The Nazis: A Warning from History

The Nazis: A Warning from History (1997)

IMDb Rating

8.4

Actor

Crew

Samuel West	Narrator
Herbert Richter	Himself (German soldier World War I)
Fridolin von Spaun	Himself (Freikorps volunteer 1919-1923)
Eugene Leviné	Himself (Son of Communist leader)
Emil Klein	Himself (Nazi Party member 1921-1945)
Jutta Rüdiger	Herself (Resident of the Ruhr 1923)
Bruno Hähnel	Himself (Wandervogel Movement Mid 1920s)
Bruno Hähnel	Himself (Hitler Youth leader 1927-1945)
Wolfgang Teubert	Himself (Nazi Storm Trooper 1928-1945)
Alois Pfaller	Himself (German Communist Youth, 1926-19
Jutta Rüdiger	Herself (Nazi Party member 1931-1945)
Fridolin von Spaun	Himself (Nazi Party supporter 1933-1945)
Johannes Zahn	Himself (Economsit and Banker since 1931
Eugene Leviné	Himself (German Communist Youth 1930-193
Josef Felder	Himself (Social Democrat MP 1932-1933)
Fritz Arlt	Himself
Charles Bleeker Kohlsat	Himself
Ulrich de Maizière	Himself
Walter Fernau	Himself

Director	Tillman Remme; Tilman Remme; Laurence Rees
Producer	Laurence Rees; Saulis Berzinis
Writer	Laurence Rees
Cinematography	Martin Patmore

Plot

How could a political party as fundamentally evil as the Nazis come to power? 'The Nazis: A Warning from History' exposes the popular myths surrounding the rise and fall of the Third Reich. The series explores how the Nazis gained influence, how they ruled, how they treated their occupied territories and, above all, how a cultured nation could be a party to such acts of inhumanity.Contemporaries recall the true extent of Hitler's power; eyewitnesses describe the horrors perpetrated on the Eastern Front; specially shot film in Lithuania reveals the development of the "Final Solution"; and ordinary Germans shed new light on the relationship between the Party and the people. Was the Nazi rise to power simply the result of the hypnotic power of Hitler's rhetoric? Did the Gestapo really impose themselves by terror on an unwilling population? This six-part series, winner of eight international awards including the Peabody Award, unveils a more chilling reality.

Movie Details

Genre

Documentary; War; Television

Studio

BBC Home Video

Series

The Nazis: A Warning From History

Movie Release Date

1997

Country

Language	English
Audience Rating	NR
Running Time	251
Color	Color

Episodes & Features
Disc 1:
Features	Scene Access
Episode 1	Helped Into Power This chapter examines how the political and economic turmoil of the Weimar Republic assisted the Nazis into a position of power. The economic depression of the early 1930s and opposition to communism from senior German politicians are shown to be important contributory factors.
Episode 2	Chaos And Consent Shows that behind the public façade of a rigidly ordered Nazi party, the lackadaisical approach to administration of Adolf Hitler created a cloud of confusion in which ambitious Nazis could exert considerable power in the formulation of specific policies.
Episode 3	The Wrong War The immediate events preceding the outbreak of WW2 are presented and the question why Hitler ended up at war with the power he most admired – Great Britain - and allied to the country he most hated – Soviet Russia – is answered.
Episode 4	The Wild East Reveals how the occupied territories of Eastern Europe were governed once they were conquered. The chapter focuses on the brutal Nazi administration of Poland, in which forced migration, slave labour and execution were commonplace.
Episode 5	The Road To Treblinka Charts the rise of anti-Jewish sentiment and policies which led to the Holocaust and the creation of mass slaughter camps such as the one at Treblinka. The daily operation of the Treblinka camp is revealed and accounts from living survivors are presented.
Episode 6	Fighting To The End Asks why, despite a growing awareness of the repression and atrocities of the Nazi regime and a realisation of impending military defeat, the German people were not able to rid themselves of Adolf Hitler and were left fighting to the end. Even in the midst of set backs Hitler was able to inspire a fatalistic loyalty in his people and army that prolonged the Second World War. In addition, fear of the advancing Soviet army and the reprisals they would exact on the German people kept the nation fighting until the finale of the Battle of Berlin.