Original subtitles

♪♪

Narrator: THE GERMANS OCCUPY HALF OF RUSSIA.

HITLER IS ON THE VERGE OF CAPTURING MOSCOW.

THE WEHRMACHT'S ARMORED TANKS MOVE AHEAD RELENTLESSLY.

THE 24th ANNIVERSARY OF THE COMMUNISTS' RISE TO POWER.

28,000 SOLDIERS ARE GATHERED

IN FRONT OF THE KREMLIN IN THE FREEZING COLD.

THE SOVIET LEADERS HAVE DECIDED

THAT THE TRADITIONAL PARADE WILL STILL TAKE PLACE.

THIS IS A DIRECT ORDER FROM THEIR SUPREME LEADER, STALIN.

FROM THE TOP OF THE LENIN MAUSOLEUM,

STALIN SPEAKS OUT.

[ SPEAKING RUSSIAN ]

STALIN INVOKES THE GLORY OF TSARISM

TO MOBILIZE HIS TROOPS.

AND HE REMINDS THEM, IN COMPARING HITLER TO NAPOLEON,

ONE SHOULD NOT FORGET NAPOLEON'S FATE.

HITLER CANNOT IMAGINE SUCH A FATE.

THE BLITZKRIEG, OR LIGHTNING WAR,

THAT SHOULD HAVE PUT STALIN OUT OF COMMISSION

IN JUST A FEW WEEKS HAS SLOWED DOWN.

BUT NAZI GERMANY STILL HAS CONSIDERABLE STRENGTH.

ONE LAST EFFORT, AND MOSCOW WILL BE CONQUERED.

HITLER PROCLAIMS, "SOLDIERS OF THE EASTERN FRONT,"

THE DECISIVE BATTLE BEGINS TODAY.

WE ARE ABOUT TO AVERT THE MOST TERRIBLE THREAT

"SINCE THE HUNS AND THE MONGOLS."

MOSCOW HOLDS ITS BREATH.

STALIN REFUSES TO LEAVE THE CITY.

HE REQUISITIONS PART OF THE POPULATION

TO DIG ANTI-TANK TRENCHES.

♪♪

A RELENTLESS ENEMY DESCENDS UPON THE SOLDIERS

ON THE MOSCOW FRONT... THE COLD.

EXCEPTIONAL TEMPERATURES HITTING MINUS-35 DEGREES CELSIUS

CRACK THE TANKS' STEEL, HARDEN THE TIRES,

FREEZE THE WEAPONS' LUBRICANTS, AND KILL THE HORSES.

[ WIND WHISTLING ]

STALIN AND GENERAL ZHUKOV

WITH HIS HIGH COMMAND, THE STAVKA, SECRETLY ORGANIZE

A POWERFUL COUNTEROFFENSIVE TO LIBERATE MOSCOW.

[ MAN SPEAKING RUSSIAN ]

Narrator: ONE MILLION SOVIET SOLDIERS BEGIN TO MARCH.

ALBINA GANTIMUROVA, NOW A SENIOR SERGEANT, RECOUNTS,

"ORDER 227 SAYS, 'NOT ONE STEP BACK."

IF YOU TAKE THAT STEP, YOU'LL BE EXECUTED.'

POLICEMEN WALK BEHIND US

AND SHOOT WHOEVER STEPS BACKWARDS.

STALIN JOKES WITH HIS MACABRE SENSE OF HUMOR, 'IN OUR ARMY,

"IT'S MORE DANGEROUS TO MOVE BACKWARDS THAN FORWARDS.'"

[ GUNFIRE ]

THE BATTLE OF MOSCOW IS IN FULL SWING

WHEN SUDDENLY, STALIN RECEIVES AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF NEWS.

[ BOMB WHISTLING ]

ON DECEMBER 7th, 1941, PEARL HARBOR,

THE AMERICAN NAVAL BASE IN THE PACIFIC,

IS ATTACKED BY JAPAN, GERMANY'S ALLY.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,

ANNOUNCES THAT HIS COUNTRY IS ENTERING THE WAR.

THE AMERICAN PEOPLE AND THEIR RIGHTEOUS MIGHT

WILL WIN THROUGH TO ABSOLUTE VICTORY.

Narrator: STALIN HAS A NEW ALLY.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

CHRISTMAS, 1941, MOSCOW IS SAVED,

BUT THE COST IS HIGH... 300,000 DEAD.

STALIN BROADCASTS THIS IMAGE OF A WOMAN GENUFLECTING TO SHOW

THAT GOD IS NO LONGER OUTLAWED.

[ APPLAUSE ]

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

TO THE SOVIETS, STALIN HAS SUCCEEDED

IN PUSHING HITLER BACK 200 KILOMETERS.

BUT THE FUHRER DOESN'T FEEL DEFEATED.

THE GERMANS ARE BLOCKED BY THE RED ARMY

IN THE NORTH AND CENTER OF THE SOVIET UNION,

BUT HITLER IS PREPARING A NEW OFFENSIVE

ON THE SOUTHERN FRONT

FOR SPRINGTIME OF THE FOLLOWING YEAR.

THE TARGET OF THIS OFFENSIVE IS BAKU'S OIL.

THE GERMANS ADVANCE AT AN ALARMING SPEED...

300 KILOMETERS IN JUST 1 MONTH.

THIS IS RUSSIA'S BLACK SUMMER.

HITLER WORRIES HIS HIGH COMMAND WITH A NEW PROJECT,

ONE THAT WILL DIVIDE GERMAN FORCES.

