves a chance.
684
00:35:54,800 --> 00:35:57,360
Because they're determined
to do whatever they can
685
00:35:57,520 --> 00:36:00,000
to meet the moment
on their own terms.
686
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:03,160
Auschwitz is
a death camp,
687
00:36:03,320 --> 00:36:06,240
and it's also a forced
labor facility.
688
00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:08,480
And so there were women
689
00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:10,080
who were working in the armaments
690
00:36:10,240 --> 00:36:11,480
factories nearby Auschwitz
691
00:36:11,640 --> 00:36:14,200
who had access to gunpowder.
692
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:16,880
One member
of the underground
693
00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:19,720
is part of a slave labor unit
that sorts the clothing
694
00:36:19,880 --> 00:36:22,160
of the dead: Roza Robota.
695
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,320
She makes contact
with the Sonderkommando.
696
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:27,200
They form a plan to
destroy the crematoria,
697
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:29,680
provoke a wider uprising,
698
00:36:29,840 --> 00:36:31,360
and attempt to escape.
699
00:36:32,720 --> 00:36:34,920
Robota enlists Jewish women
700
00:36:35,080 --> 00:36:38,040
working in the munitions factory
to smuggle gunpowder:
701
00:36:38,920 --> 00:36:40,120
Ala Gertner,
702
00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:41,920
Regina Safirsztajn,
703
00:36:42,080 --> 00:36:43,440
and Esther Wajcblum.
704
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:46,400
So they secured these
explosives at enormous risk,
705
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:47,840
and they're smuggling
them through
706
00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,800
various kind of ingenious means.
They create little packets of
707
00:36:50,960 --> 00:36:53,720
fabric that they hide them in,
and they get them through.
708
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:57,000
The women
are collecting the gunpowder
709
00:36:57,160 --> 00:36:59,000
to hand them off
to their friend Roza.
710
00:36:59,160 --> 00:37:00,640
She is going to
get the gunpowder
711
00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:02,440
into the hands of the
Sonderkommando,
712
00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:04,520
who are going to
use it to try to blow up
713
00:37:04,680 --> 00:37:06,120
the crematoria
where they're working.
714
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,400
At a certain moment,
an individual takes
715
00:37:11,560 --> 00:37:14,200
an improvised weapon and
launches at a member of the SS,
716
00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:16,280
and that kick-starts
the whole thing.
717
00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:21,360
There's smoke,
there's noise, there's shouting,
718
00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:23,000
and there's gunfire.
719
00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:29,520
The resistors
end up blowing up, in part,
720
00:37:29,680 --> 00:37:31,960
one of the crematoria,
Crematoria IV.
721
00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:35,240
It's put permanently
out of commission.
722
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:37,000
So the Sonderkommando
would've considered
723
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:38,440
that to be a success.
724
00:37:39,520 --> 00:37:41,720
And in another crematory building,
the Sonderkommando
725
00:37:41,880 --> 00:37:45,600
force some the guards
into one of the ovens alive.
726
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:51,080
Some prisoners escape,
727
00:37:51,240 --> 00:37:53,400
but are quickly
caught and executed.
728
00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:58,520
The three
women who have been
729
00:37:58,680 --> 00:38:00,200
stealing the gunpowder,
730
00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:03,080
plus Roza Robota
are to be hanged.,
731
00:38:04,000 --> 00:38:06,240
And just as the noose
is put around her neck,
732
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:10,680
she yells out to the group
of prisoners assembled:
733
00:38:12,160 --> 00:38:15,240
"Vengeance,"
or, "Sisters, avenge."
734
00:38:16,560 --> 00:38:19,960
It is a passionate message
of resilience, resistance,
735
00:38:20,120 --> 00:38:21,960
and continue the fight.
736
00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:27,280
In December,
the Red Army advances
737
00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:29,240
on Auschwitz-Birkenau.
738
00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,440
The SS forced prisoners
on marches into Germany.
739
00:38:39,000 --> 00:38:41,160
Thousands die.
740
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:47,720
On January 27th, 1945,
741
00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:52,360
Soviet soldiers arrive at the
gates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
742
00:38:54,240 --> 00:38:57,280
Auschwitz
really became the center
743
00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:00,360
of the mass murder of Europe's
Jews quite late in the war.
744
00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:04,040
The important thing to
know is that 80%
745
00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:05,520
of the Jews murdered
in the Holocaust
746
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:07,200
were not murdered at Auschwitz,
747
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,240
but elsewhere in places
that are either
748
00:39:09,400 --> 00:39:11,480
forgotten or largely overlooked.
749
00:39:16,400 --> 00:39:18,440
The Nazis
and their collaborators
750
00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:21,120
murder six million Jews
during the war.
751
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:25,720
Millions of others
die at their hands.
752
00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:30,680
But in the face of
unimaginable conditions
753
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:33,160
and inconceivable cruelty...
754
00:39:36,120 --> 00:39:39,000
...some find a way to resist.
755
00:39:40,120 --> 00:39:42,320
Resistance
takes so many forms.
756
00:39:42,480 --> 00:39:44,680
There's armed
resistance and uprising,
757
00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:47,160
and that happens
throughout Europe.
758
00:39:47,320 --> 00:39:49,440
There is spiritual resistance.
759
00:39:49,600 --> 00:39:51,960
Just the idea that
you are not going to die
760
00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:53,560
just because
the Nazis want you to,
761
00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:54,920
you are going to try to survive.
762
00:39:55,080 --> 00:39:56,760
You are going to document
763
00:39:56,920 --> 00:39:59,120
what is happening,
write letters, write diaries,
764
00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:00,800
bury them in the ground
765
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:03,200
so that someday we will be able to
766
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:05,000
talk about what
you went through.
767
00:40:07,720 --> 00:40:10,760
The nature of tyranny
becomes evident in World War II.
768
00:40:10,920 --> 00:40:12,200
The Nazis and the Japanese
769
00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:14,880
imperialists
are invading their neighbors,
770
00:40:15,040 --> 00:40:16,720
kidnapping, slave laborers,
771
00:40:16,880 --> 00:40:18,720
murdering those
who disagree with them.
772
00:40:19,720 --> 00:40:21,280
It was a natural reaction
773
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:23,280
on the part of
the occupied peoples
774
00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:25,960
to organize some
form of resistance.
775
00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,880
And it happens
all over the world in World War II.
776
00:40:32,240 --> 00:40:34,960
After surviving
Auschwitz and Buchenwald,
777
00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:37,760
Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel said:
778
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,200
"We must always take sides.
779
00:40:40,360 --> 00:40:43,400
Neutrality helps the oppressor,
never the victim.
780
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:45,960
Silence encourages the tormentor,
781
00:40:46,120 --> 00:40:47,840
never the tormented.
782
00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:50,680
Sometimes we must interfere."
783
00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:54,840
In the Pacific, President
Franklin Roosevelt,
784
00:40:55,000 --> 00:40:57,640
General Douglas MacArthur,
and Admiral Chester Nimitz
785
00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:01,320
meet in Pearl Harbor to draw
a plan for the final defeat
786
00:41:01,480 --> 00:41:03,960
- of Imperial Japan.
- Subtitles by Sky Access Services