Rise & Fall of the Nazis | Episode 5: Preparing for War | Free Documentay History

Adolf Hitler has risen to power pretending to be a man of peace he tells his people he can make Germany great again without War but behind the scenes he's locked in a fierce battle with his generals they believe he's hell-bent on a suicidal war of territorial expansion some are even plotting to kill him this is the story of how Hitler lies to his people outmaneuvers his generals and leads Germany into a catastrophic War [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] [Music] day in late 1937 Adolf Hitler summons Germany's military leaders to a meeting at his headquarters [Music] present are such senior figures as general Werner Von Bloomberg Germany's Minister for war [Music] and general Werner Von Fritz commander-in-chief of the army [Music] they think this is going to be a routine meeting but Hitler shocks them at the beginning of the meeting by explaining to them that what he's about to tell them should be considered his last will and testament [Music] Hitler then goes on to explain his plans for military expansion step one unite the german-speaking people many of them incorporated into countries like Austria and Czechoslovakia in the carve-up of Europe after World War One step two move East and seize territory in Poland Ukraine and Russia so that the German people can have extra living space or laban's Realm it's a dream he's been nursing for nearly 20 years [Music] many of Germany's generals agree with him but then Hitler spells out his timetable German troops should seize Austria and Czechoslovakia possibly in less than a year the country's further east would rapidly follow over the next few years vicious program the assembled generals are alarmed Europe's Frontiers are formally guaranteed by the military might of Britain and France to his military commanders Hitler seems to be rushing the country into a suicidal War and when they leave the meeting there is considerable distrust and disquiet really worried them was that they didn't believe that the German army that the German Armed Forces at that stage in late 1937 early 1938 were ready for war indeed they thought that they were woefully unprepared and it was decided that one or two of them at least should make their views known to Hitler [Music] one of those who agrees to talk to Hitler is Verna Von Bloomberg Field Marshal Von Bloomberg was very much of the old school of the of the German army blomberg is actually quite a pro-hitler general he's he's always seen as rather sort of sympathetic to the Nazis but even he has been shocked by what Hitler has said to him that day and it was beginning to Tire of Hitler's expansionist plans he's joined by Verna Von Fritch also horrified by what he's heard but Hitler refuses to listen to them Hitler was having none of it there's no doubt that at that moment he started to doubt their support and to doubt whether he could carry out his plans with them still in place as the two men will soon find out Hitler has a way of dealing with those who oppose him [Music] in the Berlin offices of the Gestapo an agent Combs through the police files his Target is not Communists or dissidents to Von blomberg very soon the agent finds what he's looking for the file on Verna Von blomberg shows the general has a dark secret he's recently remarried Hitler had been one of the witnesses she was considerably younger than him and it's clear that at some stage he was he was smitten he fell in love and he decided that he wanted to marry her she was only 25 years old but Bloomberg's new wife has a secret and colorful past she was not only a former prostitute but had also posed for some pornographic pictures in her past the file reveals that she has been a regular fixture at Berlin's sleazy nightclubs and bars these are totally unsuitable wife for a senior military figure the file is sent to Hitler [ __ ] ler a notorious prude is appalled there was an anecdote going around Berlin at the time that Hitler was washing almost compulsively because he had shaken this lady's hands but at the same time it chimed very neatly with Hitler's desire to get rid of Von Bloomberg a do away with some of the opposition to his military plans which he now had in place Bloomberg is summoned to a meeting and offered a choice [Music] resign or his wife's past will be made public [Music] as Hitler had hoped he chooses to resign Days Later Verna Von Fritz is also summoned to a meeting with the fuhrer a file has mysteriously surfaced suggesting Fritch has had a homosexual liaison [Music] sexuality to the Nazis was something that was absolutely abhorrent and for Hitler personally who was tremendously homophobic it was it was utterly Beyond The Pale fridge too is forced to resign [Music] almost immediately Hitler abolishes the position of war minister and appoints himself supreme commander of the German Army Hitler actually emerges in much firmer control of the German military than he had been the previous autumn [Music] the Army has basically become much more his creature it's much more subordinated to his will any remaining independence of action that it had has been effectively removed [Music] yet Hitler faces an obstacle the German public has elected him as a man of peace how can he fulfill his expansionist plans sees new territory and still keep his promise to them [Music] in the spring of 1938 Hitler launches phase one of his expansionist plans German troops pour across the border into Austria [Music] are greeted by cheering crowds the austrians welcomed Hitler and the Nazis into Austria many millions of