Hitler in Colour (2005) - full transcript

"I die with a joyful heart,

"in the knowledge
of our infinite achievements,

"and of a contribution unique
in the history that bears my name."

"This war will not come to an end
the way the Jews imagine,

"with the extermination
of the Aryan people.

"Instead, it will see
the complete annihilation of the Jews.

"I do not play at war.

"I shall not allow myself
to be ordered about by generals.

"With iron will, I shall determine
the moment to attack.

"That is my mission."

'Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer!



'Sieg, Heil! Sieg, Heil!'

'Since the end
of the First World War,

'the German people had been living with

'the consequences
of a catastrophic defeat.

'Almost half of the workforce
is unemployed.

'One of them is laborer Hans Backer -'

"Thousands of factories
closed their doors.

"Many honest Germans
had to resort to theft to obtain food.

"All of us yearned for better times.

"Like many, I have lost
all my possessions.

"So I have joined
the National Socialist Party."

'The National Socialists -
the Nazis -

'have been in power for 20 months.

'On September 15th 1934, at Buckeberg,



'three-quarters of a million Germans have
come to see their new leader,

'Adolf Hitler.'

"The misery of our people
is horrible to behold.

"Unemployment must be overcome.

"People of Germany, give us four years,

"and may God Almighty
give our work his blessing."

'schoolteacher
Louise Solmitz -'

"A thrill shot through the crowd -

"'The Fuhrer is coming!'

"The excitement of the moment
gave vent to a rousing cry.

"So many worship him as their savior,

"their redeemer
from unbearable poverty."

"It is our task to make certain
that the pages in German history

"that bear witness to our
disintegration are torn in half.

"From need, misery and wretchedness

"shall arise a new German Reich."

'Hitler's rise to power
creates a new air of optimism.

'Jewish doctor Herter Natroff -'

"Hitler is Chancellor. Everyone is full
of it. It's all they talk about.

"Many are filled with happiness.

"Some have worry written in their faces.

"But all are united in the words,
'Now things will change.“

'Hitler gradually transforms
the lives of the German people.

'Unemployment is almost eliminated

'and workers are even given
holidays abroad,

'heavily subsidized by the state.

'Hans Bealis -'

"Who would have thought

"a German worker would one day
be able to go to the Italian Riviera?

"We will all return to Germany
full of thankfulness,

"and be able to work doubly hard
to realize our Fuhrer's goal."

'At home in Germany,

'the Nazis stamp out
all political opposition.

'The police and courts
are placed under Nazi leadership.

'All power is concentrated
in Adolf Hitler.'

"Not every one of you
can see me, yet I feel you.

"And you feel me.

"The miracle of our age
is that you have found me.

"And Germany's fortune
is that I have found you."

'September 1935.

'Hitler announces new laws

'that turn Germany's Jews
into second-class citizens.

'Children are given new textbooks
with lessons in racial education.'

"You can most easily tell a Jew
by his nose.

"It looks like the number 6.

"His lips are usually puffy.

"You can tell by his eyes
that he is deceitful.

"If you have a good nose,
you can smell the Jews."

'Any opposition to Hitler
is ruthlessly eradicated.

'Tens of thousands are imprisoned.

'Journalist Stefan Lorent
dared to criticize the Fuhrer.'

"I am writing in Cell No.24.

"Outside, a new Germany
is being created.

"Many millions are rejoicing.

"Hitler is promising everyone
precisely what they want.

"I think that when they wake
to their sober senses,

"they will find that
they have been led by the nose

"and duped by lies."

'August 1st, 1936.

'Adolf Hitler arrives to open
the 11th Olympic Games in Berlin.'

♪ Deutschland, Deutschland über alles

♪ Über alles in der Welt ♪

'Hitler is determined
these Games will be a showpiece

'for his new Germany.

'Jewish professor Victor Klemperer -'

"I find the Olympics so odious.

"The chanted slogans on the streets
have been banned.

"Jew-baiting, war-like sentiments -

"everything offensive
has disappeared from the papers.

"The attention of our guests
is repeatedly drawn

"to how peacefully and pleasantly
things are proceeding here."

'By the end of the Games,
the Germans top the medal table.

'It is a personal triumph for Hitler.'

