1
00:00:41,340 --> 00:00:43,637
Berlin - 1945
2
00:00:44,729 --> 00:00:47,928
Europe has been freed from
The Nazi reign of terror.
3
00:00:48,709 --> 00:00:52,381
The Red Army is waging its final battles.
4
00:01:05,996 --> 00:01:08,759
Captain Joseph Prautof,
A Russian officer:
5
00:01:09,940 --> 00:01:11,784
the hate ran so deep...
6
00:01:12,060 --> 00:01:15,997
we wanted to end the war, annihilate
that force that wanted to kill us...
7
00:01:16,408 --> 00:01:19,578
finish it off, once and for all.
8
00:01:24,494 --> 00:01:26,154
Hitler's days are numbered.
9
00:01:26,443 --> 00:01:29,062
He leaves his bunker for one final bit of
showmanship,
10
00:01:29,542 --> 00:01:32,074
as seen in this propaganda film.
11
00:01:32,458 --> 00:01:37,809
Is there still a soldier, or a child,
willing to die for him?
12
00:01:55,716 --> 00:01:58,525
The war left some 50 million dead.
13
00:01:59,056 --> 00:02:01,378
most of them - innocent civilians.
14
00:02:02,481 --> 00:02:04,909
For the women of Germany,
the ordeal would continue
15
00:02:05,135 --> 00:02:08,118
even after the cannons had gone silent.
16
00:02:08,760 --> 00:02:12,069
The book "A Woman in Berlin" is a
deeply disturbing account
17
00:02:12,245 --> 00:02:16,731
of the Russians' rape of
German women in 1945.
18
00:02:24,293 --> 00:02:26,682
They grab me and throw me down.
19
00:02:27,144 --> 00:02:29,225
I'm lying with my head on the steps.
20
00:02:29,513 --> 00:02:33,731
I see one of the soldiers keeping watch, while
the other rips off my under clothes.
21
00:02:34,312 --> 00:02:37,943
and brutally forces himself on me.
22
00:02:43,326 --> 00:02:46,554
But then we'd say, better to
have a Russian on your belly,
23
00:02:46,685 --> 00:02:49,883
than an American over your head.
24
00:02:50,385 --> 00:02:55,938
This German woman was referring to the Allied bombers,
that pounded her city into ruins.
25
00:03:03,524 --> 00:03:06,982
The Kurfurstendam,
Berlin's most fashionable avenue.
26
00:03:07,309 --> 00:03:10,700
13 years earlier, the showcase of Germany.
27
00:03:10,882 --> 00:03:13,490
A nation still plagued by crises.
28
00:03:14,265 --> 00:03:16,919
A monument commemorating the millions of victims
29
00:03:17,122 --> 00:03:19,379
of the First World War.
30
00:03:27,838 --> 00:03:32,924
Marlene Dietrich is singing "The Blue Angel" in Berlin -
Alexanderplatz.
31
00:03:33,801 --> 00:03:36,588
Thomas Mann is savoring his
Noble Prize for Literature.
32
00:03:36,911 --> 00:03:40,693
in the shade of the linden trees, of
Avenue Unter den Linden.
33
00:03:42,174 --> 00:03:44,404
Berlin is major cultural center of Europe,
34
00:03:44,952 --> 00:03:48,744
one of the most open and tolerant cities
in the world.
35
00:04:00,529 --> 00:04:03,394
Then, in 1933, all that changes.
36
00:04:04,334 --> 00:04:09,013
Through intimidation, demagoguery, and exploiting
the bitterness of the German veterans.
37
00:04:09,336 --> 00:04:14,614
Hitler and his armed militias, like the SA
with their hymn, the "Horst Wessel Lied",
38
00:04:15,357 --> 00:04:17,683
seized control of Germany.
39
00:04:27,658 --> 00:04:31,596
The Nazis take advantage of the fact
that the German Left is splinted.
40
00:04:31,878 --> 00:04:34,896
And it even seems like Hitler
with his raised fist,
41
00:04:35,154 --> 00:04:39,278
revolutionary salute,
wants to get on their good side
42
00:04:41,789 --> 00:04:44,408
German Communists take their orders from Moscow,
43
00:04:44,726 --> 00:04:47,751
which views the social democrats
as the true enemy.
44
00:04:48,092 --> 00:04:50,608
No alliance is possible between them.
45
00:04:51,328 --> 00:04:55,570
So, for the last time, German Communists
sing "De Internazionale".
46
00:05:03,797 --> 00:05:07,870
Hitler comes to power legally
on January 30th, 1933.
47
00:05:08,815 --> 00:05:12,246
Within a few months, his dictatorship
is firmly in place.
48
00:05:13,245 --> 00:05:16,213
He becomes The "Fuhrer" - The Leader.
49
00:05:16,994 --> 00:05:20,917
His supporters rise and chant: "Heil Hitler!"
50
00:05:24,321 --> 00:05:28,110
However, not all Germans are totally convinced,
so again and again,
51
00:05:28,517 --> 00:05:32,335
Hitler hammers home his simplistic,
nationalist slogans:
52
00:05:34,005 --> 00:05:36,820
Before us lies Germany
53
00:05:37,036 --> 00:05:39,400
Within us Germany is stirring
54
00:05:39,584 --> 00:05:42,877
Behind us, All Germany is following
55
00:05:45,031 --> 00:05:47,670
And he eventually wins more and more people over,
56
00:05:48,026 --> 00:05:52,360
for he has a remarkable power of
persuasion over the masses.
57
00:05:53,006 --> 00:05:55,373
But what does Hitler want?
58
00:05:57,547 --> 00:06:02,408
In his book "Mein Kampf" - My Struggle,
He clearly states what he calls his missions.
59
00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:08,896
Being one of the embittered veterans of the First World War,
his first mission will be to destroy France,
60
00:06:09,410 --> 00:06:13,443
to wipe out the humiliation of
the Versaille Treaty of 1919
61
00:06:13,785 --> 00:06:18,290
that stripped Germany of its army,
and part of its territory.
