Original subtitles

>> Announcer: ENTERING THE FINAL

PHASE OF VICTORY OVER HITLER'S

NAZIS, YANK ARMIES SWARM ACROSS

WESTERN GERMANY, BRINGING

DEVASTATION TO CITIES OF THE REICH.

(gunfire)

FROM ALL SIDES, ALLIED MIGHT

CRUSHES IN ON THE REMAINS OF THE

WEHRMACHT, BRINGING HOME THE

HORRORS OF WAR TO THE GERMAN

PEOPLE AS THEY HAVE NEVER

EXPERIENCED IT BEFORE.

>> Narrator: THIS WAS THE ALLIED VICTORY.

BUT IF YOU WERE GERMAN...

IT WAS YOUR DEFEAT.

>> Woman: AND NOW WE ARE HATED.

OBJECTS OF CONTEMPT.

WE ARE POOR, DOWNTRODDEN, AND

DESPISED BY ALL.

>> Narrator: THE GERMAN PEOPLE

HAD KNOWN FOR SOME TIME THAT

THEY WOULD LOSE THE WAR,

AND THAT THEY WOULD SOON BE

CALLED TO ACCOUNT FOR WHAT HAD

BEEN DONE IN THEIR NAMES.

>> Woman: "MY FINGERS ARE SHAKING

AS I WRITE THIS.

EVERYONE IS NOW TURNING THEIR

BACKS ON ADOLF.

NO ONE WAS EVER A SUPPORTER.

EVERYONE WAS PERSECUTED AND NO

ONE DENOUNCED ANYONE ELSE.

WHAT ABOUT ME?

I WAS THERE.

I BREATHED WHAT WAS IN THE AIR.

IT AFFECTED ALL OF US."

>> Narrator: THIS IS NOT THE STORY

OF HOW ADOLF HITLER

SEIZED POWER IN GERMANY.

THIS IS THE STORY OF HOW AND WHY

THE GERMAN PEOPLE GAVE IT TO HIM.

>> Woman: "IT'S EASY TO THROW STONES.

EASY TO SIT IN JUDGMENT WHEN

YOU ARE IN THE MIDST OF ABUNDANCE,

ROAST CHICKEN, AND

THE GOOD LIFE.

'WE'D DO DIFFERENTLY,' PEOPLE SAY.

'WE WOULD LONG SINCE HAVE SHAKEN OFF

THE DICTATORSHIP OF NAZI TERROR.'

WOULD THEY REALLY HAVE?"

>> Narrator: SOME OF WHAT YOU WILL

SEE HAS NEVER BEEN SHOWN ON

AMERICAN TELEVISION BEFORE,

AND SOME OF IT CANNOT BE SHOWN

IN GERMANY, EVEN TODAY.

THESE ARE THEIR WORDS,

THEIR FILMS.

THIS IS THE RISE OF THE THIRD REICH.

THERE HAD ONCE BEEN ANOTHER WAR,

AND ANOTHER GERMAN DEFEAT.

>> Haffner: THE END OF THE WAR

MEANT HUSBANDS RESTORED TO WIVES,

AND LIFE RESTORED TO MEN,

BUT THERE WAS NO SENSE OF JOY,

ONLY DEFEAT, ANXIETY,

SENSELESS GUNFIGHTS, CONFUSION.

>> Narrator: IF YOU WERE GERMAN

IN 1919, YOUR PEACE WAS

HUMILIATION AND SUFFERING.

ENFORCED DEMOCRACY HAD

RESULTED IN CHAOS.

MONEY WAS WORTHLESS.

VIGILANTES RULED THE STREETS.

BERLIN HAD BECOME A SWAMP OF

DEPRAVITY, EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE

WAS FOR SALE.

>> Haffner: THE ATMOSPHERE

HAS BECOME REVOLUTIONARY...

APOCALYPTIC.

NOT ONLY MONEY, BUT ALL

STANDARDS HAVE LOST THEIR VALUE.

SAVIORS HAVE APPEARED

EVERYWHERE, DECLARING THAT

THEY'VE BEEN SENT BY GOD

TO SAVE THE WORLD.

>> Narrator: MYSTICS, MAGICIANS,

AND RELIGIOUS FANATICS DREW

FOLLOWERS DESPERATE FOR RESCUE.

EACH WAS CALLED A HEILAND

OR SAVIOR, BUT IN GERMAN, THERE IS

NO PLURAL WORD FOR "SAVIOR."

THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE.

>> Fromm: IN MUNICH, THERE IS A

CORPORAL WHO HAS BEEN

CAUSING TROUBLE.

THEY SAY HE HAS AN ALMOST

HYPNOTIC POWER.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE 2nd OF SEPTEMBER, 1923.

HERE, AT THIS NATIONALIST RALLY,

ADOLF HITLER MADE ONE OF HIS

FIRST APPEARANCES ON FILM.

>> Man: THEY SAY HE PUTS UP

SIGNS AT HIS MEETINGS SAYING

"NO ENTRY FOR JEWS," BUT HE HAS

THE MOST PERSUASIVE LINE ABOUT

GERMAN HONOR AND RIGHTS FOR THE

WORKERS AND A NEW SOCIETY.

AND WHETHER YOU LIKE HIM OR NOT,

HE CERTAINLY KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS.

>> Narrator: TWO MONTHS AFTER

THIS FILM WAS SHOT, HE WOULD

ATTEMPT TO TAKE OVER GERMANY

AND FAIL.

OVERNIGHT, HITLER BECAME A

NATIONAL FIGURE, TO SOME,

MAGNETIC, TO OTHERS, ABSURD.

>> Haffner: THE MUNICH SAVIOR

FILLED THE HEADLINES WITH A

RIDICULOUS ATTEMPT TO STAGE A

REVOLUTION IN A BEER CELLAR.

