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When I was a kid,
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00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:11,640
every adult I knew shared
one thing in common;
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00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,840
a gap in their lives
when everything appeared uncertain
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00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,800
and time itself seemed
to stand still.
5
00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,840
When they talked about it,
they simply called it The War.
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00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,480
For six dark years,
the world was on fire,
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cities were demolished,
and whole populations threatened.
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00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:34,560
When would the war end?
No-one knew.
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00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:36,080
How would it end?
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00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:37,640
No-one knew.
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00:00:37,800 --> 00:00:39,640
Life was in stasis.
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00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:42,880
The War is now a part
of our culture,
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00:00:43,040 --> 00:00:45,120
portrayed in movies
and on television,
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in novels and history books.
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00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,520
The Allies usually defeat
the enemy and save the world.
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00:00:52,480 --> 00:00:56,640
But the grim reality of the war
is almost impossible to comprehend.
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Over 65 million people are killed,
the majority civilians.
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Everyone fought some version
of The War,
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beginning with
the mothers and fathers,
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who sent their children overseas,
not knowing when, or if,
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they would ever see them again.
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00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:16,160
And, of course, the soldiers,
sailors, airmen, and marines,
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often just a bunch of kids,
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who served with honour and bravery
to liberate enslaved peoples
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and preserve human dignity.
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In doing so,
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they saved that which is most
precious and valued by us all.
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Freedom.
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The Second World War is
the largest event in human history.
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No part of the globe is unaffected.
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World War Two changed everything,
for all of us.
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All wars change the world.
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But none of them change 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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00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:07,080
Suddenly the world
is turned upside down.
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And all hell is let loose.
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00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:13,840
The West is stunned
by the speed of the advance.
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00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,160
You get the Allies
led by the big three,
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Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin.
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Men who are 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,
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it's a global perspective.
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They have to fight
in every climate from the Arctic
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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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00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:51,320
But there was no certainty
of victory;
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it was going to be
a horrific bloodbath.
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00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:56,800
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 Two was a struggle
in which there could be one victor
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and one vanquished.
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{\an8}Sometimes the most monumental
events begin without fanfare.
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Before the world wakes.
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00:03:55,280 --> 00:04:00,160
And so it is,
on the 1st of September 1939
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as dawn breaks over
a sleeping city on the Baltic Sea,
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that the bloodiest conflict
in all history begins.
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This is the National Programme
from London.
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{\an8}Germany has invaded Poland.
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Heavy outbreaks of fighting
along the German Polish frontier.
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In just a matter of hours,
a million and a half men...
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...1,300 planes...
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...and 2,750 tanks...
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00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:24,640
...cross the Polish border
at lightning speed.
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September 1st 1939.
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{\an8}A storm breaks over Poland.
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The Germans are racing through
with tanks and with artillery
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following up with the infantry
and accompanied by the Luftwaffe.
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00:05:49,840 --> 00:05:52,760
{\an8}And all of a sudden people were
waking up to the sound of tanks
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{\an8}rumbling through the town, not
really knowing what was happening.
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You're going to see waves
of trucks and mechanised
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and motorised vehicles.
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00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,080
It looks a bit like
a science fiction novel,
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like all those novels written
in the '20s and '30s
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about what the war of the future
would look like.
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00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,880
And suddenly in 1939,
the future is now.
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At 11am, Hitler arrives
at a Berlin opera house,
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where he's gathered the Reichstag.
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00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:51,560
This is the moment Hitler
has been waiting for all his life.
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00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:54,920
He's been the leader
of the Nazi Party since 1921.
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00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:58,480
He came to power in '33.
He rearms the country in '35.
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And since then,
it's been prepare, prepare, prepare.
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00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:03,680
But Hitler wants a war.
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00:07:16,160 --> 00:07:18,920
The invasion follows months
of diplomatic tension
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over a strip of land known
as the Polish Corridor.
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Land that had once been part
of Germany...
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...but was ceded to Poland
to give her access to the sea
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after the first World War.
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Twenty years earlier,
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global leaders gathered
in the French city of Versailles
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to sign the historic treaty
ending that war.
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After four years of brutal fighting,
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an alliance led
by Britain and France,
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and supported by the United States,
emerged victorious.
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Germany, its military exhausted
and its people near starvation,
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had lost.
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00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:05,200
And now,
they would pay the price of defeat.
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00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:09,400
The Treaty of Versailles takes
territories away from Germany.
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00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:12,280
It strips Germany of populations
and raw materials.
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00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,640
It turns the entire German merchant
marine over to the allies.
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00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:19,000
It imposes reparations
on the Germans.
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00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:24,000
The Allies were attempting to
limit the future power of Germany.
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The effects of the First World War
were so grave.
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{\an8}They were so catastrophic
that no-one wanted to see
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00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:30,760
{\an8}a repeat of that.
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00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:34,280
One young Austrian corporal
fighting for the German army
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is Adolf Hitler.
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00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,560
Like many, he is shocked
by the way the war ends.
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Your average German was surprised
by the news of the armistice
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because it happened so suddenly.
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{\an8}The army was still in the field,
and there was the sense
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{\an8}that we haven't been invaded
and thoroughly beaten.
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00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:53,680
It was personally
a tragedy for Hitler.
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He heard the news of the armistice
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00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:59,480
when he was still ill
from injuries sustained in battle.
