All language subtitles for Forgotten.Frontlines.S01E06.The.Nazi.Titanic.1080p.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

af Afrikaans
ak Akan
sq Albanian
am Amharic
ar Arabic
hy Armenian
az Azerbaijani
eu Basque
be Belarusian
bem Bemba
bn Bengali
bh Bihari
bs Bosnian
br Breton
bg Bulgarian
km Cambodian
ca Catalan
ceb Cebuano
chr Cherokee
ny Chichewa
zh-CN Chinese (Simplified)
zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)
co Corsican
hr Croatian
cs Czech
da Danish
nl Dutch
en English
eo Esperanto
et Estonian
ee Ewe
fo Faroese
tl Filipino
fi Finnish
fr French
fy Frisian
gaa Ga
gl Galician
ka Georgian
de German
el Greek
gn Guarani
gu Gujarati
ht Haitian Creole
ha Hausa
haw Hawaiian
iw Hebrew
hi Hindi
hmn Hmong
hu Hungarian
is Icelandic
ig Igbo
id Indonesian
ia Interlingua
ga Irish
it Italian
ja Japanese
jw Javanese
kn Kannada
kk Kazakh
rw Kinyarwanda
rn Kirundi
kg Kongo
ko Korean
kri Krio (Sierra Leone)
ku Kurdish
ckb Kurdish (Soranî)
ky Kyrgyz
lo Laothian
la Latin
lv Latvian
ln Lingala
lt Lithuanian
loz Lozi
lg Luganda
ach Luo
lb Luxembourgish
mk Macedonian
mg Malagasy
ms Malay
ml Malayalam
mt Maltese
mi Maori
mr Marathi
mfe Mauritian Creole
mo Moldavian
mn Mongolian
my Myanmar (Burmese)
sr-ME Montenegrin
ne Nepali
pcm Nigerian Pidgin
nso Northern Sotho
no Norwegian
nn Norwegian (Nynorsk)
oc Occitan
or Oriya
om Oromo
ps Pashto
fa Persian Download
pl Polish
pt-BR Portuguese (Brazil)
pt Portuguese (Portugal)
pa Punjabi
qu Quechua
ro Romanian
rm Romansh
nyn Runyakitara
ru Russian
sm Samoan
gd Scots Gaelic
sr Serbian
sh Serbo-Croatian
st Sesotho
tn Setswana
crs Seychellois Creole
sn Shona
sd Sindhi
si Sinhalese
sk Slovak
sl Slovenian
so Somali
es Spanish
es-419 Spanish (Latin American)
su Sundanese
sw Swahili
sv Swedish
tg Tajik
ta Tamil
tt Tatar
te Telugu
th Thai
ti Tigrinya
to Tonga
lua Tshiluba
tum Tumbuka
tr Turkish
tk Turkmen
tw Twi
ug Uighur
uk Ukrainian
ur Urdu
uz Uzbek
vi Vietnamese
cy Welsh
wo Wolof
xh Xhosa
yi Yiddish
yo Yoruba
zu Zulu
Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated: 1 00:00:22,152 --> 00:00:24,502 - [Narrator] In the late 1920s, 2 00:00:24,502 --> 00:00:25,721 a German cruise liner, 3 00:00:25,721 --> 00:00:27,331 SS Cap Arcona, 4 00:00:27,331 --> 00:00:29,725 is queen of the South Atlantic. 5 00:00:29,725 --> 00:00:31,640 - We forget before air travel, 6 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,164 the way to get around if you wanted to do it in style was 7 00:00:34,164 --> 00:00:35,948 to go on a luxury liner. 8 00:00:35,948 --> 00:00:37,863 - The point of having the opulent ship is 9 00:00:37,863 --> 00:00:40,866 to be a showpiece for the world. 10 00:00:40,866 --> 00:00:42,912 - [Narrator] This ocean-going palace would become embroiled 11 00:00:42,912 --> 00:00:45,219 in many twists and turns in the service 12 00:00:45,219 --> 00:00:45,393 of the Nazis' regime. 13 00:00:47,743 --> 00:00:50,920 - The Cap Arcona had a varied history. 14 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:52,008 - [Narrator] While World War II raged 15 00:00:52,008 --> 00:00:54,532 across the continent and beyond, 16 00:00:54,532 --> 00:00:58,014 Germany's finest ocean luxury liner sets sail 17 00:00:58,014 --> 00:01:00,147 on a tale to ultimate catastrophe. 18 00:01:00,147 --> 00:01:01,452 - From luxury vessel 19 00:01:01,452 --> 00:01:04,716 to becoming a tragedy amongst tragedies. 20 00:01:04,716 --> 00:01:08,372 - Ending up as one of history's worst maritime disasters. 21 00:01:08,372 --> 00:01:12,072 [upbeat instrumental music] 22 00:01:30,873 --> 00:01:35,007 - [Narrator] 1945, the end of World War II. 23 00:01:35,007 --> 00:01:38,141 The entire continent of Europe is in disarray, 24 00:01:38,141 --> 00:01:41,623 cities reduced to rumble and millions of people killed, 25 00:01:41,623 --> 00:01:44,016 injured or displaced. 26 00:01:44,016 --> 00:01:46,715 As the allies uncover the destruction the Nazis visited 27 00:01:46,715 --> 00:01:48,586 upon the world, 28 00:01:48,586 --> 00:01:51,067 secret documents about one particular series 29 00:01:51,067 --> 00:01:54,636 of events are carefully classified and hidden away, 30 00:01:54,636 --> 00:01:57,508 never to be seen for decades. 31 00:01:57,508 --> 00:01:59,858 At the center of this story is one ship, 32 00:01:59,858 --> 00:02:02,034 the Cap Arcona. 33 00:02:02,034 --> 00:02:04,602 {\an8}- I mean the beauty of the second world war is the amount 34 00:02:04,602 --> 00:02:07,388 {\an8}of information that was recorded in multiple different ways. 35 00:02:07,388 --> 00:02:09,172 Of course, you've got reams and reams 36 00:02:09,172 --> 00:02:11,435 of official reports and diaries and letters, 37 00:02:11,435 --> 00:02:13,655 and you've also got the technological advances. 38 00:02:14,786 --> 00:02:16,310 - This is the material 39 00:02:16,310 --> 00:02:19,269 {\an8}that could jeopardize our national security. 40 00:02:19,269 --> 00:02:21,228 {\an8}- It's not surprising that a lot 41 00:02:21,228 --> 00:02:23,273 {\an8}of this information does get buried 42 00:02:23,273 --> 00:02:24,231 {\an8}for one reason or another. 43 00:02:24,231 --> 00:02:25,275 {\an8}It might be deliberate. 44 00:02:25,275 --> 00:02:27,364 {\an8}It might be accidental. 45 00:02:27,364 --> 00:02:30,759 {\an8}- [Dr. Tessa] There's lots that we don't want revealed. 46 00:02:30,759 --> 00:02:34,023 {\an8}- Why would anyone want to dredge up the horrors of war, 47 00:02:34,023 --> 00:02:37,113 {\an8}especially one on the magnitude of World War II 48 00:02:37,113 --> 00:02:38,506 {\an8}after the war had ended? 49 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:41,378 {\an8}- [Narrator] The story of the Cap Arcona starts 50 00:02:41,378 --> 00:02:43,641 {\an8}at the end of the First World War, 51 00:02:43,641 --> 00:02:46,035 {\an8}as Germany is in a dismal place. 52 00:02:46,035 --> 00:02:47,776 {\an8}The country is in economic ruin, 53 00:02:47,776 --> 00:02:51,301 {\an8}forced to accept responsibility for the conflict 54 00:02:51,301 --> 00:02:53,912 {\an8}and pay huge reparations. 55 00:02:53,912 --> 00:02:56,088 {\an8}- The story of Germany in the 1920s is very interesting. 56 00:02:56,088 --> 00:02:57,177 {\an8}I mean, post-war, 57 00:02:57,177 --> 00:02:58,308 {\an8}of course, it's on its knees. 58 00:02:58,308 --> 00:03:00,745 {\an8}It's just been humiliated in a war, 59 00:03:00,745 --> 00:03:03,922 {\an8}but it also has the economic issue of recovering 60 00:03:03,922 --> 00:03:06,403 {\an8}from all that expenditure and the reparations 61 00:03:06,403 --> 00:03:09,101 {\an8}which the allies are making them pay. 62 00:03:09,101 --> 00:03:12,888 {\an8}- Germany is the deindustrialized, demilitarized, 63 00:03:12,888 --> 00:03:15,238 {\an8}is paying steep reparations. 64 00:03:15,238 --> 00:03:18,372 {\an8}It's emasculated, it's feeling really sorry for itself. 65 00:03:18,372 --> 00:03:20,112 {\an8}It's got hyperinflation. 66 00:03:20,112 --> 00:03:22,289 {\an8}It's the country on its knees. 67 00:03:22,289 --> 00:03:23,420 {\an8}- [Narrator] Although Germany is in the midst 68 00:03:23,420 --> 00:03:25,814 {\an8}of economic ruin and recovering from the loss 69 00:03:25,814 --> 00:03:27,381 {\an8}of the First World War, 70 00:03:27,381 --> 00:03:29,818 {\an8}one aggressive and well-managed ship builder 71 00:03:29,818 --> 00:03:30,993 {\an8}defies the odds. 72 00:03:30,993 --> 00:03:32,429 {\an8}- Blohm & and Voss, 73 00:03:32,429 --> 00:03:33,996 {\an8}one of the world's greatest ship builders 74 00:03:33,996 --> 00:03:35,345 {\an8}still in business today, 75 00:03:35,345 --> 00:03:37,347 {\an8}and Hamburg Sud, 76 00:03:37,347 --> 00:03:39,523 {\an8}one of the greatest ship operators still in business today, 77 00:03:39,523 --> 00:03:41,221 {\an8}they launched this idea 78 00:03:41,221 --> 00:03:43,701 {\an8}that they're going to build the greatest ship afloat 79 00:03:43,701 --> 00:03:46,704 {\an8}as a way of getting Germany back in the maritime business, 80 00:03:46,704 --> 00:03:50,186 {\an8}but also for purposes of pride. 81 00:03:50,186 --> 00:03:52,275 {\an8}- [Narrator] Inspired by the Titanic, 82 00:03:52,275 --> 00:03:54,364 {\an8}no expense will be spared in the creation 83 00:03:54,364 --> 00:03:56,627 {\an8}of this magnificent cruise ship. 84 00:03:56,627 --> 00:03:59,413 {\an8}- When you hear about the scale of both the cost 85 00:03:59,413 --> 00:04:01,632 {\an8}of the Cap Arcona and, really, 86 00:04:01,632 --> 00:04:04,069 {\an8}its facilities onboard, it's mind-boggling. 87 00:04:04,069 --> 00:04:07,247 {\an8}35 billion Reichsmark to build. 88 00:04:07,247 --> 00:04:09,249 {\an8}The luxury was off the scale. 89 00:04:09,249 --> 00:04:11,425 {\an8}A full-size tennis court. 90 00:04:11,425 --> 00:04:12,991 {\an8}An indoor ballroom. 91 00:04:12,991 --> 00:04:16,343 {\an8}The apartments themselves had silk upholstery 92 00:04:16,343 --> 00:04:17,344 {\an8}on the furniture, 93 00:04:17,344 --> 00:04:19,128 {\an8}full length baths. 94 00:04:19,128 --> 00:04:21,478 {\an8}Almost no effort had been spared 95 00:04:21,478 --> 00:04:24,612 {\an8}in creating this unbelievably luxurious vessel. 96 00:04:24,612 --> 00:04:28,180 {\an8}- It's an absolute magnificent luxury ship, 97 00:04:28,180 --> 00:04:30,487 {\an8}very much in keeping with the 1920s. 98 00:04:30,487 --> 00:04:32,620 {\an8}- It's about enjoying oneself 99 00:04:32,620 --> 00:04:38,930 {\an8}and the rise of consumerism and luxury. 100 00:04:38,930 --> 00:04:40,889 {\an8}- And that opulence would eventually see the Cap Arcona 101 00:04:40,889 --> 00:04:44,066 {\an8}become part of the Nazi party's propaganda machine, 102 00:04:44,066 --> 00:04:46,590 {\an8}led by Joseph Goebbels. 103 00:04:46,590 --> 00:04:49,419 {\an8}- Joseph Goebbels' rise to power was meteoric. 104 00:04:49,419 --> 00:04:51,421 {\an8}Goebbels had exactly what Hitler 105 00:04:51,421 --> 00:04:52,901 {\an8}and the Nazis were looking for. 106 00:04:52,901 --> 00:04:54,598 {\an8}He was brilliant. 107 00:04:54,598 --> 00:04:58,559 He was fanatical and he lacked any sense of humanity. 108 00:04:58,559 --> 00:05:01,475 - It's not surprising given what his skillset was. 109 00:05:01,475 --> 00:05:05,609 {\an8}His skillset was convincing people of certain ideas 110 00:05:05,609 --> 00:05:07,263 {\an8}and certain ideologies. 111 00:05:07,263 --> 00:05:08,612 {\an8}- It's funny, isn't it? 112 00:05:08,612 --> 00:05:10,048 {\an8}Goebbels is such a curious character, 113 00:05:10,048 --> 00:05:12,573 {\an8}carrying around almost like a Carbuncle 114 00:05:12,573 --> 00:05:13,791 {\an8}or a cannonball behind him, 115 00:05:13,791 --> 00:05:16,098 {\an8}this giant inferiority complex. 116 00:05:16,098 --> 00:05:18,013 {\an8}And I think he respects, 117 00:05:18,013 --> 00:05:21,495 {\an8}loves Hitler's single-mindedness. 118 00:05:21,495 --> 00:05:23,671 {\an8}- Consequently, in no time at all, 119 00:05:23,671 --> 00:05:27,152 {\an8}he's one of Hitler's right-hand men as the administer 120 00:05:27,152 --> 00:05:30,939 {\an8}of the Department of Propaganda and Public Enlightenment. 121 00:05:30,939 --> 00:05:34,899 {\an8}- There is a talent for the mastery of language, 122 00:05:34,899 --> 00:05:38,207 {\an8}manipulation through imagery and messaging, 123 00:05:38,207 --> 00:05:42,733 {\an8}and the way in which he's able to harbor that talent. 124 00:05:42,733 --> 00:05:46,476 The outlet that he's provided for this talent is 125 00:05:46,476 --> 00:05:48,435 through the vehicle of national socialism 126 00:05:48,435 --> 00:05:50,698 through Hitler's Nazi party. 127 00:05:50,698 --> 00:05:52,874 [glass shattering] - In the late 1920s, 128 00:05:52,874 --> 00:05:54,745 Goebbels was tasked with reorganizing 129 00:05:54,745 --> 00:05:58,140 and publicizing the largely ignored Nazi party. 