IN FACT, THE REVOLUTIONARIES

HAD BEEN DISPERSED BY POLICE FIRE

AS THEY LEFT THE CELLAR,

AND THAT WAS THE END OF THE MATTER.

>> Narrator: BUT IT WASN'T.

THE SWASTIKA, OR HAKENKREUZ FLAG

CARRIED THAT DAY BY

HITLER'S NATIONAL SOCIALIST PARTY

WAS STAINED WITH THE

BLOOD OF THE FALLEN.

FROM THIS POINT FORWARD,

HITLER WOULD CALL IT "THE FLAG OF MARTYRS"

AND USE IT TO INSPIRE

A GROWING FOLLOWING

OF TRUE BELIEVERS...

NAZIS.

>> Man: I FEEL ELECTRIFIED.

A MAN BY THE NAME OF ADOLF HITLER

HAS TRIED TO RESTORE

HONOR TO THE GERMAN PEOPLE.

I FEEL WITH AN INCREASING

CERTAINTY THAT A MAN HAS ARISEN

TO LEAD THE FATHERLAND TOWARDS

A BRIGHTER FUTURE.

>> Narrator: HERE IN BUCKEBERG,

IN NORTH CENTRAL GERMANY,

FILM HOBBYIST ADOLF VON HINUBER

SHOT THIS FILM WITH HIS 9.5mm CAMERA.

200 MILES AWAY, IN BERLIN,

COMMUNISTS WERE FILMING THESE

VIOLENT CLASHES WITH POLICE.

BUT IF YOU WERE A LOYAL FOLLOWER

OF ADOLF HITLER, YOU WOULD HAVE

BEEN HERE.

IT WAS AUGUST 2, 1929, AND THE

NATIONAL SOCIALISTS WERE FILMING

THEIR THIRD PARTY RALLY,

THE FIRST HERE IN NUREMBERG.

100,000 NAZIS ATTENDED.

>> Buchner: SUDDENLY,

ADOLF HITLER APPEARS.

HE GOES TO EACH MAN,

SHAKING HIS HAND.

THE ARE THINGS ONE CANNOT

EXPLAIN, CANNOT DESCRIBE.

I NEVER STOP THINKING OF HIM.

SOMETIMES HE MEETS US

IN OUR DREAMS.

>> Narrator: IN THIS FOOTAGE,

HITLER CONSECRATES NAZI PARTY

FLAGS BY TOUCHING THEM TO THE

BLUTFAHNE--THE BLOOD-STAINED

SWASTIKA OF HIS FAILED REVOLUTION.

THE LOYALISTS WERE DAZZLED.

>> Buchner: PEOPLE CALL HIM

A FOOL AND A DREAMER, AND MUCH MORE.

BUT WHAT YOU SAY IS TRUE, ADOLF HITLER.

IT IS CRITICAL TO OUR NATION'S

HISTORY THAT WE INTRODUCE OVER

65 MILLION PEOPLE TO THE IDEAS

OF NATIONAL SOCIALISM.

65 MILLION NATIONAL SOCIALISTS,

WONDERFUL, FANTASTIC, THIS GOAL!

>> Narrator: MOST GERMANS STILL

THOUGHT OF HITLER AS TOO RADICAL.

IF...THEY THOUGHT OF HIM AT ALL.

BUT IN LESS THAN THREE MONTHS,

WALL STREET WOULD CRASH...

AND TAKE THE GERMAN ECONOMY

DOWN WITH IT.

AND WITHIN A YEAR, THE NAZIS

WOULD BE ONE OF THE LARGEST

POLITICAL PARTIES IN GERMANY.

>> Bangert: WHILE WE DESCENDED

INTO MISERY AND CALLED

ANXIOUSLY FOR A SAVIOR,

HE EMERGED LIKE A MOUNTAIN.

COLUMNS MARCH...

DRUMS BEAT...

AND 100,000 MEN STAND

FIRMLY GATHERED AROUND ONE MAN.

NOW BUILD UP YOUR PEOPLE, OH MASTER,

A NEW, GREAT FATHERLAND AWAITS.

>> Narrator: IT WAS 1932.

THIS FOOTAGE WAS RECORDED AT A

CARNIVAL NEAR LEIPZIG, GERMANY.

FILMMAKER WALTER LENGER BROUGHT

HIS 16mm CAMERA AND THE

GIRL HE WOULD MARRY.

THE ATMOSPHERE WAS JOYFUL...

BUT BEYOND THESE CARNIVAL GATES...

THERE WERE CALLS FOR REVOLUTION.

IF YOU WERE GERMAN,

AND YOU WANTED CHANGE,

YOU HAD TWO CHOICES:

EITHER YOU JOINED THE GROWING

NUMBERS OF COMMUNISTS, OR,

LIKE WALTER LENGER,

YOU JOINED THE NAZI PARTY.

THE GREAT DEPRESSION WAS IN ITS

THIRD YEAR...

AND GERMANY HAD SUFFERED AS MUCH

AS ANY COUNTRY.

>> Woman: "GERMAN MOTHER, YOUR

CHILDRENS' FATHER AND PROVIDER

STANDS BEFORE THE CLOSED-DOWN

FACTORIES, UNEMPLOYED, WITHOUT

BREAD, WITHOUT THE HOPE THAT HIS

LOT IN LIFE WILL CHANGE.

GERMAN MOTHER, YOU WANT A GOOD

FUTURE AND FREEDOM FOR YOUR

CHILDREN.

THIS IS WHY YOU WILL VOTE ON THE

13th OF MARCH FOR ADOLF HITLER."

>> Narrator: ON FILM, WALTER

LENGER DOCUMENTED HITLER'S FIRST

AND ONLY BID FOR ELECTED

OFFICE--THE GERMAN PRESIDENCY.

IF YOU OPPOSED THE NAZIS, YOU

WERE SURE THAT THIS WAS THE END

OF HITLER.

