>> ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF BERLIN STAND TRACES OF THE SUPERCITY THAT ADOLF HITLER PLANNED. FORGOTTEN AND ABANDONED, THEY ARE WHAT REMAINS OF HIS ATTEMPT TO BUILD A NEW WORLD CAPITAL. HITLER MAY HAVE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE DEATH AND DESTRUCTION THAN ANY INDIVIDUAL IN HISTORY. BUT HE DIDN'T ONLY WANT TO DESTROY. HE WANTED TO BUILD, TO REMODEL HIS COUNTRY ACCORDING TO HIS OWN VISION. AND THIS NEW CITY WOULD BE THE PROJECT'S SHOWPIECE. >> THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THIS THAT'S EVER BEEN TRIED OR ACHIEVED. NOBODY HAS EVER RE-PLANNED, RE-BUILT A WHOLE CITY IN THIS WAY. >> HITLER PLANNED TO CREATE BUILDINGS BIGGER AND BETTER THAN ANYTHING THAT HAD GONE BEFORE-- A DOMED HALL, SO LARGE THAT THE EIFFEL TOWER COULD BE FITTED INSIDE IT. A STADIUM THAT WOULD HOLD 400,000 PEOPLE. BUT HIS DREAM WAS NEVER FULLY REALIZED, AND IT DIED WITH HIM AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II. ONLY NOW, AFTER 6 DECADES OF RESEARCH, AND USING NEW COMPUTER GRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY, IS IT POSSIBLE TO RECREATE THE CITY THAT HITLER HAD INTENDED FOR HIS PEOPLE. THIS IS HITLER'S LOST WORLD. GERMANY, 1933. A NATION MADE BITTER AND WEAK BY THE LOSS OF WORLD WAR I. ITS PEOPLE SUFFER THE HARDSHIP OF ECONOMIC DEPRESSION, AND ADOLF HITLER SWEEPS TO POWER WITH THE SEDUCTIVE PROMISE OF A NEW FUTURE-- A FUTURE WHERE GERMANS WILL TAKE THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACES AS THE LEADERS OF THE WORLD, AS THE GREATEST MILITARY POWER. HITLER WILL REBUILD THEIR NATION. HE WILL CREATE A NEW WORLD CAPITAL ON THE SITE OF BERLIN. HE WILL CALL IT GERMANIA. AND THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, HITLER WILL USE BUILDINGS-- TO SYMBOLIZE NAZI SUPREMACY, TO STAKE A CLAIM ON A PLACE IN HISTORY, AND AS A MEANS OF PRESENTING HIS CAREFULLY-CREATED IMAGE TO THE WORLD. HITLER NEEDED A MAN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN. HE CHOSE ALBERT SPEER, AN ARCHITECT ONLY 28 YEARS OLD. IT WOULD BE SPEER'S JOB TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN HITLER'S DREAMS AND THE REALITY OF CONSTRUCTION. >> HIS YOUTH WAS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR, BECAUSE HE COULD, IN THAT SENSE, BECOME A KIND OF APPRENTICE TO HITLER-- THAT IS, HE COULD BUILD WHAT HITLER WAS IMAGINING. >> THEIR PARTNERSHIP WOULD SURVIVE UNTIL THE VERY LAST DAYS OF HITLER'S LIFE. TOGETHER, THEY EMBARKED ON A CAMPAIGN DELIBERATELY TO CREATE BUILDINGS THAT WOULD INTIMIDATE AND OVERWHELM. THAT CAMPAIGN BEGAN NOT IN BERLIN, BUT IN SOUTHERN GERMANY-- THE OLD NAZI HEARTLAND. THE CITY OF NUREMBERG WOULD BECOME HOST FOR THE NAZI PARTY'S ANNUAL RALLIES. SPEER DESIGNED A VENUE WHERE THE PARTY FAITHFUL WOULD CELEBRATE THE CULT OF THEIR LEADER. TODAY, THE SITE IS DERELICT AND OVERGROWN, A MEMORY OF A SHAMEFUL ERA. BUT SPEER'S VAST, OPEN ARENA IS STILL HERE. IT'S THE SIZE OF 12 FOOTBALL FIELDS, ENCLOSED BY 36 STONE TOWERS. AT ONE END STANDS THE ZEPPELIN TRIBUNE, THE PLATFORM WHERE NAZI LEADERS WOULD ADDRESS UNIFORMED RANKS OF PARTY MEMBERS. THE PLATFORM IS 1,300 FEET LONG AND 65 FEET HIGH. 60,000 PEOPLE SAT HERE TO WATCH PARADES AND MILITARY DISPLAYS IN THE FIELD BELOW. SPEER BASED HIS DESIGN ON A STUNNING PIECE OF CLASSICAL GREEK ARCHITECTURE-- THE PERGAMON ALTAR, WHICH HAD BEEN TRANSPORTED, BRICK BY BRICK, IN 1913 TO BERLIN'S MAIN MUSEUM. BY ECHOING ITS CONSTRUCTION, SPEER WAS CLAIMING THAT THE NAZIS COULD RIVAL ANYTHING IN HISTORY. >> THIS MONUMENT HAD A SERIES OF STEPS GOING DOWN IT, AND THEN ALSO A LARGE COLONNADE BEHIND IT. ORIGINALLY THERE WAS A VERY-- A LARGE COLONNADE BEHIND US HERE. >> BUT SPEER DIDN'T JUST COPY WHAT HE SAW. HE SET OUT TO IMPROVE IT AND MAKE IT APPEAL IN HIS OWN TIME. BY EXTENDING THE STAIRCASE AND ADDING STEPPED SEATING, HE MADE THE TRIBUNE MUCH LARGER THAN ITS ANCIENT INSPIRATION. IT TOOK 3 YEARS TO BUILD. AND WHEN IT WAS FINISHED, IT WAS CROWNED WITH A 20-FOOT-TALL SWASTIKA. HISTORIAN PAUL JASKOT WALKS THE CORRIDORS BENEATH THE SPEAKER'S PLATFORM. >> WE'RE STANDING INSIDE OF ONE OF THE ONLY REMAINING STRUCTURES BUILT BY ALBERT SPEER, THE ZEPPELIN TRIBUNE. WHAT YOU ARE SEEING HERE IS THE LOBBY SPACE THAT WAS PROBABLY USED AS A PREPARATION AREA FOR PARTY OFFICIALS BEFORE THEY WOULD GO UP AND SPEAK AT THE TRIBUNE STANDS ABOVE US. >> OFFICIALS WOULD WALK OUT TO ADDRESS TENS, EVEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE AT THE RALLIES. >> [Hitler shouting in German] >> THE SURROUNDINGS WERE DESIGNED TO CONVINCE THE AUDIENCE THAT THEY WERE PART OF SOMETHING