62
00:06:26,159 --> 00:06:30,623
Then, he wants to conquer what he calls
"Lebensraum" - living space.
63
00:06:31,681 --> 00:06:35,243
Germany has a population of 80 million,
twice that of France.
64
00:06:36,110 --> 00:06:41,084
He wants to make Germany "The World Power"
that it deserves to be.
65
00:06:45,604 --> 00:06:47,358
A pathological anti-Semite,
66
00:06:47,393 --> 00:06:53,011
Hitler has also taken on the mission of asserting
the superiority of the Germanic Arian race.
67
00:06:53,257 --> 00:06:55,500
menaced by the Jews.
68
00:06:57,427 --> 00:07:00,551
For him, the Jews were the
cause of the Great War,
69
00:07:00,533 --> 00:07:04,623
Germany's defeat, inflation,
unemployment.
70
00:07:05,296 --> 00:07:09,076
The next war will be
a war on the Jews.
71
00:07:11,671 --> 00:07:15,564
They will be sent to Dachau,
the first concentration camp.
72
00:07:15,847 --> 00:07:20,804
Where Hitler locks up the anti-Nazis,
the communists, social-democrats,
73
00:07:21,067 --> 00:07:25,619
and all those opposed to the Nazi regime.
74
00:07:25,643 --> 00:07:29,918
Lastly, Hitler takes on the mission of bringing all
German speaking peoples
75
00:07:29,936 --> 00:07:34,186
into the Reich's fold,
beginning with those of his homeland.
76
00:07:35,195 --> 00:07:38,144
The Anschluss: Austria is annexed,
77
00:07:38,114 --> 00:07:42,165
and immediately submitted to the same
reign of terror as Germany.
78
00:07:42,153 --> 00:07:45,353
With the opening of one of the most infamous
concentration camps
79
00:07:45,503 --> 00:07:48,630
at Mauthausen, near Linz.
80
00:07:49,168 --> 00:07:51,848
Which country will be his next victim?
81
00:07:52,056 --> 00:07:55,374
Neighboring Czechoslovakia, where there is
a German population,
82
00:07:55,308 --> 00:07:57,136
the Sudeten Germans.
83
00:07:57,383 --> 00:08:01,063
But the country is recognized as an independent state,
by England and France.
84
00:08:02,933 --> 00:08:06,073
The clouds of war gather.
85
00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:11,468
In Munich, temple of Nazism,
an 11-hour peace conference is organized.
86
00:08:11,990 --> 00:08:15,547
On one side, Adolf Hitler who is becoming
more and more frightening.
87
00:08:16,158 --> 00:08:20,347
And his ally, the Italian dictator,
Benito Mussolini.
88
00:08:22,678 --> 00:08:27,660
Mussolini, the founder of fascism,
an indoctrination of an entire nation.
89
00:08:28,165 --> 00:08:30,359
From child on,
90
00:08:40,266 --> 00:08:43,061
On the other side, the Western democracies,
91
00:08:43,436 --> 00:08:47,068
victorious but exhausted from the Great War.
92
00:08:46,970 --> 00:08:50,398
Neville Chamberlain, the conservative
British Prime Minister.
93
00:08:50,524 --> 00:08:54,467
And the radical socialist French Premier,
Edouard Daladier,
94
00:08:54,576 --> 00:08:57,881
want to save the peace.
95
00:09:01,779 --> 00:09:04,507
They end up accepting the unacceptable,
96
00:09:04,719 --> 00:09:07,986
They give up the Czech province of Sudetenland to Hitler,
97
00:09:08,164 --> 00:09:11,628
In exchange for his solemn promise to make no more claims
98
00:09:11,750 --> 00:09:14,483
on another European territory.
99
00:09:18,336 --> 00:09:21,571
But what is Hitler's promise worth?
100
00:09:22,091 --> 00:09:25,341
Just 6 months later, he invades
the rest of Czechoslovakia,
101
00:09:25,658 --> 00:09:30,324
and enters Prague, accompanied
by Marshall Hermann Goering.
102
00:09:32,165 --> 00:09:34,387
Goering, a former First World War
fighter pilot,
103
00:09:34,704 --> 00:09:38,077
one of the founders of the Nazi party,
is now the Air Minister.
104
00:09:38,638 --> 00:09:42,289
And an ogre, trying to charm
the Czech children.
105
00:09:43,562 --> 00:09:47,690
Hitler no longer needs the excuse of
reuniting German speaking people.
106
00:09:48,831 --> 00:09:52,054
The powerful Czech industry
will be working for him.
107
00:09:52,631 --> 00:09:54,541
Why shouldn't he take advantage of it?
108
00:09:54,962 --> 00:09:58,302
The Allies let him get away with it.
109
00:10:01,345 --> 00:10:06,515
The U.S.S.R. is the last major neighboring
power left to counter Hitler
110
00:10:07,093 --> 00:10:09,783
It had signed a mutual assistance treaty
with France.
111
00:10:11,418 --> 00:10:14,709
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,
is the official name
112
00:10:14,930 --> 00:10:18,213
of communist Russia, and
its satellite republics.
113
00:10:19,099 --> 00:10:24,221
Manipulation of the masses in Red Square,
masks the ironfisted dictatorship of Stalin
114
00:10:25,066 --> 00:10:28,628
who has also thrown millions of poor wretches
into his labor camps,
115
00:10:29,549 --> 00:10:32,522
The Gulag
116
00:10:36,723 --> 00:10:41,829
Industrialization and forced militarization,
have made the U.S.S.R. a major power.
117
00:10:43,105 --> 00:10:48,606
Despite their fear of communism,
the Western powers rely on the U.S.S.R.
118
00:10:55,549 --> 00:10:58,026
Hitler is going to beat
them to the punch.