>> Haffner: HITLER HIMSELF IS

STILL RATHER A HANDICAP FOR THE

MOVEMENT THAT HAS GATHERED

AROUND HIM.

BESIDES, FOR ORDINARY GERMANS,

HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE IS

THOROUGHLY REPELLENT--

THE EPILEPTIC BEHAVIOR, THE WILD

GESTICULATIONS AND FOAMING AT

THE MOUTH, THE ALTERNATELY

SHIFTY AND STARING EYES.

MOST OF THOSE WHO HAVE BEGUN TO

ACCLAIM HITLER WOULD PROBABLY

AVOID ASKING HIM FOR A LIGHT IF

THEY MET HIM IN THE STREET.

>> Narrator: BUT IN LESS THAN A

YEAR, HITLER WOULD BE

CHANCELLOR.

IT WAS THE 10th OF FEBRUARY,

1933.

ALTHOUGH THEY HAD NEVER CAPTURED

MORE THAN 37% OF THE POPULAR

VOTE, THE NAZIS WERE THE

LARGEST POLITICAL PARTY IN

GERMANY.

AND SO GERMAN LEADERS INSTALLED

HITLER AS CHANCELLOR.

AS MANY AS 20 MILLION PEOPLE

ACROSS GERMANY WERE TUNED IN TO

THIS RADIO BROADCAST...

HITLER'S LARGEST AUDIENCE EVER.

AFTER THIS SPEECH, NAZI PARTY

OFFICES WERE FLOODED WITH SO

MANY MEMBERSHIP REQUESTS THEY

HAD TO SUSPEND ADMISSIONS.

EVEN SO, HITLER DID NOT YET

CONTROL GERMANY.

IN TWO WEEKS, THAT WOULD CHANGE.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE MORNING

OF FEBRUARY 28, 1933.

IF YOU LIVED IN BERLIN...

YOU AWOKE TO THIS:

DURING THE NIGHT SOMEONE HAD SET

FIRE TO GERMANY'S PARLIAMENT.

>> Ebermayer: JUST NOW, THE

REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN IN EARNEST.

THE MIDDLE CLASS HAD BEEN

REPELLED BY THE ROUGHNESS AND

LACK OF POLISH BY THE NAZIS.

NOW THEY'VE BEEN FRIGHTENED AND

WON OVER BY THE REICHSTAG FIRE.

>> Narrator: TO THIS DAY, NO ONE

IS CERTAIN WHO SET THE FIRE THAT

DESTROYED THE REICHSTAG.

BUT HITLER KNEW WHO HE WOULD

BLAME--HIS RIVALS,

THE COMMUNISTS.

THE NAZI PRESS SAID THAT THE

REICHSTAG FIRE WAS INTENDED AS A

SIGNAL FOR COMMUNIST CELLS

ACROSS GERMANY TO RISE UP AND

REVOLT.

>> Solmitz: THEY WANTED TO SEND

ARMED MOBS INTO VILLAGES TO

COMMIT MURDER AND PLUNDER.

HOSTAGES WOULD BE TAKEN FROM THE

MIDDLE CLASS.

WIVES AND CHILDREN OF POLICE

OFFICERS USED AS HUMAN SHIELDS.

THE DESTRUCTION OF ALL CULTURAL

VALUES--JUST LIKE IN RUSSIA.

>> Narrator: HITLER HAD INVENTED

A COMMUNIST THREAT.

NOW HE WOULD USE IT TO CRUSH HIS

OPPOSITION.

>> Haffner: THE MORNING AFTER

THE FIRE, I DISCUSSED THESE

MATTERS WITH A FEW FRIENDS.

ALL OF THEM ARE VERY INTERESTED

IN THE QUESTION OF WHO REALLY

STARTED THE FIRE, AND MORE THAN

ONE OF THEM HINTED THAT THEY HAD

DOUBTS ABOUT THE OFFICIAL STORY.

BUT NONE OF THEM WERE BOTHERED

THAT FROM NOW ON THEIR

TELEPHONES WOULD BE TAPPED,

THEIR LETTERS OPENED, AND THEIR

DESKS BROKEN INTO.

>> Narrator: RADICAL AND VIOLENT

CHANGES WERE HAPPENING ACROSS

GERMANY, BUT HITLER HAD

JUSTIFIED THEM ALL.

>> Gebensleben: THIS RUTHLESS

INTERVENTION BY THE GOVERNMENT

MAY APPEAR STRANGE,

BUT WE MUST CLEAN UP.

THE COMMUNISTS HAVE TO DISAPPEAR.

>> Klemperer: DAY AFTER DAY

FLAGS RAISED,

BUILDINGS TAKEN OVER,

PEOPLE SHOT,

NEWSPAPERS BANNED.

IT IS SHOCKING HOW NAKED ACTS OF

VIOLENCE, BREACHES OF THE LAW,

BARBARIC OPINIONS; APPEAR QUITE

UNDISGUISED AS OFFICIAL DECREE.

ACTUALLY, IT'S TERRIBLY RISKY

EVEN TO BE WRITING THIS.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE 23rd OF

MARCH.

THE COMMUNISTS WERE IN JAIL.

THERE WAS NO ONE LEFT TO STOP

THE NEW NAZI MAJORITY IN

GERMANY'S PARLIAMENT.

WHEN DELEGATES VOTED TO

CONSOLIDATE ALL POWER

IN ADOLF HITLER.

HE HAD BEEN CHANCELLOR FOR

EXACTLY...

52 DAYS.

NOW FOR ALL INTENTS AND

PURPOSES, HE WAS DICTATOR.

>> Woman: WE CRY WITH HAPPINESS

AND JOY.

ALL TRACES OF RESISTANCE HAVE

BEEN ELIMINATED.

ENTHUSIASM GRIPS THE ENTIRE

NATION.

