male narrator: PREVIOUSLY ON THE WORLD WARS...
- INCOMING!
narrator: WHEN THE FIRST WORLD WAR BREAKS OUT,
A NEW GENERATION COMES OF AGE ON THE BATTLEFIELD.
HITLER,
MUSSOLINI,
CHURCHILL,
PATTON,
AND MACARTHUR
ALL SEE ACTION ON THE FRONT LINE.
- MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!
narrator: BUT AFTER THE ALLIES AND THE CENTRAL POWERS
AGREE TO AN UNEASY CEASEFIRE
AND STOP FIGHTING EACH OTHER,
THEY BEGIN TO FIGHT THEIR OWN COUNTRYMEN.
- THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST PARTY IS TAKING OVER THE GOVERNMENT!
[gunshots]
narrator: AND SOON THE MEN FROM THE FRONT LINES
ARE IN CHARGE,
SOME WITH AGENDAS OF EVIL
THAT WILL KEEP THE EPIC BATTLE RAGING.
[pounding electronic music]
♪
[explosion]
♪
- ♪ AND YOU'LL BE A BIT BOLDER
♪ WHEN THE NEW DAY YOU MAKE
♪ HE'S A JAPANESE SANDMAN
♪ TRADE HIM SILVER FOR GOLD
♪ JUST AN OLD SECONDHAND MAN
♪ TRADING NEW DAYS FOR OLD
[car horns honking]
narrator: AFTER A DECADE OF POST-WORLD WAR I PROSPERITY,
THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE SUFFERS
THE MOST CATASTROPHIC CRASH IT WILL EVER SEE,
LOSING OVER $14 BILLION IN JUST ONE DAY.
THE CRASH LAUNCHES A HEARTBREAKING ERA FOR AMERICA,
THE GREAT DEPRESSION.
- THE STOCK MARKET CRASH OF 1929 CAME AS A RUDE AWAKENING.
EMPLOYMENT FELL, PRODUCTION FELL,
UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS ROSE, HOMELESS NUMBERS ROSE--
ALL OF THE NEGATIVE INDICATORS ABOUT AN ECONOMY
JUST GOT WORSE AND WORSE,
AND PEOPLE KEPT LOOKING FOR THE BOTTOM,
BUT THE BOTTOM NEVER CAME,
AND THEY BEGAN TO WONDER,
IS THIS ECONOMY EVER GONNA RIGHT ITSELF?
narrator: THE FALLOUT FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION
QUICKLY SPREADS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD,
TOPPLING THE ECONOMIES OF EUROPE
INCLUDING GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND ITALY,
BUT ONE OF THE COUNTRIES TAKING THE BIGGEST HIT
IS GERMANY.
THE EUROPEAN NATION IS STILL STRUGGLING
TO PAY OVER $80 BILLION IN REPARATIONS FROM THE WAR,
THE MODERN EQUIVALENT OF NEARLY $1/2 TRILLION,
AND THE DEPRESSION JUST MAKES THINGS WORSE.
BUT ONE MAN WANTS TO USE THE NATIONAL CRISIS
TO HIS ADVANTAGE.
- JOIN US!
narrator: YEARS EARLIER,
ADOLF HITLER ATTEMPTED A VIOLENT OVERTHROW
OF THE GERMAN GOVERNMENT
AND FAILED.
[gunfire]
- GO!
narrator: AFTER HIS RELEASE FROM PRISON,
HE SPENT YEARS TRYING TO GET HIS MOVEMENT OFF THE GROUND,
BUT HIS PARTY WAS IN DISARRAY
AND HIS MESSAGE WAS IGNORED.
BUT NOW THE DEPRESSION HAS PROVIDED HITLER
WITH THE PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD THE NAZI PARTY.
- THE STOCK MARKET CRASH
HAD IMMEDIATE RAMIFICATIONS IN GERMANY.
UNEMPLOYMENT INCREASED SO DRAMATICALLY
THAT IT OPENED THE DOOR
FOR RADICAL MOVEMENTS TO GAIN SUPPORT.
IT WAS THE GREAT DEPRESSION
THAT MADE HITLER POSSIBLE.
narrator: HITLER BELIEVES HE CAN RALLY
THE DESPERATE PEOPLE AROUND HIS VISION
OF A NEW, POWERFUL GERMANY,
SETTING IN MOTION A PLAN HE FIRST DESCRIBED
IN THE MANIFESTO HE WROTE IN PRISON.
- WHAT WE MUST FIGHT FOR IS TO SAFEGUARD THE EXISTENCE
AND THE REPRODUCTION OF OUR RACE AND OUR PEOPLE.
- MEIN KAMPF IS ENORMOUSLY SIGNIFICANT.
IT PROVIDED A KIND OF OUTLINE
FOR ALL THE THINGS THAT HITLER WANTED TO DO EVENTUALLY.
- HITLER CLEARLY BELIEVED PASSIONATELY
FROM THE START OF HIS CAREER RIGHT TO THE END
THAT THE JEWS WERE THE WORLD ENEMY
WHO INTENDED TO DESTROY GERMANY.
IT WAS A PARANOID FANTASY OF HIS.
HE BELIEVED HE WAS CHOSEN BY DESTINY TO RESCUE GERMANY.
- WE MUST REVERSE THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES
THAT OUR PEOPLE BE SET FREE,
THAT THESE CHAINS BE BURST ASUNDER.
[applause]
narrator: HITLER RECRUITS NEW MEMBERS TO HIS PARTY
AND TOURS THE COUNTRY
GIVING IMPASSIONED SPEECHES
AND DISTRIBUTING POSTERS, FLIERS, AND OTHER PROPAGANDA.
- WHAT THE NAZIS DID WAS TO PROJECT AN IMAGE
OF ENERGY, VIGOR, YOUTH, AND DETERMINATION
IN THE SERVICE OF GERMANY.
THEY'RE CONSTANTLY MARCHING
THROUGH THE STREETS WITH BANNERS.
THERE IS CONSTANT SPEECHES, MEETINGS, HUGE ACTIVITY,
AND THIS PROJECTS THIS IMAGE
OF THAT THEY'RE GONNA DO SOMETHING.
ALL THE OTHER PARTIES ARE JUST WASTING THEIR TIME TALKING.
WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA DO SOMETHING.
- IF THE NATION DOES ITS DUTY,
THEN THE DAY WILL COME WHICH RESTORES TO US
ONE REICH IN HONOR AND FREEDOM!
- HITLER'S SPEECHES HAD SOME KIND OF UNIQUE POWER.
HE SERVED AS A LIGHTING ROD
FOR ALL THE DISCONTENT IN GERMANY.
HE MANAGED TO FOCUS IT AND CHANNEL IT AND BECOME IT.
narrator: WITHIN A FEW YEARS
THE NATIONAL SOCIALIST PARTY IS TRANSFORMED
FROM A FRINGE ORGANIZATION
INTO A GROWING POLITICAL MOVEMENT.
[crowd shouting]
NOW WITH WIDESPREAD SUPPORT,
HITLER'S DREAM IS FINALLY WITHIN HIS GRASP.
- IT WAS A LONG AND TWISTED PATH FOR HITLER
FROM THE CORPORAL OF WORLD WAR I
TO THE MAN ASPIRING TO THE LEADERSHIP
OF ALL OF GERMANY.
HE GOES FROM BEING A SPY TO BEING AN INSPIRING ORATOR
TO, ONLY IN THE LATE 1920s, BEGINNING TO ASPIRE
TO THE ROLE OF LEADER IN HIS OWN RIGHT,
FUEHRER OF THE GERMAN RACE-NATION.
narrator: 4,000 MILES AWAY,
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ARE DESPERATE
FOR HOPE AND NEW LEADERSHIP.
AND IN A PIVOTAL ELECTION YEAR,
THEY LOOK TO A CANDIDATE
WHO PROMISES TO PULL THEM FROM THE EDGE OF COLLAPSE,
FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT.
15 YEARS EARLIER,
ROOSEVELT SERVED AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF THE NAVY
UNDER PRESIDENT WOODROW WILSON.
AFTER THE WAR,
HIS POLITICAL CAREER LOOKED PROMISING...
UNTIL A DEVASTATING DIAGNOSIS BROUGHT EVERYTHING TO A HALT--
POLIO.
AT AGE 39,
ROOSEVELT WAS LEFT PERMANENTLY PARALYZED
FROM THE WAIST DOWN.
- POLIO KIND OF WIPES F.D.R. OFF FROM THE MAP
FOR MUCH OF THE 1920s.
THEY'RE LOST YEARS.
HE'S WORKING JUST TO BE ABLE TO WALK, YOU KNOW, A FEW YARDS,
AND NOBODY REALLY THOUGHT HE WOULD RESURRECT
HIS POLITICAL FORTUNES AGAIN.
narrator: BUT HE REFUSES TO GIVE IN,
AND AFTER YEARS OF PERSISTENCE AND REHABILITATION,
ROOSEVELT SLOWLY WORKS HIS WAY BACK UP THE POLITICAL LADDER.
AND DURING ONE OF THE DARKEST TIMES
IN AMERICAN HISTORY,
ROOSEVELT RUNS FOR PRESIDENT
AND WINS.
- THOSE WHO KNEW HIM SAID THAT HAVING POLIO
AND TRYING TO CLIMB HIS WAY OUT OF THAT DID CHANGE HIM,
GAVE HIM A CAPACITY TO UNDERSTAND
OTHER PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES--
PEOPLE WHO WERE SUFFERING IN A WAY THAT HE NEVER HAD.
narrator: ROOSEVELT HAS PULLED HIMSELF UP
FROM THE DEPTHS OF MISFORTUNE,
AND NOW IT'S UP TO HIM TO DO THE SAME FOR AMERICA.
- SO FIRST OF ALL,
LET ME ASSERT MY FIRM BELIEF
THAT THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR
IS FEAR ITSELF.
- HERE IS A MAN IN A WHEELCHAIR THAT'S TELLING US
WE HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR BUT FEAR ITSELF.