HITLER ORDERS GENERAL PAULUS, WHO ORGANIZED THE ATTACK

ON THE SOVIET UNION, TO MOVE ON STALINGRAD.

THIS OBJECTIVE IS BOTH STRATEGIC AND SYMBOLIC.

THE CITY BEARS STALIN'S NAME.

THE GERMANS CAN THEN HIT MOSCOW FROM BEHIND.

GERMAN TANKS MOVE DANGEROUSLY CLOSE TO STALINGRAD.

STALIN RECEIVES SOME REASSURANCE.

ON AUGUST 10th, 1942, WINSTON CHURCHILL,

THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER,

LANDS IN MOSCOW ABOARD HIS PERSONAL PLANE.

HIS TRAVELING COMPANION IS AN AMERICAN SPECIAL ENVOY...

AVERELL HARRIMAN,

THE POWERFUL BUSINESSMAN WHO COORDINATES ALLIED AID.

THIS AID WILL PROVE DECISIVE...

15,000 PLANES, 140,000 TRUCKS,

MILLIONS OF TONS OF FUEL AND SUPPLIES.

MOLOTOV, STALIN'S MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

GREET THE TWO MEN WITH "THE INTERNATIONALE,"

THE SOVIET ANTHEM OF THE TIME.

[ "THE INTERNATIONALE" PLAYS ]

THE TWO REPRESENTATIVES OF THE CAPITALIST WORLD

LISTEN TO THE REVOLUTIONARY CHANT

WITHOUT THE SLIGHTEST REACTION.

CHURCHILL STATES,

"IF HITLER INVADED HELL, I WOULD SIDE WITH THE DEVIL."

CHURCHILL WRITES IN HIS MEMOIRS, "I PONDERED ON MY MISSION"

TO THE SULLEN, SINISTER BOLSHEVIK STATE

THAT I HAD ONCE SO HARD TRIED TO STRANGLE AT ITS BIRTH,

WHICH I HAD REGARDED

"AS THE MORTAL FOE TO CIVILIZED FREEDOM."

A MAGNIFICENT PACKARD LIMOUSINE DRIVES THEM TO THE KREMLIN,

WHERE STALIN AWAITS THEM.

♪♪

EVERYONE IS ALL SMILES.

THE AMERICANS AND THE BRITISH NEED STALIN.

THEY KNOW THAT SUPPLIES WON'T BE ENOUGH.

THEY NEED MANPOWER.

THE SACRIFICE OF RUSSIAN TROOPS BY THE MILLIONS

WILL ENABLE THEM TO DESTROY THE NAZI BEAST.

IN ADDITION TO AMERICAN AID,

STALIN WANTS TO URGENTLY OPEN A SECOND FRONT,

MEANING AN ALLIED LANDING IN THE WEST

TO DIVIDE GERMAN FORCES.

HITLER IS WORRIED

ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF AN ALLIED LANDING.

HE NEEDS TO FINISH OFF QUICKLY IN THE EAST.

HE NEEDS TO PUT AN END TO STALIN.

HE NEEDS TO PUT AN END TO STALINGRAD.

♪♪

Narrator: THE STUKAS, THE GERMAN DIVE BOMBERS,

COMPLETE THE DESTRUCTION OF WHAT ONCE WAS THE USSR'S MODEL CITY.

[ AIRPLANE ENGINES HUMMING ]

[ EXPLOSIONS ]

GENERAL PAULUS LAUNCHES HIS 6th ARMY TO ATTACK STALINGRAD.

THE GERMANS REACH THE RAVINES,

THE CITY'S NATURAL FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE.

[ INDISTINCT GERMAN CONVERSATIONS ]

[ GUNFIRE ]

THE RUSSIANS RESIST WITH GREAT VIOLENCE.

STALIN DECLARES, "IF WE SURRENDER STALINGRAD,"

THE SOUTH OF THE COUNTRY WILL BE CUT OFF FROM THE CENTER.

"WE WOULD LOSE OUR MAIN WATERWAY AND SOON OUR OIL, TOO."

STALIN'S RISE TO POWER BEGAN HERE

A QUARTER OF A CENTURY EARLIER.

THIS CITY,

AT THE STRATEGIC INTERSECTION BETWEEN BAKU AND MOSCOW,

WAS KNOWN AT THE TIME AS TSARITSYN.

THE TERRITORY CONTROLLED BY THE REDS,

BOLSHEVIK COMMUNISTS,

IS ATTACKED BY THE WHITES, THE TSARIST ARMY.

CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT.

STALIN ALREADY HAS A ROLE

IN HISTORY'S FIRST COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT.

AT THE HEAD OF THIS GOVERNMENT IS LENIN,

WHO APPRECIATES STALIN'S DETERMINATION.

STALIN IS COMMISSAR FOR FOOD SUPPLIES.

HE TRAVELS TO TSARITSYN TO FIND WHEAT

FOR THE COUNTRY'S HUNGRY CAPITOL.

STALIN STEALS ALL THE GRAIN RESERVES,

SPARKING OFF REBELLIONS AND FAMINES.

LENIN HAS ALSO PUT STALIN

IN CHARGE OF WATCHING OVER THE MAN

WHO DEFENDS THESE RICH, AGRICULTURAL LANDS.

TROTSKY, THE POWERFUL PEOPLE'S COMMISSAR FOR WAR

HAS BECOME TOO INDEPENDENT.

TROTSKY, IN ORDER TO SAVE THE THREATENED CITY

OF TSARITSYN, PUTS FORMER OFFICERS FROM THE TSAR'S ARMY

IN CHARGE OF HIS TROOPS.