WE CAN BARELY BELIEVE THAT OUR

BELOVED FUHRER STANDS ALONE AT

THE HELM OF THE REICH.

>> Haffner: CHURCH BELLS RING,

CHILDREN WAVE FLAGS.

THERE ARE DAILY PARADES.

THE PEOPLE HAVE BECOME USED TO

CHEERING...

EVEN WHEN THERE'S NO REASON FOR IT.

IT IS REASON ENOUGH THAT PEOPLE

WHO DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM THE

NAZIS ARE TORTURED TO DEATH

DAILY WITH STEEL WHIPS AND

ELECTRIC DRILLS.

BETTER TO CELEBRATE.

HOWL WITH THE WOLVES.

HEIL. HEIL.

HEIL.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE 28th OF MARCH,

1933.

ADOLF HITLER HAD BEEN DICTATOR

OF GERMANY FOR FIVE DAYS.

EVEN SO, UNLESS YOU

OPENLY OPPOSED THE NAZIS,

YOUR LIFE WENT ON AS BEFORE.

BUT FOR SOME, THAT WAS ABOUT

TO CHANGE.

>> Ebermayer: WE ARE HAVING LUNCH

WITH A LAW PROFESSOR AND HIS WIFE.

THEY ARE BOTH JEWISH.

THE AMAZING THING IS THAT THIS

CLEVER, CHARMING WOMAN IS NOT AT

ALL OPPOSED TO THE NAZIS.

ON THE CONTRARY, SHE LECTURES US

ON THE OUTSTANDING QUALITIES OF

ADOLF HITLER...

ON THE GREATNESS OF THE AGE

WHICH WE ARE ALLOWED TO WITNESS,

ON THE NATIONAL REBIRTH,

AND SHE IS FIRMLY CONVINCED

THAT NO HARM WHATSOEVER

WILL COME TO EDUCATED JEWS IN GERMANY.

>> Narrator: FOUR DAYS AFTER

THIS LUNCH, NAZI PARTY MEMBER

WALTER LENGER USED HIS CAMERA TO

DOCUMENT ANOTHER HISTORIC MOMENT

IN THE NEW THIRD REICH.

THE NAZIS WERE BOYCOTTING ALL

JEWISH BUSINESSES IN GERMANY.

FEWER THAN 1 IN 100 GERMANS

WERE JEWISH.

MOST SAW THEMSELVES AS GERMANS FIRST.

EVEN SO, HITLER SAID THE JEWS

WERE GERMANY'S MISFORTUNE.

>> Haffner: SUDDENLY, EVERYONE

FEELS JUSTIFIED OR REQUIRED TO

HAVE AN OPINION ABOUT THE JEWS.

AND TO STATE IT PUBLICLY.

DISTINCTIONS ARE MADE BETWEEN

DECENT JEWS AND OTHERS.

>> Woman: I SYMPATHIZE

WITH THE JEWS.

HOWEVER, I WOULD SUPPORT THEIR

CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY WITH

ALL HONESTY.

>> Landau: WHY DO THEY STILL LIE,

WHEN THEY ALREADY HAVE THE

POWER TO DO WHAT THEY LIKE?

I WANT TO KNOW THAT.

WHY DON'T THEY JUST KILL US,

IF THAT'S WHAT THEY WANT?

THIS FOOTAGE WAS SHOT AT THE

ORANIENBURG CONCENTRATION CAMP

OUTSIDE BERLIN IN THE SPRING OF

1933.

IT SHOWS AN ORDERLY CAMP WHERE

PRISONERS ARE TREATED HUMANELY.

BUT IF YOU WERE THERE, YOU WOULD

HAVE EXPERIENCED SOMETHING MUCH

DIFFERENT.

>> Man: NO ONE EVER KNOWS WHEN

IT WILL BE HIS TURN TO BE BEATEN,

OR FOR WHAT HE MUST BE BEATEN.

THOSE WHO ARE BEATEN UP IN THE

CAMP USUALLY DO NOT SAY A WORD

BECAUSE THEY DARE NOT, BUT AT

NIGHT YOU COULD HEAR THE GROANS

AND SOBBING.

>> Klemperer: A FRIEND TELLS

THIS STORY:

A MAN'S GARDEN WAS DUG UP.

THERE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A

MACHINE GUN IN IT,

BUT NOTHING WAS FOUND.

TO SQUEEZE A CONFESSION,

THEY BEAT HIM.

HIS CORPSE WAS BROUGHT BACK TO

THE HOSPITAL.

HIS BODY HAD BOOT MARKS ON THE

STOMACH, AND FIST-SIZED HOLES IN

THE BACK.

THE OFFICIAL CAUSE OF DEATH?

DYSENTERY.

>> Narrator: THE MESSAGE WAS CLEAR.

OPPOSITION OF ANY KIND

WOULD NOT BE TOLERATED.

THE THIRD REICH HAD BEGUN ITS RISE.

>> Narrator: IT WAS JANUARY 1, 1934,

AND THE NAZIS WERE

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR.

>> Goebbels: A YEAR OF SUCCESS

IS BEHIND US.

PEOPLE, STATE AND NATION

HAVE BECOME ONE...

AND THE STRONG WILL

OF THE FUHRER IS OVER US ALL.

GERMANY STANDS BEFORE THE WORLD

AS AN UNSHAKABLE UNITY.

>> Narrator: BUT NOT EVERYONE WAS WELCOME

IN THE NEW REGIME.

ONLY THOSE CITIZENS THE NAZIS

BELIEVED WERE RACIALLY SUPERIOR.

AND THIS YEAR, THEY WOULD BEGIN

TO ENGINEER MORE OF THEM.

IN 1934, NAZI PARTY MEMBER

KURT HARTMANN AND HIS WIFE LOTTE

WELCOMED THIS NEW BABY BOY.