"In 1940, the Olympic Games
will take place in Tokyo...

"but thereafter they will take place
in Germany for all time to come."

'Three weeks after
the Olympic Games,

'Hitler welcomes David Lloyd George,

'Britain's former Prime Minister,
to the Berghof,

'his mountain home
in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria.

'At Hitler's side is his interpreter,
Paul Schmidt.'

"Hitler was delighted with this
visit from the world-famous statesman.

"We sat at a table near the window.

"He began to speak with excitement

"of his experiences as a humble soldier
during the Great War.

"'I often faced the English, ' he said."

'Lloyd George
is so impressed by Hitler,

'he publishes his thoughts
in the Daily Express.'

"The idea of
a Germany intimidating Europe

"forms no part of Hitler's new vision.

"The Germans have definitely
made up their minds

"never to quarrel with us again."

'As Lloyd George leaves,

'Hitler presents a secret memo
to his ministers...'

"The world is moving towards
a new conflict.

"Making the German Army
into the first in the world is vital.

"If this does not happen,
then Germany will be lost.

"We must be ready for war
in four years' time."

'July 18th, 1937.

'Adolf Hitler's personal pilot,
SS-Oberfuhrer Hans Bauer,

'accompanies him to a pageant to
celebrate 2,000 years of German culture.

'Bauer is permitted to film his Fuhrer
with his own camera.

'14-year-old Ingeborg Weber -'

"The four years the Fuhrer asked for
to fulfill his promises are up.

"What great things he has achieved.

"The Communists have disappeared
from Germany.

"There is no unemployment.

"The Fuhrer has given us back
our self-respect."

'For the past six years,

'Adolf Hitler has kept a secret
from the German people.

'Hidden away from all
but his closest companions

'is his mistress, Eva Braun.'

"The weather is so wonderful

"and I, the mistress of
the greatest man in the world,

"am sitting here and gazing at the sun."

'With a camera
given to her by Hitler,

'Eva Braun films his private life.'

"I am so terribly happy
that he loves me so much

"and I pray that it
will always be like this.

"He has had
a head full of politics all this time

"but surely it is time
he relaxed a little."

'Only members of Hitler's
inner circle are allowed to meet Eva.

'One of them is Hitler's close friend,
architect Albert Speer.'

"Never have I met a person
who so seldom reveals his feelings.

"Even towards Eva he is never completely
relaxed and human.

"Hitler and Eva avoid anything that might
suggest an intimate relationship,

"only to go upstairs
to the bedrooms together late at night.

"Out of sympathy,
I began to feel a liking for this woman,

"who was so deeply attached to Hitler."

'25-year-old Eva
is from a traditional Catholic family.

'When Hitler provides Eva
with a flat of her own,

'her father writes a letter -'

"Your Excellency,

"I find myself
in the extremely unpleasant position

"of having to express to you my distress.

"I believe the parents' supervision
of the children until they get married

"is a sacred principle.

"This is my code of honor.

"Please advise her
to return to her family.

"Yours very respectfully, Fritz Braun."

'Eva intercepts the letter.

'It will never reach the Fuhrer.

'Eva always appears happy,
the center of attention.

'But the only surviving fragments
of her diary reveal a different story.'

"When he says he loves me,

"it only means he loves me
at that particular moment.

"Like his promises,
which he never keeps.

"I am utterly miserable.

"I shall go out
and buy some sleeping pills,

"then I won't think about it so much."

'Eva has already made
two attempts at suicide

'but Hitler still refuses to marry her.'

"A highly intelligent man

"should take a primitive
and stupid woman.

"Imagine if I had a woman
who interfered with my work.

"In my leisure time I want to have peace.

"I could never marry.
It's the same with a movie actor.

"When he marries,
he loses a certain something

"for the women who adore him.

"Then he is no longer their idol."

'September 28th, 1937.

'The people of Berlin are preparing
for a state visit

'from Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini.

'Hitler is building
a new military alliance in Europe.'

"We do not intend
in re-arming Germany

"to create an instrument
of military aggression,

"but, on the contrary,
exclusively for defence

"and the maintenance of peace."

'Hitler parades his new army
in front of Mussolini.

'Accompanying the two dictators
is Hitler's interpreter, Paul Schmidt.'