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00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:03,080
{\an8}He did not process
the end of the war well.
122
00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,320
{\an8}He did not accept
the defeat of Germany.
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00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:11,760
Surviving soldiers come home
angry and confused.
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00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,960
Frankly, the response of many
of them is disillusionment.
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00:09:16,120 --> 00:09:18,960
Four years at the front, I managed
to dodge all those bullets,
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00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:21,640
and now I came home
and this is what I fought for.
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00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:25,840
When Hitler comes back
from the war,
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00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,600
he learns to talk to former soldiers
who are now disgruntled
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00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,040
and begins to feel the fact that
he's actually quite a good speaker.
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00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:39,680
He attends a meeting
of a small group,
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which will become the
National Socialist German Workers,
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00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:44,840
or Nazi Party.
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00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:47,240
He finds something attractive.
this is a party of grievance,
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00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:49,760
talking about how
Germany could be transformed,
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00:09:49,920 --> 00:09:51,840
and Germany could be made
powerful again.
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00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,080
In 1921,
Hitler's talent for public speaking
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makes him the leader
of this tiny party.
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00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,520
Hitler's first move is
an attempted coup
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00:10:01,680 --> 00:10:04,080
against the Bavarian state
government in Munich...
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00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,920
...but it fails
and he's arrested for treason.
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00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:11,520
At his trial,
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00:10:11,680 --> 00:10:15,640
the Judge allows Hitler to publicly
share his movement's grievances,
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00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:19,520
against war guilt, reparation,
and communism.
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00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:24,520
In jail,
he publishes his memoir Mein Kampf,
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or My Struggle.
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00:10:28,560 --> 00:10:32,480
With Hitler's notoriety,
Nazi Party membership grows
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00:10:32,640 --> 00:10:37,000
as Germany's Weimar Republic
moves through the unstable '20s.
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00:10:38,680 --> 00:10:41,800
The economy is burdened
by heavy war reparations.
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00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,240
In 1923,
the cost of one loaf of bread
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00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,680
rockets from
three Marks to 80 billion.
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00:10:52,440 --> 00:10:55,840
The years that follow
are unstable, chaotic.
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00:10:57,000 --> 00:11:01,240
Hitler's Nazi Party fuels
racial hatred against Jews
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00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:03,240
and fears about communism.
154
00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,360
Then,
just as the economy is recovering,
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00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,000
the Great Depression throws
six million Germans out of work.
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00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,840
People in Germany are confused,
bewildered, unhappy.
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00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:18,480
And so there's a real opening
for a leader who will speak
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all these lines perfectly
and talk about
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00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:22,440
how I'm going to bring
the Germans back together.
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00:11:23,280 --> 00:11:27,040
In the 1932 elections,
Germany is deeply divided.
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00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,040
But President von Hindenberg,
backed by conservative businessmen,
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appoints Hitler Chancellor
to run the government
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at the beginning of 1933.
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00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:43,440
In 1934,
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Hitler declares that he will now
continue to be Chancellor
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00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:50,560
and take over the role
of the President as well.
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00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:53,720
He's transformed what was
a democracy in Germany
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into a one-party
and a one-man dictatorship.
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00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:01,680
He's become the German leader,
the Fuhrer.
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00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:07,920
His first promise as Fuhrer
is to reclaim the land
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Germany lost at Versailles.
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00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:14,360
He seizes The Rhineland,
Austria, and the Sudetenland,
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00:12:14,520 --> 00:12:17,040
German-speaking parts
of Czechoslovakia.
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00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:22,680
By 1938, just four years later,
he's reshaped the map of Europe.
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00:12:23,760 --> 00:12:26,400
Desperate to avoid another war,
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Britain and France allow Hitler
to expand his empire.
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00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:33,320
In 1938, at Munich,
Neville Chamberlain,
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00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:34,600
the British Prime Minister,
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00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:39,040
and the French actually
made a deal with Hitler.
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00:12:39,200 --> 00:12:41,880
{\an8}What he wanted was
the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia.
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00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:43,640
{\an8}The British had said, fine,
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we'll just dismantle
an entire country to keep you happy.
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00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,520
But when Hitler
turns to Poland,
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the West finally takes a stand.
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00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:57,120
The Poles have already endured
centuries of foreign rule.
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00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,440
The country regains its independence
as part of the Versailles treaty,
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but its new borders now include
20,000 square miles
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of what had been German land.
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00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:13,960
In summer 1939,
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00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:17,640
the British and the French sign
a guarantee with the Poles,
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00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,880
promising military assistance
if the Germans invade.
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00:13:24,280 --> 00:13:27,120
Hitler, speaking to his officers,
they're asking him questions.
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00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:30,080
What was the attitude of the West
going to be if you attack Poland?
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And he snorted.
'Don't worry,' he said.
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00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:36,360
'I've seen my opponents at Munich.
They're little worms.'
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Hitler doesn't believe the West
has the will to go to war...
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00:13:42,640 --> 00:13:45,280
...so he moves across the border,
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00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:49,440
ready to invade with the full force
of the Nazi Wehrmacht.
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00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,080
In the first 24 hours
of the invasion...
200
00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:12,640
...the Germans take out railroads,
bridges, and airfields.
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00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:17,720
The destruction paves the way
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00:14:17,880 --> 00:14:20,400
for their army to advance
deep into Poland.