130 00:05:58,140 --> 00:05:59,620 At that same time, 131 00:05:59,620 --> 00:06:02,318 finally finished, the Cap Arcona is christened 132 00:06:02,318 --> 00:06:04,973 on May 14th, 1927. 133 00:06:04,973 --> 00:06:08,368 - The launching of the Cap Arcona in 1927, 134 00:06:08,368 --> 00:06:11,109 a near replica of the Titanic, 135 00:06:11,109 --> 00:06:14,025 that was a source of great pride for the German people. 136 00:06:14,025 --> 00:06:17,638 Not only practically did that ship get Germany back 137 00:06:17,638 --> 00:06:20,205 into the cruising and maritime business, 138 00:06:20,205 --> 00:06:23,992 but it was held up as a source of German might and pride. 139 00:06:23,992 --> 00:06:25,428 - [Dr. Tessa] There was the level of opulence 140 00:06:25,428 --> 00:06:28,039 and luxury enjoyed that hadn't been seen 141 00:06:28,039 --> 00:06:29,998 for quite some time. 142 00:06:29,998 --> 00:06:33,567 - This incredibly sophisticated luxurious vessel known 143 00:06:33,567 --> 00:06:35,569 as the Queen of the South Atlantic 144 00:06:35,569 --> 00:06:38,485 and was drawing people from all walks of life, 145 00:06:38,485 --> 00:06:40,835 but people with money and influence. 146 00:06:40,835 --> 00:06:43,185 So there would be Hollywood film stars going onboard, 147 00:06:43,185 --> 00:06:44,578 members of the royalty, 148 00:06:44,578 --> 00:06:46,014 captains of industry, 149 00:06:46,014 --> 00:06:47,276 they were flocking to this ship. 150 00:06:47,276 --> 00:06:48,973 And this ship, of course, 151 00:06:48,973 --> 00:06:52,412 represented the technological rebirth of Germany 152 00:06:52,412 --> 00:06:53,848 after the First World War. 153 00:06:53,848 --> 00:06:56,372 - It is the sort of rise before the fall, isn't it, 154 00:06:56,372 --> 00:06:58,940 the pride before the fall in many respects? 155 00:06:58,940 --> 00:07:02,160 Because decadence, frivolity, 156 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:06,774 pleasure is not something that is the focus of 157 00:07:08,602 --> 00:07:12,562 German politics in the later 1930s. 158 00:07:12,562 --> 00:07:14,608 - [Narrator] However, the story of the Cap Arcona 159 00:07:14,608 --> 00:07:16,174 would be short-lived. 160 00:07:16,174 --> 00:07:17,828 About eight years from the day she was launched, 161 00:07:17,828 --> 00:07:20,440 she would be destroyed, [crowd cheering] 162 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,486 but how and why would remain a mystery for decades to come. 163 00:07:23,486 --> 00:07:27,664 {\an8}[film projector clicking] 164 00:07:27,664 --> 00:07:31,189 {\an8}In 1975, after 30 years of silence, 165 00:07:31,189 --> 00:07:33,017 a small number of classified World War II documents 166 00:07:33,017 --> 00:07:35,716 are released under the British government's 167 00:07:35,716 --> 00:07:36,673 National Secret Act. 168 00:07:38,327 --> 00:07:40,285 These documents describe a terrible tragedy 169 00:07:40,285 --> 00:07:42,157 at sea involving the Cap Arcona, 170 00:07:43,767 --> 00:07:45,943 which cost tens of thousands of accidental deaths. 171 00:07:45,943 --> 00:07:47,379 [ominous drumming music] 172 00:07:47,379 --> 00:07:48,946 - Britain has a variety 173 00:07:48,946 --> 00:07:51,601 of rules governing the classification 174 00:07:51,601 --> 00:07:53,037 of sensitive documents. 175 00:07:53,037 --> 00:07:56,693 - A lot of archives and a lot of national papers 176 00:07:56,693 --> 00:07:58,303 just simply aren't released into the public 177 00:07:58,303 --> 00:08:00,915 for a set number of years. 178 00:08:00,915 --> 00:08:02,438 - Pretty much anything sensitive at the end 179 00:08:02,438 --> 00:08:04,440 of the Second World War would have been buried 180 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:05,876 in the archives. 181 00:08:05,876 --> 00:08:07,269 Now, that doesn't mean it's being hidden 182 00:08:07,269 --> 00:08:08,705 and it doesn't mean it's being destroyed, 183 00:08:08,705 --> 00:08:10,402 although that could happen 184 00:08:10,402 --> 00:08:12,753 and historians often believe it does happen. 185 00:08:12,753 --> 00:08:14,885 But it does mean that there's going to be a minimum period 186 00:08:14,885 --> 00:08:16,844 of time until the public are going to be able 187 00:08:16,844 --> 00:08:17,845 to see this material. 188 00:08:17,845 --> 00:08:19,760 And in some instances, 189 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:20,978 other things are kept back even longer. 190 00:08:20,978 --> 00:08:22,589 {\an8}[film projector clicking] 191 00:08:22,589 --> 00:08:24,242 {\an8}- [Narrator] Although the Cap Arcona is the peak 192 00:08:24,242 --> 00:08:26,070 of German luxury, 193 00:08:26,070 --> 00:08:28,377 things were about to go seriously wrong 194 00:08:28,377 --> 00:08:31,467 with the stock market crash of 1929. 195 00:08:31,467 --> 00:08:33,904 Germany is once again in financial devastation. 196 00:08:35,210 --> 00:08:36,690 - I mean, the tragedy 197 00:08:36,690 --> 00:08:38,300 for Germany is really the economic disaster, 198 00:08:38,300 --> 00:08:39,693 at the end of the 1920s, 199 00:08:39,693 --> 00:08:41,912 the crash in the United States 200 00:08:41,912 --> 00:08:43,131 that affected the whole of the world. 201 00:08:43,131 --> 00:08:45,960 So you've got The Great Depression in the 1930s. 202 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:48,092 Germany was as affected by that as everyone else. 203 00:08:48,092 --> 00:08:51,879 So this small economic resurgence which seemed 204 00:08:51,879 --> 00:08:54,316 to be gathering pace is stopped in its tracks. 205 00:08:54,316 --> 00:08:57,406 You get a real sense of not only economic hardship, 206 00:08:57,406 --> 00:08:59,277 but also political grievance. 207 00:08:59,277 --> 00:09:01,671 And the combination of these two factors 208 00:09:01,671 --> 00:09:04,979 will explain the rise of a party that promises 209 00:09:04,979 --> 00:09:06,894 to make Germany great again. [ominous instrumental music] 210 00:09:06,894 --> 00:09:09,984 - [Narrator] In 1933, Hitler is appointed chancellor 211 00:09:09,984 --> 00:09:13,248 to assist with the economic stabilization of Germany, 212 00:09:13,248 --> 00:09:15,250 but quickly begins to implement racist 213 00:09:15,250 --> 00:09:18,340 and fascist policies in order to seize total control 214 00:09:18,340 --> 00:09:19,907 of the country. 215 00:09:19,907 --> 00:09:22,474 [Hitler speaking in foreign language] 216 00:09:22,474 --> 00:09:24,346 [crowd cheering] 217 00:09:24,346 --> 00:09:28,219 [ominous instrumental music] 218 00:09:28,219 --> 00:09:30,352 [boots thudding in tandem] 219 00:09:30,352 --> 00:09:33,268 - [Narrator] Germany's days as a peaceful nation are over. 220 00:09:33,268 --> 00:09:34,748 The Nazis are coming. 221 00:09:34,748 --> 00:09:36,750 [boots thudding in tandem] 222 00:09:36,750 --> 00:09:41,015 - Hitler comes along and is very good at blame-mongering, 223 00:09:41,015 --> 00:09:44,888 scapegoating, playing the us versus them card. 224 00:09:44,888 --> 00:09:49,458 - He demonizes all those who he deems as others in Germany 225 00:09:50,981 --> 00:09:52,548 and they're the ones who are responsible 226 00:09:52,548 --> 00:09:54,811 for the economic turmoil. 227 00:09:54,811 --> 00:09:56,770 - So they channel their frustration, 228 00:09:56,770 --> 00:10:00,295 and in that respect they prove they have raw talent. 229 00:10:00,295 --> 00:10:03,341 They have raw talent for manipulation, 230 00:10:03,341 --> 00:10:05,300 for commandeering the masses, 231 00:10:05,300 --> 00:10:07,258 for puppeteering, if you like, 232 00:10:07,258 --> 00:10:09,652 great swathes of the population. 233 00:10:09,652 --> 00:10:14,135 How did the most educated country in Europe end up voting 234 00:10:15,702 --> 00:10:16,616 for national socialism and Hitler as chancellor? 235 00:10:19,270 --> 00:10:21,838 - [Narrator] Propaganda campaigns led by Joseph Goebbels, 236 00:10:21,838 --> 00:10:25,146 heralding Aryan superiority sweep through Germany 237 00:10:25,146 --> 00:10:27,148 as a two-tiered society is created 238 00:10:27,148 --> 00:10:29,324 between Aryans and inferiors. 239 00:10:29,324 --> 00:10:31,195 [dramatic ominous instrumental music] 240 00:10:31,195 --> 00:10:33,328 Gradually, the Nazi regime 241 00:10:33,328 --> 00:10:36,897 begins building concentration camps to imprison these groups 242 00:10:36,897 --> 00:10:39,769 of people as well as any political opponents. 243 00:10:39,769 --> 00:10:41,684 [factory machinery rumbling] 244 00:10:41,684 --> 00:10:43,468 Blatantly defying the Treaty of Versailles, 245 00:10:43,468 --> 00:10:45,775 signed after World War I, 246 00:10:45,775 --> 00:10:47,821 Hitler begins rapidly rebuilding 247 00:10:47,821 --> 00:10:49,387 and re-arming the German Military. 248 00:10:50,475 --> 00:10:52,042 As a result, 249 00:10:52,042 --> 00:10:53,914 the world's rich and famous turn their backs 250 00:10:53,914 --> 00:10:56,090 on the Cap Arcona. 251 00:10:56,090 --> 00:10:59,833 - The Cap Arcona's popularity diminishes precipitously 252 00:10:59,833 --> 00:11:01,748 once the Nazis come to power. 253 00:11:01,748 --> 00:11:04,533 - Far from being a symbol of a resurgent nation 254 00:11:04,533 --> 00:11:05,839 that people want to be associated with, 255 00:11:05,839 --> 00:11:08,363 it now becomes a symbol of Nazism. 256 00:11:08,363 --> 00:11:10,104 - [Narrator] Having lost all appeal 257 00:11:10,104 --> 00:11:13,150 as a tourist destination under the Nazi regime, 258 00:11:13,150 --> 00:11:17,546 the Cap Arcona makes its final voyage on August 24th, 1939. 259 00:11:18,808 --> 00:11:20,288 But it leaves South America 260 00:11:20,288 --> 00:11:22,812 with only two passengers making the return trip 261 00:11:22,812 --> 00:11:24,248 back to Germany. 262 00:11:24,248 --> 00:11:27,774 [ship rumbling] [ominous instrumental music] 263 00:11:27,774 --> 00:11:28,862 The very next day, 264 00:11:28,862 --> 00:11:30,298 another German ship, 265 00:11:30,298 --> 00:11:32,866 the Schleswig-Holstein, a battleship, 266 00:11:32,866 --> 00:11:34,868 arrives in the Polish Port of Danzig. 267 00:11:34,868 --> 00:11:37,914 [ominous instrumental music] 268 00:11:37,914 --> 00:11:40,525 - I mean, the interesting thing about German sea power is 269 00:11:40,525 --> 00:11:43,528 what happens with the cruiser, the Schleswig-Holstein. 270 00:11:43,528 --> 00:11:45,792 Because it is sent to Danzig, 271 00:11:45,792 --> 00:11:48,925 which is a free port but in the Polish corridor, 272 00:11:48,925 --> 00:11:51,449 which is a strip of land which has been taken off Germany 273 00:11:51,449 --> 00:11:53,451 at the end of the First World War and given the Poland. 274 00:11:53,451 --> 00:11:56,324 - [Narrator] Unbeknownst to the greeting crowd, 275 00:11:56,324 --> 00:11:58,065 the Schleswig-Holstein is carrying 276 00:11:58,065 --> 00:12:01,503 300 heavily armed German assault troops below deck, 277 00:12:01,503 --> 00:12:03,723 preparing to initiate an attack which would result 278 00:12:03,723 --> 00:12:05,376 in a global conflict. 279 00:12:05,376 --> 00:12:07,291 [ominous rumbling music] 280 00:12:07,291 --> 00:12:10,817 In the early morning hours of September, 1st, 281 00:12:10,817 --> 00:12:13,602 the Schleswig-Holstein slips out of the moorings 282 00:12:13,602 --> 00:12:15,691 and glides downstream to anchor with a clear view 283 00:12:15,691 --> 00:12:16,779 of the Polish garrison. 284 00:12:18,389 --> 00:12:18,868 At 4:47 a.m., 285 00:12:20,435 --> 00:12:22,306 the hidden assault troops emerged 286 00:12:22,306 --> 00:12:24,874 and unleashed their weapons on the garrison, 287 00:12:24,874 --> 00:12:27,703 commencing the German invasion of Poland. 