them were Germans by birth German by upbringing and they were only too happy to return back to the Reich [Music] [Applause] within days Hitler arrives in Vienna to claim Austria for his new greater Germany they're a wonderful photographs of him addressing a quarter of a million three hundred thousand people in the heldenplatz the the square of Heroes in the middle of Vienna annexing Austria even peacefully is a blatant breach of all International agreements yet Britain and France do nothing [Music] Hitler has judged the situation very skillfully he's gambled on their reluctance to go to war and one [Applause] in Germany there's also jubilation Hitler has taken the first step in creating his greater Germany without bloodshed [Music] so he's also kept his promise to his people not to take the country to war [Applause] the Nazi propaganda machine pumps up the achievement the crowds were euphoric they saw this as being a bloodless Invasion that almost without a shot being fired Hitler had reintroduced Austria back into a greater Germany he was a hero at the time Hitler's propaganda Minister and close Confidant speaks for many when he writes the fura is wonderful a Real Genius he sits over maps for hours and Broods stirring when he says he wishes to live to see the greater Germanic high again from [Music] yet behind the scenes Hitler and some of his closest collaborators are planning another aggressive expansion of Germany's borders five months after the annexation of Austria Hitler masses troops on the border with Czechoslovakia and threatens an invasion the country has a large German minority most of them live in a border area known as the Sudan land they are the next Target on Hitler's shopping list for incorporation into a new greater Germany he felt that the German people had the right to live together in one large nation state less simply believed this was an entirely natural and just cause and he had absolutely no hesitation in making this the centerpiece of his foreign policy but unlike the austrians the Czechs aren't willing to give up territory to Germany furthermore Czech sovereignty is guaranteed by France and supported by Britain Hitler needs to somehow maintain the allusion to the German people that he's a man of Peace if there is conflict it shouldn't be seen to be of his making [Applause] the job Falls to Joseph Goebbels Hitler's propaganda minister the Nazi propaganda machine swings into action newsreels show the Sudan Germans as a people yearning to become a part of Greater Germany there had been a vigorous propaganda campaign beforehand to suggest that these people were persecuted in the Czech state that they they were not given equal rights and that their legitimate popular wish to become part of Germany was being denied Hitler was very clever at telling the world and of course telling his own people in particular have badly oppressed the Germans living within the Sudan borders were and that this was really a moral Crusade for Germany all right Hitler's Nazi sympathizes in the Sudan land now secretly stir up trouble there was a very effective grouping of Nazis pro-nazis who were able to magnify any incident of Oppression suffered by the Germans it's a classic Nazi trick secretly provoke unrest then make sure it gets lots of news coverage still carried an example of the oppression of the German people in the Sudan land our people our German brothers and sisters are being oppressed in an appalling way in the dating land this can't be allowed to continue we must intervene and the anger that was built up was very effective propaganda it's a clever spin Hitler can now put the Army on a war footing while claiming he's merely protecting a helpless undefended German population but despite his popularity Hitler still feels insecure foreign [Music] Hitler takes another step to reinforce his position he had this fear but although the Army was sworn to him by an oath of loyalty you could never trust everybody on every occasion what he needs is an alternative source of military power he knows just where to find it the vaffin SS is the armed paramilitary wing of the Nazi party the men who joined the Waffen asses were fanatical Nazis and they also had to meet the SS Criterion they were tall and blonde-haired and had to show that they're of pure Nordic blood for at least three generations they had to swear allegiance to to Adolf Hitler they had to have their blood group tattooed on their arms that had to a red mine Camp they really had no compunction about what they did and who they killed as long as it was followed the Nazi ideology ordinary Germans and ordinary German soldiers would be scared of these guys some are the ranks of the vaffin SS are rapidly expanded new recruits pour in 1938 the Waffen assets set up its own training schools this gave them access to better equipment and better training it also welded them together as a unique Elite core which were fanatically devoted to Nazism and to the extermination of Communists and Jews they were special they were separate and they were answerable only to themselves and to the fuhrer with no reference to any other authority over them that's what gives them that fearful image they are in effect Hitler's private Army his guarantee that if the Army turns against him he has an alternative source of power it will turn out to be a wise precaution [Music] there's already a growing Revolt inside the military [Music] late that summer at a cathedral in the German Capital an extraordinary scene is unfolding [Music] a group of Military Officers have come to ask the cathedral's Canon to release them from