THAT HE'S LICKED A PHYSICAL DISABILITY,
AND IT HAS A HUGE IMPACT.
HE WAS TELLING US WE DON'T GIVE IN.
WE NEVER THROW IN THE TOWEL.
WE WILL PREVAIL. WE ARE AMERICAN.
- THIS GREAT NATION WILL ENDURE AS IT HAS ENDURED,
WILL REVIVE, AND WILL PROSPER.
- HE WAS A GREAT, GREAT MOTIVATOR,
ARGUABLY RANKS AMONGST THE VERY TOP OF OUR PRESIDENTS
THAT WAS ABLE TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.
- CAN I GET A PHOTO, MR. PRESIDENT?
[flashes popping]
narrator: THE SAME YEAR ROOSEVELT IS FIRST ELECTED...
[flashes popping]
GERMAN LEADERS GIVE ADOLF HITLER
A CEREMONIAL POSITION IN THE GOVERNMENT,
HOPING TO PACIFY HIS MOVEMENT.
LITTLE DO THEY KNOW
THEY'VE JUST PROVIDED HITLER
WITH A PLATFORM FOR TAKEOVER.
- THERE IS A FUNDAMENTAL MISCALCULATION
ON THE PART OF THE CONSERVATIVE ELITE
WHO WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR HOISTING HITLER TO POWER.
EVERY ONE THOUGHT THAT HE AND HIS MOVEMENT
COULD BE CONTROLLED.
narrator: HITLER QUICKLY BEGINS MOBILIZING HIS NAZI PARTY.
HE WANTS COMPLETE AND TOTAL CONTROL OF GERMANY.
[peaceful classical music]
♪
- [opera singing]
♪
- HE WHO RISES AGAINST GERMANY
IS A TRAITOR TO HIS COUNTRY,
AND TRAITORS TO THEIR COUNTRY ARE SUPPRESSED
IN ACCORDANCE WITH LAWS OF IRON.
I'D HOPED THAT IT MIGHT NOT NECESSARY ANY LONGER
TO BE FORCED TO DEFEND THIS STATE
WITH ARMS IN OUR HANDS...
♪
BUT SINCE FATE HAS NOW PUT US TO THE TEST,
EVERY PEOPLE IS ITSELF GUILTY
THAT DOES NOT FIND THE STRENGTH
TO DESTROY SUCH NOXIOUS CREATURES.
♪
AT THIS HOUR, THERE WAS NO PLACE FOR ANY CLEMENCY.
♪
IF ANYONE REPROACHES ME AND ASKS WHY I DID NOT RESORT
TO THE NORMAL COURTS OF JUSTICE,
THEN ALL THAT I CAN SAY TO HIM IS THIS:
IN THIS HOUR, I WAS RESPONSIBLE
FOR THE FATE OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE,
AND THEREBY I BECAME THE SUPREME JUDGE
OF THE GERMAN PEOPLE!
♪
WHEN TRAITORS IN GERMANY
ARRANGE A MEETING WITH A FOREIGN STATESMEN,
AND WHEN THEY GIVE STRICT ORDERS
THAT NO WORD OF THIS MEETING SHALL REACH ME,
THEN I WILL HAVE SUCH MEN SHOT DEAD!
[gunshots]
THERE IS NO REICH,
THERE IS NO POSITION THAT CAN PROTECT HIM
FROM HIS RESPONSIBILITY
AND, THEREFORE, HIS PUNISHMENT.
[gunshots]
I GAVE THE ORDER TO SHOOT
THOSE WHO ARE THE RINGLEADERS OF THIS TREASON.
[gunshot]
♪
EVERYONE MUST KNOW, FOR ALL FUTURE TIME,
THAT IF HE RAISES HIS HAND TO STRIKE THE STATE,
THEN CERTAIN DEATH IS HIS LOT.
[applause]
♪
narrator: IN WHAT WILL BECOME KNOWN AS
THE NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES,
HITLER ELIMINATES NEARLY 100 OF HIS POLITICAL ENEMIES.
♪
[cheers and applause]
IN ONE MOVE,
ADOLF HITLER HAS TAKEN COMPLETE CONTROL
OF THE GOVERNMENT
AND IS NOW THE SUPREME LEADER OF GERMANY.
narrator: FOLLOWING THE STOCK MARKET CRASH OF 1929,
THE WORLD IS GRIPPED IN A GREAT DEPRESSION,
AND THE GENERATION BLOODIED
FROM THE DEADLIEST WAR THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN
IS NOW COMING TO POWER.
[flashes popping]
IN THE UNITED STATES,
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
HAS A PLAN TO BRING HIS NATION
OUT OF THE DARKNESS OF THE DEPRESSION.
ROOSEVELT IS CONVINCED THAT THE BEST WAY TO BATTLE BACK
IS TO FOCUS ON HOME.
HE ESTABLISHES WHAT HE CALLS THE NEW DEAL.
- WHEN DO WE BREAK GROUND?
- WITHIN THIS WEEK.
- WITHIN THIS WEEK? OKAY.
AND FOR EACH ONE OF THESE,
WE'RE TALKING 1,500, 2,000 PEOPLE WORKING?
- YEAH.
- GOOD. GREAT.
ALL RIGHT, THIS IS GOOD.
narrator: ROOSEVELT'S NEW DEAL
IS THE LARGEST PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM IN AMERICAN HISTORY,
FUNDING OVER 35,000 PROJECTS
FROM THE CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGES AND HIGHWAYS
TO THE HOOVER DAM,
THE LARGEST DAM IN THE WORLD.
ROOSEVELT HOPES THAT THE NEW DEAL
CAN SAVE THE COUNTRY FROM THE BRINK OF COLLAPSE,
BUT THE PROJECT COMES WITH A MASSIVE COST,
AND HE KNOWS SOMETHING IN THE AMERICAN BUDGET
WILL HAVE TO GIVE.
- HOW ARE YOU DOING? OF COURSE.
YES, WELL, WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THE PEOPLE STARVING
ON THE GREAT PLAINS.
YES. WE MUST ADDRESS THAT.
- THE GREATNESS OF A PRESIDENT IS YOU HAVE TO MAKE A JUDGMENT.
YOU'RE IN CHARGE, NOBODY ELSE.
- THE AIR FORCE. I UNDERSTAND.
- YOU BEAR RESPONSIBILITY
FOR WHETHER IT GOES RIGHT OR WRONG.
IT'S YOUR BABY.
narrator: TO PAY FOR HIS NEW DEAL,
ROOSEVELT SLASHES U.S. MILITARY SPENDING
BY 51%
THE DECISION ENRAGES THE CHIEF OF STAFF
OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY,
GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR.
- IS THERE ANY WAY IT COULD MOVE A LITTLE BIT FASTER?
- I GUESS IF WE--
- WELL, IT HAS TO GO AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.
narrator: MACARTHUR IS A DECORATED VETERAN
FROM THE FIRST WORLD WAR...
- MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!
COME ON! COME ON! LET'S GO! LET'S GO!
COME ON!
narrator: WHOSE EXPERIENCE ON THE FRONT LINES
CONFIRMED HIS BELIEF
THAT THE SURVIVAL OF THE NATION
DEPENDS ON A POWERFUL MILITARY.
- MACARTHUR, AS CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY,
BELIEVED THAT THE ARMY NEEDED TO BE STRONG,
AND MACARTHUR, NOT FOR THE FIRST TIME,
NOR FOR THE LAST TIME,
TOOK ISSUE WITH THE POSITION OF HIS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
- MR. PRESIDENT--
- THE BUDGET DISCUSSIONS ARE OVER.
- IF YOU LOOK PARTICULARLY AT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
AND DOUGLAS MACARTHUR,
THOSE ARE TWO VERY BIG EGOS--
LIKE TECTONIC PLATES MOVING.
ONE IS A HUGELY SELF-CONFIDENT GENERAL
TRYING TO DO WHAT HE THINKS IS RIGHT,
AND THEN YOU'VE GOT A PRESIDENT
WHO HAS TURF THAT HE WANTS TO PROTECT.
- THERE WILL BE A NEXT WAR, MR. PRESIDENT,
AND WHEN WE LOSE IT
AND OUR AMERICAN BOYS ARE LYING IN THE MUD
WITH AN ENEMY BAYONET THROUGH THEIR BELLY,
I WANT THE LAST NAME THEY CURSE,
THE LAST NAME TO PASS FROM THEIR DYING LIPS,
TO BE ROOSEVELT.
narrator: ACROSS THE ATLANTIC,
AMERICA'S CLOSEST ALLY IS ALSO STRUGGLING
TO PULL ITSELF OUT OF THE DEPRESSION.
GREAT BRITAIN LAUNCHES A NEW DEAL OF ITS OWN--
INVESTING IN A NATIONWIDE PROGRAM
TO BUILD MILLIONS OF HOMES AND POWER STATIONS,
HOPING TO LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR A LASTING PEACE.
AND JUST LIKE IN AMERICA, TO PAY FOR THE PROGRAM,
THE GOVERNMENT IS FORCED TO GUT MILITARY SPENDING.
ONE MAN HAS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH THAT--
WINSTON CHURCHILL.
BY 1934,
CHURCHILL IS BACK IN THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT,
BUT HIS EXPERIENCES IN THE TRENCHES
OF THE WESTERN FRONT HAVE CHANGED HIM.
[gunfire]
[men shouting, gunfire]
LIKE MACARTHUR,
CHURCHILL IS CONVINCED THAT THE WEAKENED MILITARY
WILL LEAVE HIS COUNTRY VULNERABLE
IN A STILL-DANGEROUS WORLD.
- CHURCHILL WAS SEEN PRETTY MUCH AS A MAVERICK,
INTELLIGENT, ABLE, BRILLIANT ON MANY OCCASIONS,
BUT A MAVERICK WHO STOOD APART
FROM THE OPINIONS OF OTHER PEOPLE,
WHO WAS THOUGHT TO BE TOO RECKLESS.
narrator: CHURCHILL'S GREATEST FEAR
IS THAT WITHOUT A STRONG MILITARY
GREAT BRITAIN WILL BE DEFENSELESS,
BUT FOR NOW HE STANDS ALONE.