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00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:25,720
{\an8}The Poles have a modern army.
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00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:27,720
It's the fifth-largest army
in the world.
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00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,280
And it's equipped with modern tanks,
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00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,200
with all sorts of artillery,
and armoured trains.
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00:14:37,000 --> 00:14:40,400
But Hitler has been putting
almost all his resources
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00:14:40,560 --> 00:14:42,800
into equipping the military.
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00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:47,880
The Poles were outgunned by
the Germans who had 3-to-1 tanks,
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00:14:48,040 --> 00:14:49,280
and 5-to-1 aeroplanes
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00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,640
so there's no question that
the Germans were a superior force.
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00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:55,560
Despite those odds,
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00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:59,000
the Poles are determined
to defend their country.
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00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:03,640
{\an8}- Everyone had to help;
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00:15:03,800 --> 00:15:07,440
{\an8}and soldiers conscripted civilians
on the street, putting them to work.
216
00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,680
{\an8}I saw one man who was stopped
six times on his way home
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00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:12,600
with a loaf of bread.
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00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:17,840
The Poles remain resilient.
219
00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:24,520
But the question is
what will Britain and France do?
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00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,160
Here as ever in critical days
we're seeing the coming
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00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,000
and going of the leaders
of the country.
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00:15:31,760 --> 00:15:34,880
The British and French had
an alliance with the Poles.
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00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:36,800
They have to defend Poland.
224
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,720
But they're not
militarily prepared to do so,
225
00:15:39,880 --> 00:15:42,080
and they're not
mentally prepared to do so.
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00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:46,520
{\an8}The home fronts in Britain and
France are dead set against war.
227
00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,840
British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain tells Parliament
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00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,640
he's considering issuing
an ultimatum.
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00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:57,720
But many feel he's backtracking
on his promise to Poland.
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00:15:59,360 --> 00:16:03,080
This is a profound injury
to British honour,
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00:16:03,240 --> 00:16:06,120
that if we don't
act and declare war,
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00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,840
no other country will ever trust
a treaty with Britain ever again.
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00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:12,960
Britain delivers an ultimatum
to Berlin
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00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,240
on the morning of
September 3rd 1939.
235
00:16:18,080 --> 00:16:21,520
Hitler has until 11am
to withdraw his forces.
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00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:26,200
It's ignored.
237
00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:32,240
{\an8}- This morning,
the British Ambassador in Berlin
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00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:36,040
{\an8}handed the German government
a final note,
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00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:41,960
and consequently, this country
is at war with Germany.
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00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:47,160
In cities across Britain,
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00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:51,200
air-raid sirens signal
a strange new era,
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00:16:51,360 --> 00:16:55,560
and millions of gas masks
are sent to British homes.
243
00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:00,760
Across the Atlantic,
244
00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,080
America is just emerging
from the Great Depression
245
00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:06,280
and not prepared for war.
246
00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:10,560
The peacetime army is small.
247
00:17:12,240 --> 00:17:16,400
And neutrality laws make it
nearly impossible to aid the Allies.
248
00:17:18,240 --> 00:17:19,720
In the White House,
249
00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:22,680
the press gathers for one of
President Roosevelt's
250
00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:24,400
Fireside Chats.
251
00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:28,320
I have said not once
but many times
252
00:17:28,480 --> 00:17:30,320
{\an8}that I have seen war,
253
00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:32,920
{\an8}and that I hate war.
254
00:17:33,680 --> 00:17:36,840
I say that again and again.
255
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,320
I hope the United States
will keep out of this.
256
00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,960
And I give you assurance
and reassurance,
257
00:17:45,120 --> 00:17:49,880
that every effort of your government
will be directed toward that end.
258
00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:52,520
Most Americans,
259
00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,640
when they're asked should
the United States get involved,
260
00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,080
{\an8}90% of Americans
say absolutely not.
261
00:17:59,240 --> 00:18:03,360
But Franklin Delano Roosevelt
is watching...
262
00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:06,040
what's happening in Europe
very closely.
263
00:18:06,200 --> 00:18:09,800
The question is about freedom
and democracy.
264
00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,040
He understands what is at stake.
265
00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:18,040
In Germany, Hitler is surprised
when Britain and France declare war.
266
00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,080
When the British
declaration of war is made,
267
00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,840
Hitler receives it in silence
and for a couple of moments,
268
00:18:25,000 --> 00:18:27,640
he stares at his foreign minister,
Ribbentrop,
269
00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:30,800
and then, with a quite vicious tone
to his voice,
270
00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:32,840
he says, 'What now?'
271
00:18:38,840 --> 00:18:42,440
Despite the British
and French declaration,
272
00:18:42,600 --> 00:18:45,600
Hitler continues his master plan
for Poland
273
00:18:45,760 --> 00:18:47,600
and sends in the Luftwaffe.
274
00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:54,160
Hitler's air force is led
by a trusted member
275
00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:56,160
of his inner circle,
276
00:18:56,320 --> 00:18:58,960
Field Marshal Hermann Goering.
277
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,080
Goering is a German celebrity.
278
00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,680
In WWI, he was the head of
the Flying Circus,
279
00:19:05,840 --> 00:19:08,800
Der Fliegende Zirkus.
This elite group of fighter pilots.