MOMENTOUS. >> [Hitler shouting in German] [crowd cheers] >> THE WALLS OF THIS LOBBY ARE FACED WITH MARBLE. THE FLOOR IS POLISHED GRANITE. THE CEILING IS COVERED WITH A GOLDEN SWASTIKA-DESIGN MOSAIC. AND YET SPEER'S MOST IMPOSING WORK HERE AT THE NUREMBERG RALLY SITE WAS A ONE-OFF SPECTACLE, CREATED NOT WITH STONE OR METAL, BUT WITH LIGHT. AT THE 1934 RALLY, HE USED LIGHT TO BIND THE MASSES TOGETHER, BY ENCLOSING THEM INSIDE ONE HUGE "OUTSIDE" SPACE. VISIBLE FROM UP TO 60 MILES AWAY, LIGHTS FILLED THE SKY, REACHING 25,000 FEET. IT WAS SAID TO BE LIKE A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. THE BEAMS CREATED WHAT WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS "THE CATHEDRAL OF LIGHT." THIS RARE FOOTAGE CAPTURES THE MOMENT WHEN THE BEAMS OF 134 SEARCHLIGHTS CONVERGED IN THE SKY ABOVE THE ZEPPELIN FIELD. >> SPEER USED THEM TO CREATE AN EFFECT OF COMMUNITY IN THE SENSE THAT THEY SURROUNDED THE ENTIRE ZEPPELIN FIELD SO THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, AND THEN THE LIGHTS WOULD FORM ABOVE YOUR HEAD, AND IT WOULD GIVE YOU THE SENSE OF BEING INSIDE, ALTHOUGH YOU WERE OUTSIDE. >> THE SUCCESS OF THE NUREMBERG RALLIES PERSUADED HITLER THAT THE CITY NEEDED A NEW, INDOOR HOME FOR THE PARTY'S MASSED CONVENTIONS. HE DECIDED TO BUILD THE CONGRESS HALL, WHERE UP TO 60,000 FOLLOWERS COULD GATHER TO HEAR HIM AND HIS HENCHMEN SPEAK. THIS WOULD BE A COMPLETELY NEW TYPE OF BUILDING. AGAIN, HE TOOK INSPIRATION FROM THE CLASSICAL WORLD-- THIS TIME, THE COLISEUM OF ANCIENT ROME. >> HITLER OFTEN TALKED ABOUT OUTDOING ROME, BOTH ARCHITECTURALLY AND IN TERMS OF ITS MILITARY POWER. >> THE COLISEUM IS 500 FEET WIDE. HITLER'S HALL WOULD BE 200 FEET WIDER. THE ARCHITECTS WERE TOLD TO MIMIC ITS DESIGN AND TO USE NOT MODERN CONCRETE BUT ONLY THE FINEST GRANITE. HITLER WANTED PRESTIGE. HE WANTED BUILDINGS THAT WOULD LAST A THOUSAND YEARS. >> WE'RE IN THE LOWER ARCADE OF THE<i> KONGRESSHALLE.</i> IT HAS A TIER EXTERIOR, AND IT IS BUILT OUT OF SOLID MASONRY. WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS THE FACING OF THAT MASONRY INTERIOR, WHICH IS MADE OUT OF VERY, VERY HARD GRANITE. AND IT'S ALSO A VERY FINE GRAIN GRANITE, SO IT WAS A VERY EXPENSIVE, VERY HIGH PRESTIGIOUS KIND OF STONE. >> ALTHOUGH THE EXTERIOR OF THE CONGRESS HALL EXUDES PROSPERITY AND SUCCESS, THE INTERIOR WAS NEVER COMPLETED. THE ONSET OF WAR MEANT THE INNER WALLS AND FOUNDATIONS LAY CRUMBLING AND NEGLECTED. PAUL JASKOT GOES IN SEARCH OF WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN. >> WE'RE STANDING IN THE INTERIOR OF WHAT REMAINS OF THE CONGRESS HALL. THERE WOULD BE BANK SEATING CENTERED ON A PODIUM WHERE THE PARTY LEADERS OR HITLER WOULD SPEAK. AT THE TOP OF THE HALL WOULD HAVE BEEN A COLONNADE, AND THEN THE HOLE WOULD HAVE BEEN CAPPED BY A CEILING WHICH HAD A VERY LARGE SKYLIGHT, BRINGING THE NATURAL WORLD INSIDE. >> THE ROOF IS MISSING; NOT COLLAPSED OR BOMBED, BUT NEVER BUILT. AS WAR LOOMED, IT BECAME MORE IMPORTANT FOR THE GERMAN STATE TO DEPLOY ITS RESOURCES ELSEWHERE. THE BUILDERS NEVER RETURNED TO COMPLETE THE JOB. NOW, ENGINEERING EXPERTS WONDER WHETHER HITLER'S PLANS FOR THIS BUILDING COULD EVER HAVE BEEN REALIZED. >> THIS WOULD'VE BEEN A 200- METER SPANNING STRUCTURE-- THERE WAS NO COLUMN SUPPORT INSIDE. AND IT'S QUESTIONABLE WHETHER THEY COULD'VE DONE THAT AT THIS TIME. WE CAN CERTAINLY DO IT TODAY. >> NOW, USING COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY BASED ON THE ORIGINAL PLANS, WE CAN FINALLY REVEAL HOW THE CONGRESS HALL WOULD HAVE LOOKED IF HITLER'S ENGINEERS HAD COMPLETED THEIR TASK. HERE, HITLER WOULD HAVE DELIVERED SPEECHES FROM A CENTRAL PULPIT TO A CROWD OF OVER 50,000. SPEER AND HITLER HAD DEFINED THE BLUEPRINT FOR WHAT THEY PLANNED TO BUILD-- STRUCTURES THAT WOULD NOT JUST IMPRESS BUT OVERWHELM THOSE WHO ENTERED THEM. THE NEXT PHASE WAS TO DEMONSTRATE THIS POWER TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE. GERMANY WOULD HOST THE OLYMPIC GAMES, AND HITLER WOULD HAVE SPEER DESIGN A NEW STADIUM. IT WOULD BE BIGGER THAN ANY BUILT BEFORE OR SINCE. >> IN 1934, WORK BEGAN ON THE LARGEST STADIUM IN EUROPE. THE STADIUM HOSTED THE 1936 OLYMPIC GAMES AND MARKED HITLER'S ARRIVAL ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE. IT WAS THE NEXT STEP IN HIS PLAN TO REBUILD AND RE-BRAND GERMANY. LOCATED 5 MILES FROM THE CENTER OF BERLIN, IT WOULD FOCUS THE WORLD'S ATTENTION ON NAZI GERMANY AND ITS GROWING STRENGTH. THE STADIUM WOULD COST THE EQUIVALENT OF ONE QUARTER OF A BILLION DOLLARS. 