288 00:12:27,703 --> 00:12:31,185 [ominous instrumental music] 289 00:12:31,185 --> 00:12:33,361 [bombs exploding] 290 00:12:33,361 --> 00:12:36,712 - Hitler invades Poland with a blitzkrieg operation. 291 00:12:36,712 --> 00:12:38,888 Now everything changes. 292 00:12:38,888 --> 00:12:40,063 - [Narrator] The Polish cities, 293 00:12:40,063 --> 00:12:42,065 Warsaw and Krakow are bombed, 294 00:12:42,065 --> 00:12:43,632 and the port city of Danzig, 295 00:12:43,632 --> 00:12:47,201 which is a strategic location in the Baltics, is annexed. 296 00:12:47,201 --> 00:12:49,420 The Nazis refuse to withdraw their troops, 297 00:12:49,420 --> 00:12:50,770 and two days later, 298 00:12:50,770 --> 00:12:53,250 France and Britain declare war on Germany. 299 00:12:53,250 --> 00:12:55,165 [cannon shots exploding] 300 00:12:55,165 --> 00:12:58,212 Meanwhile, the Cap Arcona is about to play a new role. 301 00:12:58,212 --> 00:13:01,084 - The Cap Arcona is sailing back to Germany just days 302 00:13:01,084 --> 00:13:03,130 before World War II breaks out. 303 00:13:03,130 --> 00:13:04,392 The captain receives the communication, 304 00:13:04,392 --> 00:13:08,875 make immediate plans to get back to a port. 305 00:13:08,875 --> 00:13:10,746 - I mean, ultimately what tends to happen 306 00:13:10,746 --> 00:13:13,357 in any nation during wartime is that a lot 307 00:13:13,357 --> 00:13:16,099 of civil shipping will be requisitioned by the government, 308 00:13:16,099 --> 00:13:17,927 it happened in Britain, 309 00:13:17,927 --> 00:13:19,755 it happened in America during the Second World War, 310 00:13:19,755 --> 00:13:21,365 to assist with the war. 311 00:13:21,365 --> 00:13:25,848 - This is a sizeable vessel and you're at war. 312 00:13:25,848 --> 00:13:27,807 You need to train, [waves gushing] 313 00:13:27,807 --> 00:13:30,374 you need to house your navy, 314 00:13:30,374 --> 00:13:34,814 and it's an obvious stopgap solution. 315 00:13:36,554 --> 00:13:37,642 - [Narrator] The Cap Arcona makes its way 316 00:13:37,642 --> 00:13:40,254 to the Port of Gotenhafen. 317 00:13:40,254 --> 00:13:43,213 On arrival, the ship has painted military gray 318 00:13:43,213 --> 00:13:45,520 and its fine furnishings are removed 319 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:49,176 as it transforms into a barracks for German sailors, 320 00:13:49,176 --> 00:13:51,308 a far cry from its days of hosting royalty 321 00:13:51,308 --> 00:13:52,570 and celebrities onboard. 322 00:13:54,268 --> 00:13:56,836 Although transformed, its former opulence 323 00:13:56,836 --> 00:13:58,576 will not be forgotten. 324 00:13:58,576 --> 00:14:00,143 - An early 2014, 325 00:14:00,143 --> 00:14:02,363 I was working on a book on the final week 326 00:14:02,363 --> 00:14:03,886 of the war in Europe, 327 00:14:03,886 --> 00:14:06,280 and I was looking for stories of love and loss, 328 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:10,023 triumph and tragedy as a way of capturing the power 329 00:14:10,023 --> 00:14:12,721 of the last week of the world's worst war. 330 00:14:12,721 --> 00:14:15,245 And pretty much by dumb luck, 331 00:14:15,245 --> 00:14:18,205 which is oftentimes how the process of discovery works, 332 00:14:18,205 --> 00:14:20,816 I found a letter from a Major Till in the British Army 333 00:14:20,816 --> 00:14:23,166 where he essentially says, 334 00:14:23,166 --> 00:14:26,691 he'd never seen or experienced anything as horrific 335 00:14:26,691 --> 00:14:28,998 as what happened on the Cap Arcona 336 00:14:28,998 --> 00:14:31,174 in the final days of the war. 337 00:14:31,174 --> 00:14:32,872 And I thought to myself, 338 00:14:32,872 --> 00:14:34,047 what is that? 339 00:14:34,047 --> 00:14:35,352 I'd never heard of it. 340 00:14:35,352 --> 00:14:37,006 - So when you're doing research 341 00:14:37,006 --> 00:14:40,227 and you find something that's unexpected, 342 00:14:40,227 --> 00:14:42,055 most of the time you want to find out more. 343 00:14:42,055 --> 00:14:43,883 [ominous instrumental music] - Safely back at port, 344 00:14:43,883 --> 00:14:47,190 the Cap Arcona has now taken up her new military role 345 00:14:47,190 --> 00:14:48,496 in the Kriegsmarine, 346 00:14:48,496 --> 00:14:50,063 the German Navy. 347 00:14:50,063 --> 00:14:52,630 Meanwhile, as a result of their invasion of Poland, 348 00:14:52,630 --> 00:14:55,938 the Nazis secure the Baltic Sea as their domain. 349 00:14:55,938 --> 00:14:58,985 - The Baltic is of vital importance 350 00:14:58,985 --> 00:15:00,987 and it also prevents you from being landlocked. 351 00:15:00,987 --> 00:15:02,945 You need to be able to get in fuel, 352 00:15:02,945 --> 00:15:05,295 [paper rustling] food, munitions. 353 00:15:05,295 --> 00:15:07,732 It's the thoroughfare. It's the highway. 354 00:15:07,732 --> 00:15:09,343 It's like the ultimate motorway 355 00:15:09,343 --> 00:15:11,040 and it's also somewhere 356 00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:13,564 where you can train your naval servicemen. 357 00:15:13,564 --> 00:15:15,001 [ominous instrumental music] 358 00:15:15,001 --> 00:15:17,351 - [Narrator] Having repurposed the Cap Arcona, 359 00:15:17,351 --> 00:15:20,484 German sailors perform exercises on the upper decks 360 00:15:20,484 --> 00:15:24,053 and use the cabins below as they're sleeping quarters. 361 00:15:24,053 --> 00:15:27,056 - It's also such an advanced ship that her engine, 362 00:15:27,056 --> 00:15:28,710 her propulsion systems, 363 00:15:28,710 --> 00:15:31,931 her navigational systems were the state of the art. 364 00:15:31,931 --> 00:15:33,715 - [Narrator] However, the eventual destruction 365 00:15:33,715 --> 00:15:36,892 of this magnificent ship still remained a mystery. 366 00:15:36,892 --> 00:15:38,502 [paper rustling] 367 00:15:38,502 --> 00:15:40,504 - So I kept doing research and I found a second letter 368 00:15:40,504 --> 00:15:44,073 from a general named Mills-Roberts. 369 00:15:44,073 --> 00:15:47,903 He was the general in charge of the British Sixth Commando. 370 00:15:47,903 --> 00:15:49,513 - [Narrator] This letter references two attacks 371 00:15:49,513 --> 00:15:52,473 against his Nazi ship in Lubeck Bay, 372 00:15:52,473 --> 00:15:54,431 immediately establishing a connection 373 00:15:54,431 --> 00:15:56,564 to the first document written by Major Till. 374 00:15:56,564 --> 00:15:59,175 - So now that there's two bits of information, 375 00:15:59,175 --> 00:16:01,961 then it's going to be easier to keep 376 00:16:01,961 --> 00:16:04,659 looking longer and harder. 377 00:16:04,659 --> 00:16:07,531 - The most obvious question that I had, 378 00:16:07,531 --> 00:16:10,882 that anybody would have is why would a British general 379 00:16:10,882 --> 00:16:14,495 and a British major consider the destruction 380 00:16:14,495 --> 00:16:18,803 of a German ship at the end of World War II to be a tragedy? 381 00:16:18,803 --> 00:16:21,893 General Mills-Roberts was a hardened veteran. 382 00:16:21,893 --> 00:16:24,374 You would think that nothing would bother someone like that. 383 00:16:24,374 --> 00:16:26,942 And for him to basically see this as one 384 00:16:26,942 --> 00:16:29,945 of the worst things he'd ever seen in his entire life, 385 00:16:29,945 --> 00:16:31,816 it had to be bad. 386 00:16:31,816 --> 00:16:32,992 [dramatic instrumental music] [boots marching in tandem] 387 00:16:32,992 --> 00:16:34,645 - [Narrator] With no sign 388 00:16:34,645 --> 00:16:37,387 of slowing down their aggressive expansionist ambitions, 389 00:16:37,387 --> 00:16:40,303 the Nazis launched their invasion of Norway. 390 00:16:40,303 --> 00:16:41,522 [airplane engines rumbling] They will rely heavily 391 00:16:41,522 --> 00:16:44,960 on their Kriegsmarine for this coastal assault. 392 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:46,222 - The story of Norway is very interesting 393 00:16:46,222 --> 00:16:49,138 because you've got Denmark which falls very quickly, 394 00:16:49,138 --> 00:16:50,661 but Norway doesn't. 395 00:16:50,661 --> 00:16:53,969 Norway fights really hard against the Germans. 396 00:16:53,969 --> 00:16:55,971 It's determined to resist. 397 00:16:55,971 --> 00:16:57,929 And it's at this point that the allies try to fight back. 398 00:16:57,929 --> 00:16:59,670 [cannon shots exploding] So there's a lot 399 00:16:59,670 --> 00:17:02,282 of Naval action going on in that early campaign in Norway 400 00:17:02,282 --> 00:17:04,893 and a lot of Kriegsmarine ships are sunk. 401 00:17:04,893 --> 00:17:06,373 They're losing a lot of ships, 402 00:17:06,373 --> 00:17:07,939 a lot of destroyers. 403 00:17:07,939 --> 00:17:09,680 They're losing some even bigger ships than that 404 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:12,596 and this shows you how important this war effort was. 405 00:17:12,596 --> 00:17:16,339 - If the Nazis can control the Norwegian ports, 406 00:17:16,339 --> 00:17:19,908 they're very much in control of that entire region. 407 00:17:19,908 --> 00:17:23,259 [ominous instrumental music] 408 00:17:23,259 --> 00:17:24,478 [relaxing instrumental music] [paper rustling] 409 00:17:24,478 --> 00:17:26,828 - [Narrator] With the Nazis now occupying Poland, 410 00:17:26,828 --> 00:17:28,221 Denmark, Norway, 411 00:17:28,221 --> 00:17:30,527 France, and the low countries, 412 00:17:30,527 --> 00:17:34,314 they control vast swathes of the European continent. 413 00:17:34,314 --> 00:17:37,534 Their next target is the UK. 414 00:17:37,534 --> 00:17:40,407 Lying vulnerable and alone in the English Channel, 415 00:17:40,407 --> 00:17:42,409 Hitler makes plans for an amphibious assault 416 00:17:42,409 --> 00:17:45,586 to capture Britain and take full control of the seas. 417 00:17:47,718 --> 00:17:49,198 - Hitler was obsessed with Britain. 418 00:17:49,198 --> 00:17:51,679 That was his rival as he saw it. 419 00:17:51,679 --> 00:17:55,422 - Sea Lion is the code for the German invasion 420 00:17:55,422 --> 00:17:57,293 of the United Kingdom and it's, 421 00:17:57,293 --> 00:17:59,948 of course, a massive undertaking. 422 00:17:59,948 --> 00:18:01,515 And then to make matters worse, of course, 423 00:18:01,515 --> 00:18:03,778 the Germans are going to preface it all by heavy bombing. 424 00:18:03,778 --> 00:18:06,172 [dramatic instrumental music] 425 00:18:06,172 --> 00:18:07,912 [bombs exploding] 426 00:18:07,912 --> 00:18:09,175 - [Narrator] In July, 1940, 427 00:18:09,175 --> 00:18:12,787 the Luftwaffe begins an air and sea blockade 428 00:18:12,787 --> 00:18:16,051 in preparation for Operation Sea Lion. 429 00:18:16,051 --> 00:18:18,575 They target coastal infrastructure and shipping operations 430 00:18:18,575 --> 00:18:20,316 in the English Channel. 431 00:18:20,316 --> 00:18:23,667 This is the first major air attack in World War II. 432 00:18:23,667 --> 00:18:27,584 - The battle of Britain unfolds in quite a curious way. 433 00:18:27,584 --> 00:18:31,110 The initial strategy by the Germans made a lot of sense, 434 00:18:31,110 --> 00:18:34,417 which is the target communication centers and also airfields 435 00:18:34,417 --> 00:18:37,203 so you're basically knocking out the enemy air force. 436 00:18:37,203 --> 00:18:39,683 Because they don't have initial success from July onwards, 437 00:18:39,683 --> 00:18:42,991 the Germans decide to switch tactics and target London, 438 00:18:42,991 --> 00:18:45,646 almost as though they're going to bomb us into submission. 439 00:18:45,646 --> 00:18:49,345 - And squadron after squadron fly across the English Channel 440 00:18:49,345 --> 00:18:51,826 to bomb Britain back to the Stone Ages. 441 00:18:51,826 --> 00:18:53,044 [airplane engines rumbling] And in one of history's 442 00:18:53,044 --> 00:18:56,004 greatest upsets, a few RAF, 443 00:18:56,004 --> 00:18:59,399 Royal Air Force pilots defeat the Luftwaffe. 