WHILE GREAT BRITAIN AND THE UNITED STATES
REPAIR THEIR ECONOMIES
BY BUILDING BRIDGES AND HIGHWAYS,
ADOLF HITLER HAS HIS OWN VERSION OF THE NEW DEAL;
HE'S GOING TO REBUILD GERMANY'S MILITARY.
- OUR WORK IS URGENT.
TIME FOR US IS SCARCE.
- HITLER'S MAIN AIM FROM THE VERY BEGINNING
WAS TO BUILD UP GERMANY'S MILITARY STRENGTH.
SO WHEREAS F.D.R. HAD CIVIL JOB CREATION PROGRAMS,
HITLER HAD MILITARY JOB CREATION PROGRAMS,
AND THAT'S THE REAL DIFFERENCE.
- GENTLEMEN, THIS IS GOOD NEWS,
AND WE ARE GRATEFUL; YOUR COUNTRY IS GRATEFUL.
narrator: BECAUSE OF THE RESTRICTIONS
PLACED ON GERMANY BY THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES,
HITLER IS FORCED TO REARM IN TOTAL SECRECY.
[engines rumbling]
HITLER PERSONALLY OVERSEES THE TOP SECRET PROGRAM HIMSELF.
- MEIN FEUHRER, YOU HONOR US
WITH YOUR PRESENCE HERE TODAY.
- WILL YOU BE ABLE TO WORK 24 HOURS AROUND THE CLOCK?
BECAUSE WE WERE GOING TO NEED ALL OF THIS IMMEDIATELY.
- JA,MEIN FUEHRER.
- IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT WE MAKE SURE
THAT THIS BECOMES AND REMAINS A CLANDESTINE ACTIVITY.
ARE WE CLEAR ON THAT?
- JAWOHL,MEIN FUEHRER. - GOOD.
- HITLER CREATES THIS MASSIVE PRODUCTION CAPABILITY,
BUILDS FACTORIES THAT ARE TURNING OUT TANKS AND PLANES,
AND HE DOES IT ALL IN SECRET,
AND HE HAS MANY OF THE FACTORIES DISGUISED AS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.
IN TODAY'S WORLD THAT MAY SEEM IMPOSSIBLE,
BUT BACK IN THE 1930s,
AS LOGISTICALLY CHALLENGING AS IT WAS,
IT WAS NOT IMPOSSIBLE.
narrator: WITH THE ALLIES COMPLETELY UNAWARE,
HITLER'S SECRET FACTORIES BEGIN MASS-PRODUCING
THOUSANDS OF FIGHTER PLANES AND TANKS
TO BE MANNED BY 1/2 MILLION BRAND-NEW NAZI RECRUITS.
HITLER KNOWS HE'S LAUNCHED A DANGEROUS CAMPAIGN,
BUT IF HE CAN KEEP IT UNDER THE RADAR,
HE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE GERMANY
THE MOST DOMINANT POWER IN THE WORLD.
narrator: IN THE WAKE OF THE GREAT DEPRESSION,
NEW LEADERS AROUND THE WORLD ARE DESPERATELY LOOKING
FOR WAYS TO PULL THEIR NATIONS OUT OF THE COLLAPSE.
[flashes popping]
WHILE SOME ARE BUSY BUILDING BRIDGES AND DAMS,
OTHERS ARE MAKING TANKS AND PLANES
AS THEY SECRETLY REESTABLISH DOMINANT FIGHTING FORCES,
PREPARING TO DRAG THE WORLD BACK TO WAR.
THE TENUOUS PEACE IS ABOUT TO BE BROKEN,
BUT THE FIRST MOVE WON'T COME FROM GERMANY.
[cheers and applause]
FOR THE PAST DECADE,
BENITO MUSSOLINI HAS RULED ITALY WITH AN IRON FIST.
- ITALY AND FASCISM
TOGETHER FORM
A PERFECT, ABSOLUTE,
AND UNALTERABLE ENTITY!
[cheers and applause]
narrator: AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR,
ITALY FAILED TO GET ANY NEW TERRITORY
DURING NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES.
- THERE'S A FEELING THAT ITALIANS HAVE BEEN CHEATED,
AND FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE IN ITALY
THEY COME OUT OF THE WAR WITH A MENTALITY
OF A DEFEATED NATION DESPITE BEING A VICTORIOUS ONE.
FOR MUSSOLINI AND PEOPLE WHO THOUGHT LIKE HIM,
ITALIAN DEMOCRACY HAD FAILED THE NATION.
narrator: MUSSOLINI BECAME CONVINCED
THAT THE ONLY WAY TO RETURN ITALY TO GREATNESS
WAS FOR THE COUNTRY TO BE LED BY A STRONG, ABSOLUTE RULER--
HIMSELF.
AND NOW, AFTER YEARS OF PREPARATION,
HE'S FINALLY READY TO EXPAND THE ITALIAN EMPIRE.
HIS FIRST TARGET IS ETHIOPIA,
A KEY ENTRYWAY INTO THE MIDDLE EAST.
[gunfire]
MUSSOLINI CONQUERS THE COUNTRY IN A MATTER OF WEEKS,
SUDDENLY SHATTERING THE TENTATIVE WORLD PEACE
THAT'S HELD SINCE 1918.
BACK IN GERMANY,
ADOLF HITLER HAS BEEN WATCHING
MUSSOLINI'S AGGRESSIVE QUEST FOR POWER.
- HITLER REGARDED MUSSOLINI
AS THE SUCCESSFUL SENIOR FASCIST.
HE HAD EFFECTIVELY ESTABLISHED HIS DICTATORSHIP.
HE'S CONTINUING TO BUILD IT UP,
SO HITLER LOOKS TO MUSSOLINI AS A MODEL.
narrator: HITLER KNOWS IF HE'S EVER GOING TO ACCOMPLISH
HIS OWN DREAMS OF GERMAN DOMINANCE,
HE'LL NEED TO GET MUSSOLINI ON HIS SIDE.
- THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSSOLINI AND HITLER
IS QUITE A SURPRISING STORY.
HITLER IS AFTER ALL A FAILED PAINTER,
AND ITALY TO HIM MEANS FLORENCE AND LOVELY RENAISSANCE ART.
- THIS IS QUITE NICE INDEED.
narrator: WHILE HITLER SEES AN OPPORTUNITY
TO LEARN FROM HIS HERO,
FOR MUSSOLINI THE MEETING COMES AT A CRUCIAL MOMENT.
- THE CONQUEST OF ETHIOPIA BY MUSSOLINI
IS REGARDED AS AN OUTRAGE.
MOTIONS ARE PASSED AGAINST HIM.
HE HAS TO TURN TO SOMEBODY AS A FRIEND,
AND HITLER'S THE ONLY PERSON.
AT THAT POINT THEN THE TWO BECOME CLOSER.
- THIS MARVEL OF ENGINEERING
THAT YOU'VE PUT TOGETHER IS QUITE ASTOUNDING.
narrator: THE TWO LEADERS HAVE A MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING.
BOTH HAVE SPENT THE PAST FEW YEARS
ENHANCING THEIR ARMIES,
AND BOTH ARE NOW LOOKING TO EXPAND THEIR POWER,
SO THEY FORM AN ALLIANCE
THAT WILL BECOME THE FOUNDATION OF THE AXIS POWERS.
WITH MUSSOLINI ON HIS SIDE,
HITLER FEELS CONFIDENT
HE CAN START HIS OWN CONQUEST OF EUROPE.
HIS FIRST TARGET IS A TERRITORY TAKEN FROM GERMANY
AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR--
THE RHINELAND.
- THE RHINELAND WAS THE INDUSTRIAL HEART OF GERMANY,
AND GERMANY HAD BEEN DEPRIVED
OF ALL THE RHINELAND'S MANUFACTURING GOODS.
THEY WERE BEING EXPORTED TO AS PART OF WAR REPARATIONS.
narrator: HITLER KNOWS A POTENTIAL INVASION
OF THE RHINELAND IS A HUGE RISK.
IT'S GUARDED BY HEAVILY-ARMED BRITISH AND FRENCH SOLDIERS
WHO HAVE ORDERS TO ENFORCE THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES.
BUT IT'S A RISK HE'S WILLING TO TAKE.
HE ORDERS 22,000 MEN INTO THE RHINELAND,
LOOKING TO RECLAIM WHAT HE BELIEVES
TO RIGHTFULLY BELONG TO GERMANY.
[radio static buzzing]
- THEY'VE CROSSED THE BORDER.
- WHEN THE GERMANS ENTERED THE RHINELAND IN MARCH OF 1936,
THIS WAS HITLER'S FIRST REAL, OVERT,
IN-YOUR-FACE VIOLATION OF THE VERSAILLES TREATY.
[indistinct radio chatter]
- STILL NO SIGNS OF RESISTANCE.
- EACH STEP OF THE WAY,
HITLER'S GENERALS WERE TERRIFIED
THAT SOMEBODY WOULD RETORT
WITH FORCE.
[indistinct radio chatter]
- ALL CLEAR.
narrator: WITHOUT A SINGLE SHOT FIRED,
HITLER'S MILITARY CLAIMS ITS FIRST VICTORY
AS GERMANY ONCE AGAIN TAKES CONTROL OF THE RHINELAND.
- IF THERE HAD BEEN ANY KIND
OF SIGNIFICANT RESISTANCE PUT UP,
IF THE BRITISH AND THE FRENCH HAD STOOD UP
TO HIS INVASION OF THE RHINELAND,
THAT MIGHT HAVE CHANGED THINGS.
- THIS WAS A REALLY IMPORTANT MOMENT FOR HITLER
BECAUSE HE REALIZES AFTER HIS INVASION OF THE RHINELAND
THAT THE BRITISH AND THE FRENCH WILL COMPLAIN.
THEY'LL SEND DIPLOMATIC NOTES,
BUT THEY'LL DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
WHEN CONFRONTED WITH MILITARY FORCE.