2 TIERS OF SEATING WOULD HOLD 110,000 SPECTATORS. BUT HITLER'S ENGINEERS WERE GIVEN JUST 3 YEARS TO COMPLETE IT. THEY FEARED THAT THE AMOUNT OF WORK INVOLVED MEANT THE STADIUM WOULD NOT BE READY IN TIME FOR THE OPENING CEREMONY. HITLER WOULD NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. AN INNOVATIVE SOLUTION WAS NEEDED. THE BUILDERS DECIDED TO SINK THE FLOOR OF THE STADIUM AND PLACE THE LOWER SEATING TIER BELOW GROUND LEVEL. >> CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION WAS ONLY NEEDED FOR THE UPPER TIER, NOT FOR THE LOWER TIER. >> THIS WOULD DRASTICALLY CUT THE CONSTRUCTION TIME, BUT MORE THAN THAT, IT APPEALED TO HITLER, BECAUSE IT ECHOED THE DESIGN OF THE ARENAS OF ANCIENT ROME, WHICH ALSO HAD SUNKEN FLOORS. HE CONTINUED TO MEDDLE IN OTHER ASPECTS OF THE DESIGN. WERNER MARCH, THE STADIUM'S ARCHITECT, HAD PLANNED AN ULTRA-MODERN GLASS FACADE FOR THE BUILDING'S FRONT. >> WHEN HITLER SAW THESE DRAWINGS, HE GOT ANGRY, AND HE FORCED MARCH TO CHANGE THE PLANS. HE WANTED NO GLASS ELEMENTS IN THE STADIUM. >> HITLER WANTED THE BUILDING TO HAVE A CLASSICAL DESIGN. HE DEMANDED THE FACADE BE COVERED WITH STONE. >> STONE WAS REALLY SIGNIFICANT TO HITLER BECAUSE OF ITS PRESTIGE, BECAUSE OF ITS PERMANENCE AND BECAUSE OF ITS USE BY PREVIOUSLY POWERFUL REGIMES. >> THIS WAS TO BE MORE THAN JUST A SPORTS ARENA. ITS TRUE FUNCTION WAS AS A MONUMENTAL ADVERTISEMENT FOR NAZISM. AN OPENING WAS LEFT IN THE STADIUM'S WEST END. IT GAVE A DIRECT LINE OF SIGHT TO A BELL TOWER-- THE FUHRER TOWER. ITS OVERSHADOWING PRESENCE WOULD BE A CONSTANT, FORCED REMINDER OF HITLER'S POWER. IN FACT, THROUGHOUT THE GAMES, HIS SECRET POLICE USED IT AS A VANTAGE POINT FROM WHICH TO WATCH THE CROWD. WHEN HE ATTENDED IN PERSON, HITLER SAT WITH HIS MEN IN A VIP BOX, LIKE A ROMAN EMPEROR SITTING IN JUDGMENT OVER A CONTEST BETWEEN GLADIATORS. AND HE CHOREOGRAPHED AN OPENING CEREMONY. FOR THE FIRST TIME, A FLAMING TORCH WAS CARRIED FROM GREECE'S MOUNT OLYMPUS TO LIGHT A BEACON IN THE STADIUM, A RITUAL WHICH CONTINUES TODAY. FEW REALIZE THAT IT WAS A NAZI INNOVATION. THE ATHLETE WHO CARRIED THE TORCH THROUGH BERLIN STILL REMEMBERS THE EFFECT THIS HAD ON THE CROWDS. >> THE MOOD WAS FANTASTIC, I CAN TELL YOU THAT MUCH. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE STANDING ON THE STREETS-- I WAS THRILLED. IT WAS JUST AN HONOR TO RUN WITH THIS TORCH. >> THE NAZI MESSAGE WAS CLEAR: THEY WERE THE NATURAL INHERITORS OF HISTORY'S GREATEST CIVILIZATIONS. BUT NOT EVERYTHING AT THE GAMES WENT TO HITLER'S PLAN. ALTHOUGH GERMAN ATHLETES TOPPED THE MEDAL TABLE, THE STAR OF THE 1936 GAMES WAS JESSE OWENS, AN AFRICAN AMERICAN ATHLETE. >> WELL, JESSE OWENS WAS THE HERO AMONGST ALL THE PARTICIPANTS AND THE SPECTATORS. HE WAS A PERSONALITY, WHO STOOD OUT FROM ALL THE OTHER ATHLETES. >> HITLER IGNORED THE INCONVENIENT FACT THAT THE HERO OF THE GAMES WAS A MAN HE THOUGHT RACIALLY INFERIOR. HE CALLED THE BERLIN OLYMPICS A GREAT VICTORY FOR NAZISM. THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAD THREATENED TO BOYCOTT THE GAMES, BUT THEY HAD BEEN WON OVER BY THE SPECTACLE THEY WITNESSED. THE STADIUM HAD DONE ITS JOB. HITLER WAS DELIGHTED, AND HIS RESPONSE WAS IMMEDIATE. WORK WAS TO START STRAIGHT AWAY ON ANOTHER STADIUM, "THE GERMAN STADIUM." IT WAS TO BE EVEN BIGGER. >> THE STADIUM WAS MEANT TO BE AN EVEN GREATER EXPRESSION OF HITLER'S CLAIMS FOR WORLD DOMINATION. JUST AS THE WORLD WAS GOING TO BE DOMINATED BY THE POLITICAL WILL OF GERMANY SO TOO WOULD OTHER ASPECTS OF LIFE, INCLUDING SPORTS, FOR EXAMPLE, BE ALSO CENTERED IN THE NEW PEACE TIME EMPIRE OF A GERMAN DOMINATED WORLD. >> HITLER CHOSE TO BUILD HIS NEW STADIUM IN NUREMBERG, SITE OF HIS EARLIER TRIUMPHAL RALLIES. THIS MAN-MADE LAKE MARKS THE SPOT HE CHOSE. IT IS THE ONLY TRACE LEFT OF AN ATTEMPT TO BUILD A STADIUM FOR 400,000 PEOPLE. OUR INVESTIGATORS PIECE TOGETHER WHAT IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE. >> BEHIND ME WAS THE ORIGINAL LOCATION OF THE GERMAN STADIUM. WHAT REMAINS OF THAT IS THE HOLE DUG FOR THE FOUNDATION. THIS STADIUM WAS A BUILDING SITE AT LEAST UP UNTIL THE EARLY STAGES OF THE WAR. >> ENGINEER ED McCANN DOUBTS THAT THE BUILDING AS PLANNED WOULD HAVE BEEN VIABLE. >> 405,000 PEOPLE HAVE GOT TO USE THIS THING-- THEY'VE GOT TO GET IN AND OUT, THEY'VE GOT TO BE ORGANIZED SO THAT THEY CAN GET TO THEIR SEATS, BE SERVED WITH HOT DOGS, USE TOILETS AND ALL THE REST OF IT. AS THE STADIUM GETS BIGGER AND BIGGER AND BIGGER, THE QUEUE TIMES GET LONGER AND LONGER AND LONGER. >> ARCHITECT SPEER WAS AWARE OF THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE. THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE STADIUM WOULD