119
00:10:59,106 --> 00:11:02,574
In the summer of 1939, in his Berchtesgarden chalet,
120
00:11:02,820 --> 00:11:06,050
with his Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Joachim von Ribbentrop,
121
00:11:06,358 --> 00:11:08,634
he prepares a blocking maneuver.
122
00:11:11,692 --> 00:11:15,660
Hitler, who swore to destroy communism,
sends von Robbentrop, the Nazi, to Moscow
123
00:11:17,233 --> 00:11:21,291
to sign a history-making treaty
with his worst enemy.
124
00:11:25,785 --> 00:11:30,047
When Stalin's foreign affairs minister, Molotov,
signs the Germano-Soviet Pact,
125
00:11:30,576 --> 00:11:35,758
communists are totally taken aback,
like these French Party Members.
126
00:11:37,016 --> 00:11:42,171
It's August, 1939, and people in France
are enjoying their first paid holidays.
127
00:11:42,878 --> 00:11:46,324
One of the major victories of the
Socialist Popular Front.
128
00:11:47,417 --> 00:11:50,683
What are the reasons behind
this non-aggression pact.
129
00:11:51,472 --> 00:11:54,109
The Soviets answer that Stalin
is playing for time.
130
00:11:54,300 --> 00:11:57,911
Letting Hitler and the Western powers
kill each other off.
131
00:11:58,784 --> 00:12:02,849
Perhaps, Stalin, who intends to grab the Baltic
countries and part of Poland
132
00:12:03,279 --> 00:12:08,717
even has the illusion that he could share Europe
with Hitler on a permanent basis.
133
00:12:10,995 --> 00:12:14,826
In 1936, the US Congress had passed
the Neutrality Act,
134
00:12:15,220 --> 00:12:19,303
to avoid being dragged into a
European war once again.
135
00:12:21,357 --> 00:12:25,119
So, with nothing to fear either from
the United States or from Russia,
136
00:12:25,375 --> 00:12:27,963
Hitler decides to wipe out what he calls
137
00:12:28,164 --> 00:12:31,066
"the worst monstrosity of The Versaille Treaty"
138
00:12:31,421 --> 00:12:33,673
The Danzig Corridor.
139
00:12:36,829 --> 00:12:39,800
In 1919, German territory was cut in two,
140
00:12:40,125 --> 00:12:42,639
in order to give Poland access to the sea.
141
00:12:43,559 --> 00:12:47,323
Hitler decides to launch his invasion of Poland
and recover Danzig.
142
00:12:47,768 --> 00:12:50,019
On September 1, 1939,
143
00:12:50,693 --> 00:12:53,245
At 5:35 AM.
144
00:13:00,010 --> 00:13:04,775
The first cannon shot of the Second World War,
is fired on Danzig.
145
00:13:22,134 --> 00:13:26,110
Hitler is convinced that the French and the British
will not take action.
146
00:13:26,904 --> 00:13:30,279
Yet the two governments meet immediately,
and send him an ultimatum
147
00:13:30,399 --> 00:13:34,094
demanding that he halt all military action
against Poland.
148
00:13:37,987 --> 00:13:41,809
Hitler declares, "Our enemies are little worms,"
149
00:13:41,578 --> 00:13:46,295
and he adds, "Who wants to get bogged down
in a world war for Danzig? "
150
00:13:47,498 --> 00:13:49,639
September 3, 1939.
151
00:13:49,829 --> 00:13:55,818
At 11 AM, The Ambassador of Great Britain in Berlin
delivers a declaration of war.
152
00:13:56,933 --> 00:14:00,449
At 5 PM, France declares war on Germany.
153
00:14:01,550 --> 00:14:03,565
Hitler can hardly believe it.
154
00:14:04,934 --> 00:14:08,296
German generals find themselves facing
their worst case scenario:
155
00:14:08,497 --> 00:14:11,361
war, on two fronts.
156
00:14:11,521 --> 00:14:13,808
But the die is cast.
157
00:14:14,011 --> 00:14:18,481
Hitler unleashes the Wehrmacht,
The Armed Forces of Nazi Germany,
158
00:14:18,569 --> 00:14:20,669
onto Poland.
159
00:14:29,835 --> 00:14:34,913
Entering battle as if in a bygone age, the Polish cavalry
charges the German tanks,
160
00:14:36,196 --> 00:14:38,975
and is slaughtered.
161
00:14:53,957 --> 00:14:56,435
Paris, the Gare de l'Est train station,
162
00:14:57,438 --> 00:15:01,562
Many of these men had shipped out from
these same platforms 25 years ago,
163
00:15:01,973 --> 00:15:03,888
in a totally different atmosphere.
164
00:15:05,001 --> 00:15:08,526
In August 1914, they marched off
to war in high spirits
165
00:15:08,762 --> 00:15:10,808
with flowers in their riffles.
166
00:15:11,742 --> 00:15:13,595
But there are no flowers this time.
167
00:15:14,542 --> 00:15:16,268
And no riffles.
168
00:15:22,844 --> 00:15:25,795
Nobody wants to fight this war.
169
00:15:27,831 --> 00:15:30,698
4 million men are mobilized.
170
00:15:31,870 --> 00:15:36,175
Many of them are farmers.
France is still a largely rural country.
171
00:15:36,913 --> 00:15:42,121
They head for the German border on foot,
with their officers following on horseback.
172
00:15:44,404 --> 00:15:49,570
Armies still rely heavily on horses.
And these are requisitioned throughout the country.
173
00:15:53,277 --> 00:15:55,457
Motorization has not kept up.
174
00:15:56,308 --> 00:15:59,637
Gaston Chirac, a driver of one of these
outdated trucks,
175
00:15:59,864 --> 00:16:02,398
with solid rubber tires, recalls:
176
00:16:03,747 --> 00:16:08,248
There was such a shortage of equipment.
we had one riffle for two per truck
177
00:16:09,289 --> 00:16:13,699
We had one box of 10 bullets,
which we weren't allowed to open.