their Oaths of loyalty to the fuhrer [Music] among them is Hans Oster a colonel in German military intelligence [Music] he'd been an early supporter of the Nazis but now like the rest of the group he believes Hitler is rushing the country into a suicidal War the cathedral Cannon also a dissident is happy to help he tells them Hitler is a tyrant and that they have no obligation to follow him and that was a difficult step for many of those senior military men to make this was after all their commander-in-chief so they needed if you like Absolution from the church to prepare them for what they were planning to do the conspirators also have the backing of important names in the German military they include General Irvin Von vitzelbaan commander of the Army in Berlin and Fritz Von Schulenburg vice president of the Berlin Police both have been deeply disturbed by Hitler's removal of Bloomberg and fridge and his willingness to risk war with Britain and France many of those who were plotting in the in the summer of 1938 were those that you might normally imagine were were the Nazis natural Echelon supporters they were senior military personnel also senior police Personnel and many of them had initially been supporters of Hitler and the Nazis but they feel they're being railroaded into Reckless foreign policy Adventures Oster and his colleagues leave the cathedral determined to do all they can to stop Hitler [Music] over the next few months the conspirators lay their plans [Music] the idea is to arrest Hitler and remove him from Power they tour Berlin studying places where they might seize him the big outstanding question when should they act [Music] meanwhile on the Czech border German troops continue to prepare for war but France and Britain are still guarantors of Czech sovereignty even now Hitler sticks to his claim that he doesn't want war in a speech to the German people that September he proclaims I demand that the oppression of these Germans in Czechoslovakia sees us very successful technique where he presented himself as a man of Peace he always said he was a former Frontline Soldier why would he of all people want a renewal of War always as a man under great pressure from his own people and from the minorities he was seeking to rescue the clock is ticking War seems imminent [Music] will the invasion of Czechoslovakia go ahead or can the conspirators inside the Army stop Hitler before he drags Germany into a reckless War [Music] suddenly there's a dramatic new development [Music] in Britain prime minister Neville Chamberlain has been watching Hitler's saber rattling with alarm he now leaves London for a meeting with Hitler [Music] the consequences on the morning that he left for for Germany he was sent off from the airport by cheering crowds [Applause] in Germany Chamberlain is received by Hitler at the berghoff his Mountain retreat in the German Alps Chamberlain and Hitler are very different figures they're 20 years apart Chamberlain is 69 Hitler is 49. [Music] Chamberlain must have cut her a fairly strange figure amongst all these Germans in their Nazi uniforms with his wing collar his tie his rolled up umbrella Cumberland very much looks like a statement of the old school and of course Hitler's a very different Beast indeed it was the meeting of two cultures the old Edwardian School of British diplomacy represented by Chamberlain and this new aggressive Nazi German movement as if to symbolize the significance of the meeting a thunderstorm breaks overhead that day there was a storm brewing appropriately enough and boy was there going to be a storm brewing that day England is as many were when they first met Hitler he's impressed by the Charisma the personality the character of the man and that of course carries Hitler a long way forward to getting what he wants Hitler once again presents himself as a man of Peace simply trying to help his fellow Germans he demands the Sudan land be given a vote on whether it should secede from Czechoslovakia Chamberlain appears to accept the argument and agrees to try and sell it to the French and Czech governments but he leaves a poor impression on his German hosts after Chamberlain had left that evening there was much hilarity amongst the the staff and the other people at the berghoff about Chamberlain there's no doubt that the Germans felt having met him once that this was a man who they could could get the better of [Applause] in Berlin Hans Oster and his fellow conspirators are not taken in by Hitler's presentation of himself as a man of peace they plan their next moves to make sure they weren't followed they went to some some quite uh you know extraordinary lengths they used to go for walks together in the park so they could see that nobody was following them one group of plotters even used to meet in a Berlin swimming pool so they could make sure that any any potential gestapo tail was left in the changing room one important question remains unresolved [Music] what to do with Hitler once he's arrested most favor a trial but not everybody agrees [Music] one of them is Major Friedrich Wilhelm Heights former right-wing Thug [Music] Friedrich felham Hans had a colorful background he'd been through first world war and then subsequently fought in every radical right-wing paramilitary organization of the 1920s Heinz supports the Nazi cause but not Hitler's leadership of it he tells Oster by now the leading Spirit behind the Rebellion Hitler alive is stronger than all our divisions he needs to be killed the two men come to a secret understanding Hitler will be shot in the confusion of the arrest there is now