BE 300 FEET ABOVE THE ARENA FLOOR. ALTHOUGH ELEVATORS WERE PLANNED TO TAKE SPECTATORS, 100 AT A TIME, TO THE TOP 3 TIERS, ENGINEERS WERE CONCERNED ABOUT VISIBILITY. >> IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, WHETHER YOU COULD SEE SO FAR BELOW FROM SUCH A HIGH STADIUM THAT HAD NEVER BEEN TRIED BEFORE. >> THAT'S THE SAME THING THAT INFLUENCES STADIUM DESIGNS TODAY. I MEAN, IF YOU GET TOO FAR AWAY THERE'S SIMPLY NO VIEWING EXPERIENCE WHATSOEVER. >> SPEER'S SOLUTION WAS TO BUILD A FULL SCALE MODEL OF A SECTION OF THE SEATING. BY PLACING 60 WORKERS IN THE TOP TIER AND CHECKING THEIR LINES OF SIGHT, HE COULD SATISFY HIMSELF THAT A STADIUM OF THIS SIZE WAS VIABLE. CONSTRUCTION COULD BEGIN. THE STADIUM WOULD COVER 24,000 SQUARE FEET; FOUR TIMES THE SIZE OF THE OLYMPIC STADIUM, AND IT WOULD BE FINISHED WITH RED GRANITE, PERSONALLY SELECTED BY HITLER. HIS DEMANDS WENT FAR BEYOND WHAT THE ENGINEERS COULD PROVIDE. >> THE GRANITE ITSELF FOR THE GERMAN STADIUM REQUIRED 4 TIMES THE YEARLY OUTPUT OF THE ENTIRE GERMAN GRANITE INDUSTRY MERELY TO COVER ITS FACADE. >> HITLER BELIEVED THAT ONCE GERMANY BECAME THE GLOBAL POWER, EVERY OLYMPIC GAMES WOULD BE STAGED IN HIS NEW STADIUM. BUT IT WAS NOT TO BE. THE PROJECT WAS SUSPENDED AS THE COUNTRY'S RESOURCES WERE DIVERTED TO WAR AND WEAPONS PRODUCTION. THE SITE WAS ABANDONED, THE FOUNDATIONS FILLED WITH WATER. TODAY, A LAKE IS ALL THAT REMAINS OF HITLER'S SCHEME TO BUILD THE WORLD'S LARGEST STADIUM. BUT NOW COMPUTER GENERATED IMAGERY CAN REVEAL WHAT THE FINISHED STADIUM WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE. YET, TO HITLER, THIS WAS JUST A SIDE PROJECT. HIS MAIN FOCUS WAS ALWAYS A NEW CAPITAL. HE WOULD TEAR DOWN BERLIN AND REPLACE IT WITH AN INVENTION OF HIS OWN: WHAT HE CALLED THE "WORLD CAPITAL." GERMANIA. >> IN BERLIN, HITLER PLANNED HIS MOST AMBITIOUS PROJECT. HE WOULD REPLACE THIS CITY WITH A NEW CAPITAL, A WORLD CAPITAL. HE CALLED IT GERMANIA. HE INTENDED IT TO BE THE NAZIS' GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT. BUT GERMANIA WAS NEVER BUILT. NOW, DEEP IN BERLIN'S OFFICIAL ARCHIVES, OUR INVESTIGATORS HUNT FOR CLUES TO WHAT HITLER'S "DREAM CITY" WOULD HAVE LOOKED LIKE. >> IT'S THE SAME WITH ALL GREAT DICTATORS. THEY WANT TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR GREAT POWER WITH ARCHITECTURE. AND WITH HITLER, HE WANTED TO SHOW THE WORLD. >> BLUEPRINTS REVEAL AMBITION ON AN EXTRAORDINARY SCALE. >> IT WAS THE VISUAL TIP OF THE ICEBERG FOR A VERY EXTENSIVE RESTRUCTURING OF THE ENTIRE SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ORDER. >> HITLER DETESTED BERLIN, A PLACE HE CONSIDERED DECADENT AND DEPRAVED. >> HE POINTED TO BERLIN AS A CITY THAT WAS NOT EMBLEMATIC OF THE POWER OF A REAL GERMANY. PARTICULARLY HE TALKED ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, JEWISH DEPARTMENT STORES AS BEING A SIGN OF SICKNESS. ARCHITECTURAL SICKNESS BUT ALSO, OF COURSE, POLITICAL SICKNESS OF THE REGIME. >> ALTHOUGH HITLER HAD BEEN ELECTED LEADER BY THE GERMAN PEOPLE, IN FACT ONLY 1 IN 4 BERLINERS HAD VOTED FOR HIM. NOW HE WAS IN CONTROL, HE WOULD MAKE THEM PAY. HIS MONUMENTS WOULD BE BUILT ON THE RUBBLE OF THEIR HOMES. A MODEL FROM THE TIME REVEALS HITLER'S VAST AMBITION FOR THE NEW CITY'S LAYOUT. IT WOULD REQUIRE OVER 60,000 APARTMENTS TO BE BULLDOZED AND MORE THAN 100,000 PEOPLE TO BE MADE HOMELESS. PLANNING STARTED IN 1936, AND AS IT MOVED INTO CONSTRUCTION, SPEER WAS GIVEN UNPRECEDENTED FREEDOM. >> AS INSPECTOR GENERAL OF BUILDING, SPEER WAS NOT ONLY INDEPENDENT OF THE STATE IN MANY WAYS BUT HE WAS ALSO IN CHARGE OF A HUGE BUREAUCRACY. THIS WAS DOZENS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE. >> CENTRAL TO HITLER'S PLANS WAS THE BUILDING OF THE REICH CHANCELLERY-- PART PALACE, PART ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER. A LAVISH SETTING WHERE HE COULD IMPRESS VISITORS. >> THE REICH CHANCELLERY WAS ALL ABOUT SHOWING A VERY DOMINANT HITLER TO FOREIGN DIGNITARIES AND FOREIGN DIPLOMATS. >> SPEER HAD 12 MONTHS TO CONSTRUCT THIS BUILDING. IT WOULD TAKE 4,500 MEN WORKING ROUND THE CLOCK IN 3 SHIFTS. THEY FINISHED WITH JUST 2 DAYS TO SPARE. TODAY, NOTHING REMAINS OF HITLER'S HEADQUARTERS. ALLIED BOMBING DESTROYED ALL TRACES OF THE CHANCELLERY. [explosions] MODERN APARTMENTS STAND IN ITS PLACE. BERLIN HISTORIAN TONY LE TISSIER TAKES US TO THE SITE OF HITLER'S FORMER POWER BASE. >> WE'RE WALKING WESTWARDS ALONG VOSTRASSE, AND WE'VE JUST COME TO A BEND IN THE ROAD, AND FROM THIS POINT ONWARDS EXTENDED HITLER'S NEW THIRD REICH CHANCELLERY WHICH WAS OPENED IN JANUARY 1939 HAVING TAKEN ONLY 