THESE MEN ARE MORE COMPETENT LEADERS.

STALIN DEFIES TROTSKY.

HE ACCUSES TROTSKY'S OFFICERS OF COLLUDING WITH THE WHITES

AND DECIDES TO ELIMINATE THEM.

SO HE GATHERS THEM ON BARGES

AND SINKS THE BOATS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE VOLGA.

STALIN TURNS INTO A WARLORD, DESTROYING VILLAGES,

EXECUTING POPULATIONS, AND SPREADING TERROR.

HE MAKES AWKWARD ATTEMPTS TO GET INVOLVED IN STRATEGY,

BUT TROTSKY, JUST AS VIOLENT

BUT MORE SKILLED, SETS THINGS STRAIGHT.

THIS DOESN'T STOP STALIN FROM PROCLAIMING HIMSELF

THE CONQUEROR OF TSARITSYN AND DONNING THIS MILITARY DRESS,

WHICH HE WILL WEAR FROM NOW ON.

HE IS PRESENT ON EVERY CIVIL WAR FRONT.

THE REDS FACE NEW ENEMIES.

FRENCH, AMERICAN, BRITISH, AND JAPANESE

HAVE ALL COME TO SUPPORT THE WHITES.

BUT AFTER THE GREAT WAR AND ITS MASSIVE DEATH TOLL,

ALLIED SUPPORT REMAINS LIMITED.

THEIR PRIMARY GOAL IS TO STOP THE SPREAD OF COMMUNISM.

BECAUSE TROTSKY WANTS TO EXPORT THE REVOLUTION,

HE IS COUNTING ON WORKERS RISING UP ACROSS EUROPE.

HE ATTACKS POLAND,

WHICH HAS JUST ACQUIRED ITS INDEPENDENCE.

THE POLES, WITH FRENCH SUPPORT,

RESIST THE REDS' ASSAULT.

STALIN, SENT AS BACKUP, DOESN'T SUPPORT TROTSKY.

40,000 BOLSHEVIK SOLDIERS ARE CAPTURED.

DESPITE HIS FAILURE IN WARSAW,

TROTSKY STILL EMBODIES WAR COMMUNISM...

THE RED ARMY'S ABSOLUTE PRIORITY.

TROTSKY SUCCEEDS IN KEEPING STALIN

AWAY FROM MILITARY AFFAIRS,

EVEN THOUGH HE IS STILL IN THE GOVERNMENT.

PEOPLE QUESTION STALIN'S METHODS AND WONDER WHAT IS BEHIND

THOSE SMALL, SQUINTY EYES, EVEN WHEN HE SMILES.

HELPED BY HIS GEORGIAN ACCOMPLICES,

STALIN TAMES THE SEPARATISTS WITH HIS IRON HAND,

JUST LIKE HE DID IN BAKU IN AZERBAIJAN.

[ ALL SHOUTING ]

STALIN ALSO REINS IN ARMENIA AND GEORGIA, HIS HOMELAND.

WHEN HE GOES HOME TO VISIT HIS MOTHER,

SHE ASKS, "TELL ME, MY SON."

YOU DON'T HAVE THE TSAR'S BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS, DO YOU?"

STALIN SWEARS THAT HE HAD NO PART

IN THE ASSASSINATION OF NICHOLAS THE SECOND

AND HIS FAMILY 3 YEARS EARLIER.

NICHOLAS THE SECOND, CAPTURED BY THE BOLSHEVIKS,

ALONG WITH HIS HEIR, THE TSAREVICH,

THE EMPRESS, AND THEIR FOUR DAUGHTERS

WERE MOVED FROM LOCATION

TO LOCATION THROUGHOUT THE CIVIL WAR.

THEY ENDED UP IN THIS HOUSE ON THE SIBERIAN BORDER,

WHERE THEY WERE EXECUTED.

[ GUNSHOTS ]

ORDERS ARE GIVEN BY THE COMMUNIST PARTY,

WHERE STALIN'S POWER IS RISING.

THE PARTY ALSO INFLATES THE POWER OF THE BUREAUCRATS.

[ SPEAKING RUSSIAN ]

Narrator: THE COLLECTIVE PARANOIA.

OF LENIN, STALIN AND THE BOLSHEVIKS IS SO STRONG

THAT THEY ORDER A MASSIVE PURGE IN THE HEART OF THE PARTY.

220,000 MEMBERS ARE THROWN OUT.

THE SECRET POLICE INCREASES ITS EFFORTS

TO HUNT DOWN THE ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE.

♪♪

THE HEAD EXECUTIONER IS DZERZHINSKY

ALONG WITH HIS TEAM OF ASSASSINS.

STALIN IS A CLOSE, INTIMATE FRIEND.

IN HIS JOURNAL, TROTSKY CLAIMS

TO HAVE HEARD STALIN SAY TO DZERZHINSKY,

"THE GREATEST DELIGHT IS TO PICK OUT ONE'S ENEMIES,"

PREPARE ALL THE DETAILS OF THE BLOW,

TO SLAKE ONE'S THIRST FOR A CRUEL REVENGE,

"AND THEN GO HOME TO BED."

FOR STALIN, WAR HAD OPENLY BEEN DECLARED BY TROTSKY

WHEN HE WROTE THIS TO LENIN

AFTER THE VICTORY ON THE VOLGA...

"I CONSIDER THE WAY STALIN TOOK CREDIT"

FOR THE WHOLE TSARITSYN CAMPAIGN

"TO BE AKIN TO A DANGEROUS WOUND."

