Bringing History to Life

In 1933, Adolf Hitler seizes power in Germany, where he has seduced the population with golden promises of a restoration of the Great German Empire. He allies himself with Mussolini's fascist Italy, Stalin's communist Soviet Union and the military dictatorship in Japan, which has the same dreams of grandeur as Germany. In this series, you get a thorough review of World War II - from the birth of fascism through the war's many dramas to the aftermath, where the victors deal with the war's worst criminals.

The red army breaks hitler

GERMAN TROOPS ATTACK POLAND • Adolf Hitler decides to raise the stakes and invade Poland. It’s imperative the country is overcome as quickly as possible before the western European powers of Britain and France can intervene. But the campaign doesn’t progress according to the Führer’s plan.

SOVIET DICTATOR LIQUIDATES POLISH OFFICERS • In the spring of 1940, overcrowded trains and trucks run through the Soviet Union dropping off captured Polish officers in the Katyn Forest. Soon shots from Russian executioners’ guns echo in the trees. Three years later, Germans discover evidence of a mass execution as human bones emerge from the ground in Katyn.

HITLER SENDS THE RED ARMY PACKING • In June 1941, Hitler launches a surprise attack on the Soviet Union. 3.7 million soldiers storm across the border in the biggest German Blitzkrieg history will ever see. But Stalin’s vast empire will prove to be a much tougher cookie to crack, even for the usually victorious invaders.

GERMAN RING OF STEEL STRANGLES LENINGRAD • In the autumn of 1941, the Germans’ ring of steel tightens around Leningrad, trapping residents inside. Hitler forbids his generals from capturing Leningrad; instead, its 3.5 million Russian inhabitants will starve to death, so German settlers can occupy the empty city. Now a merciless fight begins against the cold and starvation.

Dressed to kill • Right from the beginning in 1925 the SS formed the elite of the Nazi movement. Schutzstaffel’s members underwent relentless training and a Nazi indoctrination that made them blindly obedient to Adolf Hitler.

BLITZKRIEG FREEZES FAST • Hitler’s troops begin their attack on Moscow. Everything points to a magnificent victory as the advanced forces get the Kremlin’s spires in their sights. But the icy winter has set in, and as the temperature plummets, Stalin deploys his reserves in battle, turning the war on the Eastern Front.

ATTACK ON STALINGRAD • In autumn 1942, the Soviet industrial city of Stalingrad is the scene for a personal duel between Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler. Both lay claim to a city that quickly turns into a smoking heap of ruins. And both dictators are willing to pay for victory with the lives of hundreds of thousands.

DICTATORS BATTLE FOR OIL IN THE CAUCASUS • Among rugged cliffs and more than 5,000 metres high, German troops sneak down narrow roads through the Caucasus. But high mountains, enemy special forces and a rain of bombs threaten to crush Hitler’s forces in his quest to capture Stalin’s oil in the south of the Soviet Union.

HITLER’S ARMY LOSES IT ALL AT STALINGRAD • At the beginning of January 1943, Soviet forces initiated a major offensive at Stalingrad. The goal was to crush the remains of Hitler’s besieged 6th Army. For the next 20 days, German soldiers fought a futile battle against a vengeful enemy.

HISTORY’S LARGEST TANK BATTLE • In mid-1943, Hitler slows the Russian advanced on the Eastern Front by committing his forces to a huge tank battle in the Russian city of Kursk. But his generals are worried. If Hitler’s major offensive fails, the Third Reich’s chances of winning the war may be lost.

STALIN EXPELS THE GERMANS FROM KIEV • After the Russian victories at Stalingrad and Kursk in the first half of 1943, Stalin is ready to follow...