"I have ample opportunity
of observing the two of them.

"Hitler's voice was rough
and often hoarse.

"Sometimes his eyes blazed.

"His laugh always had
a flavor of sarcasm.

"There was an interesting ceremony,
with Mussolini appointing Hitler

"an honorary corporal
in the Fascist Militia."

'Hitler has also signed
a pact with Japan.

'With his new Axis of Power in place,
he is ready to make his next move.

'March 12th, 1938.

'Hitler announces
the Nazi takeover of Austria.

'Born in Austria, Hitler has always dreamt
of merging his homeland

'into a greater German Reich.

'Karl Titzian is a soldier
in the Austrian Army.'

"We've been told
German troops

"should not be met with any resistance.

"God save Austria."

"Everywhere there are
people on the streets and swastika flags.

"Germany has apparently saved us
from the Communists.

"Now everyone is on
the side of the winners."

'In the town of Dornbirn,
10,000 people celebrate

'in the renamed Adolf Hitler Square.'

Ein Reich'. Ein Fuhrer'!

"I believe that it was God's will
to send a boy from here into Germany,

"to raise him to be leader,

"to return his homeland to the Reich.

"For me, this is the proudest hour
of my life."

'Within weeks,
the Jews of Vienna

'are feeling the real impact
of Austria's savior.

'24-year-old Jewish student,
Edith Hahn -'

"The Nazis are putting up
signs on Jewish shops,

"warning people not to buy there.

"Anybody who resists is beaten up,

"killed, or taken away
to a concentration camp.

"Everyone around us has gone mad.

"They were born hating us,

"raised hating us,

"and now the veneer of civilization,

"which had protected us from their hatred,
has been stripped away."

'High in the Bavarian Alps,
at his mountain hideaway,

'Hitler is already planning
his next conquest.

'The diary of Nazi propaganda chief
Joseph Goebbels -'

"Now comes Czechoslovakia.

"The Fuhrer is wonderful.

"A true genius!

"He sits for hours over the map
and broods.

"The Fuhrer is pleased
the Czechs are being so stubborn.

"All the more
will they be torn to pieces one day.

"And they haven't the slightest idea what's
going to happen.

"Poor fools!"

'Hitler claims that
ethnic Germans

'living in the Czechoslovak province
of Sudetenland are being oppressed.

'German newspapers are full of
fabricated stories of violence and rape.

'Reports of German troop movements

'convince the Western allies,
Britain and France,

'that this distant border dispute
could lead to war.

'During the annual Nazi Party Rally,

'the news is announced that negotiations
with the Czech government

'have broken down.

'When Hitler begins his closing speech,

'the whole world is listening.'

- Ein Fuhrer! Sieg, Heil!
- Heil!

Sieg, Heil!

Sieg, Heil!

diese Sudetendeutschen keine Geschenke
zu bieten.

Sie haben das Recht,
ein eigenes Leben zu beanspruchen,

genauso wie jedes andere Volk.

'I demand
the right of self-determination

'for the three and a half million
Sudeten Germans.

'They themselves have a right to decide to
which country they belong.

'I demand that the oppression of these
Germans in Czechoslovakia ceases!'

Adolf Hitler, unser Fuhrer. Sieg, Heil!

Sieg, Heil!

'Two weeks later,
Czechoslovakia's fate is sealed

'when Hitler meets British Prime Minister
Neville Chamberlain.'

"The agreement
signed last night

"is symbolic of the desire
of our two peoples

"never to go to war
with one another again.

"I believe it is peace for our time."

'Hitler's troops are allowed
to march into the Sudetenland

'without a shot being fired.'

"I have made sacrifices.

"And I have shown great restraint.

"It is the last territorial demand
I shall make."

Sieg, Heil! Sieg, Heil! Sieg, Heil!

'June 12th, 1939.

'Adolf Hitler visits his childhood home,

'the small Austrian village of Fischlham.

'Son of a local customs officer,

'Hitler lays flowers on his parents' grave

'and then visits his old school.'

"It was here
that my first ideals took shape.

"My association with the rougher boys

"made me the very opposite
of a stay-at-home.

"Even then, my speaking talents

"were being developed in violent
arguments with my school friends.