280
00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,280
And so he's well known in Germany.
281
00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:14,800
He's very handsome,
very charismatic guy.
282
00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:18,040
But there's also a very dark side
to Goering.
283
00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:21,040
He feels deeply embittered
by the way the war ended.
284
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:23,240
And he falls under Hitler's spell.
285
00:19:24,120 --> 00:19:27,640
And he's able to get huge
appropriations from Hitler
286
00:19:27,800 --> 00:19:29,680
for Luftwaffe procurement.
287
00:19:30,840 --> 00:19:33,480
Goering's elite pilots
are young
288
00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:36,160
and have spent thousands of hours
in training.
289
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,480
From the cockpits of heavy bombers,
they drop explosives.
290
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:46,520
But it's the precision dive bombers
that wreak the most terror.
291
00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:50,240
The Sturzkampfflugzeug,
292
00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:53,240
the Stuka as it's usually
abbreviated,
293
00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:55,600
you know, it's not
a particularly swift craft.
294
00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,600
But they dive at
an almost 90-degree angle...
295
00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:04,000
...and literally drop
a bomb in your lap.
296
00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:10,600
And there's even a bit
of psy war here as well.
297
00:20:10,760 --> 00:20:14,280
As they're coming down on you,
there's a siren screaming.
298
00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:21,160
In Poland, there are pilots flying
at low altitude
299
00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:25,120
{\an8}who can see women
and children fleeing the roads,
300
00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:27,720
who actually target them
deliberately.
301
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,680
Polish civilians experience
modern war
302
00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:41,000
in an unbelievably horrifying way.
303
00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,400
They see people killed.
They see bodies all around them.
304
00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:52,040
It's a nightmare.
305
00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,440
Poland is being destroyed.
306
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:04,400
It is not clear when, or even if,
307
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:07,640
Britain and France can send
forces to help.
308
00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,200
On day three,
309
00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:26,920
Adolf Hitler boards his heavily
armoured private train,
310
00:21:27,080 --> 00:21:28,400
the Amerika.
311
00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:32,920
He named it after his admiration
for the way America settled
312
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:34,600
a vast continent.
313
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,880
Now, travelling towards Poland,
314
00:21:38,040 --> 00:21:41,000
he looks out on the territory
he means to conquer.
315
00:21:42,160 --> 00:21:45,440
Land stretching deep
into Eastern Europe.
316
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:50,120
Lebensraum. Living space,
for his new German Empire.
317
00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:53,600
This is his and Germany's destiny.
318
00:21:54,880 --> 00:21:57,560
{\an8}Hitler talks about
a thousand-year Reich.
319
00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,360
Its borders would stretch
from the Atlantic in the west
320
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:03,760
to Scandinavia in the north,
and the Mediterranean in the south.
321
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:06,800
Poland and the lands to the east
play a special role
322
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:08,440
in Hitler's foreign policy plans.
323
00:22:08,600 --> 00:22:10,400
They're wide-open spaces,
324
00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:13,000
farmland as far
as the eye could see.
325
00:22:13,840 --> 00:22:17,320
In order to achieve
this vast empire,
326
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,040
Germans must clear out
the people living there,
327
00:22:20,200 --> 00:22:22,520
in a remorseless race war.
328
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:26,960
Adolf Hitler's whole worldview
329
00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:30,360
is based on a kind
of neo-Darwinism,
330
00:22:30,520 --> 00:22:35,120
{\an8}in which every single act
is a biological struggle.
331
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:38,320
Warfare between different races.
332
00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:43,880
He believes that the Aryan race,
the Germans,
333
00:22:44,040 --> 00:22:46,200
is the superior race on the planet,
334
00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,840
it's destined to rule Europe
and indeed the world.
335
00:22:51,120 --> 00:22:53,280
Until now, Hitler's main target
336
00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:56,080
has been
Germany's Jewish population.
337
00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,440
Under his orders,
they lost their status as citizens,
338
00:23:00,600 --> 00:23:03,440
had their wealth
and property seized,
339
00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,520
and many were forced into exile.
340
00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:10,320
Hitler believes that humanity is
locked in this existential battle
341
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,560
{\an8}between Aryans,
as he describes them, and Jews.
342
00:23:13,720 --> 00:23:17,360
And Jews are supposedly responsible
for all of society's
343
00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:19,240
and the world's ills.
344
00:23:20,200 --> 00:23:23,960
So who is responsible for
the German loss in World War One?
345
00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:25,400
{\an8}Jewish people.
346
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:28,960
{\an8}Who is responsible
for economic inequality?
347
00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:30,200
Jewish people.
348
00:23:30,360 --> 00:23:34,600
They control media, newspapers,
all the businesses.
349
00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:37,440
The reason you are poor is because
they are hoarding money.
350
00:23:37,600 --> 00:23:40,320
What the Nazis are seeking to do
at this stage
351
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,600
is to make life so unpleasant,
so difficult for Jewish people
352
00:23:43,760 --> 00:23:45,840
within the Reich
that they want to leave.
353
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:51,000
Hitler also wants to remove
the Slavs of Eastern Europe,
354
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:53,400
including the people of Poland.
355
00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,720
Day four. Hitler reaches
the Polish frontlines,
356
00:24:03,880 --> 00:24:06,600
where he holds a photo opportunity
with his troops.