1 YEAR TO CONSTRUCT. >> TO CELEBRATE THE CHANCELLERY'S OPENING, HITLER HOSTED A DINNER FOR FOREIGN AMBASSADORS AND VIPs. THOSE GUESTS WERE MET BY AN EXTRAORDINARY SIGHT. THEY FOUND THEMSELVES IN A STUNNING RECEPTION ROOM, AT THE END OF WHICH STOOD DOORS 17 FEET HIGH. THESE DOORS OPENED ONTO A HALL DECORATED WITH MOSAICS. BUT EVEN THIS WAS NOT THE BUILDING'S GRANDEST FEATURE. >> FROM THE END OF THIS BUILDING TO THE NEXT BUILDING WE COME TO WAS THE CENTER SECTION OF HITLER'S REICH CHANCELLERY. THIS GALLERY WHICH FRONTED IT WAS BASED ON THE IDEA OF THE HALL OF MIRRORS OF VERSAILLES. BUT HITLER WANTED IT BIGGER AND BETTER, SO IT WAS NEARLY 500 FEET LONG. >> HITLER INSISTED THE FLOORS BE KEPT HIGHLY POLISHED. IT WAS SAID HE WANTED DIPLOMATS TO PRACTICE MOVING ON A SLIPPERY SURFACE. THE FOCAL POINT OF THE BUILDING WAS HITLER'S OFFICE, ADORNED IN RED LEATHER AND SWASTIKAS. THE OFFICE-- INDEED THE WHOLE BUILDING-- WAS DESIGNED TO EXUDE HITLER'S POWER, TO BE A FITTING HEADQUARTERS FROM WHICH HE COULD PRESIDE OVER THE GERMAN REICH. ALTHOUGH NONE OF IT SURVIVES TODAY, WE CAN USE THE LATEST 3D TECHNOLOGY TO REVEAL HOW THE FINISHED CHANCELLERY LOOKED. ALTHOUGH AS THE ADMINISTRATIVE CENTER IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE BUILDINGS IN GERMANIA, THE INTENTION WAS TO FILL THE CITY WITH OTHER, FAR MORE IMPRESSIVE STRUCTURES. AND SPEER WAS RESPONSIBLE. NOW ONE OF HITLER'S MOST TRUSTED MEN, AND PROMOTED TO THE POSITION OF ARMAMENTS MINISTER, HE FOUND HIMSELF PRESENTED WITH EVER GREATER CHALLENGES. [explosions] HITLER'S AMBITION WAS ONLY INCREASING, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIS VISION FOR GERMANIA REFLECTS THAT. ON A VISIT TO PARIS, HE HAD GREATLY ADMIRED THE CITY'S NEO-CLASSICAL MONUMENTS. HE PARTICULARLY LIKED THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE. AND, TYPICALLY, HE WANTED ONE FOR HIMSELF. HIS TRIUMPHAL ARCH, HOWEVER, WOULD BE TWICE AS HIGH AND FOUR TIMES WIDER THAN THE ONE IN PARIS. IT WOULD STAND AT THE CENTER OF HIS CITY. AND IT WOULD WEIGH 25 TIMES MORE THAN THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE, A WEIGHT OF 2.5 MILLION TONS. THIS WAS THE PART OF THE DESIGN THAT MOST WORRIED SPEER. BERLIN-- WHAT WAS TO BE GERMANIA-- STOOD ON SWAMP LAND. IN CENTRAL BERLIN HIS RESPONSE STILL STANDS: THE DERELICT REMAINS OF AN EXPERIMENT TO DISCOVER WHETHER HITLER'S ARCH WOULD SIMPLY SINK INTO THE GROUND. MASSIVE BLOCKS OF CONCRETE AND STEEL WERE ERECTED WHERE THE ARCH WAS MEANT TO STAND. KNOWN AS THE GBK-- SHORT FOR THE GERMAN FOR "LOAD BEARING BODY"-- THEY EXERTED A PRESSURE OF AROUND 11,000 POUNDS PER SQUARE FOOT. ARCHITECT MICHAEL RICHTER INVESTIGATES THE TEST SITE. >> WE ARE STANDING IN FRONT OF THE GBK-- THE <i>GROSSBELASTUNGSKORPER-- AN</i> ATTEMPT TO SEE IF THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH PLANNED BY ADOLF HITLER COULD HAVE STOOD. >> SPEER'S ENGINEERS WORKED TO A SIMPLE FORMULA-- IF THE BLOCK SANK NO MORE THAN 2.5 INCHES, IT WAS SAFE TO BUILD THE ARCH. [scraping] INSIDE LIES THE FORGOTTEN CHAMBER WHERE THE EXPERIMENT WAS MONITORED. >> WE ARE NOW ENTERING THE UPPER MEASURING CHAMBER. HERE IS WHERE THE ACTUAL MEASUREMENTS IN THE GBK WERE CARRIED OUT, AND FROM THIS UPPER CHAMBER IT GOES EVEN DEEPER INTO A FURTHER ROOM. >> DEEP INSIDE THE GBK LIES A HIDDEN SHAFT. BELOW THIS HATCH ARE TESTING ROOMS USED BY SPEER'S ENGINEERS. >> THIS IS THE CENTRAL SHAFT THAT RUNS ACROSS 3 LEVELS-- IT'S 30 FEET DEEP. AND, AT THE END, THERE ARE 4 CHAMBERS WHERE THE MEASURING DEVICES USED TO BE. >> THE CHAMBERS BELOW CONTAINED PRESSURE GAUGES TO MONITOR THE GBK'S SINKAGE RATES. THE ENGINEERS MONITORED THE TOWER'S SUBSIDENCE VISUALLY. >> HERE ON THIS PILLAR, THERE STOOD AN OPTICAL MEASURING DEVICE THAT WAS AIMED AT A POINT OUTSIDE THE GBK, THROUGH THIS PIPE COMPARING THE HEIGHT OF THE OBJECT OUTSIDE WITH THIS WATER-LEVEL INDICATOR IN THE UPPER MEASURING CHAMBER TO DETERMINE THE SINKAGE OF THE GBK. >> THE INGENIOUS EXPERIMENT PROVED THE BERLIN SOIL WAS TOO UNSTABLE FOR THE ARCH. >> THE ATTEMPT HERE SHOWED THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO BUILD THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH WITHOUT FORTIFYING THE GROUND. THE GBK SANK BY MORE THAN 7 INCHES BETWEEN 1941 AND 1944. >> STILL HITLER WOULD NOT ACCEPT HIS ARCH COULD NOT BE BUILT. HE INSTRUCTED HIS PEOPLE TO CONTINUE LOOKING FOR A SOLUTION. THE GBK IS STILL SINKING TODAY. AND ALTHOUGH HITLER'S ENGINEERS CONTINUED WITH THEIR WORK, THE ARCH WAS NEVER BUILT. NOW, BY INVESTIGATING THE PLANS AND USING STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY, WE CAN