1997

S1.E1 ∙ Helped into Power

Tue, Sep 09, 1997

Part 1 examines how Hitler was "helped into power by economic circumstance and the support and miscalculation of others," according to narrator Samuel West. The hour documents Hitler's ascendance to the chancellorship in January 1933.

8.3 /10

S1.E2 ∙ Chaos & Consent: The Nazi Rule of Germany

Tue, Sep 16, 1997

Part 2 looks at Hitler's regime and considers how "the system was manipulated...by lots of people for all kinds of reasons," as one historian notes. Also: "how the Gestapo actually functioned" in Germany.

8.6 /10

S1.E3 ∙ The Wrong War

Tue, Sep 23, 1997

Part 3 studies how Hitler wound up "fighting the country he most admired---Great Britain---and became allied to the country he most wanted to colonize---Russia," according to narrator Samuel West.

8.3 /10

S1.E4 ∙ The Wild East

Tue, Sep 30, 1997

Part 4 looks at the occupation of Poland, the "one country that suffered more than any other under the Nazis," according to narrator Samuel West. The hour dispels the notion that Nazi commanders who committed atrocities were "only following orders."

8.3 /10

S1.E5 ∙ The Road to Treblinka

Tue, Oct 07, 1997

Part 5 travels "The Road to Treblinka," examining the Holocaust and how the Nazis moved from a policy of ethnic "relocation" to one of mass murder. Included: an interview with one of the 70 known survivors of the Treblinka death camp.

8.5 /10

S1.E6 ∙ Fighting to the End

Tue, Oct 14, 1997

Conclusion. Examining how Hitler stayed in power and why the Nazis continued fighting long after they had any chance of winning World War II. Included: the July 1944 attempt to assassinate Hitler.

8.3 /10