HE SUDDENLY FEELS INVINCIBLE.
narrator: MEANWHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD,
ANOTHER EMERGING POWER
IS LOOKING TO EXPAND ITS INFLUENCE.
JAPANESE LEADERS HAVE BEEN WATCHING
HITLER AND MUSSOLINI CLOSELY,
AND THEY WANT THAT SAME POWER FOR THEIR OWN COUNTRY.
- THE JAPANESE, EVER SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY,
HAD BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT
HOW THEY COULD BECOME A GREAT POWER,
AND THE JAPANESE STARTED THINKING IN TERMS OF AN EMPIRE.
narrator: JAPAN FOUGHT FOR THE ALLIES
IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR
BUT WAS SHUNNED DURING THE VERSAILLES NEGOTIATIONS.
JUST LIKE ITALY AND GERMANY,
THE JAPANESE GOVERNMENT HAS SPENT THE YEARS SINCE THE WAR
POURING HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS
INTO BUILDING A POWERFUL MODERN ARMY.
IN 1937, THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN
APPROVES AN INVASION OF NORTHEASTERN CHINA.
A DEDICATED SOLDIER IS CHOSEN TO LEAD THE TROOPS.
HIS NAME IS HIDEKI TOJO.
TOJO IS FIERCELY LOYAL TO THE EMPEROR...
AND WILLING TO SACRIFICE ANYTHING
TO BRING GLORY TO JAPAN.
[distant gunfire]
AFTER OVERSEEING A SERIES OF SUCCESSFUL BATTLES,
TOJO IS NAMED JAPAN'S MINISTER OF WAR
AND IS NOW RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STATE
OF THE JAPANESE MILITARY.
BUT TOJO KNOWS THAT JAPAN WILL NEED ALLIES
IF IT'S GOING TO BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL POWER,
AND HE URGES HIS COUNTRY'S LEADERS
TO JOIN FORCES WITH ITALY AND GERMANY.
- TOJO RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR JAPAN TO BUILD ALLIANCES.
TO ACHIEVE ITS GOAL OF BEING A MAJOR POWER IN THE PACIFIC,
IT WAS GOING TO NEED ALLIES,
AND HITLER AND MUSSOLINI
SEEMED LIKED NATURAL ALLIES FOR THEM.
narrator: JAPANESE LEADERS SIGNED A PACT WITH HITLER,
SOLIDIFYING THE AXIS POWERS.
THREE COUNTRIES SHUNNED IN THE WAKE OF THE FIRST WAR
HAVE NOW FORMED AN ALLIANCE
TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD.
narrator: IN GERMANY,
ADOLF HITLER HAS FORMED AN ALLIANCE
WITH ITALY AND JAPAN,
AND IN LESS THAN FIVE YEARS,
HE'S BUILT THE MOST POWERFUL MILITARY
THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.
THE STAGE IS FINALLY SET FOR HITLER
TO ACHIEVE HIS ULTIMATE DREAM.
AFTER A SUCCESSFUL INVASION OF THE RHINELAND
WITH NO OPPOSITION FROM THE ALLIES,
HITLER PLANS TO CONTINUE RECLAIMING TERRITORY
HE BELIEVES WAS UNJUSTLY TAKEN FROM GERMANY
WHEN THE ALLIES CARVED UP EUROPE.
IN THE SPRING OF 1938,
HITLER ANNEXES HIS HOME COUNTRY OF AUSTRIA
BEFORE TURNING HIS ATTENTION TO A REGION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA,
HOME TO MORE THAN 3 MILLION GERMANS
AND A RICH SUPPLY OF COAL, IRON, AND POWER PLANTS,
THE SUDETENLAND.
- HITLER SAID, "GIVE US THE LAND
"WHERE GERMANS LIVE IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA.
"THAT'S ALL WE WANT.
WE WANT OUR GERMAN FOLK IN THE REICH."
HITLER WAS TAKING THESE STEPS,
THESE MILITARY STEPS AND THREATS AND BLUSTER
AND BUILDING UP HIS FORCES IN VIOLATION OF EVERY AGREEMENT.
HE WAS TESTING THE WESTERN POWERS.
narrator: FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS,
THE THREAT OF A MAJOR CONFLICT IN EUROPE IS POSSIBLE.
AS THE EUROPEAN LEADERS BEGIN TO TAKE NOTICE
OF HITLER'S BOLD ACTIONS,
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN
HAS TO MAKE SURE GREAT BRITAIN
DOESN'T GET INVOLVED IN ANOTHER WAR.
- BRITAIN WAS TIRED OF WAR AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR,
AND THERE WAS A VERY STRONG FEELING
THAT NEVER AGAIN COULD EUROPE FIND ITSELF
IN THE PIT OF DISASTER AFTER LOSING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE
IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR.
narrator: CHAMBERLAIN BELIEVES
THAT TO STOP HITLER IN HIS TRACKS
AND SAVE EUROPE FROM ANOTHER WAR,
HE'LL HAVE TO EXERCISE DIPLOMACY.
AS THE WORLD WATCHES,
CHAMBERLAIN TRAVELS TO GERMANY TO BROKER THE PEACE.
THIS IS THE FIRST AND ONLY TIME
HITLER WILL GRANT A MEETING WITH AN ALLIED LEADER.
- DID YOU FIGHT IN THE GREAT WAR,
MR. PRIME MINISTER?
- I DID NOT.
I WAS IN GOVERNMENT.
- IT WAS AN HONOR TO FIGHT FOR MY COUNTRY.
- IT WAS AN HONOR TO SERVE MINE.
- I DOUBT EITHER OF US WANT SUCH HONORS
FOR OUR COUNTRIES AGAIN.
OF THE MANY WRONGS OF THAT WAR,
THIS ONE WE CAN RIGHT.
LET US HAVE THE TERRITORY BACK.
- I CAN ONLY AGREE
TO THE AREAS THAT ARE MORE THAN 50% GERMAN,
NOTHING MORE.
narrator: DESPERATE TO AVOID WAR AT ALL COSTS,
CHAMBERLAIN GRANTS HITLER THE TERRITORY HE WANTS
IN EXCHANGE FOR HITLER'S WORD THAT HE'LL GO NO FURTHER.
- THE IDEA OF APPEASEMENT IS, SOMEBODY HAS AN APPETITE,
AND YOU APPEASE THAT PERSON'S HUNGER,
AND THEY ARE SOMEHOW SATISFIED.
THE PROBLEM WITH THE APPEASEMENT POLICY
IS THAT HITLER COULD NOT BE APPEASED
BECAUSE HE WANTED WORLD DOMINATION,
AND SO BY DEFINITION,
YOU COULDN'T GIVE HIM EVERYTHING HE WANTED
BECAUSE THE MORE YOU GAVE HIM, THE MORE HE WOULD WANT.
- BLOODY HELL.
narrator: SINCE THE BUILD-UP OF THE GERMAN ARMY,
THE OCCUPATION OF THE RHINELAND,
AND NOW THE TAKEOVER OF THE SUDETENLAND,
WINSTON CHURCHILL HAS WATCHED HITLER GAIN MOMENTUM
AND IS CONVINCED THE FUEHRER HAS NO PLANS TO KEEP THE PEACE.
- CHURCHILL, FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE NAZI'S RISE TO POWER,
SAW THEM AS A DESTRUCTIVE AND DANGEROUS FORCE RIGHT ACROSS--
NOT JUST GERMANY, BUT THE WHOLE OF EUROPE.
- CHURCHILL, THROUGHOUT IT ALL,
SEEMED TO HAVE THIS INTUITIVE SENSE
ABOUT WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE AND WHO WAS REALLY OUR ENEMY.
HE KNEW HITLER FOR WHO HITLER REALLY WAS.
narrator: CHURCHILL URGES
PRIME MINISTER NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN
TO PUT AN END TO HITLER'S CRUSADE
AND TO HOLD HIM ACCOUNTABLE FOR VIOLATING THE TREATY,
BUT HIS PLEAS ARE DISREGARDED.
- NOBODY LISTENED BECAUSE, FOR ONE REASON,
HE WAS WINSTON CHURCHILL,
AND THE LAST TIME PEOPLE LISTENED,
YOU HAD GALLIPOLI.
PEOPLE ACCUSED CHURCHILL OF BEING A WARMONGER.
THEY DIDN'T WANT TO HEAR FROM THE SIDELINES
THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A WAR.
narrator: WITH NO SUPPORT FROM THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT,
ALL CHURCHILL CAN DO IS WATCH.
AFTER GAINING THE SUDETENLAND,
HITLER'S SUPPORT WITHIN GERMANY SURGES.
[cheers and applause]
- HITLER RETURNS TO GERMANY AS THE VICTOR
BECAUSE HE GOT EXACTLY WHAT HE WANTED.
HE KNOWS NOW THAT THE WEST IS WEAK,
THAT THEY WILL NOT STAND UP TO HIS AGGRESSION.
narrator: WITH THE ALLIES POSING NO THREAT,
HITLER'S APPETITE FOR TERRITORY IN EUROPE GROWS.
SIX MONTHS AFTER HE SWORE HIS CONQUEST WAS OVER,
HITLER MARCHES HIS ARMY PAST THE SUDETENLAND BORDERS
INTO THE HEART OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA.
AND ONCE AGAIN,
WITHOUT RESISTANCE FROM THE ALLIES,
THE COUNTRY IS AN EASY WIN.
- HITLER REALIZED, YOU KNOW, THE BRITISH, THEY'RE WEAK.
THEY'RE VERY WEAK.
I MEAN, WE HAVE THIS CONFERENCE
AND THEY DELIVERED CZECHOSLOVAKIA TO US.
BRITAIN AND FRANCE ALWAYS SENT PROTESTS,
NOTES, MEMORANDUMS, BUT THEY NEVER FOUGHT;
THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING.
THEY WANTED TO STOP HITLER,
AND HITLER HAD EXACTLY THE OTHER PERCEPTION.
"I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT. THEY WILL NEVER FIGHT."
narrator: FOR WINSTON CHURCHILL,
HITLER'S INVASION OF CZECHOSLOVAKIA
IS THE FINAL STRAW.