444 00:18:59,399 --> 00:19:00,530 - It's one of the first German defeats, 445 00:19:00,530 --> 00:19:02,228 the Battle of Britain. [airplane engines roaring] 446 00:19:02,228 --> 00:19:05,056 They don't achieve air superiority and the blitz 447 00:19:05,056 --> 00:19:07,972 in many ways can be read as a desperate act, 448 00:19:07,972 --> 00:19:08,321 an act of desperation. 449 00:19:11,150 --> 00:19:13,587 - [Narrator] With the Nazis unable to defeat the British, 450 00:19:13,587 --> 00:19:15,458 Joseph Goebbels wants to launch another attack 451 00:19:15,458 --> 00:19:17,808 to weaken their resolve, 452 00:19:17,808 --> 00:19:18,331 this time using propaganda. 453 00:19:21,203 --> 00:19:22,857 - Goebbels' the propaganda chief, 454 00:19:22,857 --> 00:19:25,903 so frustrated and outraged is he 455 00:19:25,903 --> 00:19:27,644 that Britain's still fighting on, 456 00:19:27,644 --> 00:19:30,734 that he decides to create a kind of propaganda tool 457 00:19:30,734 --> 00:19:33,172 that is going to take the wind out of our sails, 458 00:19:33,172 --> 00:19:35,435 as he perceives it. 459 00:19:35,435 --> 00:19:37,350 - Goebbels did several things for Hitler. 460 00:19:37,350 --> 00:19:39,352 He was a captivating speaker, 461 00:19:39,352 --> 00:19:41,441 fanatically loyal, devoted, 462 00:19:41,441 --> 00:19:43,747 but one of the things was make movies. 463 00:19:43,747 --> 00:19:48,056 Joseph Goebbels produced or was a part of hundreds of films. 464 00:19:49,579 --> 00:19:53,017 - A recognition that this was a powerful medium 465 00:19:53,017 --> 00:19:55,890 was understood by the Nazis, 466 00:19:55,890 --> 00:19:58,109 particularly by Goebbels early on. 467 00:19:58,109 --> 00:19:59,850 [waves gushing] 468 00:19:59,850 --> 00:20:02,462 - The British Navy for hundreds of years has been one 469 00:20:02,462 --> 00:20:04,115 of the most powerful in the world. 470 00:20:04,115 --> 00:20:07,162 And Hitler and Goebbels not only want to defeat Britain, 471 00:20:07,162 --> 00:20:08,642 they want to embarrass Britain, 472 00:20:08,642 --> 00:20:10,121 but first and foremost, 473 00:20:10,121 --> 00:20:10,818 the British Navy, 474 00:20:10,818 --> 00:20:12,602 the Royal Navy. 475 00:20:12,602 --> 00:20:15,953 And what better way to do this than to point out 476 00:20:15,953 --> 00:20:19,348 that Britain's Titanic had sunk while Germany's Titanic, 477 00:20:19,348 --> 00:20:21,089 the Cap Arcona was still afloat. 478 00:20:22,525 --> 00:20:24,614 - [Narrator] In April, 1912, 479 00:20:24,614 --> 00:20:27,095 on its maiden voyage, the Titanic, 480 00:20:27,095 --> 00:20:29,445 a luxurious passenger ship, 481 00:20:29,445 --> 00:20:31,230 a liner with such advanced engineering 482 00:20:31,230 --> 00:20:33,449 it was deemed unsinkable, 483 00:20:33,449 --> 00:20:36,626 headed across the Atlantic from Southampton to New York 484 00:20:36,626 --> 00:20:39,412 with 2,240 passengers and crew onboard. 485 00:20:40,891 --> 00:20:42,719 But just four days into its journey, 486 00:20:42,719 --> 00:20:44,417 it hit an iceberg and sank. 487 00:20:45,592 --> 00:20:49,509 - The press throughout the UK 488 00:20:49,509 --> 00:20:53,730 was very much promoting it as a symbol 489 00:20:53,730 --> 00:20:57,038 of British ingenuity and British strength. 490 00:20:57,038 --> 00:20:59,823 - So when the Titanic goes down after hitting the iceberg 491 00:20:59,823 --> 00:21:03,740 and she takes roughly 1,500 souls down with her, 492 00:21:03,740 --> 00:21:05,960 making this at the time, 493 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:08,919 one of history's deadliest maritime disasters. 494 00:21:08,919 --> 00:21:10,660 [ominous instrumental music] 495 00:21:10,660 --> 00:21:12,662 - [Narrator] Recognizing the fact the Titanic disaster 496 00:21:12,662 --> 00:21:14,925 is a delicate moment in British history, 497 00:21:14,925 --> 00:21:18,146 Goebbels plans to use this tragedy as the centerpiece 498 00:21:18,146 --> 00:21:22,411 for his propaganda campaign to demoralize the British. 499 00:21:22,411 --> 00:21:26,241 - Hitler and Goebbels were fascinated with movies. 500 00:21:26,241 --> 00:21:28,461 They loved Hollywood films. 501 00:21:28,461 --> 00:21:30,419 They watched them all the time. 502 00:21:30,419 --> 00:21:32,421 It was not uncommon for them to watch two 503 00:21:32,421 --> 00:21:34,510 or three back-to-back-to-back 504 00:21:34,510 --> 00:21:36,512 with translators and interpreters. 505 00:21:36,512 --> 00:21:38,253 [film projector clicking] - Goebbels decides 506 00:21:38,253 --> 00:21:40,864 that the best way to get back at the British morale is 507 00:21:40,864 --> 00:21:43,606 to make a film about the sinking of the Titanic. 508 00:21:43,606 --> 00:21:46,174 - So he comes up with this idea 509 00:21:46,174 --> 00:21:49,743 that you make a film about the Titanic in order 510 00:21:49,743 --> 00:21:53,573 to portray the British Navy as incompetent 511 00:21:53,573 --> 00:21:56,532 and as ruthless and as stupid and all of these things, 512 00:21:56,532 --> 00:21:58,012 with the grand design 513 00:21:58,012 --> 00:22:01,276 that the German people will believe it, and therefore, 514 00:22:01,276 --> 00:22:03,670 want to launch an attack against the United Kingdom 515 00:22:03,670 --> 00:22:05,324 or support that kind of an attack. 516 00:22:06,934 --> 00:22:08,892 - [Narrator] Although she may have survived longer, 517 00:22:08,892 --> 00:22:11,504 the Cap Arcona would eventually follow the same fate 518 00:22:11,504 --> 00:22:13,941 as the Titanic and end up sinking. 519 00:22:13,941 --> 00:22:15,203 Bit by bit, 520 00:22:15,203 --> 00:22:16,726 her final story was unfolding. 521 00:22:18,424 --> 00:22:20,077 Having discovered two documents, 522 00:22:20,077 --> 00:22:23,254 hinting a tragedy surrounding the Cap Arcona, 523 00:22:23,254 --> 00:22:25,953 the search for answers intensifies. 524 00:22:25,953 --> 00:22:27,955 - The first thing I did after finding those letters 525 00:22:27,955 --> 00:22:29,522 was I went online. 526 00:22:29,522 --> 00:22:31,480 I didn't try to go to an archive or look for books, 527 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,134 just went online. 528 00:22:33,134 --> 00:22:36,267 So I was sketching out different scenarios that might 529 00:22:36,267 --> 00:22:38,357 have happened at the end of the war based 530 00:22:38,357 --> 00:22:39,923 on the little bit that Till said, 531 00:22:39,923 --> 00:22:40,837 the little bit that Mills-Roberts said, 532 00:22:40,837 --> 00:22:43,710 and what was said in the obituaries. 533 00:22:43,710 --> 00:22:46,756 And I was able to come up with some, 534 00:22:46,756 --> 00:22:49,324 what seemed to be pretty reasonable guesses. 535 00:22:49,324 --> 00:22:51,195 It involved a ship. 536 00:22:51,195 --> 00:22:53,502 It took place in the final days of the war. 537 00:22:53,502 --> 00:22:55,199 It was in the Baltic Sea. 538 00:22:55,199 --> 00:22:56,679 It was tragic. 539 00:22:56,679 --> 00:22:58,246 It was so important 540 00:22:58,246 --> 00:23:00,814 that the documents were probably classified. 541 00:23:00,814 --> 00:23:02,772 So you put those little breadcrumbs together 542 00:23:02,772 --> 00:23:05,384 and it starts walking you into some explanations 543 00:23:05,384 --> 00:23:07,386 of what may have happened. 544 00:23:07,386 --> 00:23:09,562 - Hidden stories are constantly reemerging 545 00:23:09,562 --> 00:23:11,215 through documentary evidence, 546 00:23:11,215 --> 00:23:12,303 through archeological evidence, 547 00:23:12,303 --> 00:23:15,045 and occasionally through someone's memory 548 00:23:15,045 --> 00:23:16,220 that's never been challenged before. 549 00:23:16,220 --> 00:23:18,353 There are so many stories, 550 00:23:18,353 --> 00:23:20,790 particularly these smaller ones that have been forgotten 551 00:23:20,790 --> 00:23:24,098 or been buried that will be resurrected at some point. 552 00:23:24,098 --> 00:23:25,969 {\an8}[film projector clicking] [ominous instrumental music] 553 00:23:25,969 --> 00:23:27,057 {\an8}- [Narrator] In June, 1941, 554 00:23:27,057 --> 00:23:31,148 Germany launches Operation Barbarossa. 555 00:23:31,148 --> 00:23:33,368 They set their sites on conquering Russia, 556 00:23:33,368 --> 00:23:35,675 opening up a new Eastern front. 557 00:23:35,675 --> 00:23:38,068 - Operation. Barbarossa was one of the largest, 558 00:23:38,068 --> 00:23:41,507 most ambitious military actions in world history. 559 00:23:41,507 --> 00:23:44,118 Hitler's going to send multiple divisions 560 00:23:44,118 --> 00:23:45,946 into the Soviet Union, 561 00:23:45,946 --> 00:23:48,601 and in a way it's the turning point of the war. 562 00:23:51,038 --> 00:23:53,127 - [Narrator] This large-scale surprise assault consists 563 00:23:53,127 --> 00:23:54,998 of over 3 million German soldiers 564 00:23:54,998 --> 00:23:57,566 who initially overwhelm the Russian army. 565 00:23:57,566 --> 00:23:59,481 [tanks rumbling] 566 00:23:59,481 --> 00:24:01,222 - I mean, you can see from the launch 567 00:24:01,222 --> 00:24:03,180 of Operation Barbarossa 568 00:24:03,180 --> 00:24:05,748 that while you've got the military troops at the front, 569 00:24:05,748 --> 00:24:07,358 at the tip of the spear so to speak, 570 00:24:07,358 --> 00:24:08,925 following very close behind 571 00:24:08,925 --> 00:24:11,580 are these murderous squads of Einsatzgruppen. 572 00:24:11,580 --> 00:24:15,018 So clearly the policy is dual edged from the start, 573 00:24:15,018 --> 00:24:17,760 which is that you're going to defeat the Russian enemy, 574 00:24:17,760 --> 00:24:18,935 but while you're defeating them, 575 00:24:18,935 --> 00:24:20,110 you're going to kill off anyone 576 00:24:20,110 --> 00:24:21,938 you consider to be undesirable. 577 00:24:21,938 --> 00:24:23,374 - This is hell on Earth, 578 00:24:23,374 --> 00:24:25,768 even in the hellish nature of World War II. 579 00:24:25,768 --> 00:24:28,162 Globally, this is a real epicenter. 580 00:24:28,162 --> 00:24:29,729 [typewriter clickety-clacking] 581 00:24:29,729 --> 00:24:32,166 - [Narrator] As the scale of the war continues to grow, 582 00:24:32,166 --> 00:24:34,473 Goebbels is busy making his propaganda film 583 00:24:34,473 --> 00:24:36,126 to undermine the British Navy. 584 00:24:37,606 --> 00:24:39,695 He hires German director, Herbert Selpin, 585 00:24:39,695 --> 00:24:42,393 to bring his vision of the Nazi Titanic to life. 586 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:46,093 - He's the best known German film director. 587 00:24:46,093 --> 00:24:48,617 He's not that pro-Nazi, 588 00:24:48,617 --> 00:24:50,706 but he is very anti British so he's the right guy 589 00:24:50,706 --> 00:24:52,099 for this type of job, 590 00:24:52,099 --> 00:24:54,362 and he's also at the top of his game. 591 00:24:54,362 --> 00:24:55,972 And he brings on his childhood friend 592 00:24:55,972 --> 00:24:57,060 who is a Nazi ideologue. 593 00:24:59,367 --> 00:25:01,151 - [Narrator] Walter Zerlett-Olfenius had been a screenwriter 594 00:25:01,151 --> 00:25:03,763 in Germany since 1936. 595 00:25:03,763 --> 00:25:05,329 - What Hitler wanted and then ultimately 596 00:25:05,329 --> 00:25:06,287 what Goebbels wants, 597 00:25:06,287 --> 00:25:07,854 he doesn't want 598 00:25:07,854 --> 00:25:10,639 a typical Goebbels ham-fisted propaganda film. 599 00:25:10,639 --> 00:25:12,206 He wants an action, 600 00:25:12,206 --> 00:25:15,078 drama, romance hybrid, 601 00:25:15,078 --> 00:25:17,951 just like the Hollywood blockbusters like "Casablanca". 602 00:25:17,951 --> 00:25:20,736 And that's what Selpin specialized in. 603 00:25:20,736 --> 00:25:23,652 - He's got an offer that's too good for him to refuse, 604 00:25:23,652 --> 00:25:26,916 a huge budget, huge support, 605 00:25:26,916 --> 00:25:31,007 the starting point for his own Hollywood. 