178
00:16:14,272 --> 00:16:15,700
It was pathetic.
179
00:16:16,190 --> 00:16:18,692
If we'd had what we needed, we'd have fought,
180
00:16:18,959 --> 00:16:21,862
because we're no great friend
of the "Bosche".
181
00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:30,758
The "Bosche" was a pejorative term for the German soldiers
during the previous war.
182
00:16:32,063 --> 00:16:36,250
They were also called "vert-de-gris",
which in French means "field gray",
183
00:16:36,552 --> 00:16:41,284
the color of their uniform, which enabled them
to blend in with their surroundings.
184
00:16:44,643 --> 00:16:46,848
But just who are these soldiers?
185
00:16:48,102 --> 00:16:52,070
Let’s take for example, one of these
young Germans, marching as he sings:
186
00:16:52,492 --> 00:16:56,782
"Our flag is waving before us,
Our flag is a new age."
187
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:00,577
"Our flag is stronger than death."
188
00:17:05,615 --> 00:17:08,898
His name is August von Kageneck,
he writes:
189
00:17:09,341 --> 00:17:14,160
I thought that the military career was the right choice.
My parents thought so as well.
190
00:17:14,759 --> 00:17:19,710
My father would tell me: "At least there, you can still
open your mouth and say what you like,
191
00:17:20,076 --> 00:17:22,952
and you don't have to do
that Nazi salute."
192
00:17:23,950 --> 00:17:29,970
In September 1939, August von Kageneck is still
training to become a tank commander.
193
00:17:30,802 --> 00:17:31,544
He writes:
194
00:17:31,857 --> 00:17:34,150
My father who was a general was telling me:
195
00:17:34,541 --> 00:17:38,127
The French have 40 divisions on the border,
we have 15.
196
00:17:38,690 --> 00:17:43,947
All the rest are in Poland.
500,000 men against 200,000.
197
00:17:44,692 --> 00:17:47,042
They outnumber us
2 to 1.
198
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:55,904
French Forces attack on September 7, 1939,
199
00:17:56,359 --> 00:17:59,340
4 days after declaring war.
200
00:17:59,833 --> 00:18:03,824
This offensive launched to show public opinion
that Poland has not been abandoned,
201
00:18:04,385 --> 00:18:07,791
advances 8 km into the Saar region.
202
00:18:12,580 --> 00:18:17,587
The French army's cinema department shows off
the spoils of war.
203
00:18:17,701 --> 00:18:18,925
Bicycles..
204
00:18:31,013 --> 00:18:35,475
The Saar offensive stops there,
and degenerates into a series of skirmishes,
205
00:18:35,713 --> 00:18:39,983
raids by elite commandos,
led by the hero, Joseph Darnand,
206
00:18:40,167 --> 00:18:44,214
who receives the citation of
"Premier Soldier of France".
207
00:18:51,115 --> 00:18:55,390
Later, he will become one of the most rabid
collaborators with the Germans.
208
00:18:55,816 --> 00:18:58,959
And eventually, he'll be executed after the war.
209
00:19:01,661 --> 00:19:08,942
The French army, in spite of its heroes and its superiority
in numbers, takes no further action.
210
00:19:09,380 --> 00:19:12,668
General Maurice Gamelin
67 years old,
211
00:19:12,821 --> 00:19:16,661
is Commander-in-Chief of the
Allied-Franco British Land Forces.
212
00:19:17,159 --> 00:19:18,742
For the French outnumber the British,
213
00:19:18,896 --> 00:19:24,422
who also think that this war isn't for real,
and that it'll all be settled soon.
214
00:19:33,459 --> 00:19:38,216
Gamelin himself has no desire
to re-fight the war of 1914.
215
00:19:38,556 --> 00:19:42,898
He wants to avoid another blood bath,
at any cost.
216
00:19:43,064 --> 00:19:46,909
He considers that he needs 2 years
safe behind the Maginot Line,
217
00:19:47,162 --> 00:19:49,995
in order to re-arm the country.
218
00:19:50,759 --> 00:19:55,106
The Maginot line is the work of a former
Minister of war, Andre Maginot.
219
00:19:56,029 --> 00:20:01,140
This complex of fortifications was meant to stop
the German enemy, once and for all.
220
00:20:01,655 --> 00:20:03,633
It took nearly 10 years to construct,
221
00:20:03,951 --> 00:20:07,485
and swallowed up 1,5 million
cubic meters of concrete,
222
00:20:07,621 --> 00:20:10,808
and 150,000 tons of steel.
223
00:20:11,802 --> 00:20:17,187
All these gun turrets are linked together by a labyrinth
of tunnels, 100 km of them.
224
00:20:18,192 --> 00:20:21,710
The line itself, stretched for 720 km,
225
00:20:21,916 --> 00:20:25,493
from the Swiss to the Belgian borders.
226
00:20:26,049 --> 00:20:29,203
The Maginot Line ends at the foot
of the Ardennes Forrest.
227
00:20:29,470 --> 00:20:33,887
The French military command thought that German tanks
could never cross this extremely
228
00:20:34,012 --> 00:20:35,694
rough terrain.
229
00:20:35,914 --> 00:20:38,574
The French didn't extend the line
all the way to the sea,
230
00:20:38,662 --> 00:20:40,990
because Belgium, before declaring
its neutrality,
231
00:20:41,097 --> 00:20:44,675
was an ally of France,
and opposed it.
232
00:20:45,099 --> 00:20:50,184
This northern part of the front is manned by a French army
and the British Expeditionary Forces.
233
00:20:50,449 --> 00:20:55,912
Later reinforced by Canadians, and troops
from the far-flung British Empire.
234
00:21:08,502 --> 00:21:12,832
In Britain a popular song of the day was
"The Washing on the Siegfried Line"
235
00:21:13,910 --> 00:21:17,909
We're going to hang out the washing
on the Siegfried Line.