FINALLY REVEAL HOW IT WOULD HAVE LOOKED. HITLER AND SPEER WERE NOT DETERRED BY THIS FAILURE. THEY SET ABOUT THEIR NEXT PROJECT: THE BIGGEST OF ALL GERMANIA'S BUILDINGS-- THE GREAT HALL. IT WOULD BE THE CITY'S CENTERPIECE. IT WOULD BE CROWNED WITH A DOME SO BIG, SOME SAID IT WOULD HAVE ITS OWN CLOUDS AND RAINFALL. ITS DESIGN WOULD TEST THE BOUNDS OF WHAT WAS POSSIBLE IN CONSTRUCTION. AND IT WOULD DEMAND THE RUTHLESS BRUTALITY WHICH HAD BECOME THE NAZIS' HALLMARK. IT WOULD USE SLAVE LABOR. >> IN 1936, HITLER UNVEILED PLANS FOR THE MOST AMBITIOUS OF ALL HIS BUILDING PROJECTS, A VAST DOMED SPACE CALLED THE GREAT HALL. >> THE GREAT HALL WAS THE ABSOLUTE FOCAL POINT OF THE NORTH, SOUTH AXIS. IT WAS A GIGANTIC BUILDING WHICH HAD BY FAR THE LARGEST DOME IN THE WORLD AT THE TIME. >> IT WAS INTENDED TO BE THE MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL OF GERMANIA'S BUILDINGS-- A SYMBOL OF GREATNESS. IT WAS TO BE HITLER'S ENGINEERING MASTERPIECE. LAND WAS CLEARED, WORKERS HIRED; DIGGING BEGAN. UNLIKE MOST OF GERMANIA'S BUILDINGS-- DESIGNED BY ARCHITECTS-- THE GREAT HALL WAS DESIGNED BY HITLER HIMSELF. HE LOOKED TO ONE OF ANTIQUITY'S MOST FAMOUS MONUMENTS: THE PANTHEON, IN ROME. HE HAD SEEN IT IN 1938. HE WAS IMPRESSED. BUT HIS OWN HALL WOULD HAVE TO BE BIGGER. >> WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER IS THAT THE SCALE IS SO MUCH MORE GARGANTUAN IN THE GREAT HALL. THE PANTHEON WAS ALREADY A LARGE DOME SPACE, BUT THE GREAT HALL WAS SO MUCH BIGGER. >> ENGINEER ED McCANN ASSESSES THE PLANS FOR THE GREAT HALL. >> THIS ISN'T JUST 2 OR 3 TIMES BIGGER THAN THE PANTHEON. THIS IS 8 TIMES AS WIDE AS THE PANTHEON, TWO AND A HALF TIMES THE LENGTH OF A FOOTBALL PITCH. YOU COULD FIT TWO SATURN 5 ROCKETS IN THERE AND STILL FLY AROUND THE TOP IN A SMALL HELICOPTER. THIS IS JUST AN ENORMOUS SPACE, AND NOTHING LIKE IT HAD BEEN DONE BEFORE THEN, AND IN FACT NOTHING LIKE IT'S BEEN DONE SINCE. >> THE GREAT HALL WAS TO SYMBOLIZE HITLER'S MASTERY OF THE WORLD; AT ITS HIGHEST POINT WOULD STAND AN IMPERIAL EAGLE. IT WOULD HOLD IN ITS CLAWS NOT THE USUAL SWASTIKA BUT THE WORLD. THE DOME REPRESENTED THE VAULT OF THE SKY SPANNING HITLER'S GLOBAL EMPIRE. THE INTERIOR WOULD MIMIC THAT OF THE PANTHEON. THERE WOULD BE A LARGE NICHE IN THE MAIN WALL. IT WOULD CONTAIN A 78 FOOT STATUE OF THE IMPERIAL EAGLE, PERCHED OVER A PULPIT. 3 TIERS OF SEATS WOULD SURROUND A CENTRAL ARENA. AROUND THESE WOULD BE 100 PILLARS, 3 STORIES HIGH, REACHING TO THE COFFERED CEILING. THE BUILDING WAS INTENDED TO HOLD UP TO 180,000 PEOPLE. LOOKING UP, THEY'D HAVE SEEN A ROOF THAT ROSE ALMOST 1,000 FEET ABOVE THEM. AND THE INTENTION WAS TO BUILD IT ALL FROM GRANITE. SOME EXPERTS HAVE QUESTIONED WHETHER SPEER COULD HAVE BUILT A STRUCTURE OF SUCH COLOSSAL DIMENSIONS. ENGINEER ED McCANN HAS MADE CALCULATIONS BASED ON THE EXISTING BLUEPRINTS. >> THIS DOME WOULD HAVE WEIGHED IN EXCESS OF 200,000 TONS. THAT'S ABOUT 500 FULLY LADEN JUMBO JETS. AND IN ORDER TO SEE WHETHER HE WAS EVEN VAGUELY RIGHT, WE TOOK HIS DRAWINGS AND OUR UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT HE WAS TRIED TO DO, AND BUNGED INTO ONE OF OUR MODERN STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING PACKAGES. RATHER TO OUR SURPRISE, FOUND OUT THAT IT COULD MORE OR LESS BE MADE TO WORK AS HE IMAGINED IT. >> EVEN THOUGH TECHNICALLY POSSIBLE, THE SCALE OF THIS BUILDING WOULD HAVE BROUGHT PROBLEMS. IT WAS SUGGESTED THAT THE CONDENSATION FROM THE BREATH OF 180,000 PEOPLE WOULD RISE TO THE TOP OF THE DOME AND THEN, COOLING, FALL AS RAIN. TO ED McCANN, THE PROPORTIONS OF THE DOME WOULD HAVE RENDERED IT NOT MAGNIFICENT, BUT RIDICULOUS. >> THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE PARODY OF THE PANTHEON. I MEAN, HE'S TAKEN A VERY ADJUSTED FORM, AND BALANCED FORM, A STRUCTURALLY RATIONAL DIAGRAM AND TURNED IT INTO AN OVERBLOWN, TOP-HEAVY, INFLATED IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD SOLUTION, AND I REALLY DON'T LIKE IT AT ALL. I THINK IT'S IRRATIONAL IN STRUCTURAL TERMS, IT'S HIDEOUS IN MORAL TERMS, AND IT REALLY DOESN'T DO ANY JUSTICE TO ITS INSPIRATION IN SO FAR AS THAT WAS THE PANTHEON. >> THIS PROJECT WOULD NEVER GET BEYOND THE LAND CLEARING PHASE, AND SPEER'S PLANS WOULD ULTIMATELY BE THWARTED BY WAR. BUT EVIDENCE LIES ALL ROUND BERLIN OF HOW FAR HE WOULD GO TO MAKE HITLER'S VISION A REALITY. OUTSIDE THE CITY LIES A CENTER FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BUILDING MATERIALS. IT REVEALS THE TRULY BRUTAL NATURE OF HITLER'S QUEST FOR GLORY. IT IS PART OF THE CONCENTRATION CAMP SACHSENHAUSEN. GERMANIA WAS MEANT TO BE BUILT