606 00:25:31,007 --> 00:25:32,487 And in essence, 607 00:25:32,487 --> 00:25:36,012 I expect that he thought he would be a big player 608 00:25:36,012 --> 00:25:38,101 in that new Hollywood for years and years to come. 609 00:25:38,101 --> 00:25:40,495 [ominous rumbling music] [fire crackling] 610 00:25:40,495 --> 00:25:42,366 - [Narrator] Meanwhile, despite their initial success, 611 00:25:42,366 --> 00:25:45,631 the Nazis are unable to dominate Russia as quickly 612 00:25:45,631 --> 00:25:48,329 as they planned and they're severely unprepared 613 00:25:48,329 --> 00:25:50,636 for the harsh winter conditions. 614 00:25:50,636 --> 00:25:52,159 In December, 1941, 615 00:25:52,159 --> 00:25:55,292 the Red Army launches a massive counter-attack 616 00:25:55,292 --> 00:25:57,033 against the Nazis, 617 00:25:57,033 --> 00:25:59,645 driving them back from Moscow in utter chaos. 618 00:25:59,645 --> 00:26:01,298 [tank rumbling] - The writing is really 619 00:26:01,298 --> 00:26:03,736 on the wall when they're turned back from Moscow 620 00:26:03,736 --> 00:26:05,259 in terrible winter conditions. 621 00:26:05,259 --> 00:26:07,522 The Russians counter-attack. 622 00:26:07,522 --> 00:26:10,003 Germans are pushed all the way back to a line from which, 623 00:26:10,003 --> 00:26:12,571 although they will advance from a little bit, 624 00:26:12,571 --> 00:26:14,050 they never get back to Moscow. 625 00:26:14,050 --> 00:26:16,705 - As we get to the stage in the war 626 00:26:16,705 --> 00:26:20,491 where Germany is losing, 627 00:26:20,491 --> 00:26:24,974 the front with Russia has turned into a very hard front 628 00:26:27,368 --> 00:26:28,717 that they're now retreating backwards from. 629 00:26:31,241 --> 00:26:33,722 You've got a huge morale problem. 630 00:26:33,722 --> 00:26:35,985 - [Narrator] In early 1942, 631 00:26:35,985 --> 00:26:39,423 filming of the Nazi "Titanic" propaganda film finally begins 632 00:26:39,423 --> 00:26:40,642 at Berlin's high end Tobis Studios. 633 00:26:43,253 --> 00:26:46,039 Goebbels secures a budget of 4 million Reichsmarks, 634 00:26:46,039 --> 00:26:47,780 the largest film budget in the world at the time. 635 00:26:50,173 --> 00:26:52,088 - Goebbels has got the green light to go 636 00:26:52,088 --> 00:26:55,352 from Hitler to do this as a massive budget. 637 00:26:55,352 --> 00:26:59,269 - They reassign entire military units to be extras, 638 00:26:59,269 --> 00:27:00,967 the cast of thousands. 639 00:27:00,967 --> 00:27:03,360 They find the most beautiful German models, 640 00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:05,754 the most handsome matinee actors, 641 00:27:05,754 --> 00:27:08,627 the best set builders and carpenters. 642 00:27:08,627 --> 00:27:11,020 I mean, they spare no expense. 643 00:27:11,020 --> 00:27:14,110 - Hitler's interest in the film would've put more pressure 644 00:27:14,110 --> 00:27:15,895 on Goebbels than Selpin 645 00:27:15,895 --> 00:27:18,985 because of the great personal admiration 646 00:27:18,985 --> 00:27:21,770 that Goebbels had for Hitler. 647 00:27:21,770 --> 00:27:24,033 - [Narrator] Meanwhile, Goebbels' "Titanic" propaganda 648 00:27:24,033 --> 00:27:26,122 project is going terribly. 649 00:27:26,122 --> 00:27:28,559 Director Selpin's Hollywood behavior 650 00:27:28,559 --> 00:27:30,561 reaches a new level of demanding. 651 00:27:30,561 --> 00:27:33,434 He insists on using a ship from the German Navy 652 00:27:33,434 --> 00:27:36,219 to be a centerpiece of action in this film. 653 00:27:36,219 --> 00:27:38,178 - So you've got all these kind of creative nightmares. 654 00:27:38,178 --> 00:27:39,614 You've got giant egos. 655 00:27:39,614 --> 00:27:41,355 You've got ridiculous amounts of cash, 656 00:27:41,355 --> 00:27:44,967 despite rations and restrictions, 657 00:27:44,967 --> 00:27:48,623 and you can't get the sinking of the ship that you need 658 00:27:48,623 --> 00:27:51,321 to make your movie the blockbuster that Goebbels wants 659 00:27:51,321 --> 00:27:52,975 and that Selpin wants. 660 00:27:52,975 --> 00:27:56,109 - The movie is running over budget, behind schedule. 661 00:27:56,109 --> 00:27:58,198 And Hitler wants his movie, 662 00:27:58,198 --> 00:28:00,243 so he's breathing down Goebbels' neck. 663 00:28:00,243 --> 00:28:01,897 Goebbels wants his movie, 664 00:28:01,897 --> 00:28:03,682 so he's breathing down Selpin's neck. 665 00:28:03,682 --> 00:28:05,118 [aircraft humming] - To create a film 666 00:28:05,118 --> 00:28:06,554 about the Titanic, 667 00:28:06,554 --> 00:28:08,338 you have to have a scene with an iceberg. 668 00:28:08,338 --> 00:28:09,470 That is a necessity. 669 00:28:09,470 --> 00:28:13,387 Selpin obviously wants it to be grand. 670 00:28:13,387 --> 00:28:16,042 He wants it to look as good as possible 671 00:28:16,042 --> 00:28:17,826 Because that has been his motivation seemingly 672 00:28:17,826 --> 00:28:19,872 throughout the entire filming process. 673 00:28:19,872 --> 00:28:21,134 [ominous rumbling music] 674 00:28:21,134 --> 00:28:23,614 - [Narrator] To satisfy Selpin's latest demands, 675 00:28:23,614 --> 00:28:25,791 Goebbels leans in on the Kriegsmarine 676 00:28:25,791 --> 00:28:27,706 to present several different ship options 677 00:28:27,706 --> 00:28:29,185 to use in the film. 678 00:28:29,185 --> 00:28:31,840 - If they're going to make a film about the Titanic, 679 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:33,407 they have a replica of the Titanic sitting 680 00:28:33,407 --> 00:28:34,974 on the Polish coast. 681 00:28:34,974 --> 00:28:37,977 - What better, the ship that was in effect the Titanic 682 00:28:37,977 --> 00:28:39,848 of the 1920s and 1930s, 683 00:28:39,848 --> 00:28:41,197 the Cap Arcona? 684 00:28:41,197 --> 00:28:42,851 - You paint it. 685 00:28:42,851 --> 00:28:46,246 You make sure it is restored to the point 686 00:28:46,246 --> 00:28:47,726 where people look at it and they say, 687 00:28:47,726 --> 00:28:49,031 that's the Titanic. 688 00:28:49,031 --> 00:28:50,467 [waves gushing] 689 00:28:50,467 --> 00:28:52,600 - [Narrator] Having secured the Cap Arcona, 690 00:28:52,600 --> 00:28:54,254 Selpin relocates the entire cast and crew 691 00:28:54,254 --> 00:28:57,518 to the Southern Baltic. [paper rustling] 692 00:28:57,518 --> 00:28:59,912 Goebbels arranges for German Naval officers 693 00:28:59,912 --> 00:29:01,435 to be used as extras for the film. 694 00:29:03,176 --> 00:29:06,962 Filming is schedule to resume April 29th, 1942. 695 00:29:06,962 --> 00:29:08,094 But it doesn't go as planned. 696 00:29:09,965 --> 00:29:13,099 - Basically anything that could go wrong, went wrong. 697 00:29:13,099 --> 00:29:14,970 The weather doesn't cooperate. 698 00:29:14,970 --> 00:29:17,320 One of the lead actresses gets pregnant 699 00:29:17,320 --> 00:29:20,062 from one of the soldiers or sailors on set. 700 00:29:20,062 --> 00:29:22,108 The sailors and soldiers on set are getting drunk 701 00:29:22,108 --> 00:29:23,805 and wrecking the set. 702 00:29:23,805 --> 00:29:26,547 People are having too much fun not serving in the war, 703 00:29:26,547 --> 00:29:28,418 therefore they don't memorize their lines. 704 00:29:28,418 --> 00:29:30,725 Everything is going wrong. 705 00:29:30,725 --> 00:29:33,902 All that is grading on the perfectionist, 706 00:29:33,902 --> 00:29:36,426 Herbert Selpin's nerves. 707 00:29:36,426 --> 00:29:40,517 - Selpin is a person who's supposed to be in control. 708 00:29:40,517 --> 00:29:44,434 And he's being given situations and circumstances 709 00:29:44,434 --> 00:29:46,959 that are out of his control, 710 00:29:46,959 --> 00:29:50,484 especially when you're putting in military personnel, 711 00:29:50,484 --> 00:29:53,617 naval officers on the ship as extras. 712 00:29:53,617 --> 00:29:57,273 He's just building up and building up stress until he gets 713 00:29:57,273 --> 00:29:59,014 to a breaking point. 714 00:29:59,014 --> 00:30:02,452 - What's even more pointed is that he talks about it 715 00:30:02,452 --> 00:30:04,367 and that's where the director makes a fatal mistake. 716 00:30:04,367 --> 00:30:08,981 He assumes that somehow he is above the regular nightmare 717 00:30:09,938 --> 00:30:11,461 that is Nazi oppression. 718 00:30:11,461 --> 00:30:14,203 And so he speaks rather freely about the problems 719 00:30:14,203 --> 00:30:16,902 and ultimately that speaks ill of the boss, 720 00:30:16,902 --> 00:30:18,468 who is Goebbels. 721 00:30:18,468 --> 00:30:20,862 - There was no freedom of thought. 722 00:30:20,862 --> 00:30:23,909 - [Narrator] After Selpin's meltdown on set, 723 00:30:23,909 --> 00:30:26,607 Zerlett resigns from working on the film. 724 00:30:26,607 --> 00:30:28,087 A loyal Nazi, 725 00:30:28,087 --> 00:30:29,871 he boards a train to Berlin 726 00:30:29,871 --> 00:30:32,569 and reports Selpin's behavior to the Gestapo, 727 00:30:32,569 --> 00:30:35,485 sealing the fate of his former childhood friend. 728 00:30:35,485 --> 00:30:37,400 - So Nazi Germany was all built 729 00:30:37,400 --> 00:30:41,404 on absolute unquestioning devotion. 730 00:30:41,404 --> 00:30:43,493 People were encouraged to rat on their neighbors 731 00:30:43,493 --> 00:30:45,974 if somebody wasn't completely devoted. 732 00:30:45,974 --> 00:30:48,629 The Gestapo was everywhere. 733 00:30:48,629 --> 00:30:52,502 So when Herbert Selpin goes off on the Nazi party, 734 00:30:52,502 --> 00:30:55,201 he's summoned to Berlin. 735 00:30:55,201 --> 00:30:57,377 - So when Selpin is brought up 736 00:30:57,377 --> 00:31:01,120 to discuss his outburst, he's unrepentant. 737 00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,993 He may not have thought that it was as serious as it was, 738 00:31:04,993 --> 00:31:08,127 and that would be an error in judgment on his part 739 00:31:08,127 --> 00:31:10,477 and he pays the price for it in the end. 740 00:31:10,477 --> 00:31:12,653 - [Narrator] Unapologetic about his disparaging remarks 741 00:31:12,653 --> 00:31:14,437 of the Nazi regime, 742 00:31:14,437 --> 00:31:16,744 Selpin is handed over to the Gestapo, 743 00:31:16,744 --> 00:31:18,615 charged with treason and disloyalty. 744 00:31:20,226 --> 00:31:22,706 Around midnight on July, 31st, 745 00:31:22,706 --> 00:31:25,057 German guards visit Selpin's cell, 746 00:31:25,057 --> 00:31:26,058 only to find him hanged. 747 00:31:28,060 --> 00:31:30,801 The Nazi Titanic needs a new director. 748 00:31:30,801 --> 00:31:32,499 - With Selpin dead, 749 00:31:32,499 --> 00:31:37,330 Joseph Goebbels' epic propaganda film was in jeopardy. 750 00:31:37,330 --> 00:31:39,071 Not surprisingly, no other directors wanted 751 00:31:39,071 --> 00:31:40,463 to finish the film. 752 00:31:40,463 --> 00:31:43,684 They found a B director named Werner Klinger 753 00:31:43,684 --> 00:31:45,164 who came in and finished the project. 754 00:31:45,164 --> 00:31:46,992 [film projector clicking] - It's presented 755 00:31:46,992 --> 00:31:50,125 with great fanfare to Goebbels who watches it 756 00:31:50,125 --> 00:31:52,998 in a private viewing room and slowly it dawns 757 00:31:52,998 --> 00:31:55,652 on him the full irony of what he's done. 758 00:31:55,652 --> 00:31:57,176 He's created in the middle 759 00:31:57,176 --> 00:31:59,613 of what's becoming an increasingly desperate war 760 00:31:59,613 --> 00:32:02,137 that Germany is no longer winning, 761 00:32:02,137 --> 00:32:05,532 he's created a metaphor for Germany in its war effort. 762 00:32:05,532 --> 00:32:09,579 He's got a bunch of people heading towards disaster, 763 00:32:09,579 --> 00:32:14,062 led by a sort of unthinking, foolish leader. 764 00:32:15,063 --> 00:32:16,935 This is Germany. 765 00:32:16,935 --> 00:32:18,806 - [Dr. Tessa] Goebbels gets the balance wrong. 