236
00:21:18,007 --> 00:21:21,796
Have you any dirty washing, mother dear?
237
00:21:22,008 --> 00:21:25,987
We're gonna hang out the washing
on the Siegfried Line.
238
00:21:26,111 --> 00:21:30,083
'Cause the washing day is here.
239
00:21:32,688 --> 00:21:36,645
The Siegfried line is the string of fortifications
constructed by Hitler,
240
00:21:36,764 --> 00:21:38,905
facing the Maginot Line.
241
00:21:39,973 --> 00:21:44,409
The Germans don't attack,
they're still trying to avoid a second front.
242
00:21:47,607 --> 00:21:50,367
The French, nevertheless,
take some precautions.
243
00:21:50,603 --> 00:21:53,667
They evacuate the population of
Alsace and Lorraine
244
00:21:53,858 --> 00:21:57,788
to the regions of Perigord and Charentes
in the south west.
245
00:22:02,107 --> 00:22:04,554
Strasbourg, a ghost town,
246
00:22:07,125 --> 00:22:09,237
abandoned by its population,
247
00:22:09,773 --> 00:22:11,560
emptied of its soul
248
00:22:12,471 --> 00:22:15,462
especially that of the synagogues.
249
00:22:30,549 --> 00:22:35,405
On September 20,
Hitler orders the bombing of Warsaw.
250
00:22:35,895 --> 00:22:39,082
The city is surrounded,
but still holding out.
251
00:23:02,866 --> 00:23:07,271
The Fuhrer wants to strike terror into the hearts and minds,
not only of the Poles,
252
00:23:07,469 --> 00:23:10,544
but of the French and British as well.
253
00:23:10,959 --> 00:23:14,180
"This is what is in store for you."
254
00:23:19,846 --> 00:23:21,935
The world is horrified.
255
00:23:22,183 --> 00:23:26,183
In New York, the bombing of Warsaw
is up in lights in Time Square,
256
00:23:26,425 --> 00:23:29,234
and on the front page of
all the newspapers.
257
00:23:32,356 --> 00:23:36,734
Franklin D. Roosevelt, The President of The United States
addresses the nation:
258
00:23:37,471 --> 00:23:40,910
This nation will remain a neutral nation,
259
00:23:41,548 --> 00:23:48,191
But I cannot ask that every American
remain neutral in thought as well.
260
00:23:48,427 --> 00:23:53,818
Even a neutral has a right
to take account of facts.
261
00:23:54,215 --> 00:23:59,107
Even a neutral cannot be asked
to close his mind,
262
00:23:59,553 --> 00:24:01,850
or to close his conscious.
263
00:24:03,521 --> 00:24:07,040
The bombing of Warsaw shows how vulnerable
the cities are.
264
00:24:07,450 --> 00:24:10,059
Paris sets about protecting its monuments.
265
00:24:10,235 --> 00:24:14,337
and hides its museums' masterpieces
out in the provinces.
266
00:24:16,238 --> 00:24:20,807
The Champ de Mars, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower,
is dug full of bomb shelters,
267
00:24:21,409 --> 00:24:25,060
and there are frequent air raid drills.
268
00:24:32,968 --> 00:24:34,999
Gas masks are compulsory.
269
00:25:06,461 --> 00:25:11,512
Poison gases were used in the First World War,
and now, everyone is afraid of them.
270
00:25:13,013 --> 00:25:14,961
Even the horses.
271
00:25:22,995 --> 00:25:26,403
Meanwhile, Poland, is being ruthlessly
carved up.
272
00:25:47,570 --> 00:25:52,423
As previously agreed with Hitler,
the Soviets have invaded the eastern half of Poland.
273
00:25:53,607 --> 00:25:56,261
Here, German and Soviet soldiers are fraternizing,
274
00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:59,392
and in congruent side, to say the least.
275
00:26:00,141 --> 00:26:02,507
The Nazis hand out flyers that read:
276
00:26:02,723 --> 00:26:06,195
The German Army salutes the Red Army
of workers and farmers
277
00:26:06,408 --> 00:26:09,785
which it has always held
in the highest respect.
278
00:26:13,348 --> 00:26:18,205
The Polish Army surrenders to the Germans,
and in the east, to the Soviets.
279
00:26:23,201 --> 00:26:28,018
Stalin then orders the execution of
20,000 Polish prisoners.
280
00:26:36,098 --> 00:26:40,697
He wants to eliminate the elite of
this country he intends to annex.
281
00:26:41,366 --> 00:26:46,323
4,500 Polish officers are executed
with a bullet in the head,
282
00:26:46,965 --> 00:26:51,323
in the Katyn forest, near Smolensk,
in Russia.
283
00:26:53,132 --> 00:26:57,518
2 years later, at the Kremlin, Stalin meets with
the head of the Polish Government in exile,
284
00:26:58,100 --> 00:27:03,426
General Sikorski, who delivers a list of
missing Polish officers.
285
00:27:08,127 --> 00:27:11,216
The Soviets deny any wrong-doing.
286
00:27:21,735 --> 00:27:25,751
In 1992, the president of post-Soviet Russia,
Boris Yeltsin
287
00:27:26,215 --> 00:27:31,558
will present the Polish president, Lech Walesa,
with the original order of execution,
288
00:27:31,714 --> 00:27:34,987
signed by Stalin himself.
289
00:27:39,254 --> 00:27:41,971
Stalin, by occupying half of Poland,
290
00:27:42,046 --> 00:27:46,061
is in fact, playing into the hands of Hitler,
who needs a common border
291
00:27:46,166 --> 00:27:51,093
with the U.S.S.R. to facilitate his plans,
to invade Russia.
292
00:27:53,014 --> 00:27:58,033
Hitler and Himmler, the head of the SS,
will now take care of Poland
293
00:27:58,154 --> 00:28:03,426
by naming the Nazi, Hans Frank,
Governor General of the Occupied Polish Provinces,
294
00:28:04,244 --> 00:28:05,328
who proclaims:
295
00:28:06,144 --> 00:28:11,326
I have the power of life and death
over the Polish people.