- CHURCHILL SIMPLY COULD NOT BELIEVE
THAT CHAMBERLAIN WOULD DO NOTHING
TO TRY TO STOP HITLER'S AGGRESSION
AND HIS MOVE INTO CZECHOSLOVAKIA.
AFTER EVERYTHING HE HAD SAID, IT WAS MAKING NO DIFFERENCE,
SO HE DECIDED IT WAS TIME FOR HIM TO GO PUBLIC.
- THE GERMAN DICTATOR,
INSTEAD OF SNATCHING FOOD FROM THE TABLES,
HAS BECOME CONTENT
TO HAVE IT SERVED UPON HIM COURSE BY COURSE.
- HE STARTS GIVING THESE VERY POWERFUL SPEECHES
ATTACKING, CRITICIZING THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
FOR ITS POLICY OF APPEASING HITLER.
- ONE POUND WAS DEMANDED AT PISTOL POINT,
AND WHEN THAT WAS GIVEN,
TWO POUNDS WAS DEMANDED AT PISTOL POINT.
- HE COULD BE VERY VOCAL
AND COULD STICK A VERBAL DAGGER IN SOMEONE'S BACK.
HE WASN'T A GOOD MAN TO GET ON THE WRONG SIDE OF
BECAUSE OF HIS USE OF LANGUAGE.
- OUR RULING CLASS TAKES ITS WEEKENDS IN THE COUNTRY;
HITLER TAKES COUNTRIES ON THE WEEKENDS.
UPON IT DEPENDS OUR BRITISH LIFE
AND THE LONG CONTINUITY OF OUR INSTITUTIONS AND OUR EMPIRE.
THE WHOLE FURY AND MIGHT OF THE ENEMY
MUST VERY SOON BE TURNED ON US.
LET US THEREFORE BRACE OURSELVES TO OUR DUTIES.
IF WE CAN STAND UP TO HIM, ALL EUROPE--
- GET ME CHURCHILL.
[crowd shouting]
narrator: BRITISH PRIME MINISTER NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN
IS FEELING THE HEAT.
FOR MONTHS, HE AND HIS GOVERNMENT
HAVE BEEN RELENTLESSLY ATTACKED BY WINSTON CHURCHILL
WHO'S FINALLY SUCCEEDED IN DRAWING ATTENTION
TO ADOLF HITLER'S CONQUEST OF EUROPE.
THE PEOPLE OF GREAT BRITAIN ARE GROWING RESTLESS FOR ACTION,
AND CHAMBERLAIN KNOWS HE HAS TO DO SOMETHING
TO CALM THEIR FEARS.
- SO CHAMBERLAIN CAN NO LONGER IGNORE CHURCHILL
BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE RECOGNIZING
THAT HIS MESSAGE IS ACTUALLY RIGHT,
SO CHAMBERLAIN APPOINTS CHURCHILL
TO THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY.
THIS WAS THE POSITION HE HELD BEFORE GALLIPOLI.
IT'S A REMARKABLE TURN OF EVENTS FOR CHURCHILL.
- HELLO. - HE'S WAITING FOR YOU.
- THANK YOU.
- A MAN WHO HAD WANDERED IN THE POLITICAL WILDERNESS
AFTER GALLIPOLI, AFTER WORLD WAR I,
HAS NOW RETURNED TO HIS FORMER POSITION IN GOVERNMENT.
- IT'S GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK.
- IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK.
- WE'RE CERTAINLY VERY PLEASED TO HAVE YOU ON THE TEAM.
- I'M SURE YOU ARE.
THE LAST TIME I WAS HERE WAS DURING THE GREAT WAR.
- DOES IT BRING BACK MEMORIES?
- YES, NONE OF THEM PARTICULARLY FOND.
- DO YOU KNOW WHY I BROUGHT YOU BACK?
- TO SHUT ME UP, I IMAGINE.
- IT WILL BE GOOD TO HAVE YOUR VOICE
INSIDE MY GOVERNMENT.
I DON'T WANT ANOTHER WAR.
- [sighs]
I'M AFRAID IT MAY BE TOO LATE.
- CHURCHILL WAS VIRTUALLY THE ONLY ENGLISHMAN SAYING,
"THIS IS GOING TO END BADLY."
HITLER WAS TESTING THE WESTERN POWERS,
TESTING THEIR COURAGE.
CHAMBERLAIN HAD NO POLITICAL CHOICE
BUT TO BRING IN WINSTON.
narrator: BELIEVING CHURCHILL WILL FALL IN LINE,
CHAMBERLAIN STICKS TO HIS POLICY OF DOING NOTHING
WHILE CHURCHILL BOLDLY ASSERTS HIMSELF.
- I WANT WARSHIPS WITH FIREPOWER.
I WANT SUBMARINES THAT ARE CAPABLE OF FIRING TORPEDOES.
I DO NOT WANT EXCUSES.
narrator: HE MAY BE AN OCEAN AWAY,
BUT PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
IS CLOSELY MONITORING THE SITUATION IN EUROPE,
AND LIKE CHURCHILL,
HE KNOWS THAT ADOLF HITLER ISN'T SOMEONE TO BE IGNORED.
- ROOSEVELT GRADUALLY CAME TO BELIEVE
THAT HITLER WAS A SERIOUS DANGER TO WORLD PEACE
AND A DANGER TO THE UNITED STATES.
ROOSEVELT CONCLUDED THIS,
PARTLY BECAUSE OF WHAT ROOSEVELT HAD LEARNED
UNDER WOODROW WILSON DURING WORLD WAR I,
BUT ROOSEVELT WAS NOT THE ONE WHO AT THIS STAGE
WAS GONNA GO OUT ON ANY POLITICAL LIMBS
TRYING TO CONVINCE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OF THAT,
BECAUSE ROOSEVELT KNEW THAT AMERICANS
HAD GROWN EXTREMELY ALLERGIC
TO GETTING INVOLVED IN EUROPE'S WARS.
- I THINK ROOSEVELT DID EVERYTHING HE COULD.
IT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY HARD UNDER THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES.
YOU MIGHT HAVE SAID IT WOULD BE A NICE TIME TO INTERVENE,
BUT WITH WHAT?
YOU'VE GOT THE WORLD'S 17TH-LARGEST ARMY.
THERE'S NO PUBLIC SUPPORT WHATSOEVER HERE
IN THE UNITED STATES FOR THE NOTION
THAT WE OUGHT TO BE INTERVENING IN EUROPE
WHEN THEY HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED TO SHOOT AT EACH OTHER YET.
UH-UH. THERE'S NO WAR.
narrator: CONFIDENT THAT HIS POWER
IN WESTERN EUROPE IS SECURE,
ADOLF HITLER PLANS AN EVEN MORE AGGRESSIVE STRATEGY
TO EXPAND THE NAZI EMPIRE TO THE EAST--
TARGETING THE NATION OF POLAND.
HITLER BELIEVES POLAND RIGHTFULLY BELONGS TO GERMANY,
HAVING BEEN TAKEN BY THE ALLIES
DURING THE VERSAILLES NEGOTIATIONS.
- FROM NOVEMBER 1918 ONWARDS,
IF HITLER HAS ONE, ESSENTIAL MISSION IN POLITICS,
IT IS TO OVERTHROW THE VERSAILLES TREATY
AND NOT JUST TO OVERTHROW THE VERSAILLES TREATY
BUT TO CREATE A NEW INTERNATIONAL ORDER
IN WHICH GERMANY CANNOT AGAIN BE DEFEATED.
narrator: BUT HITLER KNOWS TAKING POLAND
WILL PROVOKE THE ONLY MAN WHO INTIMIDATES HIM,
A TYRANT WHO RULES HIS COUNTRY WITH AN IRON FIST.
JOSEPH STALIN IS ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT LEADERS
THE WORLD WILL EVER KNOW.
JUST 20 YEARS EARLIER,
HE SEIZED CONTROL OF THE LARGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
AND CREATED THE SOVIET UNION
USING NOTHING MORE THAN BRUTE FORCE
AND INTIMIDATION.
[men vocalizing]
♪
- THERE'S NO FREEDOM,
TOTAL CENSORSHIP IN RUSSIA.
IT WAS A HELLISH PLACE TO BE.
STALIN IS A MURDERER.
THERE'S NOTHING GOOD TO SAY ABOUT STALIN.
narrator: LIKE HITLER, STALIN IS A BRUTAL DICTATOR
WITH DREAMS OF WORLD DOMINATION.
BOTH MEN ARE PROFESSED FANS OF THE ARTS
WHO RULE THEIR COUNTRIES RUTHLESS ORDER AND EFFICIENCY.
JUST LIKE HITLER ELIMINATED HIS POLITICAL OPPONENTS
DURING THE NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES,
STALIN DOES THE SAME ON AN EVEN GRANDER SCALE...
SENDING HIS RIVALS TO DEADLY WORK CAMPS
LOCATED IN THE HARSHEST
AND MOST DESOLATE TERRAIN ON THE PLANET--
SIBERIA.
STALIN'S PURGES SEND OVER 2 MILLION PEOPLE
TO DIE IN SIBERIAN WORK CAMPS.
IT'S AN IDEA ADOLF HITLER WILL SOON ADOPT HIMSELF
AS HE OPENS UP THOUSANDS
OF FORCED LABOR CAMPS THROUGHOUT GERMANY
WHERE HE BANISHES HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF JEWS,
POLITICAL OPPONENTS,
AND ANYONE ELSE HE DEEMS UNDESIRABLE.
HITLER KNOWS IF HE'S GOING TO CONTINUE
HIS CONQUEST OF EUROPE,
HE'LL NEED TO NEUTRALIZE JOSEPH STALIN.
HE OFFERS HIS RIVAL DICTATOR A PACT,
PROMISING TO AVOID WAR BETWEEN THE TWO MASSIVE POWERS
IF STALIN USES HIS RED ARMY TO HELP CONQUER POLAND.