"Woods and meadows
were then my battlefields."

'Hitler is now 50 years old.

'On his birthday, a woman writes
to her local newspaper -'

"My children look upon the Fuhrer as
he who gives the orders for everything.

"To them, the Fuhrer
is the creator of the world."

'Schoolchildren are even
being taught a new song.'

'Adolf Hitler is
our savior, our hero.

'He's the noblest being
in the whole wide world.

'For Hitler we live, for Hitler we die.

'Our Hitler rules a Brave New World.'

'All over Germany,
thousands of new recruits

'swear allegiance to their Fuhrer.

'Hitler's adjutant,
Lieutenant Colonel Schmundt -'

"The Fuhrer says that the solution
to our problems demands courage.

"It is a question of expanding in the East.

"No other openings
can be seen in Europe.

"We are left with no alternative

"but to attack Poland
at the first opportunity."

'This time,
Britain and France warn Hitler

'if he attacks Poland
they are prepared to go to war.

'Nazi propaganda chief
Joseph Goebbels -'

"We know for sure that the British
are too weak and too cowardly

"to get in our way.

"The Fuhrer says that Britain now has
the most rotten government imaginable.

"Believe me, we're going to see things
develop just like the last time.

"A war of nerves,
but they'll end up giving in."

'Hitler must remove
one vital threat

'before he can launch
his attack on Poland.

'He sends a secret telegram
to the Soviet leader.'

"Herr Stalin, the tension between
Germany and Poland

"has become intolerable.

"A crisis may arise any day.

"It is desirable to enter into
a new relationship with each other.

"I should be glad to receive
your early answer. Adolf Hitler."

'48 hours later,

'Stalin agrees not to interfere
with Hitler's plans.

'More than two million men
await their Fuhrer's orders.'

"No one will ever again have the
confidence of the whole German people.

"All depends on me.

"Our enemies have leaders who
are second-rate. I saw them in Munich.

"They are little worms.

"Close your hearts to pity.

"Act brutally.

"When starting a war,
it is not right that matters but victory!"

'Early on the morning
of September 1st, 1939,

'the German Army invades Poland.

'The news is broadcast throughout
Germany by Adolf Hitler himself.

'Werner Harz is in Berlin.'

"The streets are empty
and there are no troops to be seen.

"There are no cheering people, such
as we had at the start of the Great War.

"War has broken out quietly,
as if under a cloud."

'Two days later, Britain
and France declare war on Germany.

'Adolf Hitler has started
a second world war.

'A captured airfield
on the outskirts of Warsaw.

'The Nazi invasion
is only three weeks old

'but already the Poles are facing defeat.

'A jubilant Hitler arrives
to congratulate his troops.'

"Endless columns of the Polish
Army have become prisoners of war.

"Whatever remains must surrender
and lay down its arms,

"or it will be destroyed."

'As part of the secret pact
with Stalin,

'the Red Army invades Eastern Poland.

'When the Poles still refuse to surrender,
the city of Warsaw is devastated.

'Panzer Grenadier Gerhardt Meier -'

"We encountered
masses of refugees in carts.

"People are leaving town.

"Our artillery has had a field day.

"Everything has collapsed.

"There are people standing at the side
of the road watching us with hatred."

'Hitler's defeat of Poland
leaves 70,000 dead.

'As a nation, Poland ceases to exist.

'Hitler hopes
that his destruction of Poland

'will serve as a warning
to Britain and France.

'He makes them an offer of peace.

'When it is dismissed, he is enraged.

'Joseph Goebbels -'

"The Fuhrer believes
England has to get a knockout blow.

"England's power is now simply a myth,
not a reality any longer.

"All the more reason
why it must be smashed.

"Before then, there will be
no peace in the world."

'May 10th, 1940.

'Hitler launches Blitzkrieg in the West.

'He catches the Allies
by complete surprise.

'Private Hans Gotthard -'

"My darling wife, how can
I start to describe this experience?

"From all sides,
we can feel the march of thousands.

"The thunder of artillery never ceases

"and we just follow its echo."

'In just two weeks, the
German Army has the Allies on the run.

'At Dunkerque, more than 340,000 men
of the British and French armies

'are forced to abandon France.

'Peter Suff is one of the first
German soldiers on the beach.'