ULRICH HARTMANN WAS LUCKY THAT

HIS PARENTS DID NOT SUFFER FROM

UNDESIRABLE GENETIC TRAITS.

BECAUSE THIS YEAR, THE NAZIS

WOULD BEGIN SURGICALLY

PREVENTING THOSE GERMANS

FROM BREEDING.

THE NAZIS MADE PROPAGANDA FILMS

LIKE THESE

TO ENCOURAGE COMPLIANCE WITH THE NEW LAW.

BUT YOU COULD BE FORCIBLY STERILIZED

FOR ANYTHING THEY CONSIDERED

A GENETIC FLAW.

>> Emma: I HAVE BEEN INFORMED

BY WRITING, THAT I AM TO BE

RENDERED INFERTILE.

I REJECT THIS DECISION.

I CANNOT UNDERSTAND

WHY THEY WANT TO STERILIZE ME

SINCE I'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG.

ANYONE COULD'VE SUFFERED FROM

A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN.

>> Narrator: EMMA WAS STERILIZED ANYWAY.

>> Man: I HAVE NOTICED IN THESE

TRIUMPHANT NAZI CELEBRATIONS

A NEW FEATURE

I NEVER USED TO SEE.

BEHIND THE BAND AND ITS

FOLLOWING OF BROWN-SHIRTED

STORM TROOPS

THERE IS NOW A LONG TAIL

OF CIVILIAN FLAG WAVERS

WHO NEVER USED TO MARCH WITH THEM.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE 25th OF FEBRUARY.

THESE NAZI LOYALISTS WERE ASSEMBLED

IN MUNICH FOR WHAT WAS

BILLED AS THE BIGGEST OATH TAKING

IN HUMAN HISTORY.

IF YOU KNEW WHAT WAS

GOOD FOR YOU, YOU JOINED HIM.

IN 1934, KURT AND LOTTE HARTMANN'S

OLDEST SON, PETER, BEGAN SCHOOL.

LIKE OTHER GERMAN BOYS,

ON HIS HIS FIRST DAY HE LEARNED

THE MANDATORY GERMAN GREETING--

"HEIL HITLER."

IF YOU WERE AN ADULT AND YOU DIDN'T

USE THE HITLER GREETING,

YOU RISKED BEING SENT TO A

CONCENTRATION CAMP.

SO NOW, IN PUBLIC AT LEAST,

IT SEEMED AS IF EVERYONE

WAS A NAZI.

>> Ebermayer: EVERYONE,

LITERALLY EVERYONE, CRINGES

WITH FEAR.

NO LETTER, NO TELEPHONE CONVERSATION,

NO WORD ON THE STREET

IS SAFE ANYMORE.

EVERYONE FEARS THE NEXT PERSON

MAY BE AN INFORMER.

>> Narrator: SUMMER 1934.

NAZI PARTY MEMBER ADOLF VON HINUBER

FILMED THIS FOOTAGE

HERE, ON THE ISLAND OF BORKUM,

IN THE NORTH SEA.

HE AND HIS FRIENDS WERE WELCOME

AT THIS POPULAR VACATION SPOT.

JEWS WERE NOT.

FOR DECADES, THE RESIDENTS OF

BORKUM PROUDLY CLAIMED TO BE

FREE OF JEWS.

AND THIS YEAR, THE NAZIS WOULD

SET THAT GOAL

FOR ALL OF GERMANY.

IF YOU WERE A DEVOTED NAZI PARTY MEMBER,

THE SUMMER ENDED AS THEY ALL DID,

WITH THE ANNUAL

PILGRIMAGE TO NUREMBERG FOR THE

PARTY RALLY.

FOR THE FAITHFUL, THIS WAS THE

MOST HIGHLY ANTICIPATED EVENT

ON THE NAZI CALENDAR.

BUT THE RALLY OF 1934

WOULD BE PARTICULARLY SPECIAL...

BECAUSE THIS YEAR, THEY WOULD

FILM THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PIECE

OF NAZI PROPAGANDA EVER MADE.

>> Riefenstahl: WHAT I WITNESSED

IN NUREMBERG IS ONE OF THE MOST

REMARKABLE EVENTS

I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED.

I CANNOT COMPARE IT

TO ANYTHING I'VE EVER

EXPERIENCED BEFORE AS AN ARTIST.

>> Narrator: TO CAPTURE

THE GLORY OF THE THIRD REICH,

FILMMAKER LENI RIEFENSTAHL

HELPED TO STAGE IT,

DIRECTING AND REHEARSING THIS SCENE

AT LEAST 50 TIMES.

THE FILM "TRIUMPH OF THE WILL"

PREMIERED TO WORLDWIDE ACCLAIM,

WINNING AWARDS IN GERMANY,

VENICE, AND FINALLY, PARIS.

WITHIN A YEAR OF THAT AWARD,

ADOLF HITLER WAS NAMED TIME MAGAZINE'S

MAN OF THE YEAR.

>> Man A TEACHER IN DORNBERG HAD

THE CHILDREN RECITE--

>> Man and child: "JEWS ARE

SINNERS.

THEY SLAUGHTER CHRISTIAN

CHILDREN.

THEY CUT THEIR THROATS,

THE DAMNED JEWISH FILTH."

>> Man: THE TEACHER THREATENED

TO PUNISH THE CHILDREN IF THEY

WOULD NOT LEARN THE POEM BY HEART

BY THE FOLLOWING DAY.

>> Narrator: IT WAS SEPTEMBER 15, 1935,

AND ONCE AGAIN, THE NAZI FAITHFUL

WERE GATHERING IN NUREMBERG.

IN A SPEECH THAT WAS BROADCAST

TO THE NATION, HITLER ADDRESSED

WHAT HE CALLED

"THE JEWISH PROBLEM."

>> Ebermayer: AFTER THESE THREE

LAWS WERE READ...

THE HALLS RANG WITH

MINUTE-LONG APPLAUSE.