ON SLAVE LABOR. SACHSENHAUSEN WAS THE PROTOTYPE CONCENTRATION CAMP; BUILT IN THE SHAPE OF A TRIANGLE SO IT COULD BE CONTROLLED FROM JUST 1 MACHINE GUN EMPLACEMENT. IN 1938, IT EXPANDED TO INCORPORATE A NEW BRICKWORKS. A HARBOR WAS BUILT SO THE CAMP'S ENORMOUS OUTPUT COULD BE CARRIED INTO THE CENTER OF THE CITY BY CANAL. >> SPEER HAD SIGNED A CONTRACT WITH THE SS FOR ALL THE BRICKS THAT SACHSENHAUSEN COULD PRODUCE, GIVEN THAT SACHSENHAUSEN WAS NEAR BERLIN IT WAS MEANT TO BE A MAJOR PROVIDER OF BRICKS FOR THE REBUILDING EFFORTS. >> FOR THE CAMP'S INMATES, THE BRICK PRODUCTION LINE-- "THE KLINKERWERKS"-- WAS THE MOST FEARED ASSIGNMENT OF ALL. >> THE BRICKWORKS WERE FEARED BY THE PRISONERS BECAUSE IT WAS A PUNISHMENT UNIT, AND THE CONDITIONS HERE WERE THE WORST IN ALL THE WORKING UNITS OF THE CAMP. SINGLE PRISONERS AND GROUPS OF PRISONERS WERE SENT HERE TO THE KLINKERWERKS TO BE KILLED BY THE BRUTAL CONDITIONS OF WORKING HERE. SO YOU CAN SAY THAT THE KLINKERWERKS WAS SOMETHING LIKE A DEATH CAMP FOR THE CONCENTRATION CAMP SACHSENHAUSEN. >> CAMP SURVIVOR ADAM KONIG RECALLS THE CONDITIONS THERE. >> FIRST OF ALL, THE WINTER WAS VERY HARD, IT WAS VERY COLD. WE DIDN'T HAVE APPROPRIATE CLOTHING, AND THERE WAS LITTLE FOOD TOO. IT WAS A BAD JOB, YES, AND AS A YOUNG BOY AT THAT TIME I THOUGHT IT MUST BE LIKE HELL. >> THE SLAVE WORKFORCE HAD TO GROW TO MEET DEMAND. BY 1944, 3,500 PEOPLE WERE BEING WORKED TO DEATH IN THE BRICKWORKS. >> THE KLINKERWERKS WERE THE LARGEST BRICKWORKS IN THE WHOLE OF EUROPE AT THAT TIME. AND TENS OF THOUSANDS OF BRICKS SHOULD BE PRODUCED HERE EVERYDAY. >> HITLER AND SPEER'S AMBITION DEPENDED TOTALLY ON THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SACRIFICE COUNTLESS LIVES. THEN THE OUTBREAK OF WAR BROUGHT THEM A NEW CHALLENGE. ALLIED AIR RAIDS CAME TO GERMANY. THEY THREATENED TO DESTROY ALL HITLER AND SPEER HAD BUILT SO FAR. SO SPEER BEGAN A NEW SET OF TESTS. HE WANTED TO MAKE HIS CITY BOMBPROOF. >> IN 1941, EUROPE WAS A BATTLEFIELD: WORLD WAR II WAS RAGING, THE THIRD REICH WAS A MILITARY STATE GEARED FOR CONQUEST. ADOLF HITLER AND HIS ARCHITECT ALBERT SPEER ARE PLANNING A NEW WORLD CAPITAL, TO BE CALLED GERMANIA. THEY HAD BUILT THE OLYMPIC STADIUM AND THE REICH CHANCELLERY; THEY PLANNED A GREAT HALL, ANOTHER STADIUM AND VAST TRIUMPHAL ARCH, A WHOLE NEW CITY. BUT ALLIED BOMBS THREATENED THEIR DREAMS. SO THEY EMBARKED UPON A SERIES OF EXPERIMENTS TO ESTABLISH HOW TO MAKE THEIR CITY INDESTRUCTIBLE. STILL TODAY, IT'S POSSIBLE TO FIND EVIDENCE OF THE TESTS THEY CONDUCTED. IN A SECRET FOREST LOCATION ONE HOUR'S DRIVE OUTSIDE BERLIN LIES WHAT WAS ONCE A RESTRICTED TEST SITE. SURROUNDED BY RUBBLE, THESE 4 TOWERS ARE THE LAST TRACES OF A COVERT PROJECT-- TO CREATE BOMBPROOF BUILDING MATERIALS. >> THE LOCAL POPULATION CALLED THIS SITE "BERLIN SETTLEMENT." BUT THIS WAS A PROHIBITED AREA, AND NOBODY HAD ACCESS TO THIS SITE, NOBODY. >> SO, IN 1941, SPEER AND HIS ENGINEERS STARTED TO IDENTIFY WHICH STRUCTURES AND MATERIALS WERE MOST RESISTANT TO BOMBARDMENT. >> SO THEY HAD THIS IDEA TO DEVELOP, TO DESIGN AIR RAID SHELTERS INTEGRATED IN NORMAL DWELLINGS. AND THEY WANTED TO KNOW HOW THEY HAVE TO BUILD IT. IF THEY ARE BOMB-PROOFED OR NOT. >> THEIR EXPERIMENTS WERE SIMPLE: THEY BUILT TOWERS, THEN SUBJECTED THEM TO VARYING TYPES OF ASSAULT. >> THE KIND OF AMMUNITION WHICH WAS USED HERE INCLUDES ALL CALIBERS OF BOMBS AND GRENADES, MACHINE GUNS AND CANNONS, AND MAYBE THEY WERE CHECKING ROCKETS AS WELL. >> THE ENGINEERS DEVELOPED TECHNIQUES TO REINFORCE WALLS; THEY BRACED CONCRETE WITH STEEL RODS. 500 YARDS FROM THE TOWERS STANDS A LONELY PIECE OF WALL, NEARLY 7 FEET THICK AND 20 FEET HIGH. IT STILL BEARS THE SIGNS OF IMPACT FROM A ROCKET. THESE TESTS HAD 2 PURPOSES: TO DETERMINE HOW THICK A WALL HAD TO BE TO WITHSTAND AN ALLIED ROCKET ATTACK AND TO FIND OUT HOW FAST A ROCKET WOULD HAVE TO TRAVEL TO PENETRATE SUCH A WALL. [explosion] NO WRITTEN EVIDENCE REMAINS OF THESE TESTS. THE DETAILED RECORDS OF THEIR RESULTS HAVE BEEN LOST OR DESTROYED. BUT IT'S CLEAR THAT THE NAZIS HAD THE TECHNOLOGY TO BUILD STRUCTURES THAT COULD SURVIVE A DIRECT HIT. THEY KNEW HOW TO BUILD EFFECTIVE BOMB SHELTERS. THE ONLY PROBLEM WAS THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE, AND THE COST, IN MATERIALS AND LABOR. WHILE HITLER PUSHED AHEAD WITH HIS DREAM OF CREATING THE PERFECT CITY OF GERMANIA, THE PRIORITY FOR HIS ENGINEERS BECAME DEFENSE AND SURVIVAL. [explosion] THE ORDER WAS GIVEN TO CREATE OVER 1,000 BUNKERS AND 6 ANTI AIRCRAFT TOWERS FOR BERLIN. ULTIMATELY, THERE WERE ONLY ENOUGH SPACES IN THE SHELTERS FOR 10 