766 00:32:18,806 --> 00:32:22,244 He goes in too heavy with his anti-British narrative. 767 00:32:22,244 --> 00:32:24,464 - He thought that this film would work in the first place. 768 00:32:24,464 --> 00:32:27,032 And then much to his shock and horror, 769 00:32:27,032 --> 00:32:29,251 it's a terrible film and he realizes 770 00:32:29,251 --> 00:32:31,950 that there's absolutely nothing 771 00:32:31,950 --> 00:32:33,299 that can be spun out of this. 772 00:32:33,299 --> 00:32:35,736 [cannon shots exploding] - Having the Kriegsmarine 773 00:32:35,736 --> 00:32:38,565 be in the position it is when the film is completed 774 00:32:38,565 --> 00:32:41,960 and having so many individuals having been killed 775 00:32:41,960 --> 00:32:43,352 on the water, 776 00:32:43,352 --> 00:32:47,530 it is difficult to imagine that the German public 777 00:32:47,530 --> 00:32:51,099 would've responded well to this type of film. 778 00:32:51,099 --> 00:32:53,754 - [Narrator] Although forever immortalized on celluloid, 779 00:32:53,754 --> 00:32:57,845 the mystery of her real fate was still being investigated. 780 00:32:57,845 --> 00:33:00,456 - I contacted major Holocaust museums. 781 00:33:00,456 --> 00:33:03,851 I contacted major military history museums, 782 00:33:03,851 --> 00:33:05,722 World War II museums and said to them, 783 00:33:05,722 --> 00:33:10,379 what is this unimaginable tragedy that occurred 784 00:33:10,379 --> 00:33:12,903 in the final days and hours of the war? 785 00:33:12,903 --> 00:33:15,254 And everybody said there was none. 786 00:33:15,254 --> 00:33:16,690 - Even though most government documents 787 00:33:16,690 --> 00:33:19,345 should be released now after 30 years, 788 00:33:19,345 --> 00:33:21,347 we're going to keep some stuff back. 789 00:33:21,347 --> 00:33:23,740 - I contacted the Archives in England. 790 00:33:23,740 --> 00:33:26,700 I contacted the National Archives in Washington. 791 00:33:26,700 --> 00:33:29,355 I sent letters to museums. 792 00:33:29,355 --> 00:33:33,620 I called, I contacted prominent historians, 793 00:33:33,620 --> 00:33:36,101 and I either didn't get answers or I got people saying, 794 00:33:36,101 --> 00:33:38,581 "We don't have any information," 795 00:33:38,581 --> 00:33:41,323 or "I've never heard of this, it's implausible." 796 00:33:41,323 --> 00:33:43,325 [upbeat instrumental music] - After seeing the sinking 797 00:33:43,325 --> 00:33:45,371 of "Titanic", meant to be the crown jewel 798 00:33:45,371 --> 00:33:47,199 to launch a Nazi Hollywood, 799 00:33:47,199 --> 00:33:50,158 Goebbels bans the film in Germany. 800 00:33:50,158 --> 00:33:52,769 - After such high expectations, 801 00:33:52,769 --> 00:33:54,858 after investing so much money and effort 802 00:33:54,858 --> 00:33:57,035 and time into this movie, 803 00:33:57,035 --> 00:33:58,036 it's not even shown. 804 00:33:58,036 --> 00:33:59,341 They don't get to use it, 805 00:33:59,341 --> 00:34:01,691 so it does not accomplish its purpose 806 00:34:01,691 --> 00:34:03,650 of changing the complexion of the war. 807 00:34:03,650 --> 00:34:05,173 - So after this, 808 00:34:05,173 --> 00:34:08,524 the Cap Arcona returns to its previous wartime use 809 00:34:08,524 --> 00:34:09,786 {\an8}which is as a training base. 810 00:34:09,786 --> 00:34:12,224 {\an8}[film projector clicking] - In June, 1944, 811 00:34:12,224 --> 00:34:14,008 the British, the Americans 812 00:34:14,008 --> 00:34:16,619 and the Canadians stormed the beaches of Normandy 813 00:34:16,619 --> 00:34:20,058 during a massive amphibious assault known as D-day. 814 00:34:20,058 --> 00:34:21,581 [cannon shots exploding] 815 00:34:21,581 --> 00:34:23,887 - D-day is very much the signature day 816 00:34:23,887 --> 00:34:25,933 of the allied war effort. 817 00:34:25,933 --> 00:34:27,978 - [John] It's an absolute crucial, 818 00:34:27,978 --> 00:34:30,677 pivotal moment in the Second World War history. 819 00:34:30,677 --> 00:34:33,810 - It's the beginning of the end of the Nazi reign. 820 00:34:33,810 --> 00:34:37,510 The allies are going to get a toehold on the continent. 821 00:34:37,510 --> 00:34:39,555 - [Dr. Arne] D-day is an overwhelming success. 822 00:34:39,555 --> 00:34:40,339 - As fate would have it, 823 00:34:40,339 --> 00:34:42,384 I get a chance to speak 824 00:34:42,384 --> 00:34:45,039 for the 70th Anniversary of D-day in Normandy. 825 00:34:45,039 --> 00:34:48,260 I'm on a luxury riverboat and giving some lectures 826 00:34:48,260 --> 00:34:50,653 at the Normandy landing beaches, 827 00:34:50,653 --> 00:34:53,874 and I meet an academy award-winning filmmaker there. 828 00:34:53,874 --> 00:34:55,397 We strike up a conversation. 829 00:34:55,397 --> 00:34:57,182 It turns out that I know her parents 830 00:34:57,182 --> 00:34:58,922 and we have all these connections, 831 00:34:58,922 --> 00:35:02,100 and I tell her what I'm doing and I say that I'm frustrated. 832 00:35:02,100 --> 00:35:03,579 I can't get information and she says, 833 00:35:03,579 --> 00:35:05,451 "Well, let me make a phone call. 834 00:35:05,451 --> 00:35:09,498 "I know," and she proceeds to tick off some 835 00:35:09,498 --> 00:35:11,457 of the world's most important people. 836 00:35:11,457 --> 00:35:14,590 And my first thought is, "Yeah, right," 837 00:35:14,590 --> 00:35:16,418 Because I didn't know her well. 838 00:35:16,418 --> 00:35:18,333 Sure, she'll make a phone call on my behalf 839 00:35:18,333 --> 00:35:20,422 and sure enough, she did. 840 00:35:20,422 --> 00:35:23,425 And shortly thereafter I got the call, 841 00:35:23,425 --> 00:35:25,253 "We found the document." 842 00:35:25,253 --> 00:35:27,386 [ominous instrumental music] 843 00:35:27,386 --> 00:35:28,430 [missile hissing] 844 00:35:28,430 --> 00:35:30,040 - [Narrator] Exactly three years 845 00:35:30,040 --> 00:35:32,260 after the German invasion of Russia, 846 00:35:32,260 --> 00:35:33,783 Operation Bagration begins. 847 00:35:33,783 --> 00:35:37,613 2 million Red Army soldiers counter-attack 848 00:35:37,613 --> 00:35:40,268 and begin pushing the Germans out of Russia. 849 00:35:40,268 --> 00:35:42,009 As payback to the Nazis 850 00:35:42,009 --> 00:35:45,186 for their savagery towards Russian soldiers and citizens, 851 00:35:45,186 --> 00:35:46,361 the Red Army soldiers are ruthless. 852 00:35:48,711 --> 00:35:50,887 - The Nazis would ultimately get a taste 853 00:35:50,887 --> 00:35:53,760 of their own medicine and what they did to the Russians. 854 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,284 And the Red Army is leaving behind a trail 855 00:35:56,284 --> 00:35:58,112 of murder and destruction. 856 00:35:58,112 --> 00:36:01,681 Even though Stalin ordered them to race to Berlin, 857 00:36:01,681 --> 00:36:03,291 they are literally attacking, 858 00:36:03,291 --> 00:36:05,641 killing men, women, 859 00:36:05,641 --> 00:36:07,774 children, the elderly and burning the land, 860 00:36:07,774 --> 00:36:10,733 killing farm animals. [bomb exploding] 861 00:36:10,733 --> 00:36:16,478 A swathe of destruction is headed toward Berlin. 862 00:36:16,478 --> 00:36:18,567 - As the Russians are coming through, civilians, 863 00:36:18,567 --> 00:36:22,397 knowing, or hearing about what has happened elsewhere, 864 00:36:22,397 --> 00:36:23,093 they want to get out. 865 00:36:24,921 --> 00:36:27,272 - [Narrator] To keep Reich citizens out of Russian hands, 866 00:36:27,272 --> 00:36:29,709 in January, 1945, 867 00:36:29,709 --> 00:36:31,928 the Nazis launch Operation Hannibal. 868 00:36:31,928 --> 00:36:33,365 [trucks rumbling] 869 00:36:33,365 --> 00:36:34,801 This operation is called by some, 870 00:36:34,801 --> 00:36:37,195 the greatest evacuation operation in history. 871 00:36:39,632 --> 00:36:42,156 - Thousands and thousands of Germans, soldiers, 872 00:36:42,156 --> 00:36:44,245 the wounded, civilians, 873 00:36:44,245 --> 00:36:46,682 or just non-German residents of Eastern Europe 874 00:36:46,682 --> 00:36:48,858 are all racing to the Baltic to try 875 00:36:48,858 --> 00:36:52,775 to be evacuated before the Red Army strikes. 876 00:36:52,775 --> 00:36:55,996 - So you get this extraordinary evacuation 877 00:36:55,996 --> 00:36:58,390 of troops, of personnel, 878 00:36:58,390 --> 00:37:00,348 of civilians, of prisoners. 879 00:37:00,348 --> 00:37:03,656 It's like the great shift West. 880 00:37:03,656 --> 00:37:04,831 - There was definitely a lot of discussions 881 00:37:04,831 --> 00:37:07,921 in senior Nazi circles, 882 00:37:07,921 --> 00:37:11,490 SS and also the party itself, 883 00:37:11,490 --> 00:37:12,969 that they would create a last stand. 884 00:37:12,969 --> 00:37:14,710 And in many ways you get the feeling 885 00:37:14,710 --> 00:37:18,061 that this was done to please Hitler. 886 00:37:18,061 --> 00:37:20,238 - I think in Goebbels' and Hitler's minds, 887 00:37:20,238 --> 00:37:22,675 there were still people who cared. 888 00:37:22,675 --> 00:37:25,504 And while there were some fanatics, 889 00:37:25,504 --> 00:37:28,246 the vast majority of Germans accepted the reality 890 00:37:28,246 --> 00:37:29,725 that they were doomed. 891 00:37:29,725 --> 00:37:32,728 - So there was a rumor at the end of the war 892 00:37:32,728 --> 00:37:36,863 that the Nazis were going to flee to make a one last stand, 893 00:37:36,863 --> 00:37:38,256 a final readout. 894 00:37:38,256 --> 00:37:39,474 [ominous rumbling music] 895 00:37:39,474 --> 00:37:40,867 - [Narrator] After years of sitting 896 00:37:40,867 --> 00:37:42,869 in the Port of Gotenhafen as a floating barracks 897 00:37:42,869 --> 00:37:44,305 and a movie set, 898 00:37:44,305 --> 00:37:46,960 the rusted out Cap Arcona is refitted to take 899 00:37:46,960 --> 00:37:48,962 on a more active role. 900 00:37:48,962 --> 00:37:53,358 The interior is stripped to make room for German refugees. 901 00:37:53,358 --> 00:37:56,186 - Even though the ship was in disrepair and was rusting, 902 00:37:57,710 --> 00:38:00,147 it's necessary to bring it into Operation Hannibal 903 00:38:00,147 --> 00:38:02,062 because you need all hands on deck. 904 00:38:02,062 --> 00:38:03,585 [waves swishing] 905 00:38:03,585 --> 00:38:06,153 - It wasn't really from all accounts 906 00:38:06,153 --> 00:38:08,851 a seaworthy vessel at that point. 907 00:38:08,851 --> 00:38:09,896 But the fact that they needed to use it 908 00:38:09,896 --> 00:38:12,290 or they felt they needed to use it, 909 00:38:12,290 --> 00:38:15,945 speaks to the dire straits that they were in that they 910 00:38:15,945 --> 00:38:17,904 didn't have a better option. [waves gushing] 911 00:38:17,904 --> 00:38:20,123 - This is an incredibly dangerous undertaking because, 912 00:38:20,123 --> 00:38:22,822 of course, the Baltic at this point with the advance 913 00:38:22,822 --> 00:38:25,259 of the Russian armies means that Russian submarines 914 00:38:25,259 --> 00:38:27,217 in particular are a threat. 915 00:38:27,217 --> 00:38:29,394 Earlier on in Operation Hannibal, 916 00:38:29,394 --> 00:38:32,266 a single ship was sunk by a submarine 917 00:38:32,266 --> 00:38:34,442 and down went 10,000 lives. 918 00:38:34,442 --> 00:38:36,923 So at any one of these moments, 919 00:38:36,923 --> 00:38:40,666 it could've been sunk with the loss of huge numbers 920 00:38:40,666 --> 00:38:42,929 of German civilians and German military personnel. 921 00:38:42,929 --> 00:38:44,583 [waves swishing] 922 00:38:44,583 --> 00:38:45,627 - [Narrator] So could this mean the Cap Arcona 923 00:38:45,627 --> 00:38:48,151 was destroyed by a Russian submarine? 924 00:38:48,151 --> 00:38:49,544 [ominous instrumental music] 925 00:38:49,544 --> 00:38:51,198 After a relentless pursuit for answers 926 00:38:51,198 --> 00:38:52,808 on what actually happened 927 00:38:52,808 --> 00:38:55,463 to the Cap Arcona near the end of World War II, 928 00:38:55,463 --> 00:38:57,073 finally, there's a breakthrough. 