IT WAS THE CALL OF A WILD ANIMAL,

A BEAST THAT SMELLS BLOOD.

>> Announcer: WELCOME TO BERLIN,

CAPITAL OF THE GERMAN REICH!

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE SUMMER

OF 1936, AND THE WORLD WAS

COMING TO BERLIN.

>> Announcer: FOR BERLIN, 1936

IS THE OLYMPIC YEAR, AND

THEREFORE BERLIN IS PRESENTING

HERSELF IN FESTIVAL DRESS.

THE MAIN THEME ARE THE FLAGS OF

THE NEW PARTY'S DESIGNS, THE

BLACK SWASTIKAS IN A WHITE CIRCLE

ON A RED BACKGROUND.

>> Narrator: GERMANY'S CAPITAL

WAS HOSTING THE 11th OLYMPIC GAMES,

AND THE THIRD REICH

PRODUCED TOURISM FILMS LIKE THIS:

TO ENCOURAGE FOREIGNERS TO VISIT.

HITLER WANTED THE WORLD TO SEE

THE NAZI RENAISSANCE FOR ITSELF.

AND SO, FOR TWO WEEKS IN AUGUST,

THE NAZIS PUT ON A SHOW.

IF YOU WERE A FOREIGN TOURIST AT

THE OLYMPICS, THE NAZIS MIGHT

HAVE CONVINCED YOU THAT GERMANY

WAS AN OPEN AND TOLERANT NATION.

FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THREE YEARS,

FOREIGN NEWSPAPERS

WERE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE.

THE SIGNS PROHIBITING JEWS FROM

PUBLIC PARKS OR BENCHES HAD BEEN

TAKEN DOWN.

IF YOU WERE GERMAN, YOU KNEW--

THIS WAS NOT NAZI GERMANY.

>> Klemperer: I FIND THE OLYMPICS

SO ODIOUS.

IT'S CONSTANTLY BEING DRUMMED

INTO THE FOREIGNERS THAT HERE,

ONE IS WITNESSING THE REVIVAL,

THE FLOWERING, THE UNITY OF

SPIRIT OF THE THIRD REICH,

WHICH LOVINGLY EMBRACES THE WHOLE WORLD.

>> Narrator: OUTSIDE THE STADIUM GATES,

BERLIN'S HOTEL AND RESTAURANT WORKERS

HAD BEEN INSTRUCTED

TO TREAT FOREIGNERS

WITH EXTREME TOLERANCE.

MANY AMERICAN ATHLETES COMMENTED

THAT THEY HAD NEVER BEEN SO WELL TREATED

AT HOME.

FOREIGNERS WHO KNOW GERMANY ONLY

FROM WHAT THEY HAVE SEEN HERE

CAN CARRY HOME JUST ONE

IMPRESSION:

IT IS THAT THIS IS A NATION

HAPPY AND PROSPEROUS BEYOND

BELIEF, THAT HITLER IS ONE OF

THE GREATEST, IF NOT THE

GREATEST, POLITICAL LEADERS IN

THE WORLD TODAY...

AND THAT GERMANS ARE A PEACEFUL PEOPLE

WHO DESERVE THE BEST THE

WORLD CAN GIVE THEM.

WHEN THE GAMES ENDED,

THE TOURISTS WENT HOME.

BERLIN RETURNED TO NORMAL.

AND LOTTE AND KURT HARTMANN

RETURNED TO BRUNSWICK, WHERE

THEY SCREENED THEIR OLYMPIC HOME

MOVIES FOR SONS ULRICH AND PETER.

PETER HARTMANN WAS PROUD TO BE

A GERMAN BOY...

AND SO HE JOINED THE HITLER YOUTH.

BY 1936, ALL CHILDREN OVER 10

WERE REQUIRED TO JOIN, WHETHER

THEY WERE WILLING OR NOT.

THE MANY THOUSANDS OF NEW

MEMBERS WERE TO BE PRESENTED TO

HITLER AS A GIFT FOR HIS 48th BIRTHDAY.

IF YOU WERE A 10-YEAR-OLD BOY

IN GERMANY, YOU TOO MIGHT HAVE

WANTED TO JOIN AFTER WATCHING

FILMS LIKE THIS.

>> Hermand: FOR OUR FIELD EXERCISES,

OUR SQUAD HAS TO FIND

THE OTHER SQUAD THROUGH MILITARY

RECONNAISSANCE.

ONCE THE "ENEMY" SQUAD IS

FOUND...

THERE ARE FISTFIGHTS.

THIS EXERCISE IS SUPPOSED TO

TEACH US THAT COMRADESHIP,

AS THEY CALL IT, IS FORMED IN BATTLE.

>> Man: WE ARE DREADFULLY WORRIED.

THE BOYS WON'T LISTEN TO US ANYMORE.

WHEN MY WIFE INSISTED THAT OUR

OLDEST OBEY...

HE DREW HIS DAGGER AND ASSAULTED HER.

HE SHOUTED, "I BELONG TO THE

FUHRER FIRST!

THE FAMILY COMES SECOND."

>> Narrator: WITHIN TWO YEARS,

NEARLY EIGHT MILLION CHILDREN

HAD TAKEN THE HITLER YOUTH OATH

OF ALLEGIANCE--

>> Narrator and boy: I SWEAR TO

DEVOTE MYSELF TO ADOLPH HITLER.

I AM WILLING AND READY TO GIVE UP

MY LIFE, SO HELP ME GOD."

>> Narrator: IN THE END, MANY OF

THEM WOULD.

>> Narrator: IT WAS 1937

AND AMATEUR FILMMAKER WALTER LENGER

CELEBRATED HIS WEDDING

BY MAKING THIS SHORT FILM.

LENGER AND HIS BRIDE WERE

EXACTLY THE KIND OF GERMANS

HITLER WANTED MORE OF--

INDUSTRIOUS, POLITICALLY ENTHUSIASTIC,

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY...