"It is hard to describe
the panic of the English.

"Imagine a picture of absolute chaos
on the beaches.

"Thrown-away weapons and guns,
and lots of vehicles and tanks.

"With the fall of Dunkerque, the whole
of the Belgian and French coast

"is in our hands."

'With the British Army beaten,
France is now alone.

'Hans Bauer, Hitler's pilot,

'films the Fuhrer's
triumphant arrival in France.'

"Soldiers of the Western
Front, you have not disappointed me.

"The most daring plan
in the history of war was realized

"thanks to your unequalled valor.

"Our victory shall teach our enemies
an historic lesson."

'June 22nd, 1940.

'The French formally surrender.

'Yet for some German soldiers
the price of victory is too high.

'Private Hans Gotthard -'

"My darling wife,

"I am completely shaken inside.

"Our soldiers have become
childlike and cruel.

"When we have won this war,
I can imagine

"all the enthusiastic speeches
at home about our leadership,

"and the spirit of the troops.

"I have to say, it is untrue.

"We have only won
due to our wickedness."

'Sam, June 28th.

'Hitler enters
the defeated French capital.'

"Within barely six weeks
of heroic struggle,

"our soldiers have ended
the war in the West.

"Their deeds will enter into history
as the most glorious victory of all time.

"I order flags to be flown
throughout the Reich

"and bells to ring for seven days."

'Only Britain now stands in the
way of Hitler's total mastery of Europe.'

'A week later,
he returns to Berlin.

'Hundreds of thousands of people
line the streets to greet him.

'He makes yet another
offer of peace to Britain.'

"Mr. Churchill
should place his trust in me.

"The continuation of this war
will end in the complete destruction

"of one of our two nations.

"I know it will be Britain.

"I direct yet another appeal to reason."

'Winston Churchill
refuses the offer.

'The battle for Britain has begun.

'Hitler believes his pilots must eliminate
the Royal Air Force

'before an invasion can take place.

'This time, they encounter
a more formidable enemy.

'Messerschmitt pilot Ulrich Steinhilper -'

"I can report
I've now shot down my fourth Spitfire.

"But it cost me an excellent pilot.

"The day before,
we had three more losses.

"My wingman was also caught.

"There are only 12 left from the old crew.

"The British have a new engine
in their Spitfires

"and we can hardly keep up with it."

'A week later, Ulrich Steinhilper
is shot down over Britain.

'When Churchill orders
the bombing of German cities,

'Hitler switches his attack
from the RAF to the British people.'

"If the Royal Air Force
should drop 2,000 or 4,000 bombs,

"then we will drop 200,000 or 400,000, even
1,000,000 bombs, in a single night.

"If they then increase their attacks,
we will obliterate their cities."

'Hitler's pilots
blitz Britain day and night.'

'Over the next nine months,
more than 40,000 people are killed.

'But the British still refuse to give in.

'The Luftwaffe is starting
to suffer heavy losses.

'Bomber Pilot Peter Stahl -'

"16th October. Our losses amount
to four bombers and their crews.

"This is a heavy blow.

"And tomorrow
the official communiqué will state

"that our brave aircrews have inflicted
devastating damage on vital targets

"and our own losses were only minimal.

"Our crews are reaching
the limits of their nerves."

'By May 1941,
Hitler has lost the battle for Britain.

'For the first time, he has met his match.'

"I am not a man
to abandon a fight, once begun.

"I've proved this in my life,
and I will prove this to Churchill."

'In Hitler's
new Eastern provinces,

'victory has brought
a brutal new regime.'

"The Poles
have a thin Germanic layer.

"Below that is foul material.

"The Jews.

"The most disgusting thing imaginable.

"If Poland had lasted any longer,

"everything would be lice-ridden.

"A clear, masterful hand
is now needed here."

'Hitler requires all Jews
to be marked with a special armband.

'They are rounded up
and forced to live in ghettoes.

'The largest ghetto is
in Poland's old capital, Warsaw.

'400,000 Jews
are confined within its walls.

'17-year-old Marie Berg -'

"The ghetto is becoming
more and more crowded.

"There is a constant stream
of new refugees.

"People are ragged and barefoot,

"with the tragic eyes
of those who are starving.