- EVERYTHING THAT HITLER DID IN WORLD WAR II
WAS SHAPED BY HIS EXPERIENCE IN WORLD WAR I,
AND IN WORLD WAR I, HE KNEW THAT GERMANY
CAME CLOSEST TO VICTORY
WHEN RUSSIA WITHDREW FROM THE WAR,
SO HIS GOAL THE SECOND TIME AROUND
WAS TO KEEP RUSSIA FROM ENTERING THE WAR.
HE DID NOT WANT TO HAVE A SECOND FRONT OPENED UP.
HE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN HIS FOCUS ON THE WEST,
SO HE CREATES A PACT WITH STALIN.
narrator: STALIN ACCEPTS HITLER'S OFFER.
- WE WILL MOVE SWIFTLY,
AND WE WILL SPARE NO ONE.
- WE COULD MOVE SOME TROOPS BUT THAT WILL TAKE WEEKS.
- YOU HAVE TOO LITTLE TRUST IN THEIR WEAKNESS.
- JAHWOL,MEIN FUEHRER.
- THEY'RE THERE FOR THE TAKING,
AND WE WILL TAKE THEM.
[siren wailing]
narrator: ON SEPTEMBER 1, 1939,
HITLER ORDERS A MILLION TROOPS INTO POLAND
WHO FIGHT USING A NEW METHOD OF WARFARE
THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE...
[explosions]
BLITZKRIEG.
- THE GERMANS WANTED TO AVOID A STATIC WAR,
SO THEY HAD DEVELOPED SOMETHING
WHICH CAME TO BE CALLED BLITZKRIEG OR LIGHTNING WAR...
AND THE CONCEPT OF LIGHTENING WAR
IS TO TAKE VERY FAST MOVING FORCES...
[engines rumbling]
TO PUNCH A HOLE IN YOUR ENEMY...
[explosions]
AND THEN GET INTO THEIR NERVOUS SYSTEM.
[gunfire]
IT'S LIKE SOMETHING ATTACKING THE HUMAN BODY.
[explosions]
YOUR ARMS AND LEGS AND MUSCLES ARE FINE,
BUT YOUR BRAIN AND YOUR HEART
HAVE BEEN SUDDENLY BEEN ASSAULTED,
AND YOU CAN'T REACT FAST ENOUGH TO DEAL WITH THIS.
narrator: WHILE THE NAZIS ATTACK FROM THE WEST...
STALIN ORDERS THE RED ARMY TO INVADE FROM THE EAST.
- STALIN WAS DETERMINED TO GIVE HITLER
EVERYTHING HE NEEDED,
AND THEREBY GERMANY WOULD HAVE NO REASON EVER
TO ATTACK THE SOVIET UNION.
[Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake playing]
[peaceful classical music]
♪
[intense classical music]
narrator: THE POLISH ARMY IS NO MATCH
FOR THE TWO-FRONT INVASION...
♪
AND THE COUNTRY FALLS TO THE NEW ALLIANCE
OF HITLER AND STALIN.
♪
- DICTATORS FEEL THAT THEY ARE OMNISCIENT
IN THEIR JUDGMENT
AND THEY KNOW BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE.
THEY DON'T KEEP ANYONE AROUND THEM
WHO WILL TELL THEM OTHERWISE.
IN MOST OF MY MILITARY CAREER...
♪
I HAD TO SHAKE HANDS WITH A LOT OF PIGS.
[peaceful classical music]
[clapping]
[applause]
♪
narrator: ADOLF HITLER HAS FORMED ALLIANCES WITH ITALY,
JAPAN, AND NOW RUSSIA
TO CREATE THE WORLD'S MOST TERRIFYING SUPER POWER.
THE DAY WINSTON CHURCHILL HAS BEEN WARNING
THE REST OF THE WORLD ABOUT IS FINALLY HERE.
GREAT BRITAIN AND THE ALLIES ARE IN NO POSITION
TO IGNORE THE THREAT OF HITLER AND STALIN.
- NOBODY KNEW THE EXTENT OF WHAT GERMANS' DESIGN WAS,
AND IT'S NOT UNTIL POLAND FALLS IT BECOMES CLEAR
HITLER HAS THIS SORT OF DESIGN TO CONTROL ALL OF EUROPE.
narrator: ON SEPTEMBER 3, 1939,
CHAMBERLAIN FINALLY REALIZES HE HAS NO OTHER OPTION
BUT TO SIGN THE DECLARATION
THAT TAKES THE WORLD BACK TO WAR.
narrator: ADOLF HITLER IS ON A MARCH THROUGH EUROPE
AS HE RAPIDLY EXPANDS HIS EMPIRE...
[explosions]
MEETING LITTLE RESISTANCE.
[crowd shouting]
EVEN AFTER DECLARING WAR,
PRIME MINISTER NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN
STILL DOES ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO STOP HITLER
FOR SEVEN LONG MONTHS.
- HITLER IS ON THE MOVE.
I MEAN, WE SHOULD MOBILIZE IMMEDIATELY.
- YES, BUT WE NEED MORE TIME,
AND IF THERE IS GOING TO BE WAR, I WANT US TO BE READY.
- [laughs]
WAR WILL FIND US WHETHER WE'RE READY OR NOT.
- WAR IS NOT A POLITICAL GAME.
WAR IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN PUT ON THE LINE
IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE A RESULT AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE.
- WHAT'S HE GOING TO HAVE TO DO NEXT?
- WE ALREADY OFFERED HIM A CERTAIN THING,
AND WE CAN'T DO EVERYTHING OVERNIGHT,
AND WE'RE NOT READY FOR WAR RIGHT NOW.
- HITLER IS FAR MORE DANGEROUS
THAN ANYTHING WE'VE EVER FACED BEFORE.
- NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.
WE NEED TIME.
- OH, I SEE.
THAT'S THE TYPICAL DEFEATISM
AND PACIFISM OF YOUR GOVERNMENT.
SO WHERE ARE YOU GONNA DRAW THE LINE WITH HITLER?
- POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT BEING ABLE TO DO THINGS
THAT YOUR COLLEAGUES COULDN'T DO
AND FOR THEM TO RECOGNIZE THAT.
WHAT MARKS OUR SUCCESSFUL LEADERS
FROM THE UNSUCCESSFUL
IS A DECISIVENESS, A COURAGE, A CLARITY,
A STRATEGIC VISION.
- HITLER IS BURNING THE TREATY OF VERSAILLES AS WE SPEAK,
AND ALL WE DO IS SIT IDLY BY
PISSING ON THE ASHES.
narrator: WHILE CHAMBERLAIN CONTINUES TO DO NOTHING,
HITLER INVADES DENMARK AND NORWAY,
TIGHTENING THE NOOSE AROUND GREAT BRITAIN'S CLOSEST ALLY,
FRANCE.
HIS CONQUEST OF EUROPE SEEMS UNSTOPPABLE.
- THAT WAS IT.
THAT WAS THE END FOR CHAMBERLAIN.
HIS GOVERNMENT HAD FAILED.
narrator: THE PRESSURE CHURCHILL PUTS ON CHAMBERLAIN
CAUSES THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT
TO LOSE COMPLETE FAITH IN THEIR LEADER
FORCING HIM TO RESIGN.
- IT TURNS OUT THAT CHURCHILL
WAS RIGHT ALL ALONG ABOUT HITLER
AND CHAMBERLAIN WAS WRONG.
CLEARLY, WITH GERMAN FORCES NOW AMASSED
ALONG THE FRENCH BORDER,
THAT POLICY OF APPEASEMENT HAD FAILED.
BRITAIN NEEDED A NEW LEADER,
A LEADER WHO WILL UNDERSTAND WHO THIS ENEMY WAS.
narrator: ON MAY 10, 1940,
WINSTON CHURCHILL CLAIMS HIS GREATEST PERSONAL VICTORY...
[cheers and applause]
WHEN HE'S VOTED IN
AS THE NEW PRIME MINISTER OF GREAT BRITAIN.
- CHURCHILL HAD TOTAL CONFIDENCE IN HIMSELF.
IF HE HADN'T, HE WOULDN'T HAVE SURVIVED HIS SETBACKS,
AND THAT IS WHY, FROM BEING A RENEGADE,
HE WAS BROUGHT STRAIGHT BACK INTO THE GOVERNMENT
AND THEN WAS PRIME MINISTER.
HE KNEW HE WAS SPECIAL, AND HE PROVED IT.
narrator: BUT CHURCHILL IS GIVEN NO TIME
TO CELEBRATE HIS VICTORY.
WINSTON CHURCHILL'S ELECTION AS PRIME MINISTER
CHANGES HITLER'S ENTIRE WAR PLAN.
HE KNOWS CHURCHILL WON'T HESITATE TO FIGHT BACK,
SO HE DECIDES TO STRIKE THE ALLIES FIRST,
LAUNCHING AN OVERWHELMING INVASION OF FRANCE.
TO GUARANTEE VICTORY,
HE SENDS OVER 4 MILLION TROOPS DIRECTLY AT THE FRENCH.
- WE'LL BOMB EVERY CITY.
WE BOMB EVERY VILLAGE, EVERY FARM, EVERY TOWN.
- HITLER CAME TO BELIEVE THAT HE WAS INVINCIBLE.
EVERY TIME HIS GENERALS URGED CAUTION,
HE OVERRULED THEM.
HE BELIEVED THAT EVERYTHING COULD BE DONE
IF YOUR WILLPOWER WAS STRONG ENOUGH.
- WE WILL KILL EVERY SINGLE MAN.
WE WILL ANNIHILATE THEM.
[engines rumbling]
[cannon booming, explosion]
[men shouting]
[explosions rumbling, sirens wailing]
[gunfire]
narrator: HITLER'S BLITZKRIEG
COMPLETELY OVERPOWERS THE FRENCH ARMY.
- THE FRENCH FELL PREY
TO EXACTLY WHAT THE GERMANS HAD HOPED THEY WOULD.
[cannon booms]
VERY QUICKLY THEY FELT DEFEATED.
- 100,000 FRENCH SOLDIERS DIED DURING SIX WEEKS,
WHICH IS A HUGE PROPORTION OF CAUSALITIES.
narrator: WHAT GERMANY FAILED TO DO IN THE FIRST WAR,
HITLER ACCOMPLISHES IN JUST SIX WEEKS.