929 00:38:57,073 --> 00:38:58,466 - I got the call, 930 00:38:58,466 --> 00:39:00,163 "We found the document." 931 00:39:00,163 --> 00:39:04,603 And there's 700 to 800 pages of classified documents 932 00:39:04,603 --> 00:39:06,256 and it was sealed, 933 00:39:06,256 --> 00:39:09,042 not to be opened until the year 2045 934 00:39:09,042 --> 00:39:10,739 and they're going to make it available 935 00:39:10,739 --> 00:39:12,524 and make the documents available to me. 936 00:39:12,524 --> 00:39:14,177 "Would I like them?" 937 00:39:14,177 --> 00:39:15,527 [Dr. Robert laughing] 938 00:39:15,527 --> 00:39:18,399 After I picked myself off the floor, I'm like, 939 00:39:18,399 --> 00:39:21,707 "Yeah, can I get on the next flight?" 940 00:39:21,707 --> 00:39:24,100 - [Narrator] Back in the Baltic Sea, 941 00:39:24,100 --> 00:39:26,755 the Cap Arcona has been successfully completing its missions 942 00:39:26,755 --> 00:39:30,542 to take German refugees from Poland to Denmark, 943 00:39:30,542 --> 00:39:32,761 managing to dodge any Russian submarines. 944 00:39:34,850 --> 00:39:37,984 - Ultimately, it was the Cap Arcona's sophisticated design 945 00:39:37,984 --> 00:39:41,204 that allows it to cross the Baltic and survive. 946 00:39:41,204 --> 00:39:42,597 The ship was so fast. 947 00:39:42,597 --> 00:39:44,077 It was so well built. 948 00:39:44,077 --> 00:39:46,340 Its halls were reinforced. 949 00:39:46,340 --> 00:39:48,951 So the Cap Arcona's design, still, 950 00:39:48,951 --> 00:39:52,520 built in 1927 but by 1945 it's still ahead of its time. 951 00:39:54,783 --> 00:39:55,567 - [Narrator] But while the Cap Arcona is 952 00:39:55,567 --> 00:39:57,569 on a trip back to Copenhagen, 953 00:39:57,569 --> 00:40:00,180 things are about to get worse. 954 00:40:00,180 --> 00:40:04,010 - So with the Red Army taking over Poland by April of '45, 955 00:40:04,010 --> 00:40:07,187 the Cap Arcona can no longer safely stay in port there. 956 00:40:07,187 --> 00:40:09,407 It was the subject of this propaganda film. 957 00:40:09,407 --> 00:40:10,886 It was Hitler's beloved ship. 958 00:40:10,886 --> 00:40:12,671 It was the Nazi Titanic. 959 00:40:12,671 --> 00:40:16,414 It has to flee or the Soviet Army would've arguably sunk it. 960 00:40:16,414 --> 00:40:19,547 It's relocated to Germany, 961 00:40:19,547 --> 00:40:19,765 to the German port. 962 00:40:21,854 --> 00:40:22,985 - It's ironic, I think, 963 00:40:22,985 --> 00:40:25,031 but probably just coincidental 964 00:40:25,031 --> 00:40:29,383 that the Cap Arcona is sent back to German ports 965 00:40:29,383 --> 00:40:31,820 in Neustadt Bay at the same time 966 00:40:31,820 --> 00:40:33,996 that Himmler gives the order that all the camps, 967 00:40:33,996 --> 00:40:36,738 the concentration camps are to be liquidated 968 00:40:36,738 --> 00:40:40,525 and that no living inmate is to fall into allied hands. 969 00:40:40,525 --> 00:40:42,440 That doesn't necessarily mean they're to be executed, 970 00:40:42,440 --> 00:40:43,919 but of course some people, 971 00:40:43,919 --> 00:40:46,748 some camp commandants and senior party officials may 972 00:40:46,748 --> 00:40:48,576 have thought it did. 973 00:40:48,576 --> 00:40:50,056 - [Narrator] Some commandants decide 974 00:40:50,056 --> 00:40:53,276 to evacuate their camps and head for the Baltic Sea, 975 00:40:53,276 --> 00:40:55,540 force-marching their prisoners. 976 00:40:55,540 --> 00:40:57,716 - These death marches are just horrific. 977 00:40:57,716 --> 00:40:59,674 Some of the survivors of it described tripping 978 00:40:59,674 --> 00:41:02,111 over all the bodies that had fallen in front of them 979 00:41:02,111 --> 00:41:03,591 from the front of the line, 980 00:41:03,591 --> 00:41:04,897 if they're in the back of the line. 981 00:41:04,897 --> 00:41:07,769 So you have these long snaking trails of death, 982 00:41:07,769 --> 00:41:08,901 leading to the Baltic Coast. 983 00:41:08,901 --> 00:41:11,425 [paper rustling] [ominous rumbling music] 984 00:41:11,425 --> 00:41:14,167 - [Narrator] The death march's destination is Lubeck Bay. 985 00:41:14,167 --> 00:41:15,211 Unbeknownst to the prisoners, 986 00:41:15,211 --> 00:41:17,475 they're marching towards the Cap Arcona. 987 00:41:19,259 --> 00:41:21,304 - So I remember when I got all these documents, 988 00:41:21,304 --> 00:41:23,393 now the hard work begins. 989 00:41:23,393 --> 00:41:25,570 I've got hundreds and hundreds of pages of stuff 990 00:41:25,570 --> 00:41:26,745 and I gotta make sense out of it, 991 00:41:26,745 --> 00:41:29,661 and it was just haphazardly put together. 992 00:41:29,661 --> 00:41:31,010 So the first thing I did was I tried 993 00:41:31,010 --> 00:41:32,838 to organize it chronologically, 994 00:41:32,838 --> 00:41:34,970 then organize it by topic. 995 00:41:34,970 --> 00:41:38,321 I cleared everything off the floor and then I just got piles 996 00:41:38,321 --> 00:41:41,368 and I put it in piles and I made lines to everything, 997 00:41:41,368 --> 00:41:43,631 hour-by-hour, day-by-day. 998 00:41:43,631 --> 00:41:45,894 And I organized everything chronologically, 999 00:41:45,894 --> 00:41:48,114 then I marked everything chronologically. 1000 00:41:48,114 --> 00:41:50,595 After that, then I organized it by topic, 1001 00:41:50,595 --> 00:41:51,857 by event, or by individual. 1002 00:41:53,336 --> 00:41:56,078 - [Narrator] On April 17th, 1945, 1003 00:41:56,078 --> 00:41:59,865 thousands of death march survivors arrive in Lubeck Bay. 1004 00:41:59,865 --> 00:42:01,867 - So those who are able to make it, 1005 00:42:01,867 --> 00:42:03,738 they start to load in. 1006 00:42:03,738 --> 00:42:07,655 They start to aboard the Cap Arcona and the other ships. 1007 00:42:07,655 --> 00:42:12,138 And you wonder what they were thinking in that moment, 1008 00:42:12,138 --> 00:42:14,444 having gone through what they went through 1009 00:42:14,444 --> 00:42:18,492 and just the uncertainty that I'm sure they were facing, 1010 00:42:18,492 --> 00:42:19,580 the fear that must have been present. 1011 00:42:21,713 --> 00:42:23,497 [typewriter clickety-clacking] 1012 00:42:23,497 --> 00:42:24,542 - [Narrator] Meanwhile, the British 1013 00:42:24,542 --> 00:42:26,500 receive intelligence reports 1014 00:42:26,500 --> 00:42:29,808 that multiple large Kriegsmarine ships are congregating 1015 00:42:29,808 --> 00:42:32,462 in German waters along the Baltic Coast. 1016 00:42:32,462 --> 00:42:34,508 Trying to finish off the war, 1017 00:42:34,508 --> 00:42:37,337 they begin plans for an attack to ensure there is no chance 1018 00:42:37,337 --> 00:42:41,471 of the Nazis escaping by ship to make a last stand. 1019 00:42:41,471 --> 00:42:43,909 - There are four big ships in Lubeck Bay, 1020 00:42:43,909 --> 00:42:45,737 near the Port of Neustadt. 1021 00:42:45,737 --> 00:42:47,477 There's two freighters, trawlers, 1022 00:42:47,477 --> 00:42:49,262 the Thielbek and the Athen, 1023 00:42:49,262 --> 00:42:51,351 and there's two big ocean liners, 1024 00:42:51,351 --> 00:42:54,267 the Deutschland and the Cap Arcona. 1025 00:42:54,267 --> 00:42:56,791 Around this time there's the rumor 1026 00:42:56,791 --> 00:42:59,272 that the Germans are going to flee to Norway 1027 00:42:59,272 --> 00:43:00,969 for one last stand. 1028 00:43:00,969 --> 00:43:03,885 - The allies were using a lot of reconnaissance, 1029 00:43:03,885 --> 00:43:06,888 aerial reconnaissance, taking pictures from above, 1030 00:43:06,888 --> 00:43:09,021 and they wouldn't necessarily have had the details 1031 00:43:09,021 --> 00:43:10,370 to see who was on the ship, 1032 00:43:10,370 --> 00:43:11,589 who was being loaded on those ships, 1033 00:43:11,589 --> 00:43:14,026 but they would see how many, 1034 00:43:14,026 --> 00:43:16,419 and they would be able to see that the ships were lower 1035 00:43:16,419 --> 00:43:18,204 and lower in the water as they were loaded up 1036 00:43:18,204 --> 00:43:19,901 with more people. 1037 00:43:19,901 --> 00:43:21,468 So you could tell when the ship is empty. 1038 00:43:21,468 --> 00:43:22,512 You could tell when the ship is full. 1039 00:43:22,512 --> 00:43:24,079 You could tell when the ship is over full. 1040 00:43:24,079 --> 00:43:27,213 And that's the information that they, 1041 00:43:27,213 --> 00:43:28,910 you know, when they say believe your eyes, 1042 00:43:28,910 --> 00:43:30,520 that's what they're seeing, 1043 00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:32,174 but it doesn't have the level of detail 1044 00:43:32,174 --> 00:43:34,786 that lets them know exactly what's going on in there. 1045 00:43:34,786 --> 00:43:37,092 - And you have to go into war knowing the only way 1046 00:43:37,092 --> 00:43:40,792 to win it is to annihilate the enemy. 1047 00:43:40,792 --> 00:43:42,445 [ominous rumbling music] 1048 00:43:42,445 --> 00:43:43,838 - [Narrator] On April, 26th, 1049 00:43:43,838 --> 00:43:46,058 the SS commandeers the Cap Arcona 1050 00:43:46,058 --> 00:43:48,234 and the other ships in Lubeck Bay, 1051 00:43:48,234 --> 00:43:51,019 officially turning them into floating concentration camps. 1052 00:43:53,021 --> 00:43:55,633 The guards occupy the luxurious suites on the upper decks, 1053 00:43:55,633 --> 00:43:59,027 while the prisoners are put below. 1054 00:43:59,027 --> 00:44:02,117 - So in late April and early May of 1945, 1055 00:44:02,117 --> 00:44:03,336 the final days, 1056 00:44:03,336 --> 00:44:05,425 the final hours of the war, 1057 00:44:05,425 --> 00:44:07,993 you have all these prisoners at the port, 1058 00:44:07,993 --> 00:44:11,126 you have this massive Titanic ship at anchor off the coast, 1059 00:44:11,126 --> 00:44:14,390 and there's this macabre scene where every hour 1060 00:44:14,390 --> 00:44:19,004 or two they're shuttling prisoners out to the Cap Arcona 1061 00:44:19,004 --> 00:44:20,962 and stuffing them in the deep, 1062 00:44:20,962 --> 00:44:22,268 dark holds of the ship, 1063 00:44:22,268 --> 00:44:24,357 no food, no water. 1064 00:44:24,357 --> 00:44:26,664 - [Narrator] The Swedish Red Cross obtains information 1065 00:44:26,664 --> 00:44:29,014 that the RAF are plotting an airstrike 1066 00:44:29,014 --> 00:44:30,015 in the Port of Lubeck. 1067 00:44:31,538 --> 00:44:33,235 Knowing this will mean certain death 1068 00:44:33,235 --> 00:44:36,195 for the concentration camp survivors aboard the Cap Arcona 1069 00:44:36,195 --> 00:44:37,979 and the other ships, 1070 00:44:37,979 --> 00:44:40,678 they try to warn the RAF to call off the attack. 1071 00:44:42,810 --> 00:44:44,812 - So because the information isn't passed on 1072 00:44:44,812 --> 00:44:47,467 or it is passed on and it's ignored, 1073 00:44:47,467 --> 00:44:51,340 an attack is put in against these vessels in Neustadt Bay. 1074 00:44:51,340 --> 00:44:54,692 - Once the RAF goes forth with the airstrike, 1075 00:44:54,692 --> 00:44:59,740 there's nothing that those onboard the ships can do. 1076 00:44:59,740 --> 00:45:01,786 - At 05:30 in the morning, [airplane engines rumbling] 1077 00:45:01,786 --> 00:45:05,050 six squadrons of Typhoon Bombers took off 1078 00:45:05,050 --> 00:45:08,531 from liberated air bases across Europe. 1079 00:45:08,531 --> 00:45:10,490 Their target was Lubeck Bay. 1080 00:45:10,490 --> 00:45:13,058 In particular, the target is any large ship. 1081 00:45:13,058 --> 00:45:14,842 They fly in that morning. 1082 00:45:14,842 --> 00:45:17,279 It's cloudy, it's rainy, 1083 00:45:17,279 --> 00:45:19,499 it's overcast, the worst kind of weather. 1084 00:45:19,499 --> 00:45:20,500 They can't see. 1085 00:45:20,500 --> 00:45:22,371 They've return to base. 1086 00:45:22,371 --> 00:45:25,461 They have to refuel and wait for the clouds to dissipate. 