STALIN COMMISSIONS A FILM,

THUS REINFORCING HIS LEGENDARY STATUS

AS A CIVIL WAR HERO AND CONQUEROR OF TSARITSYN.

HE CHANGES THE CITY'S NAME FROM TSARITSYN TO STALINGRAD,

OR "STALIN'S CITY."

20 YEARS LATER IN 1942,

STALINGRAD IS IN RUINS AT THE HANDS OF THE GERMANS.

♪♪

Narrator: HITLER'S TROOPS,

AFTER 2 MONTHS OF ARDUOUS COMBAT,

HAVE REACHED THEIR GOAL... THE SHORES OF THE VOLGA.

ACROSS THE RIVER, THE RUSSIANS REGROUP

AND ARE COMFORTED BY AN UNEXPECTED DECLARATION

BY STALIN...

"TOMORROW, WE SHALL DANCE IN THE STREETS."

WHAT DOES STALIN MEAN?

HE KNOWS THAT HIS MILITARY CHIEF OF STAFF, GENERAL ZHUKOV,

IS SECRETLY PREPARING A COUNTEROFFENSIVE.

THE FATE OF STALIN'S COUNTRY HANGS IN THE BALANCE,

BUT STALIN ALSO HAS SOME PERSONAL ISSUES TO CONTEND WITH.

HE AWAITS A VISIT FROM BERIA,

THE FEARSOME HEAD OF THE SECRET POLICE,

ALONG WITH THE HEADS OF THE VARIOUS

LAW ENFORCEMENT ORGANIZATIONS.

STALIN HAS ASKED FOR AN INVESTIGATION

INTO A LETTER WRITTEN BY ROMAN KARMEN,

A FAMOUS FILM MAKER.

THE LETTER DENOUNCES AN AFFAIR BETWEEN KARMEN'S WIFE,

A RENOWNED ACTRESS NAMED NINA ORLOVA,

AND STALIN'S SECOND SON, VASILY,

A FIGHTER PILOT IN THE 32nd GUARDS AIR REGIMENT.

[ INDISTINCT SHOUTING ]

VASILY IS A DANGEROUS PILOT,

AND HIS FATHER ULTIMATELY GROUNDS HIM.

HE IS DRUNK MOST OF THE TIME.

HE SHOOTS THE CHANDELIERS

AND BEATS HIS WIFE WHO JUST GAVE BIRTH.

NICKNAMED "THE TSAREVICH," VASILY ORGANIZES ORGIES.

THE LETTER ALSO POINTS A FINGER AT VASILY'S SISTER,

16-YEAR-OLD SVETLANA, STALIN'S ONLY DAUGHTER.

THE GIRL WAS FOUND IN THE ARMS OF ALEKSEI KAPLER,

A RENOWNED 38-YEAR-OLD SCREENWRITER.

STALIN CANNOT IMAGINE HIS DAUGHTER

WITH A MAN 20 YEARS HER SENIOR.

BUT STALIN WAS 20 YEARS OLDER

THAN SVETLANA'S MOTHER, NADEZHDA, WHO DIED IN 1932,

OFFICIALLY OF ACUTE APPENDICITIS.

IN 1942, DURING THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD,

SVETLANA LEARNS THAT HER MOTHER

COMMITTED SUICIDE 10 YEARS EARLIER.

WHY?

STATE SECRET.

SVETLANA CONSOLES HERSELF WITH KAPLER.

THROUGH HIM, SHE DISCOVERS LITERATURE,

OFTEN EROTIC IN NATURE.

SVETLANA WRITES,

"WHAT BOTHERED MY FATHER MOST ABOUT KAPLER

WAS THE FACT THAT HE WAS JEWISH."

DURING THAT MONTH OF NOVEMBER, 1942,

THE LETTER DENOUNCING STALIN'S CHILDREN

IS A VERY DELICATE BUSINESS, INDEED.

ITS CONSEQUENCES DIRECTLY AFFECT THE NOMENKLATURA,

THE MAGIC LIST OF THE REGIME'S ELITE,

FROM PARTY OFFICIALS TO USEFUL ARTISTS

TO POLICE EXECUTIONERS.

AS LONG AS THEY REMAIN FAVORITES,

THEY CAN LIVE IN A STATE OF COMFORT UNKNOWN

TO THE REST OF THE SOVIET POPULATION.

THIS HOLDS TRUE EVEN IN THE MOST DIRE PERIODS OF THE WAR.

SO, ALEKSEI KAPLER, STALIN'S DAUGHTER'S GREAT LOVE

AND A RENOWNED FIGURE IN THE FILM WORLD,

THOUGHT HE WAS UNTOUCHABLE.

HE IS SENT TO STALINGRAD AS A PRAVDA CORRESPONDENT,

OSTENSIBLY, TO BE KILLED.

[ EXPLOSIONS ]

HE SURVIVES THIS HELL.

SO STALIN HAS HIM DEPORTED TO SIBERIA,

BEYOND THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.

HE IS TAKEN TO THE VORKUTA CONCENTRATION CAMP,

OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE ICE GUILLOTINE.

[ WIND WHISTLING ]

KAPLER IS ACCUSED OF HAVING TIES WITH FOREIGN COUNTRIES

AND OF BEING AN ENGLISH SPY.

HE IS SENTENCED TO 5 YEARS IN THE GULAG.

GULAG... AN ACRONYM FOR "MAIN CAMP ADMINISTRATION."

THE GREAT RUSSIAN WRITER, SOLZHENITSYN,

REFERS TO THEM AS THE G.U.L.A.G. ARCHIPELAGO...