ARYAN.

WOMEN LIKE MRS. LENGER WERE

ENCOURAGED BY THE REICH TO HAVE

AS MANY CHILDREN AS POSSIBLE.

BECAUSE, IF THE THIRD REICH

WAS GOING TO ACHIEVE ITS GOALS,

IT DIDN'T JUST NEED BETTER GERMANS.

IT NEEDED MORE OF THEM.

>> Woman: IN THE EYES OF OUR BELOVED LEADER,

THE MOTHER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON

IN THE NATION.

WE ARE GERMANY'S HOPE IN THE FUTURE,

AND IT IS OUR DUTY TO

BREED AND REAR THE NEW

GENERATION OF SONS AND DAUGHTERS.

>> Narrator: THIS FEMALE DIVISION

OF THE HITLER YOUTH WAS

FILMED HIKING OUTSIDE MUNICH IN

1937.

PARTICIPATION WAS MANDATORY FOR

THESE GIRLS, WHO WERE REQUIRED

TO DOCUMENT THAT THEY WERE ARYAN

AND FREE OF HEREDITARY DISEASE.

>> Girl: DEAR MOTHER AND FATHER,

IN OUR CAMP THERE ARE 48 GIRLS.

NEAR US IS A BOYS' CAMP.

WE SEE THE BOYS VERY OFTEN

AND MEND THEIR CLOTHING AS WE SPEND

THE EVENINGS WITH THEM.

A FUNNY THING--OF THESE 48 GIRLS,

35 ARE PREGNANT,

AND STILL FUNNIER, I'M ONE OF THE 35!

>> Pope: UPON LEARNING OF HER

DAUGHTER'S PREGNANCY,

ONE GIRL'S HORRIFIED MOTHER

RUSHED TO THE CAMP TO INVESTIGATE

AND DISCIPLINE HER DAUGHTER.

THE 16-YEAR OLD REPLIED HOTLY

THAT IF HER MOTHER DID NOT

GO HOME AND LEAVE HER ALONE,

SHE WOULD REPORT HER TO THE

CAMP LEADER, WHO WOULD IN TURN

REPORT THE MOTHER TO THE GESTAPO,

WHO WOULD THEN TAKE ACTION AGAINST HER

FOR SABOTAGING GERMAN MOTHERHOOD.

>> Announcer: HERE'S A BULLETIN FROM VIENNA.

CHANCELLOR HITLER TERMED AUSTRIA,

THE LATEST AND GREATEST ADDITION

TO THE GERMAN REICH.

A HYSTERICAL ROAR OF CHEERS TODAY IN VIENNA.

THE CROWD WAS DESCRIBED AS

ONE OF THE GREATEST GATHERINGS EVER ASSEMBLED

IN THE AUSTRIAN CAPITAL.

(crowd cheers)

MEANWHILE, AN UNIDENTIFIED MAN

FIRED AT NAZI STORM TROOPERS

FROM A WINDOW AND THEN SHOT

HIMSELF DEAD.

LATER AT A DOWNTOWN CAFE,

A MAN GOT UP FROM A TABLE,

SHOUTED "HEIL HITLER"

AND THEN STABBED HIMSELF.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE 12th OF MARCH,

AND HITLER WAS TAKING AUSTRIA.

THE TREATY THAT HAD ENDED WORLD WAR I

FORBADE THE UNION

OF GERMANY AND AUSTRIA.

BUT THE MAJORITY

OF AUSTRIANS WANTED IT.

AS ONE FOREIGN NEWSPAPER

OBSERVED, "IF HITLER WAS RAPING AUSTRIA,

THEN THE AUSTRIANS LIKED GETTING RAPED."

OVERNIGHT, THE GERMAN EMPIRE

HAD GROWN BY FIVE MILLION CITIZENS.

WITHIN DAYS, 70,000 AUSTRIANS

WOULD BE SENT TO CONCENTRATION CAMPS.

>> Girl: NAZI SONGS AND

NAZI SALUTES EVERYWHERE.

THE CITY IS A SEA OF SWASTIKA FLAGS.

WHEN DID THEY MANAGE TO SEW

ALL THESE HUGE SWASTIKA FLAGS?

WHEN DID ALL OUR NICE NEIGHBORS

OBTAIN THEIR SWASTIKA INSIGNIA?

WHAT HAPPENED?

>> Reck-Hallectewen: AS I WRITE,

AN IMMENSE FLIGHT OF BOMBERS

IS DRONING PAST OVERHEAD...

AS THOUGH THESE PLANES WERE

FLYING AGAINST A WORLD POWER.

YOU, UP THERE, I HATE YOU.

I DO NOT KNOW IF I WILL

SURVIVE YOUR DOWNFALL,

BUT THIS I DO KNOW...

THIS IS A CARICATURE OF GERMANY...

SMEARED BY A MALIGNANT APE,

ESCAPED FROM A LEASH.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE SUMMER OF 1938.

AND CELEBRATION WAS IN THE AIR.

HERE IN MUNICH, THE THIRD REICH

WAS PREPARING TO CELEBRATE THE

NAZIFICATION OF GERMAN CULTURE.

200 MILES NORTH, IN LEIPZIG,

WALTER LENGER AND HIS WIFE

WERE CELEBRATING THEIR BIRTHDAYS.

HE TURNED 40...

AND SHE, 30.

AND IN THE NATION'S CAPITAL OF BERLIN,

JEWISH JOURNALIST, BELLA FROMM,

WAS ALSO CELEBRATING.

>> Fromm: WHEN I FOUND MYSELF

OUTSIDE THE AMERICAN CONSULATE,

THE AMERICAN VISA IN MY HAND,

I HAD TO SIT DOWN ON THE STONE STEPS

AND CRY IN MY GRATEFUL HAPPINESS.