357
00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:10,840
He makes himself very visible,
goes to the front
358
00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,560
and he's greeted by these thousands
and thousands of people.
359
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:17,760
They're all vying with one another
to get close to Adolf Hitler.
360
00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,960
He's fought in World War One.
He's a battle-tested leader.
361
00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:25,160
{\an8}He's taking back
historic German territory.
362
00:24:25,320 --> 00:24:26,840
{\an8}He's built the armed forces.
363
00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:28,880
They listen to him.
364
00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:35,480
These German soldiers marching on
Poland believe in Germany's destiny.
365
00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,120
That they will be the creators
of the great new Germany.
366
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:43,520
{\an8}This is the first action
they've had militarily
367
00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,520
{\an8}since the black day
of the German army in 1918.
368
00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:50,800
And it is an average infantryman
from the First World War
369
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:52,240
who's leading it.
370
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:55,600
So this is redemption,
371
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,760
20 years after what never should
have happened, happened.
372
00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:07,280
Shadowing his invading forces
is another wing of the Nazi regime.
373
00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,120
The protection squadron.
374
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,440
In German, the Schutzstaffel. Or SS.
375
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:19,280
They were Hitler's personal
bodyguards as he rose to power...
376
00:25:20,840 --> 00:25:23,160
...but under the leadership
of Heinrich Himmler,
377
00:25:23,320 --> 00:25:27,080
they become a paramilitary outfit
at the heart of the regime.
378
00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:33,600
Himmler is somebody
who has a sadistic streak.
379
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:35,560
He's quite meek.
He's not particularly assuming.
380
00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:37,440
He's certainly not very
physically impressive.
381
00:25:37,600 --> 00:25:40,840
But he's somebody who's got
a burning desire to achieve things.
382
00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:43,640
He gets drawn into the Nazi loop.
383
00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:45,520
And then over a period of time,
384
00:25:45,680 --> 00:25:47,600
he eventually takes control
of the SS.
385
00:25:47,760 --> 00:25:52,160
Himmler has developed the SS from
a small kind of a bodyguard unit
386
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,200
that's supposed to really
protect Hitler
387
00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:58,640
into a vast, militarised force.
388
00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:05,200
In Poland, the SS units fan out
across the newly occupied territory,
389
00:26:05,360 --> 00:26:08,480
as does a special wing of the SS,
390
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:10,400
the Einsatzgruppen.
391
00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:13,720
Mobile death squads.
392
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,080
In September 1939,
during the Invasion of Poland,
393
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:29,120
the Nazi Einsatzgruppen are under
orders to neutralise any opposition.
394
00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:34,120
The Einsatzgruppen
are specifically set up
395
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:39,080
{\an8}to go into towns, villages
and other areas of Poland,
396
00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:40,840
to kill civilians.
397
00:26:41,000 --> 00:26:43,000
That's their only job.
398
00:26:43,160 --> 00:26:47,280
Professors, landowners, politicians,
newspaper editors,
399
00:26:47,440 --> 00:26:49,680
these sorts of people,
they were targeted and killed
400
00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,800
because these were the people
who were identified
401
00:26:51,960 --> 00:26:54,120
as possibly leading
some sort of resistance
402
00:26:54,280 --> 00:26:55,680
against the German forces.
403
00:26:55,840 --> 00:26:58,960
And this is something that the Poles
could not have known yet
404
00:26:59,120 --> 00:27:01,160
on those first days of the invasion,
405
00:27:01,320 --> 00:27:03,720
that this wasn't just going to be
a military invasion,
406
00:27:03,880 --> 00:27:07,400
but this was also going to be
a war of annihilation.
407
00:27:10,520 --> 00:27:14,080
For Hitler, this is a chance
not just to destroy Poland,
408
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:18,000
{\an8}but to clear Poland,
to crush the Polish people
409
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:19,400
{\an8}who are Slavs,
410
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:23,440
and Slavs in the Nazi ideology
are Untermenschen, under humans.
411
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,440
But it's more than that.
There are also Jews in Poland.
412
00:27:27,760 --> 00:27:31,960
For centuries, Poland has been
home to millions of Europe's Jews,
413
00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:34,800
who fled there to avoid
religious persecution.
414
00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:39,440
The Jews originally settled there
because it was the freest kingdom
415
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:40,720
in Europe.
416
00:27:40,880 --> 00:27:45,240
Now they found themselves
in a terrifying, murderous trap.
417
00:27:46,520 --> 00:27:49,960
The SS drag Orthodox Jewish men
out into the streets
418
00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:52,640
and they desecrate their clothes
and their hair.
419
00:27:53,320 --> 00:27:55,080
They smash up synagogues.
420
00:27:55,240 --> 00:27:59,000
They are seeking to amplify
the terror that they've sought
421
00:27:59,160 --> 00:28:02,360
{\an8}to develop within the Reich
towards Jews within Poland.
422
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:08,040
These acts of brutality
escalate into public executions.
423
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:13,360
In the town of Konskie
on September 12th,
424
00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,560
German troops order local Jews
to the town square...
425
00:28:17,920 --> 00:28:20,200
...to dig the grave
of a German soldier.
426
00:28:23,800 --> 00:28:28,360
This rather humiliating
forced gravedigging exercise
427
00:28:28,520 --> 00:28:31,000
quickly descends into a pogrom.