HUNDREDS OF CONCENTRATION CAMPS, OFTEN BUILT DURING LENIN'S DAY,

WHOSE NUMBERS WERE INFINITELY INCREASED BY STALIN.

WHILE THE WORLD'S FATE IS BEING DECIDED AT STALINGRAD,

AT LEAST 3 MILLION SOVIETS HAVE BECOME ZEKS.

THESE UNFORTUNATE MEN ARE CONVICTS,

ARRESTED BY STALIN'S POLICE TO FILL HIS QUOTAS AND BALANCE

OUT THE HIGH MORTALITY RATE IN THE LABOR CAMPS.

THIS ENDLESS SOURCE OF SLAVE LABOR

IS AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TO THE SOVIET WAR ECONOMY.

GOLD IS EXTRACTED FROM THE KOLYMA CAMP

AND COAL COMES FROM VORKUTA.

IN THIS MINING COMPLEX, UNIVERSITY PROFESSORS,

VIOLINISTS, AND PRIESTS ALIKE MAKE THEIR WAY DOWN THE SHAFT.

OTHER ZEKS BUILD THE RAILWAYS

ACROSS THE ENDLESS STRETCHES OF SNOW.

[ CLANKING ]

FOR RUSSIANS, HELL ISN'T ETERNAL FIRE.

IT'S A DESERT OF ICE.

EACH GUARD IS MORE BARBARIC THAN THE NEXT.

THEY SHARE THE WOMEN, WHO ARE RAPED UPON ARRIVAL.

1,607,000 ZEKS DIE IN THE GULAGS.

KAPLER SPENDS 10 YEARS IN VORKUTA.

SVETLANA, STALIN'S DAUGHTER, DOESN'T WAIT FOR HIS RETURN.

♪♪

ENTRENCHED IN THE PARANOID SOLITUDE

OF THE KREMLIN, CUT OFF FROM HIS FAMILY, STALIN AGES.

THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD OCCUPIES HIM 16 HOURS PER DAY.

HE GRABS A FEW HOURS' SLEEP ON A COT IN HIS OFFICE.

HE CHAIN SMOKES, AND AT 63 YEARS OLD,

HIS ARTERIOSCLEROSIS IS LIFE-THREATENING.

[ SHOUTS ]

[ MORTAR FIRE ]

13,000 SOVIET CANNONS

FIRE THEIR TERRIFYING MULTIPLE-ROCKET LAUNCHERS.

THE GERMANS NICKNAME THESE MISSILES

"STALIN'S ORGANS" AFTER THEIR ROAR.

[ ROARING ]

GENERAL ZHUKOV'S SOVIET ARMIES HAVE SURROUNDED

GERMAN GENERAL PAULUS' 6th ARMY IN THE RUINS OF STALINGRAD.

[ GUNFIRE ]

HITLER ORDERS PAULUS

NOT TO BREAK THROUGH THE CIRCLE AND RETREAT.

[ WIND WHISTLING ]

ONE MONTH LATER, THE GERMANS ARE OUT OF MUNITIONS AND FOOD.

CASES OF CANNIBALISM ABOUND.

THE SOVIETS ARE MOVING FORWARD EVERYWHERE.

[ GUNFIRE ]

FILM MAKER ROMAN KARMEN, WHO HAD ALERTED STALIN

ON HIS CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES, IS LUCKY ENOUGH TO FILM

THIS UNIQUE MOMENT... THE SURRENDER OF GENERAL PAULUS.

THE HEAD OF GERMAN FORCES IN STALINGRAD

WAS PROMOTED TO MARSHAL THE PREVIOUS DAY

BY HITLER IN A MOVE TO PUSH PAULUS

TO COMMIT HONORABLE SUICIDE.

BUT PAULUS REPLIES,

"I'M NOT GOING TO SHOOT MYSELF FOR THAT CORPORAL."

PAULUS DOESN'T SEE HITLER AS THE FUHRER ANYMORE,

BUT AS THE WORLD WAR I SOLDIER

WHO'S INCOMPETENCE HAS LED TO DISASTER.

ONCE PAULUS FINDS HIMSELF A SOVIET PRISONER,

HE FEELS NOTHING BUT HATRED TOWARDS HITLER.

HITLER, ON THE OTHER HAND, WANTS TO EXCHANGE HIM

FOR STALIN'S ELDEST SON, YAKOV,

WHO IS HIS PRISONER SINCE JULY, 1941.

STALIN PREPARES HIS ANSWER...

"I WILL NOT TRADE A MARSHAL FOR A LIEUTENANT."

THE BODY OF YAKOV, STALIN'S SON, IS FOUND

IN THE ELECTRICAL BARBED WIRES OF HIS PRISONER CAMP IN GERMANY.

IN STALINGRAD, AFTER 6 MONTHS OF FIGHTING,

500,000 GERMANS ARE DEAD,

100,000 HAVE BEEN CAPTURED.

VERY FEW WILL EVER RETURN HOME, EVEN 10 YEARS LATER.

[ PIANO PLAYING ]

900,000 SOVIET SOLDIERS HAVE BEEN KILLED.

700,000 HAVE BEEN WOUNDED.

♪♪

IN THE EYES OF THE WORLD, THE GREAT VICTOR AT STALINGRAD

IS STALIN, WHO POSES IN HIS NEW UNIFORM.

THE GREAT MARSHAL STAR SHINES ON HIS EPAULETTES.

THE BIGGEST AMERICAN MAGAZINE OF THE TIME, LIFE,

FEATURES STALIN ON THE COVER

OF IT'S MARCH 29th, 1943 ISSUE...