296
00:28:14,380 --> 00:28:17,142
After the war, he will be tried in Nurenberg
297
00:28:17,220 --> 00:28:20,752
and hanged for crimes against humanity.
298
00:28:29,498 --> 00:28:33,845
These gypsies, held in a pen,
are filmed by a German.
299
00:28:34,396 --> 00:28:37,523
For the Nazis, they are 'non-persons'.
300
00:28:38,064 --> 00:28:40,426
The women will be forced
to undergo sterilization,
301
00:28:40,564 --> 00:28:45,800
because they "do not deserve to reproduce".
302
00:28:47,318 --> 00:28:50,918
The Nazis declare 'open season'
on gypsies.
303
00:28:51,584 --> 00:28:55,650
Hundreds of thousands will be interned
in concentration camps,
304
00:29:04,228 --> 00:29:08,171
The ordeal of the Jewish people,
begins.
305
00:29:10,342 --> 00:29:14,700
The Nazis now have 3 million Polish Jews
at their mercy.
306
00:29:22,514 --> 00:29:26,271
Hitler is still uncertain about
what to do with them.
307
00:29:26,364 --> 00:29:30,496
As long as the war is going well for him,
he considers deporting them to the east.
308
00:29:30,661 --> 00:29:34,483
or even shipping them to Madagascar.
309
00:29:36,650 --> 00:29:39,499
It's only when the outcome of the war
becomes less certain
310
00:29:39,647 --> 00:29:43,914
that Hitler and his accomplices unleash
a frenzy of hate and murder.
311
00:29:44,783 --> 00:29:47,040
"The Final Solution".
312
00:29:51,904 --> 00:29:54,713
For the time being, the Jews have to be identified,
313
00:29:54,826 --> 00:29:58,773
marked with a yellow star,
and herded into ghettos.
314
00:29:58,874 --> 00:30:03,532
Some of which, are completely
walled-off.
315
00:30:06,413 --> 00:30:09,699
From the diary of one of these
unfortunate souls:
316
00:30:10,786 --> 00:30:14,325
It's heart-rending to see the shameful
scenes of violence that take place
317
00:30:14,438 --> 00:30:16,180
before our eyes.
318
00:30:16,282 --> 00:30:20,371
Women and the elderly, beaten right out
in the streets by petty thugs.
319
00:30:21,469 --> 00:30:23,640
Tears come to my eyes.
320
00:30:24,254 --> 00:30:26,479
All our powerlessness,
321
00:30:26,462 --> 00:30:31,943
all our isolation is there to see right in the open
where not a single person takes our defense.
322
00:30:32,464 --> 00:30:34,812
We are so weak.
323
00:30:39,188 --> 00:30:42,968
All the major cities of Poland
will have their ghetto prisons
324
00:30:43,003 --> 00:30:47,842
where German, Austrian, and Czech Jews
will also be interned.
325
00:30:51,378 --> 00:30:56,867
The Jews here still feel confident that, perhaps someday,
they'll be able to return to their homes.
326
00:30:57,603 --> 00:31:01,829
They don't know that they will die
of hunger and cold.
327
00:31:02,177 --> 00:31:06,918
They don't know that the Shoah
is about to begin.
328
00:31:08,387 --> 00:31:13,203
Inhabited by Jew.
No Entrance.
329
00:31:18,914 --> 00:31:21,215
Warsaw, is in ruins.
330
00:31:22,094 --> 00:31:25,013
Hitler comes to be filmed
by a propaganda crew,
331
00:31:25,102 --> 00:31:28,350
seen here traveling in
a car in the background.
332
00:31:37,088 --> 00:31:42,246
These victorious German soldiers march their goose step
to the sound of the grenadiers' march.
333
00:31:42,352 --> 00:31:46,525
But they weren't too efficient
during the Polish campaign.
334
00:31:47,064 --> 00:31:51,898
Poor preparation, a lack of fighting spirit,
and even cases of indiscipline
335
00:31:51,972 --> 00:31:55,333
are the points that the commander-in-chief,
General von Brauchitsch,
336
00:31:55,363 --> 00:31:58,308
dares report to the Fuhrer.
337
00:32:05,419 --> 00:32:11,303
Hitler is furious, but he is immune to doubt and
orders the attack on the West to be prepared.
338
00:32:11,685 --> 00:32:16,138
An attack on the Netherlands,
Belgium, and France.
339
00:32:16,622 --> 00:32:19,377
Some of his generals think its madness,
340
00:32:19,412 --> 00:32:23,541
some of them begin plotting
to overthrow the Fuhrer.
341
00:32:23,631 --> 00:32:29,903
This is a crucial moment, the course of history
lies in the balance.
342
00:32:30,407 --> 00:32:36,124
November 8, 1939.
Hitler narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.
343
00:32:36,492 --> 00:32:40,079
It seems as if he enjoys some kind of
divine protection.
344
00:32:40,708 --> 00:32:46,053
When he attends the funeral for the victims,
he's no longer the same man.
345
00:32:46,166 --> 00:32:52,046
His power over the army and the German people
has grown even stronger.
346
00:32:52,726 --> 00:32:54,271
He tells his generals:
347
00:32:54,384 --> 00:32:58,634
My decision is irrevocable.
I will attack France when the time is right.
348
00:32:58,852 --> 00:33:02,620
I will be victorious,
or die in the attempt.
349
00:33:03,664 --> 00:33:07,831
Yet, Hitler is still uncertain about attacking the West,
for he also says:
350
00:33:08,720 --> 00:33:12,276
War is like opening the door on a dark room.
351
00:33:12,307 --> 00:33:14,730
You'll never know what will happen.