428
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,360
{\an8}Jews are shot. You know, they try
and run away from the scene,
429
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:37,520
they're quickly apprehended.
430
00:28:39,040 --> 00:28:42,800
And in total,
22 Jews are killed on that day.
431
00:28:43,680 --> 00:28:46,240
This was happening across Poland.
432
00:28:48,120 --> 00:28:51,320
The brutal mass murder
of innocent civilians.
433
00:28:57,840 --> 00:28:59,840
Nine days into the invasion.
434
00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:03,520
Britain and France continue
to mobilise their forces.
435
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,160
Civilians are being killed
in the streets,
436
00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,080
but the army isn't defeated.
437
00:29:08,240 --> 00:29:11,240
With their capital city, Warsaw,
now the target.
438
00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,680
Two Polish armies stage
a counterattack
439
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:16,160
to the west of the city.
440
00:29:16,320 --> 00:29:20,480
Polish cavalry and reconnaissance
tanks drive German forces back
441
00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:24,120
12-and-a-half miles,
in the Battle of the Bzura River.
442
00:29:24,840 --> 00:29:27,480
{\an8}You know, all too often
the Polish campaign is talked about
443
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:30,560
{\an8}as some kind of pushover.
But the Poles fought hard.
444
00:29:30,720 --> 00:29:32,560
The classic stereotype
of the Poles
445
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:34,920
is that they're all in their horses
with sabres drawn,
446
00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:37,800
riding toward tanks
who are just shooting them down.
447
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,760
This is absurd.
The Poles were very sophisticated.
448
00:29:40,920 --> 00:29:45,520
Very finely trained soldiers,
extremely brave.
449
00:29:47,240 --> 00:29:50,440
As Poles fight
under German bombardment...
450
00:29:51,760 --> 00:29:55,720
...Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain
and French Premier Edward Daladier
451
00:29:55,880 --> 00:30:00,920
meet for a Supreme War Council,
and reach a grave decision.
452
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,840
Daladier and Chamberlain agree
to leave Poland to its fate.
453
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,880
{\an8}They also adopt formally what
they call the long war strategy,
454
00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:12,840
{\an8}the idea that they have superior
resources to Germany,
455
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,240
and that over time,
456
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:17,160
those resources will come to bear
in the Allies' favour.
457
00:30:17,960 --> 00:30:20,840
Although the statement
that is given to the world's press
458
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:23,280
is one of wholehearted support,
459
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:27,360
Poland is essentially cast
to the four winds.
460
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:31,440
There is one British politician
who has always wanted
461
00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,400
to take a more aggressive position
against the Nazis.
462
00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:38,960
Appointed to the new War Cabinet
is Hitler's most vocal critic
463
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:40,280
in the West,
464
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:43,920
First Lord of the Admiralty,
Winston Churchill.
465
00:30:45,600 --> 00:30:47,120
Throughout the 1930s,
466
00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:50,920
Churchill had spoken up with concern
about German rearmament,
467
00:30:51,080 --> 00:30:54,320
about the failure to take effective
measures to enforce
468
00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:56,240
the Versailles Treaty.
469
00:30:56,400 --> 00:31:01,160
{\an8}It's clear now that Germany couldn't
be trusted as a diplomatic partner.
470
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:11,000
Two weeks into the invasion.
471
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:17,640
The Poles seem abandoned, and their
counteroffensive is collapsing.
472
00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:24,200
The German third, eighth and tenth
armies encircle Warsaw.
473
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:34,120
The capital is a city of palaces,
churches, and opera houses,
474
00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:36,760
the heart of the Polish nation.
475
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:43,200
But now,
Warsaw is in ruins and under siege.
476
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,040
Bombs were falling and everybody
was trying to help get people out
477
00:31:52,200 --> 00:31:53,240
of the rubble.
478
00:31:53,400 --> 00:31:56,040
When your roof is burning,
when your children are in hospital
479
00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:58,680
because they've been bombed,
I mean these are shocking moments.
480
00:31:59,760 --> 00:32:02,760
American photographer
and cameraman Julien Bryan
481
00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:07,040
is in Poland's capital,
filming suffering and defiance.
482
00:32:08,280 --> 00:32:10,320
He pleads for Poland.
483
00:32:11,360 --> 00:32:14,480
{\an8}- President Roosevelt
and the people of America,
484
00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:16,440
{\an8}listen to my story.
485
00:32:17,480 --> 00:32:20,280
America must act. It must help.
486
00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,800
As help is called for, there is
an army preparing to sweep in.
487
00:32:27,280 --> 00:32:29,120
They're not coming from the West.
488
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:31,920
But from the East.
489
00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:48,360
On the 17th of September,
490
00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:52,560
Joseph Stalin calls the German
Ambassador to the Kremlin
491
00:32:52,720 --> 00:32:55,600
{\an8}and says, we're going
to invade eastern Poland.
492
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:04,360
Poland's fate isn't sealed
just by the Nazis.
493
00:33:04,520 --> 00:33:08,320
The communists of Soviet Russia
also sense opportunity;
494
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:11,680
and so does
their all-powerful master.
495
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:17,320
Stalin is one of the most
extraordinary figures in the history
496
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:19,120
of the 20th century.
497
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,720
From the very beginning of
the Russian Revolution in 1917,
498
00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:26,240
he's been part of the tiny clique
that's been running Russia
499
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:31,360
and has emerged as the dominant
leader of the whole Soviet Union.