THE SUPREME HONOR.

THIS OUTCOME COULDN'T HAVE BEEN PREDICTED 20 YEARS EARLIER.

♪♪

Narrator: AFTER 4 YEARS OF CIVIL WAR,

RUSSIA COUNTS MILLIONS OF CASUALTIES,

IMMIGRANTS, AND ORPHANS.

THE COUNTRY IS RAVAGED BY FAMINE.

STALIN IS BOTHERED BY THE SIGHT OF TROTSKY,

STILL TRIUMPHANT IN RED SQUARE,

EVEN THOUGH WAR COMMUNISM HAS BROUGHT

ABOUT THE FALL OF THE ECONOMY.

SEVER RATIONING IS IN PLACE EXCEPT FOR THE 20,000 PARTY

AND POLICE OFFICIALS, WHO ARE ENTITLED TO 4 KILOS

OF MEAT AND 4 KILOS OF FISH PER MONTH.

A WORKER ONLY RECEIVES 200 GRAMS OF FISH, USUALLY ROTTEN.

THE WORKERS CAN NO LONGER FEED THEIR FAMILIES.

THEY RISE UP, EVEN THOUGH STRIKING

HAS BEEN FORBIDDEN SINCE DECEMBER OF 1917.

TROTSKY DECLARES,

"ALL RESISTANCE CAN BE COUNTERED BY ONE WORD... SHOOT."

AT THIS POINT, 18,000 SAILORS AND OFFICERS AT KRONSTADT,

THE NAVAL BASE IN THE FORMER CAPITOL OF PETROGRAD,

JOIN THE FRAY IN SUPPORT OF THE STRIKING WORKERS.

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

THEIR CREDO IS, "YES, TO SOVIETS,

NO, TO BOLSHEVIKS."

[ GUNFIRE ]

TROTSKY ORDERS AN ASSAULT ON THE KRONSTADT SAILORS

ON MARCH 7th, 1921.

20,000 RED ARMY TROOPS MOVE ACROSS THE FROZEN BALTIC SEA.

BEHIND THEM, TO PREVENT THEM FROM TURNING BACK,

MEMBERS OF THE SECRET POLICE

ARE POSITIONED WITH MACHINE GUNS.

[ MACHINE GUN COCKS ]

[ GUNFIRE ]

AFTER 10 DAYS OF BLOODY COMBAT,

THE REBELS HAVE RUN OUT OF FOOD AND MUNITIONS.

THEY SURRENDER TO THE RED ARMY SOLDIERS.

2,168 SAILORS ARE EXECUTED AND BURIED TOGETHER.

THESE VERY SAME MEN LED THE COMMUNISTS

TO VICTORY IN 1917.

BUT THE KRONSTADT REBELLION FORCES LENIN TO BACK DOWN.

HE DECLARES, "IT IS POSSIBLE FOR US TO TAKE A FEW STEPS BACK"

WITHOUT DESTROYING THE DICTATORSHIP

"OF THE PROLETARIAT."

♪♪

IN MARCH, 1921, LENIN INSTITUTES THE N.E.P.,

OR NEW ECONOMIC POLICY.

THIS IS A SPECTACULAR,

ALBEIT TEMPORARY, LIBERALIZATION OF THE ECONOMY.

INDUSTRY IS DENATIONALIZED.

FORCED REQUISITIONS AND REQUIRED WORK IS ENDED.

INHERITANCE IS REINSTATED.

FARMERS ARE FREE TO SELL THEIR HARVEST AT WILL ONCE AGAIN.

STORE SHELVES ARE FILLED UP.

MOSCOW DARES TO HOPE AND CELEBRATE AGAIN.

THINGS ARE MOVING QUICKLY AT THE KREMLIN.

THE BOLSHEVIK LEADERS ARE ARRIVING IN THEIR ROLLS-ROYCES.

ON APRIL 3rd, 1922,

STALIN, NICKNAMED "LENIN'S BEST DISCIPLE,"

BECOMES SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY.

HE IS POWERFUL, BUT ALWAYS RESPECTFUL TOWARDS LENIN.

HIS FUTURE MINISTER, MOLOTOV, REMARKS,

"PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME, 'WHO IS TOUGHER,"

LENIN OR STALIN?'

LENIN, OF COURSE.

"HE'S THE ONE WHO TRAINED US ALL."

♪♪

SUDDENLY, ON MAY 25th, 1922,

LENIN SUFFERS A STROKE AT THE AGE OF 52.

HE IS PARTIALLY PARALYZED.

SIX MONTHS LATER, HE HAS A SECOND STROKE.

THE PARTY'S CENTRAL COMMITTEE

PUTS STALIN IN CHARGE OF TAKING CARE OF HIM.

STALIN ISOLATES LENIN AND PREVENTS HIS ENTOURAGE

FROM WRITING ANYTHING DICTATED BY HIM.

THE YEAR CLOSES WITH THE CREATION

ON DECEMBER 22nd, 1922, OF THE USSR...

UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS.

IT'S EMBLEM IS THE FARMER'S SICKLE

AND THE PROLETARIAN WORKER'S HAMMER.

[ RHYTHMIC CLAPPING ]

[ INDISTINCT CONVERSATIONS ]

THIS GRAND ANNOUNCEMENT, ALONG WITH THE END

OF THE CIVIL WAR, TRIGGER HOPE FOR A RESPITE.

BUT THE TERROR ONLY INTENSIFIES.

SECRET POLICE VANS DISCHARGE TRUCK LOADS OF VICTIMS

CONDEMNED FROM THE START.