1087 00:45:25,461 --> 00:45:29,204 At around 2:30 in the afternoon they fly back in. 1088 00:45:29,204 --> 00:45:32,120 It's still cloudy and rainy but not as bad. 1089 00:45:32,120 --> 00:45:34,688 They drop down below the clouds and what do they see, 1090 00:45:34,688 --> 00:45:36,385 the largest ship anybody's ever seen, 1091 00:45:36,385 --> 00:45:38,126 the Cap Arcona. 1092 00:45:38,126 --> 00:45:40,520 She's low in the water which means she's full of people 1093 00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:42,043 and full of fuel. 1094 00:45:42,043 --> 00:45:43,610 So the six squadrons 1095 00:45:43,610 --> 00:45:47,266 of Typhoon Bombers all target the Cap Arcona. 1096 00:45:47,266 --> 00:45:48,963 [airplane engines roaring] 1097 00:45:48,963 --> 00:45:50,617 [bombs exploding] - The British pilots 1098 00:45:50,617 --> 00:45:53,228 commence a devastating air attack on Lubeck Bay, 1099 00:45:53,228 --> 00:45:54,969 [rapid gunfire exploding] unleashing a total 1100 00:45:54,969 --> 00:45:59,104 of 64 rockets and 15 bombs onto the Cap Arcona 1101 00:45:59,104 --> 00:46:01,497 and surrounding ships. 1102 00:46:01,497 --> 00:46:03,108 - They were going out with the mission 1103 00:46:03,108 --> 00:46:05,763 that they were taking out a military target. 1104 00:46:05,763 --> 00:46:08,853 They had no idea anything else was happening there. 1105 00:46:08,853 --> 00:46:10,768 - If you're the Royal Air Force, 1106 00:46:10,768 --> 00:46:14,032 the last thing you want is for this war to continue. 1107 00:46:14,032 --> 00:46:15,555 This is the world's bloodiest war, 1108 00:46:15,555 --> 00:46:18,384 60 to 80 million people around the world, dead. 1109 00:46:18,384 --> 00:46:20,516 They want to do anything and everything they can 1110 00:46:20,516 --> 00:46:22,823 to prevent these ships from getting to Norway. 1111 00:46:22,823 --> 00:46:25,086 So these Typhoon Bombers, 1112 00:46:25,086 --> 00:46:27,828 these Royal Air Force Typhoon Bombers are going to hunt 1113 00:46:27,828 --> 00:46:30,788 and target every large ship they can find 1114 00:46:30,788 --> 00:46:32,267 off the German coast. 1115 00:46:32,267 --> 00:46:33,878 [rapid gunfire exploding] 1116 00:46:33,878 --> 00:46:34,966 - [Narrator] With the pilots facing little 1117 00:46:34,966 --> 00:46:37,533 to no resistance or return fire, 1118 00:46:37,533 --> 00:46:40,232 they dominate the sky above Lubeck Bay, 1119 00:46:40,232 --> 00:46:43,626 while down below a hellish nightmare is unfolding 1120 00:46:43,626 --> 00:46:46,151 for all those aboard the ships. 1121 00:46:46,151 --> 00:46:48,022 - They target the Cap Arcona. 1122 00:46:48,022 --> 00:46:50,808 Gaping holes are torn into the ship 1123 00:46:50,808 --> 00:46:52,548 from all the explosions. 1124 00:46:52,548 --> 00:46:54,986 Freezing cold water fills the ship. 1125 00:46:54,986 --> 00:46:56,988 So if you're below the water line, 1126 00:46:56,988 --> 00:46:58,119 you have no chance. 1127 00:46:58,119 --> 00:46:59,773 Those on the top decks, 1128 00:46:59,773 --> 00:47:02,080 as the ship starts to list and roll over, 1129 00:47:02,080 --> 00:47:02,950 the big funnels, 1130 00:47:02,950 --> 00:47:04,952 the smokestacks are breaking off 1131 00:47:04,952 --> 00:47:08,521 and like a giant bowling ball, crushing people. 1132 00:47:08,521 --> 00:47:11,611 - I can't imagine what it'd be like being on 1133 00:47:11,611 --> 00:47:14,614 that ship after it was struck with bombs and it's on fire. 1134 00:47:14,614 --> 00:47:16,746 [fire roaring] 1135 00:47:16,746 --> 00:47:20,402 - There were some survivors of this horrific incident. 1136 00:47:20,402 --> 00:47:22,927 It's hard to put an exact number on it. 1137 00:47:22,927 --> 00:47:26,669 I estimate maybe as many as 350. 1138 00:47:26,669 --> 00:47:30,238 One of them was a young boy named Barek Jakóbowicz. 1139 00:47:30,238 --> 00:47:31,979 He was Polish as the name would suggest. 1140 00:47:31,979 --> 00:47:34,808 He survived concentration camps, 1141 00:47:34,808 --> 00:47:38,377 the death march and days in a deep hold of the ship. 1142 00:47:38,377 --> 00:47:40,727 He was there with his brother, Josek. 1143 00:47:40,727 --> 00:47:43,382 When a gaping hole was torn into the side of the ship, 1144 00:47:43,382 --> 00:47:46,994 freezing cold water came pouring in. 1145 00:47:46,994 --> 00:47:51,216 Almost everybody inside was either dead or died, drowned, 1146 00:47:51,216 --> 00:47:53,087 because you're in no condition to swim. 1147 00:47:53,087 --> 00:47:55,655 These two young boys managed to tread water. 1148 00:47:55,655 --> 00:47:56,961 At the last minute, 1149 00:47:56,961 --> 00:47:59,006 some of the concentration camp prisoners 1150 00:47:59,006 --> 00:48:03,184 from the top deck bravely risked their lives 1151 00:48:03,184 --> 00:48:06,884 to go below decks on a ship that's on fire and rolling over 1152 00:48:06,884 --> 00:48:08,886 and is still being bombed, 1153 00:48:08,886 --> 00:48:11,062 they went below decks and opened the hatch 1154 00:48:11,062 --> 00:48:12,411 and hands came down 1155 00:48:12,411 --> 00:48:14,195 and pulled the two Jakóbowicz brothers out. 1156 00:48:14,195 --> 00:48:15,849 [airplane engines roaring] 1157 00:48:15,849 --> 00:48:16,763 - [Narrator] As the British airstrikes continued 1158 00:48:16,763 --> 00:48:18,504 to target the Cap Arcona, 1159 00:48:18,504 --> 00:48:21,899 Nazi units are patrolling the beaches, 1160 00:48:21,899 --> 00:48:24,162 searching for any surviving prisoners that may 1161 00:48:24,162 --> 00:48:26,033 have made it to shore. [rapid gunfire exploding] 1162 00:48:26,033 --> 00:48:28,296 Tragically, hundreds of prisoners 1163 00:48:28,296 --> 00:48:30,995 that survive the terrible nightmare on the Cap Arcona 1164 00:48:30,995 --> 00:48:34,563 are gunned down on land. [bomb exploding] 1165 00:48:36,174 --> 00:48:37,653 - What makes this ever more pitiful is the end 1166 00:48:37,653 --> 00:48:41,483 of the war is literally a day or two away. 1167 00:48:41,483 --> 00:48:43,790 - The British Sixth Commando and others 1168 00:48:43,790 --> 00:48:46,924 who liberated the port and their general, 1169 00:48:46,924 --> 00:48:48,751 a fellow named Mills-Roberts, 1170 00:48:48,751 --> 00:48:51,580 as well as Major Till who was ordered to document all this, 1171 00:48:51,580 --> 00:48:53,669 realized what had happened, 1172 00:48:53,669 --> 00:48:56,368 that thousands and thousands of concentration camp prisoners 1173 00:48:56,368 --> 00:49:00,067 were killed mistakenly by the Royal Air Force. 1174 00:49:00,067 --> 00:49:04,811 And that was the reasoning behind requesting 1175 00:49:04,811 --> 00:49:07,074 that all these documents be sealed top secret 1176 00:49:07,074 --> 00:49:08,554 for a hundred years. 1177 00:49:08,554 --> 00:49:11,296 And I'm not defending that, 1178 00:49:11,296 --> 00:49:13,602 but in some ways you think about this, 1179 00:49:14,734 --> 00:49:16,301 after the war ends, 1180 00:49:16,301 --> 00:49:19,086 the public was in no mood for more stories 1181 00:49:19,086 --> 00:49:21,001 of death and loss. 1182 00:49:21,001 --> 00:49:22,698 They wanted to move forward with their lives. 1183 00:49:22,698 --> 00:49:24,091 They needed to rebuild. [crowd cheering] 1184 00:49:24,091 --> 00:49:26,180 And nobody wanted to look back, 1185 00:49:26,180 --> 00:49:29,357 especially at a tragedy of this magnitude. 1186 00:49:29,357 --> 00:49:32,708 So the British were able to successfully classify 1187 00:49:32,708 --> 00:49:36,712 and seal these documents away from public information 1188 00:49:36,712 --> 00:49:40,673 and from prying eyes for decades. 1189 00:49:40,673 --> 00:49:42,762 - [Dr. Arne] From an allied perspective, 1190 00:49:42,762 --> 00:49:44,285 on the cusp of victory, 1191 00:49:44,285 --> 00:49:48,246 you need to deliver your public an untarnished victory. 1192 00:49:48,246 --> 00:49:49,943 - It's such a desperate scramble 1193 00:49:49,943 --> 00:49:53,468 to get back into a peaceful world and to curate a better, 1194 00:49:53,468 --> 00:49:56,863 healthier, happier narrative, 1195 00:49:56,863 --> 00:49:59,344 that almost there isn't the scrutiny there needs 1196 00:49:59,344 --> 00:50:03,087 to be over what we can and can't read. 1197 00:50:03,087 --> 00:50:04,827 - [Narrator] The Cap Arcona remains capsized 1198 00:50:04,827 --> 00:50:09,006 in Lubeck Bay until 1949 when the Soviets bring it 1199 00:50:09,006 --> 00:50:10,007 on land to salvage. 1200 00:50:11,965 --> 00:50:15,403 Today, there is nothing that remains of the Cap Arcona. 1201 00:50:15,403 --> 00:50:18,972 One of the largest ships ever built has completely vanished. 1202 00:50:18,972 --> 00:50:21,061 [somber instrumental music] 1203 00:50:21,061 --> 00:50:23,281 But after decades of being buried, 1204 00:50:23,281 --> 00:50:25,370 her story is finally out in the open. 1205 00:50:27,241 --> 00:50:32,029 - Uncovering this story is probably the most important 1206 00:50:32,029 --> 00:50:34,248 thing professionally I think I've ever done. 1207 00:50:34,248 --> 00:50:36,163 I've spent years with this story now, 1208 00:50:36,163 --> 00:50:37,817 from researching it, 1209 00:50:37,817 --> 00:50:38,687 to writing it, 1210 00:50:38,687 --> 00:50:39,688 to talking about it, 1211 00:50:39,688 --> 00:50:41,560 to working on this project here. 1212 00:50:41,560 --> 00:50:43,692 And after all these years, 1213 00:50:43,692 --> 00:50:47,000 I still have trouble almost believing that any of it's real. 1214 00:50:47,000 --> 00:50:48,001 It's so surreal. 1215 00:50:48,001 --> 00:50:51,222 It's so bizarre and fantastical. 1216 00:50:51,222 --> 00:50:54,486 But when it comes to Nazi Germany, 1217 00:50:54,486 --> 00:50:56,314 when it comes to ideas that people like Hitler 1218 00:50:56,314 --> 00:50:57,358 and Goebbels had, 1219 00:50:57,358 --> 00:50:59,752 nothing is too bizarre. 1220 00:50:59,752 --> 00:51:02,146 - It's important that history shines a light 1221 00:51:02,146 --> 00:51:04,800 on all these sorts of stories so that we're honest 1222 00:51:04,800 --> 00:51:08,717 with ourselves as a nation about what we've done in the past 1223 00:51:08,717 --> 00:51:10,850 and what we're capable of doing. 1224 00:51:10,850 --> 00:51:12,156 - [Dr. Mazyar] In this case, 1225 00:51:12,156 --> 00:51:13,983 we're not only supposed to learn from it, 1226 00:51:13,983 --> 00:51:16,116 but also to remember it and to understand 1227 00:51:16,116 --> 00:51:17,813 what's happened and to do better. 1228 00:51:19,293 --> 00:51:21,339 - I hate everything to do with war, 1229 00:51:21,339 --> 00:51:22,731 but pretending like it doesn't happen 1230 00:51:22,731 --> 00:51:25,386 and not respecting the lives lost, 1231 00:51:25,386 --> 00:51:26,605 the sacrifices made, 1232 00:51:26,605 --> 00:51:29,347 the innocents that are killed. 1233 00:51:29,347 --> 00:51:31,653 - I felt a real heavy sense of responsibility 1234 00:51:31,653 --> 00:51:33,133 that I had to tell this story. 1235 00:51:33,133 --> 00:51:34,874 There was no way I wasn't. 1236 00:51:34,874 --> 00:51:36,397 I was going to, 1237 00:51:36,397 --> 00:51:38,182 I would get in the Atlantic and swim 1238 00:51:38,182 --> 00:51:39,922 [Dr. Robert chuckling] across the ocean 1239 00:51:39,922 --> 00:51:42,229 to unearth whatever it could be. 1240 00:51:42,229 --> 00:51:45,102 And I still feel 1241 00:51:45,102 --> 00:51:47,365 a sense of responsibility, 1242 00:51:47,365 --> 00:51:48,975 even now just talking about this, 1243 00:51:48,975 --> 00:51:53,284 because it's such a heavy and just a shocking 1244 00:51:53,284 --> 00:51:54,850 and important story. 1245 00:51:54,850 --> 00:51:59,116 [somber motivational instrumental music] 98639

Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.