500
00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:35,880
The inner circle called him Hoziam:
the Master, the Boss.
501
00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:38,960
But in public, he was the Vozhd:
the leader.
502
00:33:39,640 --> 00:33:43,760
But he was a tough man,
a morbid man, a mysterious man.
503
00:33:43,920 --> 00:33:48,120
He learnt the hard way
in the Russian Civil War
504
00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:51,960
{\an8}that you operate ruthlessly,
you sacrifice, you attack,
505
00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:54,360
{\an8}you show no quarter to your enemies.
506
00:33:55,200 --> 00:33:58,400
Stalin saw the world
in geopolitical terms.
507
00:33:58,560 --> 00:34:02,760
He recognised that the Soviet Union
couldn't survive, isolated,
508
00:34:02,920 --> 00:34:04,640
surrounded by adversaries.
509
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:08,880
He had to play the poker game
of diplomacy and war.
510
00:34:09,040 --> 00:34:11,680
And the players were
the Western democracies
511
00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:14,600
led by England and France,
and the dictatorships.
512
00:34:15,400 --> 00:34:18,720
His great fear was that
the two sides would gang up
513
00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:21,520
against him
and destroy the Soviet Union.
514
00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:24,560
And all of his decisions
came from this fear.
515
00:34:25,480 --> 00:34:27,840
In August 1939,
516
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,320
just one week
before Germany invades Poland,
517
00:34:31,480 --> 00:34:33,880
Joseph Stalin shocked the world
518
00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:37,600
when he signed a non-aggression pact
with Adolf Hitler.
519
00:34:38,520 --> 00:34:41,040
The revelation of
the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact
520
00:34:41,200 --> 00:34:44,000
causes mayhem
in the Western capitals.
521
00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:47,160
It changes everything.
It's a complete shock.
522
00:34:48,320 --> 00:34:51,600
For the last sort of five years,
the two dictatorships,
523
00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:54,320
Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia,
524
00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:58,200
had been pouring excrement
over each other in the media.
525
00:34:58,360 --> 00:35:01,400
They had been calling each other
every name under the sun.
526
00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:06,120
And for each, the other was
the quintessential enemy
527
00:35:06,280 --> 00:35:07,720
of everything they believed.
528
00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:10,840
And now suddenly, there's thawing,
529
00:35:11,000 --> 00:35:15,480
and the next thing you know,
Ribbentrop is flying to Moscow.
530
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:20,920
In August 1939,
by signing a pact with Hitler,
531
00:35:21,080 --> 00:35:24,760
Stalin helps to ensure that
the Second World War will break out.
532
00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,160
{\an8}In fact,
it makes it virtually a certainty
533
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:28,840
{\an8}that such a war will break out.
534
00:35:30,120 --> 00:35:33,080
The pact promises a decade
of non-aggression
535
00:35:33,240 --> 00:35:34,880
between the two regimes.
536
00:35:35,800 --> 00:35:39,160
But there's another, secret,
protocol which carves up
537
00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:42,520
Eastern Europe,
sharing the land between them.
538
00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:45,120
First up is Poland.
539
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,840
{\an8}Neither the Germans nor
the Soviets wanted Poland to exist.
540
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:53,880
They both saw it as an affront.
541
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:57,160
Poland had historically been
a province of the Russian Empire.
542
00:35:57,320 --> 00:35:59,240
The Soviets want that back
543
00:35:59,400 --> 00:36:02,480
as a buffer against the stronger
Germany that's emerging.
544
00:36:03,400 --> 00:36:06,320
The division of Polish territory
favoured the Soviets,
545
00:36:06,480 --> 00:36:08,760
who got more territory
than the Germans did.
546
00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:13,400
So it's actually the Soviet invasion
of eastern Poland
547
00:36:13,560 --> 00:36:16,280
that decides the fate of Poland.
548
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:27,760
The Red Army pours into
Poland's eastern provinces.
549
00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:34,320
They too carry orders to eradicate
Polish leaders and culture.
550
00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:38,240
When the Red Army goes
into eastern Poland,
551
00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:41,120
they are accompanied,
inevitably by the secret police,
552
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:45,000
the NKVD,
and they arrest all these people.
553
00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:48,880
Writers, diplomats,
aristocrats, army officers.
554
00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:53,080
Some of them are killed instantly,
some of them are deported,
555
00:36:53,240 --> 00:36:56,680
and a large number of them,
between 20,000 and 30,000,
556
00:36:56,840 --> 00:37:01,000
are stowed in camps
near the Katyn woods.
557
00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:05,320
All of these people are to be
secretly executed,
558
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:07,040
shot in the back of the head.
559
00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:17,040
On September 22nd 1939,
in the town of Brest-Litovsk,
560
00:37:17,200 --> 00:37:22,600
Nazi and Soviet generals gather
to watch a parade of both armies.
561
00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:29,160
There's this free mingling
of German and Soviet forces,
562
00:37:29,320 --> 00:37:31,880
the two sides are sort of mixing,
sharing cigarettes,
563
00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:33,320
sharing anecdotes.
564
00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:36,040
And they even develop
almost a slang between them
565
00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:39,200
{\an8}'Germanski Bolsheviki,
together strong'.