1923, THE PEOPLE'S COMMISSAR OF JUSTICE,

ISAAC STEINBERG, ESCAPES TO GERMANY.

HE ONCE ASKED LENIN, "WHAT GOOD IS A COMMISSAR OF JUSTICE?"

HIS TITLE SHOULD BE COMMISSAR OF SOCIAL EXTERMINATION."

LENIN HAD REPLIED, "EXCELLENT IDEA."

STALIN CARRIES LENIN'S COFFIN.

NADEZHDA KRUPSKAYA, HIS WIDOW, REVEALS THAT LENIN MANAGED

TO DICTATE A WILL, IN WHICH HE STATED,

"STALIN IS TOO BRUTAL."

I SUGGEST THAT THE COMRADES FIND A WAY

"TO REMOVE HIM FROM HIS POSITION AS SECRETARY GENERAL."

STALIN REACTS VERY VIOLENTLY AND THREATENS LENIN'S WIDOW,

FORCING HER TO PUBLISH A DENIAL IN PRAVDA.

ALL THE PALLBEARERS,

THE MOST FAITHFUL BOLSHEVIKS FROM THE OUTSET,

WILL TRY TO USE THIS WILL TO GET RID OF STALIN.

THEY WILL ALL DIE.

LENIN'S TRUE WILL, RESPECTED TO THE LETTER

BY HIS HEIR, STALIN, IS HIS DOCTRINE...

THE NEVER-ENDING PURIFICATION OF THE SOCIAL BODY,

WHICH ALSO APPLIES TO THE PARTY,

THE STATE, AND THE BUREAUCRACY...

THE HUNT FOR THE FALSE COMMUNIST, THAT PARASITE

WHO HAS INFILTRATED THE PARTY STATES' ADMINISTRATIONS.

ELIMINATING THESE PARASITES,

THE SURVIVORS OF A DOOMED CAPITALIST SOCIETY,

IS AN ESSENTIAL TASK.

THIS PURGE WILL BE ENDLESS FOR STALIN

AS IT WAS FOR LENIN.

THE WAR AGAINST THE ENEMY WILL NEVER BE OVER.

WHILE LENIN'S BODY IS QUICKLY BEING EMBALMED,

STALIN BLOWS UP THE FROZEN GROUND

IN FRONT OF THE KREMLIN WALL

TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS OF A MAUSOLEUM.

FIRST COMES THE WOOD, FOLLOWED BY RED GRANITE

AND BLACK MARBLE, WITH A GRANDSTAND

WHERE THE OMNIPOTENT COMMUNIST LEADERS

WILL RITUALLY STAND TO DOMINATE THE PEOPLE.

BUT THE PEOPLE LIKE TROTSKY.

STALIN IS STILL FORCED TO APPLAUD HIM.

THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING

OF THEIR UNDERGROUND DUEL TO THE DEATH.

STALIN ESTABLISHES A COMMISSION DEDICATED TO THE IMMORTALIZATION

OF THE MEMORY OF VLADIMIR ULYANOV

KNOWN AS LENIN.

AND LENIN'S NAME IS GIVEN TO PETROGRAD,

THE FORMER CAPITOL, ST. PETERSBURG,

WHICH WILL NOW BE CALLED LENINGRAD.

♪♪

Narrator: GERMANS HAVE SURROUNDED LENINGRAD FOR THE PAST 2 YEARS.

[ EXPLOSIONS ]

HITLER HASN'T SUCCEEDED IN CONQUERING STALINGRAD,

THE PRIMARY SYMBOL OF SOVIET POWER.

SO HE KEEPS GOING AFTER THE OTHER SYMBOL, LENINGRAD.

HITLER DECLARES,

"I WILL DESTROY THIS CITY, DECIMATE ITS POPULATION."

IT WILL NEVER RISE AGAIN.

"I HEREBY TAKE THIS SOLEMN OATH."

THIS PROVES TO BE ONE OF THE LONGEST

AND MOST DEVASTATING SIEGES IN HISTORY.

800,000 INHABITANTS DIE OF HUNGER.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

BACK THEN, THE CHILDREN OF MOSCOW BELIEVE IN THE FUTURE.

THEY CHEER THE HEROES OF THE REVOLUTION

GATHERED AROUND STALIN, WHO MARCHES TOWARDS POWER.

THESE ARE THE FIRST BOLSHEVIKS...

ZINOVIEV, KAMENEV,

VOROSHILOV, THE CIVIL WAR GENERAL

AND BUKHARIN, WHO DOESN'T TRUST STALIN.

HE SAYS, "HE IS A SCHEMER WITHOUT PRINCIPLES"

WHO'S THIRST FOR POWER COMES ABOVE ALL.

HE CHANGES HIS THEORIES EVEN AS HE EXPRESSED THEM

"DEPENDING ON WHO HE HAS CHOSEN TO ELIMINATE."

BUT THEY ALL STAND BESIDE STALIN IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TROTSKY,

WHO CONTINUES TO HAVE THE SUPPORT OF MANY MILITANTS.

[ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ]

[ WOMAN SHOUTING IN RUSSIAN ]

Narrator: THESE PEOPLE HAVE NO EDUCATION OR TRAINING IN POLITICS,

BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS BE GRATEFUL TO STALIN

FOR ALLOWING THEM TO RISE WITHIN THE BUREAUCRACY.

TROTSKY BEGINS TO BE BOOED

AND LITTLE BY LITTLE, CAST ASIDE.