AS HE TAKES FRANCE,
HITLER ALSO CONQUERS BELGIUM AND THE NETHERLANDS.
HIS EMPIRE NOW ENCOMPASSES NEARLY ALL OF EUROPE.
WINSTON CHURCHILL HAS BEEN THE PRIME MINISTER
FOR JUST NINE DAYS,
AND ALREADY MILLIONS OF NAZI TROOPS AND TANKS
ARE GATHERING ON THE COAST OF THE ENGLISH CHANNEL,
JUST 50 MILES FROM GREAT BRITAIN.
WITH ALL HOPE SEEMINGLY LOST...
[indistinct chatter]
CHURCHILL ADDRESSES HIS NATION...
[static buzzing]
AND THE ENTIRE WORLD IS LISTENING.
[indistinct radio chatter]
- WE SHALL NOT FLAG OR FAIL.
WE SHALL GO ON TO THE END.
WE SHALL FIGHT IN FRANCE.
WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE SEAS AND OCEANS.
WE SHALL FIGHT WITH GROWING CONFIDENCE
AND GROWING STRENGTH IN THE AIR.
WE SHALL DEFEND OUR ISLAND
WHATEVER THE COST MAY BE.
WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE BEACHES.
WE SHALL FIGHT ON THE LANDING GROUNDS.
WE SHALL FIGHT IN THE FIELDS
AND IN THE STREETS.
WE SHALL FIGHT IN THE HILLS.
WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER.
[cheers and applause]
narrator: FOR THE PAST FOUR YEARS,
ADOLF HITLER HAS MARCHED THE MOST DOMINANT MILITARY
THE WORLD HAS EVER SEEN ACROSS EUROPE.
[gunfire, explosion]
AND NOW FRANCE HAS FALLEN.
[dramatic music]
♪
BUT THE NEW PRIME MINISTER OF GREAT BRITAIN
ISN'T GOING TO LET THE OCCUPATION
OF THE LARGEST ALLIED NATION TO DATE GO UNCHALLENGED.
♪
- WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER.
[cheers and applause]
WITHIN WEEKS OF TAKING FRANCE,
HITLER ORDERS HIS TOP MILITARY COMMANDERS
TO BEGIN PREPARATIONS FOR HIS LARGEST ATTACK YET--
TARGETING THE HEART OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE,
LONDON, ENGLAND.
BUT HITLER HAS A PROBLEM,
THE BRITISH HAVE THE MOST DOMINANT NAVY IN THE WORLD,
AND CHURCHILL HAS FORTIFIED THE COAST OF GREAT BRITAIN
WITH A VIRTUAL ARMADA
IN ANTICIPATION OF AN ATTACK.
- IN MID JUNE OF 1940,
THE BRITISH ARE WAITING FOR AN INVASION,
BUT HITLER THOUGHT
IF THEY COULDN'T BEAT THE ENGLISH MILITARILY,
THEY'D TERRORIZE THE COUNTRY SO MUCH
THAT THE ENGLISH PEOPLE WOULD DEMAND
THAT CHURCHILL MAKE PEACE.
narrator: HITLER KNOWS HIS NAVY
IS NO MATCH FOR THE BRITISH,
BUT HE'S SPENT THE LAST SEVEN YEARS
CREATING A MASSIVE AIR FORCE CALLED THE LUFTWAFFE...
[engine rumbling]
WHICH HE NOW ORDERS INTO THE SKIES,
UNLEASHING A STRATEGIC BOMBING CAMPAIGN
TO TERRORIZE CHURCHILL INTO SUBMISSION.
[engines rumbling]
ON SEPTEMBER 7, 1940,
LONDON IS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE WORLD,
HOME TO 9 MILLION PEOPLE
WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S ABOUT TO HIT THEM.
[engines rumbling]
[sirens wailing]
[explosions rumbling]
[mournful music]
♪
OVER 60% OF THE CITY IS OBLITERATED.
- IT WAS UNBELIEVABLE.
WITH HUNDREDS OF BOMBERS AND FIGHTER PLANES.
INDISCRIMINATE BOMBINGS.
FIRES BROKE OUT IN THE EAST END, IN THE WEST END.
THE BLITZ WAS TERROR BOMBING,
AND 40,000 BRITISH CIVILIANS DIED DURING THE BLITZ
AND THOUSANDS OF LONDONERS.
narrator: 2 MILLION HOMES
THROUGHOUT THE CITY ARE DESTROYED.
LEFT WITH NO OTHER PLACE TO GO,
MILLIONS ARE FORCED TO FIND SHELTER
IN UNDERGROUND SUBWAY STATIONS...
NOT KNOWING WHERE THE NEXT BOMB WILL STRIKE.
[explosions booming in distance]
[explosion rumbling]
WINSTON CHURCHILL IS THE PRIME MINISTER
FOR LESS THAN FOUR MONTHS WHEN HITLER STRIKES LONDON,
BUT THE BLITZ ONLY STRENGTHENS HIS RESOLVE.
- CHURCHILL STOOD ALONE.
HE WAS REALLY ALL THE STOOD
BETWEEN NAZI GERMANY AND ADOLF HITLER
AND THE COMPLETE CONQUEST OF EUROPE.
narrator: DURING THE LONDON BLITZ,
CHURCHILL'S REMINDED OF HIS FAILED GALLIPOLI INVASION.
ONLY INSTEAD OF SOLDIERS WHO DIED ON HIS WATCH,
NOW IT'S INNOCENT CIVILIANS.
- CHURCHILL BELIEVED THAT COURAGE AND VALOR
WERE PREREQUISITE FOR LEADERSHIP.
YOU CAN'T HAVE A COWARDLY LEADER,
AND CHURCHILL SHOWED HIMSELF ALMOST EVERY NIGHT OF THE BLITZ.
HE WAS OUT IN THERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOODS
AND THE PEOPLE SAW HIM.
- CHURCHILL EMBODIED THE BULLDOG SPIRIT.
HE EMBODIED THE COMMITMENT OF THE BRITISH PEOPLE
TO STAND UP THROUGH THE BLITZ OF LONDON,
AND THAT'S A VITAL QUALITY OF COURAGE
THAT SUSTAINS A PEOPLE AT VERY PERILOUS TIMES.
narrator: WHILE HITLER CONTINUES HIS TERROR BOMBING,
CHURCHILL SHIFTS HIS FOCUS FROM THE NAVY
TO THE ROYAL AIR FORCE...
DEVOTING ALL HIS RESOURCES INTO MASS-PRODUCING A NEW FLEET
OF SMALLER AND FASTER FIGHTER PLANES...
[engines rumbling]
CATCHING HITLER OFF GUARD.
FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS,
THE LARGEST AIR BATTLE THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN
IS FOUGHT OVER GREAT BRITAIN.
THE NEW AND IMPROVED BRITISH PLANES
SHOOT DOWN NEARLY 3,000 LUFTWAFFE FIGHTERS
WHILE THE BRITISH LOSE FEWER THAN 600...
[engines rumbling]
FORCING HITLER TO RETREAT.
- THAT WAS CHURCHILL'S FINEST HOUR,
THOSE MONTHS OF SEPTEMBER 1940 THROUGH EARLY 1941.
THERE WAS NO AMERICA HELPING US THEN.
THERE WAS ENGLAND AND ENGLAND ALONE,
AND IT WAS DURING THOSE MONTHS THAT CHURCHILL SAVED ENGLAND,
AND I BELIEVE SAVED WESTERN CIVILIZATION.
narrator: THE ROYAL AIR FORCE OVERPOWERS THE LUFTWAFFE
AND SECURES GREAT BRITAIN FROM ATTACK.
[engines rumbling]
CHURCHILL HAS HANDED HITLER HIS FIRST MAJOR DEFEAT.
narrator: THE AXIS POWERS OF GERMANY, ITALY, AND JAPAN
ARE CONTINUING THEIR QUEST FOR WORLD DOMINATION.
IN THE PACIFIC,
JAPAN HAS LAUNCHED A BLOODY INVASION OF CHINA,
THE FIRST STEP IN THEIR CAMPAIGN TO CONTROL ALL OF ASIA.
[men shouting, gunfire]
[explosion, horse neighing]
[gunfire]
BUT JAPANESE LEADERS ARE CONVINCED
IF THEY'RE EVER GOING TO ACHIEVE THEIR GOAL
OF A STRONG AND RESPECTED JAPANESE EMPIRE,
THEY'LL NEED TO BE MORE AGGRESSIVE.
CHINA IS JUST THE BEGINNING.
THE EMPEROR DECIDES HE NEEDS A NEW PRIME MINISTER,
SOMEONE HE CAN TRUST TO BRING VICTORY TO JAPAN,
SO HE PROMOTES HIS MINISTER OF WAR,
HIDEKI TOJO.
- TOJO IS ELEVATED TO THE POSITION OF PRIME MINISTER.
HE'S THERE REALLY FOR TWO REASONS.
ONE IS HE FIERCELY LOYAL TO THE EMPEROR.
HE ALSO IS CONSIDERED A HAWK,
SO HE HAS A LOT OF CREDIBILITY AMONG THE MILITARY.
narrator: TOJO KNOWS IF JAPAN IS GOING TO CONQUER ASIA,
FIRST THEY'LL NEED TO ESTABLISH A BASE OF OPERATIONS
IN A CRITICAL TERRITORY STRATEGICALLY LOCATED
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDS--
THE PHILIPPINES.
THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT THE PHILIPPINES
BELONGS TO THE UNITED STATES.
AFTER LEARNING THAT JAPAN IS MOVING ITS NAVY
TOWARDS THE PHILIPPINES...
- COMING THIS WAY? SOUTH?
narrator: PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
KNOWS HE NEEDS TO RESPOND QUICKLY.
- THE UNITED STATES HAD WORRIED THAT THE JAPANESE
WERE GETTING TOO STRONG.