PERCENT OF THE POPULATION. AND YET 200 MILLION CUBIC METERS OF REINFORCED CONCRETE WERE USED. TODAY, BENEATH THE STREETS OF BERLIN ARE THE REMAINS OF THE VAST COMPLEX OF UNDERGROUND BUNKERS. FEW OF THE COMMUTERS WHO USE THIS METRO STATION EVERY DAY REALIZE THAT A PERFECTLY PRESERVED AIR RAID SHELTER EXISTS BELOW THEM. THIS SHELTER WAS BUILT TO ACCOMMODATE 1,400 PEOPLE. BUT DURING THE BOMBINGS ALMOST 5,000 PEOPLE CRAMMED INTO THESE ROOMS. >> AS YOU CAN SEE IN EVERY ROOM HERE WE HAVE A SIGN, AND THE SIGN TELLS US HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO BE IN THE ROOM. HERE IS 20 PERSON. BUT DURING THE AIR RAIDS MORE AND MORE PEOPLE TRIED TO GET SAFE INSIDE THE BUNKERS, AND SO IN HERE IN THIS ROOM THERE WERE SOMETIMES MORE THAN 60, 70 PEOPLE. >> THERE WAS NO VENTILATION SYSTEM, NO AIR SHAFTS. CITIZENS FACED SUFFOCATION AND THE THREAT OF GAS LEAKS. SOMETIMES THEY WOULD HAVE TO EVACUATE THE BUNKER IN THE MIDDLE OF AN AIR RAID. THE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY WAS OFTEN INTERRUPTED, PLUNGING THE SHELTERS INTO PITCH DARKNESS. THE ENGINEERS USED A DRASTIC AND TOXIC SOLUTION. PEOPLE WERE MEANT TO FIND THEIR WAY BY THE DIM GLOW EMITTED BY PHOSPHOROUS PAINT. >> DURING THE AIR RAIDS, THE LIGHT FAILS OFTEN, AND SO YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED. YOU SEE IN A DARK BUNKER YOU DON'T SEE ANYTHING, AND THEREFORE THIS WHOLE ROOM AND MANY ROOMS INSIDE HERE WERE PAINTED WITH PHOSPHOROUS COLOR. HERE YOU CAN SEE HOW IT WORKS. >> AS THE PEOPLE OF BERLIN WERE FORCED TO RETREAT BELOW GROUND, SO WAS THEIR FUHRER. >> ALL IMPORTANT LEADERS IN THIS TIME IN THE WORLD HAS HAD HIS OWN BUNKER: STALIN, MR. ROOSEVELT, FOR EXAMPLE, I'M SURE, AND MR. CHURCHILL. AND SO IT'S ABSOLUTELY NORMAL THAT HITLER HAD HIS OWN BUNKER IN BERLIN TOO. >> HITLER'S PERSONAL BUNKER WAS SEALED BY THE SOVIET ARMY THAT CAPTURED IT. BUT FROM BLUEPRINTS AND EYEWITNESS TESTIMONY, WE CAN RECREATE THE PLACE WHERE HE SPENT HIS LAST DAYS. ROCHUS MISCH IS ONE OF THE LAST SURVIVORS OF THE FUHRER BUNKER. WHEN HE ENTERED IT AS HITLER'S BODYGUARD, HE WAS ASSURED THAT IT WAS IMPREGNABLE. >> THE BUNKER WAS DEAD. EVERYONE WHISPERED. I WAS AFRAID. I HAD A NEIGHBOR, AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS THERE WHEN THE BUNKER WAS BUILT. HE TOLD ME IT HAD BEEN BUILT SO IT COULD NOT BE BLOWN UP. SO, AFTERWARDS, I WAS CONTENT. >> THE BUNKER WAS ALMOST BOMBPROOF. ITS WALLS AND CEILING WERE 13 FEET THICK. >> IT WAS NOT A BUNKER FOR LIVING IN; IT WAS AN AIR RAID SHELTER TO PROTECT PEOPLE DURING A BOMBING RAID. THERE WAS NO COMFORT IN THERE, NOTHING, SUCH SMALL ROOMS, JUST 100 TO 130 SQUARE FEET. >> [explosion] >> THE OCCUPANTS WERE SAFE FROM AIR RAIDS AT LEAST, BUT CONDITIONS WERE HARSH, AND THEY COULD NOT ESCAPE THE FACT THAT ABOVE THEM THE WAR WAS BEING LOST. >> [explosions] >> HITLER'S WORLD SHRUNK TO A WARREN OF CHAMBERS: A CONCRETE TOMB. ABOVE HIM, ALLIED BOMBS AND SHELLS DESTROYED BERLIN, KILLING ANY POSSIBILITY THAT HIS FANTASY CITY OF GERMANIA WOULD EVER BE REALIZED. THE HITLER/SPEER PARTNERSHIP THAT HAD BEGUN 11 YEARS EARLIER WITH SUCH AMBITIOUS PLANS HAD ENDED IN ABSOLUTE DEFEAT. ALTHOUGH IT'S SINCE BEEN MODERNIZED, THE OLYMPIC STADIUM IN BERLIN IS THE ONLY ONE OF HITLER'S BUILDINGS THAT WAS COMPLETED AND SURVIVED INTACT. THE ZEPPELIN TRIBUNE WAS ALL BUT DESTROYED BY ALLIED BOMBING AND LEFT TO ROT. THE CONGRESS HALL WAS NEVER COMPLETED. HITLER'S HEADQUARTERS, THE REICH'S CHANCELLERY, WAS BOMBED AND EVENTUALLY REMOVED BRICK BY BRICK. AND THE BUILDING SITES OF THE GERMAN STADIUM, THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH AND THE GREAT HALL, WERE ALL ABANDONED. >> THE ARCHITECTURAL DREAMS OF BERLIN AND THE IDEOLOGICAL DREAMS OF GERMANIA WERE, OF COURSE, A DISASTER. THEY RESULTED IN THE ALMOST TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF MANY GERMAN CITIES, INCLUDING BERLIN, AS WELL AS THE ABSOLUTE DOWNFALL OF THE STATE. >> HITLER FINALLY TOOK HIS OWN LIFE ON 30th APRIL, 1945, KNOWING THAT THE WAR WAS LOST AND THAT GERMANY WAS IN RUINS. HITLER'S ARCHITECT ALBERT SPEER WAS ARRESTED, TRIED AND SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS IN PRISON. HE DIED A FREE MAN IN LONDON IN 1981. HAD THEIR DREAM BEEN REALIZED, THE CITY OF BERLIN WOULD BE DOMINATED BY THE GROTESQUE MONUMENTS LIKE THE GREAT HALL AND THE TRIUMPHAL ARCH THAT THEY HAD BUILT TO GLORIFY THE NAZI REGIME. BERLIN WOULD HAVE BEEN MADE THE CAPITAL OF A NAZI-CONTROLLED WORLD. AND EVERY MAJOR CITY WOULD HAVE BEEN REBUILT IN ITS LIKENESS. >> CAPTIONED BY FEATURE SUBTITLING & TRANSLATION www.featuresubtitling.com