"Starvation alone is killing
40-50 people each day.

"I saw a little girl crying.

"She looked at me with her blue eyes
and said, 'I'm hungry.'

"Why does no one come to our aid?

"How long are we going
to be kept here?"

'Joseph Goebbels -'

"The Fuhrer prophesied that if the Jews
brought about another World War,

"they would experience annihilation.

"The World War is here.

"The extermination of the Jews
is the necessary consequence."

'By the end of 1942,

'almost 300,000
men, women and children

'have been taken from the Warsaw ghetto
to the death camp at Treblinka.

'Hitler's Final Solution has begun.

'After his defeat at the hands of the RAF,

'Hitler has abandoned his plans
for an invasion of Britain.

'He prepares orders for a new war,

'this time against his ally,
the Soviet Union.

'Chief of Staff, General Halder -'

"The Fuhrer says
that if we can defeat Russia,

"Britain's last hope will be gone.

"He believes a campaign against
the Soviet Union will be child's play."

'Some of Hitler's generals
are beginning to doubt his leadership.

'Deputy Chief of Operations,
General Warlimont -'

"This means we are bringing on ourselves
a war on two fronts

"that up till now
we have been lucky to avoid.

"What we need is someone
to oppose the Fuhrer.

"But there is no one."

'A war to destroy Communism

'has been Hitler's dream
for the last 20 years.'

"Communism is
an enormous danger for our future.

"We must forget any idea
of comradeship between soldiers.

"This will be a war of annihilation."

'Dawn, June 22nd, 1941.

'More than 3,000,000 German soldiers
cross the border into the Soviet Union.

'Hitler's treaty with Stalin is over.

'Operation Barbarossa has begun.

'Karl Fuchs is a gunner
in the 7th Panzer Division -

"War isn't half as bad as it sounds.

"The Russians are fleeing everywhere.

"Yesterday I shot up a Russian tank.

"If I get another one,
I'll get my first battle stripes.

"We're going to show those
Bolshevik pigs who's who around here.

"I wish you could see me now,
all tanned by the sun.

"We all believe in an early victory."

'An officer in
the 105th Police Battalion writes home -'

"Dear Hannah,

"The number of prisoners we take
increases day by day.

"Our battalion has to take care of them.

"We shoot them there and then.

"When you know that these men
have killed German soldiers,

"it is not such a difficult job
to shoot them.

"Please don't read this to our son."

'By the war's end

'more than 3,000,000 Soviet
prisoners of war will have been killed.'

'August 26th, 1941.

'Hitler visits the Eastern Front.

'With the Red Army in full retreat

'and large parts of
the Soviet heartland in his grasp,

'his plans for an Eastern Empire
are beginning to take shape.'

"What India is for Britain,
Russia will be for us.

"If only I could make
the German people understand

"what this space means for our future.

"Let's learn from the British.

"It is just a matter of dividing up
a giant cake...

"so that at first we rule it,
then administer it,

"and, finally, exploit it."

'But Hitler and his generals
fail to defeat the Red Army

'before the start of
the severe Russian winter.

'They are forced to call a halt
to Operation Barbarossa.

'Then, on December 7th, Hitler receives the
news that his allies, the Japanese,

'have bombed Pearl Harbor.

'Adolf Hitler is faced by a new enemy -
the United States.'

"No power can shake us.

"I am Fuhrer of a Reich
that will last for a thousand years.

"Churchill and Roosevelt are sitting over
there in their plutocratic little world.

"Behind the scenes,
the Jews run their show.

"I have my people behind me."

'With winter over,
Hitler launches a new offensive.

'He is convinced that the Red Army
is on the brink of destruction.

'Lieutenant Wilhelm Buehler -'

"At last, we're in our element again.

"It is we who are taking
the initiative, Mr. Stalin.

"And neither you nor your beasts
can stop us."

"All about is an ear-splitting,
gigantic racket.

"Shot after shot.

"A never-ending inferno.

"The land is bathed in a thick fog.

"We thank God that this war
is not being fought on German soil."

'When the German Army
reaches the river Volga,

'Hitler orders the capture of Stalingrad.

'His soldiers are now over 1,000 miles from
home, and dangerously exposed.