a very real chance Hitler could be killed [Music] five days after his first trip to see Hitler Chamberlain returns to Germany meeting is held in the small Spa town of bad goddessberg on the Rhine Chamberlain's Hotel the Petersburg is on one side of the river Hitler stays in his favorite the driesen on the other the driesen is the hotel where Hitler traditionally went to relax where he used to go to stay when he wanted a holiday ahead recent the owner of the hotel was famous as being an arch-nazi and he had an interesting sideline whenever Hitler Came To Stay he would then auction off all of the materials that had been in Hitler's room afterwards to earn a bit of extra money as the meeting gets underway Chamberlain is optimistic he tells Hitler he's got the deal he wants Britain has persuaded the French and Czech governments to accept the German demand that the Sudan land be given a vote on whether to become part of Germany War can be avoided and then having done so he sort of Lent back in his chair as if to say haven't I done well and to his horror and to the horror of the other people in the room uh Hitler thumped the table and he said no I'm afraid the rules have changed I'm afraid that is no longer enough people would sort of display these incredible histrionics and theatrics and his mouth would phone with rage Hitler tells an astonished Chamberlain he's no longer interested in a vote and it's at this point where he's famously called a carpet biter because he's like a sort of a rabid dog Hitler now tells Chamberlain the situation in the sudeten land has deteriorated hundreds of fellow Germans are being killed almost daily forget the vote he will invade unless the checks hand over the sudeten land to Germany immediately at that point Chamberlain literally his mouth just drops open and he sits up and he's absolutely shocked by what Hitler said because it means that they've haven't just gone back to square one they've gone back to the square before that at that stage things look very bad indeed Hitler now ramps up the pressure on Chamberlain carefully orchestrated stream of Messengers come and go Courier comes in and presents in it with a great flourish a piece of paper to Hitler foreign that 300 Germans have been massacred in a battle in the German Sudan land in fact of course it hadn't happened at all it was a complete myth but it was Hitler's way of really turning the screw onto Chamberlain he banged the table in front for chamber and say the urgency is evident Mr Prime Minister and Chamberlain really didn't know how to respond they had to believe the stories he couldn't say well I think it's propaganda he was duped If You Wish by a much smarter operator the meeting finishes late [Music] Chamberlain returns home deeply Disturbed [Music] he's facing a Monumental choice he has to persuade the world that Hitler has a legitimate right to walk into the Sudan land or take Britain to war [Music] he soon makes his opinions clear he tells the House of Commons in a now Infamous phrase Hitler's threatened invasion of the Sudan land is merely a quarrel in a far away country between people of whom we know nothing [Music] in Berlin the conspirators in the Army are certain Hitler is still leading the country to war they can't believe the British will give in to Hitler's latest demand desperate to stop him they finalize their plans The Invasion may be only days away at an army Garrison in Berlin Friedrich Wilhelm Heinz assembles a small team the plan is to arrest Hitler as soon as he's ordered the invasion of the Sudan land foreign [Music] ammunition and Hand Grenades are handed out [Music] the conspirators check their weapons but then something happens they hadn't anticipated Europe's great Powers Britain France Germany and Italy Gather in Munich for a final attempt to thrash out a solution to the sudeten crisis everybody the meeting is held at the furabad the enormous Nazi headquarters in Munich [Music] the atmosphere at Munich was was tense throughout everybody present is convinced time is running out to prevent the second catastrophic war in Europe in 20 years Hitler stands firm even now he maintains his Public Image that he doesn't want war but that he's being pushed into it by the checks across Germany there's a mood of alarm that despite their faith in him Hitler is going to break his promise the reality was and we know this from Diary entries that there were serious doubts not simply among the military but also among ordinary Germans it wasn't openly expressed because really there wasn't an open area for that but the anxieties are there there's a lot of trepidation now amongst the people they're quite frightened of coming out and saying you know these aims are wrong but there is a kind of fear about a World War and what it will do for Germany [Music] peace in Europe hangs by a thread foreign [Music] offers a new extraordinary compromise Hitler can have the Sudan land provided he promises this will be the last of his territorial ambitions [Music] Hitler immediately replies yes yes the last territorial demand I shall make in Europe [Music] within hours the Munich agreement is signed it's an extraordinary coup Chamberlain is convinced War has been avoided for Hitler it's a double Triumph Germany's borders have again been expanded and he can continue his lie that he's a man of Peace once again he's a national hero [Applause] [Music] in Berlin the secret conspiracy against Hitler collapses Hans Oster and his colleagues burn all the evidence with Chamberlain's climb down they've lost heart the leadership melts back into the army command structure [Music] Hans Oster the leader of the conspiracy hides his opposition and remains a colonel in the German military intelligence Friedrich Wilhelm Heintz who had wanted to shoot Hitler joins a Special Forces Group and will fight on the Eastern Front General Irvin Von vitzelbaan is promoted to commander-in-chief of an army group Fritz Von Schulenburg also throws in his lot with the military establishment and is later promoted Fair loss of Courage means Hitler is now free to move on to the next phase of his expansionist plans [Applause] six months after signing the Munich agreement he tears it up [Music] in March 1939 German troops Roar straight through the Sudan land and occupy the whole of Czechoslovakia this is no longer merely uniting german-speaking people this is territorial expansion [Applause] yet even so Britain and France are still unwilling to go to war thank you [Music] a German people it looks like another amazing Triumph [Applause] across Germany has renewed euphoria [Applause] [Music] Germany has acquired not just the sudeten land but the whole of Czechoslovakia without firing the shot it's Hitler's first step in his acquisition of laban's Realm the extra living space he's promised the German people it's a long standing notion going back to the 19th century which was that Germany didn't have enough space for its people Hitler's popularity soars to new heights he had proved yet again that he could take risks they were calculated risks but they've been so cleverly well calculated they actually were [Music] [Applause] to many people he's the country's greatest Diplomat ever there's an outpouring of adulatory letters and poems seventeen-year-old girl writes is a great man A genus a person sent to us from heaven one Western newspaper reports the great majority of Germans could Now find some point of identification with Hitler and his achievements what the German people don't know is that this will be Hitler's last major bloodness victory [Applause] the International Community was outraged by a Stalin denounced him Chamberlain denounced him and the French denounced them [Music] Hitler is hell-bent on War the only way to stop him is through a powerful military Alliance but even now the German people have faith he won't take them to war they're wrong at the beginning of September a German warship in the Free Port of Danzig opens fire on the Polish Garrison meanwhile German troops pour across the border into Poland this time Britain and France react both countries are signatories of a treaty guaranteeing polish Independence they now have no choice but to come to Poland's assistance September the 3rd 1939 to two days after the German invasion Britain and France declare war on Germany country is at war with Germany what Hitler has promised will not happen has happened World War II has begun in Germany there's a mood of fear and doom there was no appetite amongst the German people for what could be seen as a resumption of the first world war which had been utterly catastrophic for Germany from contemporary reports we know that the mood in Berlin was somber and depressed the war they'd hoped to avoid has finally arrived [Music] but then very rapidly the mood changes as German forces Crush all opposition [Music] Poland is overrun in weeks the German Army then turns West War spreads across Europe it's accompanied by more easy victories Germany occupies Denmark and Norway [Music] I mean this is joined up Warfare this this is tanks artillery all working in unison soon afterwards German forces storm into Belgium and Holland this is a wall that no one has ever seen before and it's absolutely devastating This Is War at its most brutal [Music] by mid-summer 1940 Hitler is in Paris at the head of a Victorious Army [Music] he has defeated the combined forces of both Britain and France in front of the Eiffel Tower he proclaims I'm the greatest strategic Genius of all time many Germans who had begun to doubt him start to trust Hitler again in a matter of months and with minimal losses Germany has overrun Europe Hitler may not have kept his promise to avoid war but at least it's been a brief one has grabbed more territory than the Germans had won in the entire course of World War One a war that lasted four years and cost millions of German lives as his senior military Commanders no one has achieved what I have achieved I've let the German people to a great height the idea of Hitler's military Brilliance spreads across the world national leaders in Europe and Asia rally to his support foreign [Music] Italy enters the war on the German side [Music] Hitler and the Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini have much in common Hitler from the beginning admired what he called the great man across the Alps and it's reciprocated matalini admires Hitler from what he's achieved in the Autumn Germany's old Ally Japan also joins Hitler the Axis powers are born Hitler strides the world yet what the Germans don't realize is that the war is far from over the devastation is only just beginning [Music] thank you [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Free Documentary - History

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full Documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), History, History Documentaries, Free Documentary History, History Documentary, The Rise of the Nazi Party, Rise of the Nazi Party Full Episodes, Adolf Hitler Documentary, Third Reich, Third Reich Documentary, Nazi Germany Documentary, Nazi Party Documentary

Id: QqpdZ5y1Las

Length: 48min 30sec (2910 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 06 2023