352
00:33:19,311 --> 00:33:23,950
Eventually, he postpones the order to attack,
and goes back to his chalet in the Alps
353
00:33:24,076 --> 00:33:27,635
to join his mistress, Eva Braun.
354
00:33:32,731 --> 00:33:35,565
She shot this footage of Hitler's entourage
355
00:33:35,687 --> 00:33:40,534
of the Reich's architect, Albert Speer,
who goes for long walks with Hitler.
356
00:33:41,434 --> 00:33:42,761
Speer recalls:
357
00:33:43,457 --> 00:33:47,333
Hitler wanted to re-christen Berlin,
Germania.
358
00:33:47,397 --> 00:33:50,911
We already had a mock-up of the future,
Adolf Hitler's Square
359
00:33:50,949 --> 00:33:54,627
with a dome,
inspired by St. Peter's in Rome,
360
00:33:54,697 --> 00:33:57,693
but 17 times bigger.
361
00:33:57,794 --> 00:34:02,225
I said to him, "My Fuhrer, wouldn't that
make an ideal target for bombers?
362
00:34:02,294 --> 00:34:05,367
He answered:
Not at all. Goering has assured me that
363
00:34:05,452 --> 00:34:09,968
no enemy aircraft will ever fly
over the Reich.
364
00:34:14,163 --> 00:34:19,102
From his barracks, the future German officer,
August von Kageneck, writes to his mother:
365
00:34:19,455 --> 00:34:23,098
We are all eager to fight.
We are ready for battle.
366
00:34:23,526 --> 00:34:24,891
His mother answers:
367
00:34:25,027 --> 00:34:30,002
This war is a crime, and we are going
to have to pay for it.
368
00:34:35,398 --> 00:34:38,219
The war then enters a new, bizarre phase.
369
00:34:38,426 --> 00:34:42,025
The Germans call it the "Sitzkrieg",
"the sitting war".
370
00:34:45,951 --> 00:34:49,192
The British call it the "phoney war",
371
00:34:52,091 --> 00:34:57,690
and for the French, it's the "Drole de Guerre",
"the funny war".
372
00:35:01,740 --> 00:35:05,903
A long, strange waiting period,
especially hard on the women.
373
00:35:06,540 --> 00:35:13,052
For them there's not only the anguish of war,
but also the survival of their families to worry about.
374
00:35:25,386 --> 00:35:30,440
As in the last war, the soldiers dig in
and try to make the best of things.
375
00:35:33,309 --> 00:35:36,053
The French soldier, Gaston Chirac,
writes to his wife:
376
00:35:36,513 --> 00:35:40,715
It's 30 degrees below zero,
the bread is frozen.
377
00:35:40,998 --> 00:35:46,950
I'm one of the lucky ones. They gave us some straw,
and with that, we can sleep better.
378
00:36:46,363 --> 00:36:52,156
The winter of 1939-1940 is indeed
one of the coldest of the century.
379
00:36:52,019 --> 00:36:57,843
To make a bad situation worse, all the winters of this war,
will be brutally cold.
380
00:37:32,129 --> 00:37:37,046
The commander-in-chief, General Gamelin,
is expecting the Germans to attack through Belgium
381
00:37:37,156 --> 00:37:42,694
and move towards Paris across
this open plain, like in 1914.
382
00:37:43,144 --> 00:37:48,051
Gamelin plans to make his stand against
the Germans, on Belgian soil.
383
00:37:50,065 --> 00:37:54,169
In France, Colonel de Gaulle, a tank officer,
who is beginning to make a name for himself
384
00:37:54,630 --> 00:37:56,667
criticizes this strategy.
385
00:37:57,494 --> 00:38:00,163
He calls it the "Maginot Lines Mentality"
386
00:38:00,632 --> 00:38:03,869
which consists in waiting for the other side
to make a move.
387
00:38:05,183 --> 00:38:07,495
In his book "Towards a Professional Army".
388
00:38:07,643 --> 00:38:12,785
He argues in favor of taking the offensive,
making massive use of tanks.
389
00:38:13,981 --> 00:38:16,653
France is producing 300 tanks a month,
390
00:38:16,791 --> 00:38:21,303
but they're being dispersed in all the sections
to back up the infantry.
391
00:38:30,086 --> 00:38:33,174
French aviation has also fallen behind.
392
00:38:33,441 --> 00:38:37,077
France ordered 4,000 planes
from the United States,
393
00:38:37,171 --> 00:38:41,908
in spite of the ever growing isolationist trend
championed by Charles Lindbergh,
394
00:38:41,993 --> 00:38:44,836
the hero who made the first
Trans-Atlantic solo flight
395
00:38:45,104 --> 00:38:50,004
and now a leading proponent of
the "America First" movement.
396
00:38:50,677 --> 00:38:54,410
If you believe in an independent destiny
for America,
397
00:38:55,358 --> 00:39:00,115
if you believe that this country
should not enter the war in Europe,
398
00:39:00,104 --> 00:39:04,667
we ask you to join the America First Committee
in its stand.
399
00:39:05,841 --> 00:39:08,592
It's the isolationist
voice of America
400
00:39:08,649 --> 00:39:14,275
and, of public personalities like Henry Ford,
the anti-Semitic car maker,
401
00:39:16,829 --> 00:39:22,174
or like Joseph Kennedy, America's ambassador in London,
who is anti-war.
402
00:39:22,454 --> 00:39:27,629
Whereas his son, John 'the future president' Kennedy,
supports European democracies.
403
00:39:31,679 --> 00:39:36,040
Nazi sympathizers in America also
contribute to the impassioned climate
404
00:39:36,368 --> 00:39:39,959
that reigns at the beginning of 1940.
405
00:39:41,179 --> 00:39:44,927
In Europe, The British Union of Fascists
are also quite active
406
00:39:44,856 --> 00:39:47,656
up to the moment they're banned.
407
00:39:47,917 --> 00:39:52,883
Oswald Mosley, "The English Fuhrer", challenges
the government, right in the center of London.