ROOSEVELT WATCHED THE RISING TIDE OF VIOLENCE IN ASIA,
AND IT CAUSED ROOSEVELT TO THINK,
"WE'VE GOT TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS
TO DEFEND THE PHILIPPINES."
narrator: TO PROTECT THE AMERICAN TERRITORY,
ROOSEVELT SENDS A DIVISION OF THE U.S. ARMY
DIRECTLY TO THE PHILIPPINES.
TO COMMAND THE OPERATION
HE PICKS A LEGENDARY GENERAL
WHO'S PROVEN HIMSELF ON THE BATTLEFIELD,
WHILE ALSO PROVING TO BE A THORN IN ROOSEVELT'S SIDE,
DOUGLAS MACARTHUR.
- ROOSEVELT KNEW HE NEEDED A STRONGER MILITARY PRESENCE
IN THE PACIFIC TO TRY TO DETER JAPAN,
AND HE CHOOSES MACARTHUR.
ROOSEVELT DIDN'T LIKE MACARTHUR, BUT HE RESPECTED HIM.
narrator: ROOSEVELT IS CONFIDENT THAT DESPITE THEIR DIFFERENCES,
MACARTHUR IS THE ONLY MAN CAPABLE OF GETTING THE JOB DONE.
- WHEN MACARTHUR COMMANDED IN THE PACIFIC,
IF YOU THINK OF THE BREADTH OF HIS RESPONSIBILITIES
AND THE IMPORTANCE OF WHAT HE DID
AND HIS OWN PROCLIVITY AND PERSONALITY,
HE BECAME A VERY HUGE FIGURE
IN THAT AREA AND IN HIS OWN MIND.
narrator: MACARTHUR IMMEDIATELY BEGINS TRAINING HIS FORCE,
BUT HE'S BEEN GIVEN JUST 22,000 MEN,
WHILE JAPAN'S ARMY IS 2 MILLION STRONG.
IF JAPAN ATTACKS,
MACARTHUR AND HIS MEN WILL NEED TO FIGHT LIKE HELL.
MEANWHILE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD...
ADOLF HITLER HAS STEAMROLLED THROUGH EUROPE
WITH MINIMAL RESISTANCE,
AND AFTER HIS TEMPORARY SETBACK IN LONDON,
HE'S CONVINCED IF HE'S EVER GOING TO ACHIEVE
HIS ULTIMATE DREAM OF GLOBAL DOMINATION,
HE SIMPLY HAS TO GO BIGGER.
- HITLER BELIEVED HIS WILLPOWER
WOULD EVENTUALLY OVERCOME ALL DIFFICULTIES.
IT BEGAN TO BUILD UP HIS CONFIDENCE
UNTIL HE THOUGHT HE WAS INVINCIBLE.
- WITH ENOUGH SUPPORT FOR THIS AREA HERE...
narrator: AS HIS EGO GROWS,
HITLER BEGINS TO BELIEVE THE NAZI MILITARY
IS POWERFUL ENOUGH TO TAKE ON ANYONE,
EVEN JOSEPH STALIN.
- HITLER'S PACT WITH STALIN
WAS ALWAYS A PACT OF CONVENIENCE.
FOR SOME REASON, STALIN BELIEVED THAT HE WAS SPECIAL,
THAT EVEN THOUGH HITLER HAD VIOLATED EVERY AGREEMENT,
THAT EVEN THOUGH HITLER HAD INVADED ALL THESE COUNTRIES,
THAT SOME HOW HE WOULD NOT HAVE INVADED THE SOVIET UNION.
narrator: IN THE SUMMER OF 1941,
HITLER ORDERS A SURPRISE INVASION
OF THE SOVIET UNION,
CATCHING HIS ALLY COMPLETELY OFF GUARD.
- WITHOUT WARNING,
HITLER'S FORCES INVADE THE SOVIET UNION.
IT'S THE LARGEST LAND INVASION IN HISTORY.
[engines rumbling]
[explosions]
[cannons booming]
narrator: HITLER'S TROOPS ARE ADVANCING TOWARD MOSCOW,
BUT JOSEPH STALIN REFUSES TO BACK DOWN
IN THE FACE OF HIS ALLY'S BETRAYAL.
IF HITLER WANTS A WAR,
STALIN WILL GIVE HIM ONE.
- THESE ARE TWO OF THE MOST RUTHLESS,
BLOODTHIRSTY INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE EVER LIVED.
AT ONE POINT THEY'RE ALLIES, AND NOW THEY'RE ENEMIES.
narrator: WITH ONE MOVE,
ADOLF HITLER HAS TURNED HIS MOST POWERFUL ALLY AGAINST HIM.
narrator: THE WORLD IS AT WAR
FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS CENTURY.
ADOLF HITLER HAS THE ADVANTAGE,
BUT IN AN INCREDIBLE ACT OF EGO,
HE'S BETRAYED HIS ALLY JOSEPH STALIN,
LAUNCHING AN INVASION OF THE SOVIET UNION.
MEANWHILE IN THE PACIFIC,
A NEW THREAT EMERGES
AS JAPAN EXPANDS ITS EMPIRE, MOVING ITS MILITARY
WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE OF THE PHILIPPINES.
PRESIDENT FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT
HAS SENT HIS BEST GENERAL TO DEFEND THE ISLAND TERRITORY,
BUT HE KNOWS THE AMERICAN FORCE HAS LITTLE HOPE
AGAINST THE POWERFUL JAPANESE MILITARY.
- GIVE ME AN UPDATE.
- WE HAVE NO REASON TO EXPECT THEM TO STOP
THEIR MOVEMENT SOUTH.
- IS THERE ANY MOVEMENT TOWARDS THE PHILIPPINES?
- NOT THAT WE CAN TELL,
BUT IF THEY DO ATTACK,
THE BEST THAT MACARTHUR CAN DO IS SLOW THEM DOWN.
- THERE IS ONE THING.
JAPAN IS TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON FOREIGN OIL.
WE STOP THAT; WE STOP THE WAR MACHINE.
- WHERE DO THEY GET THEIR OIL?
- FROM US.
narrator: DETERMINED TO AVOID WAR AT ALL COSTS,
ROOSEVELT SIGNS A TRADE EMBARGO
CUTTING AMERICA'S SUPPLY OF OIL TO JAPAN
AND SENDING THE JAPANESE ECONOMY INTO FREE FALL.
[no audio]
IN TOKYO,
NEWLY-APPOINTED PRIME MINISTER HIDEKI TOJO
KNOWS THE OIL EMBARGO THREATENS TO PUT AN END
TO JAPAN'S IMPERIAL AMBITIONS.
IF HE'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND THE JAPANESE EMPIRE,
TOJO HAS TO ACT QUICKLY.
- AMBASSADOR,
PREPARE TO GO TO THE UNITED STATES IMMEDIATELY.
WE NEED TO NEGOTIATE THE END OF THE OIL EMBARGO.
- WITH THE OIL EMBARGO IN PLACE,
JAPAN DEVELOPS A TWO-PRONG STRATEGY.
ON THE ONE HAND, IT'S TRYING TO NEGOTIATE
A DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION AND SENDS A REPRESENTATIVE
TO WASHINGTON TO TRY TO FIND A WAY OUT OF IT.
THE EMPEROR IS GENUINELY TRYING TO FIND A PEACEFUL SOLUTION,
BUT THE MILITARY IS ALSO PLANNING FOR AN ATTACK.
narrator: THE JAPANESE REALIZE THEY NEED TO FIND
OTHER SOURCES OF OIL,
AND THE BEST SOURCE IS IN THE OIL-RICH ISLANDS
OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC,
BUT IN ORDER TO GET TO THAT OIL,
FIRST THEY'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PHILIPPINES.
- THE PROBLEM IS AMERICA HAS A MILITARY CAPABILITY
IN THE PHILIPPINES, UNDER GENERAL DOUGLAS MACARTHUR,
SO IF THEY'RE GOING TO SECURE THE OIL THAT THEY NEED,
THE FIRST THING THEY HAVE TO DO
IS KNOCK AMERICA OF THE PACIFIC.
narrator: BUT THE JAPANESE MILITARY
ISN'T GOING TO ATTACK THE PHILIPPINES DIRECTLY.
THEY HAVE A BIGGER, MORE DARING PLAN
TO CRIPPLE AMERICA'S NAVAL FLEET.
ON DECEMBER 7, 1941,
THE JAPANESE MILITARY LAUNCHES A MASSIVE, PREEMPTIVE STRIKE...
[engine rumbling]
SENDING HUNDREDS OF JAPANESE FIGHTER PLANES
ARMED WITH THOUSANDS OF DEADLY EXPLOSIVES
ACROSS THE OCEAN.
THEIR TARGET:
THE ENTIRE U.S. PACIFIC FLEET,
CURRENTLY STATIONED AT A BASE ON THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...
[engines rumbling]
KNOWN AS PEARL HARBOR.
[explosion]
COMING UP ON THE WORLD WARS...
AMERICA IS ATTACKED,
AND ONCE AGAIN THE WORLD IS AT WAR.
- SO IT BEGINS.
narrator: THE NEW GENERATION OF LEADERS
NOW FACE THEIR BIGGEST TEST,
AND THE SOLDIERS WHO WON THE FIRST WORLD WAR
NOW RETURN TO THE BATTLEFIELD
IN THE ULTIMATE REMATCH.
- NOTHING IS MORE CERTAIN THAN OUR ULTIMATE
AND COMPLETE LIBERATION FROM THE ENEMY.
[gunfire]
narrator: AS THE ALLIES BEGIN TO PUSH BACK,
ADOLF HITLER GROWS INCREASINGLY DESPERATE FOR VICTORY
CAUSING HIM TO DESCEND INTO MADNESS.
- THE PROGRAM IS CLEAR.
IT READS TOTAL SEPARATION,
TOTAL SEGREGATION.
[explosions]
narrator: BUT IF THE ALLIES ARE GOING TO WIN THE WAR
AND PUT AN END TO OVER 30 YEARS OF TURMOIL,
THEY'LL HAVE TO RESORT TO DRASTIC MEASURES
THAT WILL CHANGE THE WORLD FOREVER.
[explosion]
[gunshots]