'When his generals suggest a retreat,

'Hitler confronts them.'

"Do you think that you can teach
me what the man at the front is thinking?

"Where were you in the First World War?

"I demand from you the same toughness
as from the frontline soldiers."

'Hitler orders "no retreat".'

'Three months later,
the Red Army surrounds and traps

'a quarter of a million German soldiers
in Stalingrad.'

♪ ..in eiserner Nacht

♪ im Schnee der Soldatenheld wacht

♪ Tréiumt von Hanne und dem Glilck... ♪

'On the home front, the people
of Germany are preparing for Christmas.

'Some of the families of soldiers
trapped in Stalingrad

'have letters brought out by air.

'Private Werner Bunnemann -

"My dear son,

"I hope that this is the last Christmas
that you celebrate without me.

"The Russians have dealt us
a nasty blow.

"It is now minus 30 degrees here.

"How nice it must be, in warm rooms.

"Next year, I will hopefully
be back with you.

"Love from your father, Werner."

'Five weeks later,

'$30,000 surviving German soldiers
in Stalingrad surrender.

'80,000 will die in Soviet captivity.

'Private Werner Bunnemann
is one of them.

'With Hitler's war claiming
more and more German lives,

'even old men and boys are now
called up to fight for the Fatherland.

'The diary of 15-year-old
Wolfgang Findeisen -'

"We have replaced the men,
so that they can go to the Front.

"Soldiers have manned these guns
until now.

"It's very exciting.

"I like this much more than school.

"We are now on duty 24 hours a day.

"We are boys no longer -
now we are men."

'Hitler's homeland
is under attack from the air.

'The Allies have begun
fire-bombing Germany's cities.

'On July 27th,
700 British bombers target Hamburg.

'The firestorm is filmed by
Hamburg fireman Hans Runswig.'

"The fire is like
a thunderstorm without rain.

"The heat is unbearable.

"I see people lying in the street.

"I try to help them
but they are already dead.

"Hamburg's streets
are littered with bodies,

"some of them so burnt
that they are only skeletons.

"Some are reduced
to small heaps of ash."

'In Hamburg alone,
more than 40,000 people are killed.

'Hitler's advisors want him to tour the
ruins and raise the morale of his people.

'Minister of Supplies, Albert Speer -'

"I tried a few times to persuade Hitler.

"Goebbels had tried to put over
the same idea, but in vain,

"and referred enviously
to the conduct of Churchill.

"'When I think of the propaganda value
I could make of such a visit, ' he'd say."

'Hitler remains hidden away

'in his command bunker
on the Eastern Front.'

"If the German people are no
longer so strong and ready for sacrifice,

"that they will not stake
their own blood on their existence,

"they deserve to pass away and be
annihilated by another stronger power.

"If that is the case,
I would not shed a tear for them."

'Hidden in the forests
of Eastern Germany

'is Hitler's secret headquarters.

'The Wolf's Lair is a huge complex
of camouflage buildings

'and underground bunkers.

'From here, Hitler directs his war.

'His health is now failing.

'He has a heart condition and
the early signs of Parkinson's disease.

'General Heinz Guderian -

"Since I last saw Hitler,
he has aged greatly.

"His back was bent,

"his hand trembled.

"His eyes lacked their former luster.

"He easily lost his temper and was then
unpredictable in what he said and did."

'Hitler's ally, the Fascist
dictator of Romania, Marshal Antonescu,

'is here to discuss
the worsening war situation.

'Hitler's Adjutant, Nicolaus von Below -'

"I had the impression
that Hitler now believed

"that the war against both the Russians
and the Allies, on two fronts,

"could no longer be won."

'Dawn, June 6th, 1944.

'The Allies begin an invasion
of Nazi-controlled France.

'D-day-

'When Hitler is informed, he is delighted.'

"The news could not be
any better.

"As long as they were in Britain,
we could not get at them.

"Now we have them
where we can destroy them."

'But, by the end
of the first day,

'the Allies have overwhelmed
the German soldiers

'and fought their way inland.

'Private Robert Vogt -'

"We only had infantry weapons.
We didn't even have a bazooka.

"And we were even short of ammunition.

"The Americans were right-
they dropped leaflets in German

"which read, 'Attacked from the front,
cut off from behind,

written off by Hitler.