408
00:39:53,742 --> 00:39:56,889
He'll spend the next several years
in prison.
409
00:40:07,068 --> 00:40:12,381
Mosley's speeches urge people to get out
on the streets, and stop the war.
410
00:40:15,665 --> 00:40:19,396
But Winston Churchill has taken the reins
of the British government.
411
00:40:19,855 --> 00:40:23,788
Here, we see him with the French general Gamelin,
and Admiral Darlan
412
00:40:24,223 --> 00:40:26,934
who were on an official visit
to London.
413
00:40:29,385 --> 00:40:33,338
A Franco-British Expedition Recon,
is formed to help Finland
414
00:40:33,522 --> 00:40:36,131
which has been invaded
by the Soviet Union.
415
00:40:40,053 --> 00:40:44,904
France is preparing to send its elite soldiers,
The French Foreign Legion.
416
00:40:47,105 --> 00:40:48,205
The Foreign Legion.
417
00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:52,915
For a century it has been taking in the world's reprobates,
no matter what their past.
418
00:40:53,816 --> 00:40:55,897
As long as it's not too 'shady'.
419
00:41:00,406 --> 00:41:03,407
Their headquarters, in Sidi Bel Abbes,
in Algeria
420
00:41:03,453 --> 00:41:06,774
now signs up a good number
of Spanish Republicans.
421
00:41:06,848 --> 00:41:10,367
Having fled from their country,
after Franco's fascists' victory.
422
00:41:10,883 --> 00:41:15,312
They're now eager to fight the Nazis,
who supported Franco.
423
00:41:18,579 --> 00:41:20,757
They'll all make the long trip
to France.
424
00:41:28,997 --> 00:41:33,857
The Legionnaires embark at Brest, along with
the well equipped "Chasseurs Alpins".
425
00:41:34,339 --> 00:41:37,386
A mountain corp,
trained for action in the snow.
426
00:41:40,164 --> 00:41:43,593
But Finland and the Soviet Union
sign a peace treaty.
427
00:41:44,594 --> 00:41:49,135
A few days later, Hitler launches an offensive
against Denmark and Norway.
428
00:41:50,301 --> 00:41:54,310
The "Blitzkrieg",
The Lightning War.
429
00:41:55,146 --> 00:41:58,163
The Wehrmacht takes Oslo
in 2 days.
430
00:42:00,578 --> 00:42:03,467
Hitler is seeking to protect
"The Iron Route".
431
00:42:03,561 --> 00:42:05,939
Iron is indispensable to
the German war effort,
432
00:42:06,090 --> 00:42:11,935
and 50 percent of its Swedish iron ore is shipped
out of the Norwegian port of Narvik.
433
00:42:19,220 --> 00:42:23,511
The Franco-British Expedition Recon
lands in the 'feoffee' of Narvik.
434
00:42:27,430 --> 00:42:30,663
After a month of fighting,
The Allies take Narvik.
435
00:42:30,830 --> 00:42:33,795
The Iron Route is temporarily cut.
436
00:42:40,172 --> 00:42:44,266
This victory is good for French morale
and adds credence to their motto:
437
00:42:45,074 --> 00:42:47,342
We will win because we are the strongest.
438
00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:51,456
But the expedition recon will
have to abandon Narvik,
439
00:42:51,585 --> 00:42:56,193
and for the rest of the war, train load after
train load of Swedish iron ore
440
00:42:56,501 --> 00:42:59,891
will feed the German war machine.
441
00:43:00,042 --> 00:43:01,929
The French are brought
back home,
442
00:43:01,999 --> 00:43:05,981
for the Germans have just launched
their offensive in the West.
443
00:43:09,634 --> 00:43:15,749
May 9, 1940, Hitler left Berlin on his private train,
code named "Amerika".
444
00:43:16,131 --> 00:43:20,038
Heading west towards new headquarters
near the French border.
445
00:43:20,604 --> 00:43:21,786
Hitler announces:
446
00:43:22,234 --> 00:43:25,213
Gentlemen, the offensive has just begun.
447
00:43:32,353 --> 00:43:35,815
His generals had submitted him their battle plan
during the winter.
448
00:43:36,786 --> 00:43:41,724
It looks similar to that of 1914,
attack through Belgium.
449
00:43:42,641 --> 00:43:45,620
But Hitler preferred General von Manstein's idea.
450
00:43:46,605 --> 00:43:51,492
Cutting straight through the Ardenne forest,
and swinging up and driving towards the sea,
451
00:43:52,097 --> 00:43:55,789
encircling the allies,
with a sickle cut movement.
452
00:43:56,740 --> 00:43:59,566
But this sickle-cut movement is, in fact,
a huge gamble,
453
00:43:59,960 --> 00:44:03,194
because the Allies could turn back
and counter attack.
454
00:44:04,087 --> 00:44:07,396
However, Hitler is confident.
He notes:
455
00:44:07,363 --> 00:44:09,620
The main thing is to have good weather.
456
00:44:16,411 --> 00:44:18,916
Lieutenant August von Kageneck claims:
457
00:44:19,766 --> 00:44:23,450
We are the Wehrmacht,
the armed forces of greater Germany.
458
00:44:23,950 --> 00:44:26,423
Victory is certain.
459
00:44:49,215 --> 00:44:52,814
For the German soldiers,
their homeland is in danger.
460
00:44:53,564 --> 00:44:57,552
After all it was the French
who declared war on Germany.
461
00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:05,022
May 10, 1940. At dawn, German parachutists
make a jump over Holland.
462
00:45:06,055 --> 00:45:09,933
Their mission is to capture the air fields
and bridges around Rotterdam.
463
00:45:11,784 --> 00:45:16,445
At the same time, Hitler unleashes
his war machine on Belgium.
464
00:45:22,608 --> 00:45:25,326
Hitler waits.
465
00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:29,145
Will The Allies fall
into the trap?