566
00:37:40,720 --> 00:37:44,560
If you're a Polish person,
to see these two people
567
00:37:44,720 --> 00:37:48,880
that have always been dangerous
on both sides of you,
568
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:54,040
{\an8}working together to see that Poland
once again disappears,
569
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:56,480
you had to feel
like there's no help close by.
570
00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:02,240
As Poland burns,
and her enemies celebrate,
571
00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:04,400
one city resists.
572
00:38:06,400 --> 00:38:07,720
Warsaw.
573
00:38:13,280 --> 00:38:17,160
Despite weeks of assault,
Warsaw has not yet surrendered.
574
00:38:17,320 --> 00:38:21,040
Surviving Polish troops
rush to the capital
575
00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:25,480
where 300,000 soldiers
and civilians hold the city.
576
00:38:26,760 --> 00:38:28,320
To break the resistance,
577
00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:32,000
Goering orders the largest air raid
ever seen.
578
00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:49,640
Goering levels Warsaw with
no regard for civilian casualties.
579
00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:53,320
{\an8}They strew thousands of pounds of
high-explosive and incendiary bombs,
580
00:38:53,480 --> 00:38:57,520
{\an8}firebombs over Warsaw,
and they reduce it to rubble.
581
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:09,400
It is the largest
incendiary bombing
582
00:39:09,560 --> 00:39:11,360
that the world has ever seen.
583
00:39:12,280 --> 00:39:14,560
Air raids last
for the entirety of the day.
584
00:39:14,720 --> 00:39:16,160
{\an8}People are trapped
in their basements.
585
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:18,640
{\an8}They're trapped in courtyards.
They're trapped in stairwells.
586
00:39:18,800 --> 00:39:21,920
Those who crawl out
when the bombardment is over,
587
00:39:22,080 --> 00:39:24,680
there's no water.
There's nothing to feed them.
588
00:39:28,560 --> 00:39:31,600
{\an8}20% of the city is destroyed
in one way or another.
589
00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:35,600
And about 18,000 people are injured
or killed in these bombardments.
590
00:39:36,440 --> 00:39:39,400
And the city finally
has to surrender.
591
00:40:05,680 --> 00:40:08,640
In London,
Winston Churchill warns his country
592
00:40:08,800 --> 00:40:10,560
that this is just the beginning.
593
00:40:11,760 --> 00:40:15,760
{\an8}- Poland has been overrun by two
of the great Powers
594
00:40:15,920 --> 00:40:17,720
{\an8}which held her in bondage
595
00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:19,680
for 150 years,
596
00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:24,440
but were unable to quench
the spirit of the Polish nation.
597
00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:28,520
The heroic defence of Warsaw
598
00:40:28,680 --> 00:40:33,120
shows that the soul of Poland
is indestructible.
599
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:39,480
The British Empire
and the French Republic
600
00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:43,520
have been at war with Nazi Germany
for a month tonight.
601
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:48,960
Directions have been given
by the Government
602
00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:52,640
to prepare for a war
of at least three years.
603
00:40:57,040 --> 00:40:59,960
But Churchill has received
a signal of hope.
604
00:41:00,840 --> 00:41:04,480
A few weeks earlier,
President Roosevelt sent him a note,
605
00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:07,800
congratulating him on his new role
in the War Cabinet,
606
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:10,920
and opening up a secret line
of communication.
607
00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:16,200
{\an8}Once Germany invades Poland,
Roosevelt infers that this war
608
00:41:16,360 --> 00:41:19,320
{\an8}is going to be sizeable
in its scope
609
00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:21,760
{\an8}and that the United States
is probably going to need
610
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:23,480
to intervene at some point.
611
00:41:24,120 --> 00:41:27,880
Churchill has this reputation
of being a fighter.
612
00:41:28,560 --> 00:41:31,760
It's really telling that Roosevelt
seeks him out
613
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,800
rather than Chamberlain
at this critical juncture
614
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:36,560
at the beginning of
the Second World War.
615
00:41:37,440 --> 00:41:40,640
So there's this relationship
that develops between
616
00:41:40,800 --> 00:41:43,960
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
and Winston Churchill.
617
00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:46,280
There's an understanding
on the part of Roosevelt
618
00:41:46,440 --> 00:41:50,200
that there is someone
in the leadership of Great Britain
619
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:52,160
who understands what's at stake,
620
00:41:52,320 --> 00:41:55,960
{\an8}and just how dangerous
this moment is.
621
00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:01,480
It's not simply about
the German invasion of Poland.
622
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:06,840
They are two men
who are united in their belief
623
00:42:07,000 --> 00:42:11,320
that Adolf Hitler is perhaps
the most dangerous man on the planet
624
00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:14,280
{\an8}After the surrender,
625
00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:17,760
{\an8}Hitler travels to Warsaw
to survey the ruins.
626
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:21,480
{\an8}He points at the utter destruction
627
00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:23,800
{\an8}and tells the officers
who are with him...
628
00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:27,880
{\an8}...this is the real meaning of war.
629
00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:32,840
In less than a month,
630
00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:36,080
a major European nation
has been removed from the map.
631
00:42:36,800 --> 00:42:40,680
It will be engulfed in darkness
for most of the next six years.
632
00:42:40,840 --> 00:42:44,360
And it's only the beginning
as Hitler looks to the west.55433
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