I'M GOING AS SOON AS I CAN.

I MUST MANAGE TO GET OUT OF GERMANY

BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE 9th OF JULY, 1938.

BY SPECIAL WILL OF THE FUHRER,

THE CITY OF MUNICH WAS HOSTING A

72-HOUR FESTIVAL DEDICATED

TO GERMAN ART.

IF YOU WERE ONE OF THE MANY

THOUSANDS OF VISITORS,

YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN THE IDEAL GERMANY--

RENDERED IN PAINTINGS,

SCULPTURES AND ETCHINGS,

ALL HAND-SELECTED BY HITLER HIMSELF.

>> Pope: I WAS CONDUCTED THROUGH

THE HOUSE OF GERMAN ART.

I COULD HARDLY BELIEVE MY EYES.

THE TREND IS EROTICISM:

TO GIVE GERMAN MEN THE INCENTIVE

TO HAVE MANY GERMAN CHILDREN...

AND THE GLORY OF THE GERMAN FARMER

WHO FEEDS THE NATION'S WARRIORS;

AND, OF COURSE,

HEROISM IN BATTLE.

CONCLUDING THE 3-DAY ART ORGY IS

A 6-MILE LONG PROCESSION

CELEBRATING 2,000 YEARS OF GERMAN CULTURE

WITH FLOATS DRAWN BY ARMY HORSES

AND THOUSANDS OF MEN

AND WOMEN IN COSTUME.

IT GOES ON FOR THREE SOLID HOURS.

AT THE END, THE SYMBOL OF

THE THIRD REICH:

THE SOVEREIGN GERMAN EAGLE.

BUT THE CLIMAX,

WHICH BRINGS THE GERMAN SPECTATORS

TO THEIR FEET,

IS THE GOOSE-STEPPING SOLDIERS.

IT IS AN ADMISSION OF THE

FUHRER'S RESTLESS PLANS...

FOR WORLD CONQUEST.

>> Narrator: IN LESS THAN 12 WEEKS,

HITLER WILL MOVE TO INVADE

NEIGHBORING CZECHOSLOVAKIA.

>>Announcer: GERMANY IS ONE OF THE MOST

POPULAR TOURIST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD.

THE NEW NATIONAL TRAVEL OFFICES

RELIEVE THE TOURIST OF THE USUAL

TRAVEL WORRIES.

>> Narrator: BUT IF YOU WERE A GERMAN JEW,

LIKE BELLA FROMM,

MOVING AROUND GERMANY WAS DIFFICULT...

AND GETTING OUT USUALLY MEANT

GIVING UP EVERYTHING YOU HAD.

>> Fromm: I DID NOT SPARE MONEY

ON MY TRAVEL,

BECAUSE I'D HAVE TO LEAVE IT

IN GERMANY ANYWAY.

TO GET OUT, I HAD TO PAY NEXT

YEAR'S TAXES IN ADVANCE,

EVEN THOUGH I WILL NOT BE IN GERMANY

AT ALL.

BUT NO PRICE IS TOO MUCH.

THIS IS A COUNTRY TO GET OUT OF...

EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO DO IT NAKED.

>> Narrator: IT WAS THE 26th OF SEPTEMBER,

AND THE ANNUAL OKTOBERFEST

IN MUNICH WAS IN FULL SWING.

BUT IN A FEW MINUTES,

HITLER HIMSELF

WOULD PUT AN END TO THE FESTIVITIES.

>> Pope: SUDDENLY,

THE ROLLER COASTERS STOP.

ON THE LOUDSPEAKERS, THE FUHRER

IS RAGING AGAINST CZECHOSLOVAKIA.

NEVER HAVE I SEEN SUCH A LARGE

CROWD CHANGE FROM ELATION TO GLOOM

SO INSTANTANEOUSLY.

>> Narrator: HITLER HAD DEMANDED

THAT CZECHOSLOVAKIA CEDE A LARGE

PORTION OF ITS GERMAN-SPEAKING

TERRITORY TO THE THIRD REICH.

IF CZECHOSLOVAKIA REFUSED,

GERMANY VOWED TO INVADE.

24 HOURS LATER, THE EVENING OF

SEPTEMBER 27th...

HERE IN BERLIN, GERMAN SOLDIERS

PREPARED FOR AN INVASION.

IN ONLY A FEW HOURS, THEY WOULD

ROLL TO THE CZECHOSLOVAKIAN BORDER.

>> Andreas-Friedrich: HAVE THE PEOPLE

ANY IDEA WHAT THEY ARE

BEING FORCED INTO?

NO, I DON'T WANT ANY PART OF IT.

WE WANT PEACE.

AND TOMORROW, THERE WILL BE WAR.

>> Fromm: SAFE ABOARD THIS

GORGEOUS BOAT.

IT IS ALMOST TOO MUCH FOR ME TO BELIEVE.

THEN, WHEN I DO BECOME ACUTELY

AWARE OF MY GOOD FORTUNE,

I ALMOST FEEL GUILTY, REMEMBERING

THE UNFORTUNATE ONES WHO WAIT,

DESPERATELY HOPING FOR THEIR

CHANCE TO GET OUT.

>> Narrator: ON THE DAY BELLA FROMM

SAILED FOR AMERICA,

THIS BABY GIRL WAS BORN IN THE TOWN

OF HALBERSTADT, OUTSIDE BERLIN.

WIBKE KLAMROTH'S MOTHER AND FATHER

ARE ENTHUSIASTIC NAZIS,

BUT IT IS ONLY SEPTEMBER OF 1938.

THE THIRD REICH WILL LAST FOR

ANOTHER SEVEN YEARS.

AND IN THOSE SEVEN YEARS,

HITLER WILL BETRAY...

IMPOVERISH...

AND ULTIMATELY DESTROY

THE KLAMROTH FAMILY...

ALONG WITH THE REST OF GERMANY.