'In Germany,
the news is announced

'that a bomb has exploded in
Hitler's Wolf's Lair headquarters.

'A group of Army officers has been secretly
plotting his downfall.

'Hitler has a lucky escape.'

"Now I have proof.

"The entire General Staff
is contaminated!

"Now I have the swine who have been
sabotaging my work for years!

"Now I know why my great plans failed.

"It was treason."

'Hitler orders
the arrest of 5,000 people.

'200 are executed.

'With his Empire under attack
from all sides,

'Hitler puts his faith in a new weapon.

'For more than 12 years,
at a secret location in Northern Germany,

'a team of Nazi scientists have been
testing a long-range ballistic missile.

'They make a special color film
of their first successful launch.

'Head of the research team, Major-General
Walter Dornberger,

'shows it to Hitler.'

"A strange, fanatical light
flared in Hitler's eyes.

"'What I want is annihilation!' he raged.

"I realized that
he expected this new weapon

"to produce a turning point in the war.

"Our missile has been renamed the V-2.

"Vengeance Weapon No.2."

'1,300 V-2 rockets are fired
on London, killing almost 3,000 people.

'Not the annihilation
Hitler has demanded.

'The Allies are closing in
on the Fatherland itself.

'Hitler is still telling his people
that the war can be won.

'But, in private, he is a changed man.'

"I know the war is lost.

"The enemy's superiority is too great.

"I have been betrayed.
I ought to put a bullet in my head.

"But we will not capitulate, ever!

"We may go down
but we will take the world with us."

'April 11th, 1945.

'The Allies arrive at Buchenwald.

'It is one of over 1,000
of Hitler's concentration camps.

'Udo Dietmar is one of the few survivors.'

"The conditions in Buchenwald
had reached the height of horror.

"People were starving.

"A few of those who could still move

"broke down and died.

"There were mountains of corpses.

"The crematorium and the courtyard, they
are overcrowded with skeletons.

"I can still hear my dead friends.

"'If you should survive, don't forget
to tell the world of our destiny.'

"I will never forget."

'The Americans round up people
from the nearby town

'and force them to witness the horrors that
have been committed in their name.

'18-year-old Renate Simone -'

"I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

"They had piled up
the corpses of people who had died.

"The smell was just too much.

"I couldn't take it anymore.

"But the GI shouted at me,
'You, Hitler Fraulein!

“Here, hack'. Look!“

'The Nazis have murdered
six million Jews.'

'January 1945.

'The Red Army has reached
the Oder river, just 50 miles from Berlin.

'From his bunker
beneath the center of the city,

'Hitler orders every able-bodied male
to defend Berlin.'

"Every soldier
must fulfill his duty.

"Whoever does not is a traitor.

"Anyone who gives you an order
to retreat must be arrested

"and executed immediately."

'Outnumbered
more than five to one,

'the German cause is hopeless.

'On April 21st, the Russians enter Berlin.

'With more than 20 million Soviets already
killed in the war,

'the Red Army allows
its soldiers to celebrate.

'24-year-old Hildegard Christoph -'

"The Russians came.

"We weren't allowed to lock our doors.

"Holding machine guns,
they herded us into an empty house.

"Other young women
had also been dragged in.

"The beasts pounced on us,
again and again, the entire night.

"The whole mob of them.

"At dawn, they disappeared.

"We crept back to our family.

"Many committed suicide."

'As many as
two million German women are raped.

'In the ruins of the Nazi Chancellery,

'Hitler's underground bunker
is discovered.

'It is deserted.

'After finally marrying
his mistress, Eva Braun,

'Adolf Hitler has committed suicide.'

"In order to escape
the disgrace of surrender,

"my wife and I choose death.

"It is our wish to be burnt immediately."

'All that is found
are a few charred bones.

'Hitler's war is finally over.

'17-year-old schoolgirl, Edelgard Seidel -'

"We believed in victory,
and now this is the end.

"Hitler is responsible
for destroying our nation.

"We will always have to live
under this shame."

'Across Europe,
50 million people are dead.

'Before killing himself,
Hitler wrote this last testament...'

"It is untrue that I or
anyone else in Germany wanted war.

"It was provoked solely by the Jews."