[ BOOING ]

STALIN DOESN'T YET HAVE THE POWER

TO KILL OFF HIS ENEMIES, BUT AFTER 3 YEARS

OF FIERCE STRUGGLE AND DEVIOUS PLOTTING,

HE MANAGES TO GET TROTSKY BANNED FROM THE PARTY.

STALIN CAN NOW HUMILIATE TROTSKY AND HAVE HIM EXILED

TO A FAR AWAY SOVIET REPUBLIC IN CENTRAL ASIA.

STALIN HAS HIM FILMED, ESCORTED BY POLICE OFFICERS WHO'S CHIEF,

ON THE RIGHT, WITH THE GUN IN HIS POCKET,

DIRECTS THE CAMERA.

NEXT, STALIN GETS THE POLITBURO TO ACCUSE THIS FOUNDING MEMBER

OF THE USSR OF ANTI-SOVIET ACTIVITIES.

TROTSKY IS DEPORTED.

STALIN IS 50.

HE IS NOW THE ABSOLUTE RULER OF THE SOVIET UNION.

HE SUMMONS THE CAMERAS TO THE KREMLIN

IN FRONT OF A STATUE OF LENIN

TO SHOW THAT HE IS TRULY THE HEIR.

[ MEN SINGING IN RUSSIAN ]

WITH HIS HENCHMEN, WHO ARE BLINDLY DEVOTED

IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR LIVES, STALIN CAN FINALLY

RID HIMSELF OF THE N.E.P... THE ATTEMPT AT LIBERALIZATION

AND FULLY ENGAGE IN COLLECTIVIZATION.

[ SINGING CONTINUES ]

THE PARTY NEWSPAPER, THE PRAVDA, IS DISPLAYED IN THE HALLWAYS

OF THE KREMLIN BOASTING THIS FRONT-PAGE HEADLINE...

"A GREAT BOLSHEVIK ROUND OF APPLAUSE

FOR THE GREATEST COMMUNIST LEADER IN THE WORLD."

[ SINGING CONTINUES ]

20 YEARS LATER, HE WILL REALLY BE ONE

OF THE MOST POWERFUL MEN IN THE WORLD.

♪♪

STALIN TAKES AN AIRPLANE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS LIFE.

FLYING OVER HIS NATIVE CAUCUSES, HE IS AFRAID.

HE IS TRAVELING TO TEHRAN

TO ATTEND A CONFERENCE OF ALLIES AGAINST GERMANY.

WITH HIS NEWFOUND POWER, STALIN WAS ABLE

TO IMPOSE HIS EMBASSY IN IRAN AS THE MEETING LOCATION.

THE EMBASSY IS SECURED BY A BATTALION OF SOVIET POLICEMEN

AND FULL OF HIDDEN MICROPHONES.

THE SIGHT OF STALIN IS A SURPRISE TO THE ATTENDEES.

HE LIMPS, AND HIS ATROPHIED ARM ADDS TO HIS BEAR-LIKE DEMEANOR.

CHURCHILL, IN HIS ROYAL AIR FORCE ATTIRE, STRIKES A POSE.

THE CONFERENCE'S OPENING CEREMONY BEGINS

WITH "THE INTERNATIONALE," STILL THE SOVIET ANTHEM,

FOR NOW.

[ "THE INTERNATIONALE" PLAYS ]

STALIN, WHO ORCHESTRATED EVERYTHING ON HIS OWN,

IS SURROUNDED BY HIS OLD ACCOMPLICES,

MARSHAL VOROSHILOV AND MOLOTOV,

HIS MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS.

ON BEHALF OF KING GEORGE THE SIXTH, CHURCHILL

GIVES STALIN A SWORD WITH THE FOLLOWING INSCRIPTION...

"TO THE STEEL-HARDENED CITIZENS OF STALINGRAD."

VOROSHILOV HAS THE MISFORTUNE OF DROPPING THE SWORD.

[ CLANKING ]

HE THROWS A DISTRAUGHT GLANCE AT STALIN.

HE KNOWS HE IS ABOUT TO BE INSULTED IN PUBLIC...

UNTIL A POLICEMAN RELIEVES HIM OF HIS BURDEN.

THEN CHURCHILL AND STALIN

JOIN THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT, FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT,

WHO IS DISABLED AND TIRED FROM THE LONG TRIP TO TEHRAN.

STALIN WANTS TO GET CLOSER TO ROOSEVELT,

WHO HE BELIEVES TO BE NAIVE AND EASILY MANIPULATED.

STALIN NEEDS SUPPORTS AGAINST CHURCHILL

ON THE ISSUE OF A SECOND FRONT.

CHURCHILL WANTS TO ATTACK FROM THE SOUTH...

THE SOFT UNDERBELLY OF EUROPE...

OUTRUN THE RUSSIANS, AND ARRIVE FIRST IN BERLIN.

BUT STALIN WINS OUT WITH THE NORMANDY INVASION,

FURTHER AWAY, PLANNED FOR THE SPRING OF 1944.

ROOSEVELT SHOWS HIS CONSIDERATION

FOR STALIN IN THIS OFFICIAL PHOTO.

EVERYONE HOPES TO BE INTRODUCED

TO STALIN, EVEN SARAH, CHURCHILL'S DAUGHTER.

OPTIMISM IS IN THE AIR.

STALIN JUST DEFEATED HITLER IN THE BATTLE OF KURSK.

CHURCHILL DECLARES, "GOD IS ON THE ALLIES' SIDE."

STALIN REPLIES, "THE DEVIL IS ON MY SIDE.

HE'S A GOOD COMMUNIST."

♪♪