Rise of the Nazis (2019) s03e02 Episode Script

1
Well, this is the last recording
of Hitler on film.
He's come out of the bunker,
into the Chancellery garden,
and is congratulating members
of the Hitler Youth, some
of whom seem very young indeed,
ten or 11, on their fighting
prowess.
His left arm, which he keeps
behind his back,
is shaking uncontrollably.
It's a pathetic scene.
This is what the Third Reich
has been reduced to - a bunch of 20
kids who should not be there,
and who were sacrificing
themselves quite needlessly.
But here's Hitler congratulating
them,
because the adults
are beginning to betray him.
These are the people on whom
he now relies.
Children.
This is the story of the collapse
of the Third Reich.
As the allied troops close
in on Germany.
Our interest is the psychology
of that collapse,
as those at the heart of the regime
cling to power.
It's the worst in human nature
you see during the collapse
of the Third Reich.
To help us tell the story,
we've asked historians and experts
to take us inside the minds of each
one of the key protagonists,
as they are forced
to confront failure.
The cycle of thinking, at that time,
wouldn't allow anyone to think
that what's happening is wrong.
Being picked up, shot,
disappeared
They are walking into an apocalypse
on purpose.
Ultimately, who will stay
loyal to Hitler?
And who will betray him?
And when?
By early April 1945, Adolf
Hitler's Nazi regime
is on the brink of collapse.
In the West, American troops
have crossed the Rhine.
The British are closing
in from the North.
The French, from the south.
From the east, a vast Soviet army
has paused to regroup,
just 40 miles from Berlin.
Allied aircraft now control
the skies over Germany
..launching devastating air
raids almost at will.
Factories, airfields and railways
lie in ruins.
With Berlin under daily bombardment,
Hitler is in permanent refuge
in his heavily-fortified bunker
..a series of 30 cramped rooms
covering 3,000 square metres.
It includes living quarters,
a canteen, dog kennels
and a telephone exchange.
From the subterranean
conference room,
Hitler attempts to co-ordinate
Germany's military operations.
The bombing is absolutely
devastating.
Berlin is almost completely
destroyed.
But Hitler didn't really know
the details
of what was going
on above ground.
And part of the reason for that is
because the people around him
are afraid to tell him.
They know that people who give
Hitler bad news are likely
to be shouted out, dismissed,
or declared to be cowards.
They might even be shot.
As Hitler's world becomes
increasingly bizarre,
he and his propaganda minister,
Joseph Goebbels, look for signs
that fate will somehow intervene.
They study astrological charts,
and Goebbels reads Hitler stories
of incredible comebacks
from German folklore.
Goebbels and Hitler are fixated
with being men of history.
Men of destiny.
And Goebbels writes in his diary
that,
"It is necessary to model ourselves
on the heroes of the German past."
Hitler is particularly attached to
the figure of Frederick the Great.
Because Frederick, like Hitler,
had to fight against Russia and,
for quite a while, it looked
like he was going to lose.
And he was saved by Providence.
Frederick's great rival,
Empress Elisabeth of Russia, died
just in time to give Prussia
a chance to win.
Goebbels fed Hitler's hope
that for Nazi Germany, Providence
might provide like it did
for Frederick the Great.
In some ways, Goebbels is now doing
propaganda not only to German
people, but also to the Fuhrer,
shoring up the Fuhrer's psychology.
With the Soviets so close to Berlin,
and the Fuhrer losing his grip
on reality,
Hitler's inner circle
must consider their next moves.
Joseph Goebbels has placed himself
firmly at the Fuhrer's side
in this hour of need.
But other senior Nazis take
different approaches.
Albert Speer is still playing
a dangerous double game.
On the surface loyal, while secretly
undermining Hitler's orders,
in the hope of currying favour
with the Allies,
when the war is over.
Hermann Goring, Hitler's designated
successor, has been disgraced
and has retreated to his country
estate.
Stripped of any real authority,
Goring has found his own
way of coping.
Goring is something of a fantasist,
living in a fairy tale world.
He has a large toy train set, set
up in the attic, where he even
has a little model bomber
that comes on, and drops bombs
on the trains below.
Just like a child playing.
But on the other hand, I think
Goring is actually a much
more realistic figure than
many of those around Hitler.
He does recognise that the war
is over.
In the real world, things are not
going to work out
the way he would like.
Heinrich Himmler has had a
breakdown,
after being reprimanded by Hitler
for failing to hold
the eastern front.
He has checked himself into
a sanatorium outside Berlin
to focus on his health.
Himmler is physically shattered.
For him, the dressing down is
like a kick in the teeth.
He feels extremely fragile
because he knows that his position
as Reich leader of the SAS,
as Hitler's most loyal paladin,
is at stake.
Who is Himmler without Hitler?
A nobody.
Himmler can't break with Hitler,
because breaking with Hitler
would break Himmler as a person.
Meanwhile, Hitler continues to live
as a recluse in the bunker.
Hitler had never had an orderly
kind of nine-to-five day.
But increasingly, his routine
becomes
quite cut off from the real world.
He gets up later and later, goes
to bed later and later, living
perpetually in artificial light.
So day and night are almost
reversed in the bunker.
It's a kind of upside down routine
that he has.
The once-charismatic Fuhrer now
avoids public engagements.
He no longer makes speeches
on the radio or in person.
So it falls to Goebbels, his most
trusted deputy,
to be the face of the regime.
Goebbels travels in Germany.
He tries to encourage troops.
He gives speeches to cheer them up.
In many ways, Goebbels is
having to nurse both Nazi Germany
and the leader of Nazi Germany.
These are desperate times
and Goebbels knows that.
And so he must have seen this dire
state of German troops,
the unpreparedness, and how unlikely
it was that these troops
could defeat the Soviets.
This is very difficult for Goebbels,
as reality hits him that the war
cannot be won.
Goebbels doesn't confront Hitler
with the reality of the war,
to preserve Hitler's psyche.
At this point, Goebbels
is essentially waiting for a miracle
to save Nazi Germany.
For destiny.
For Providence to provide salvation.
To the whole free world,
the stunning news has come
that Franklin Roosevelt is dead.
Death in the hour of victory,
like President Lincoln before him.
Goebbels is returning to Berlin
from the front line
when the news arrives.
As he hears the news of Roosevelt's
death, he immediately feels,
"This is the chance
we've been waiting for.
"This is the miracle
that will save us."
Goebbels can call Hitler
with great news.
For once, Goebbels has the chance
to cheer up Hitler, in a period
of total catastrophe.
Hitler's absolutely overjoyed.
He goes down the corridor
in the bunker telling everybody.
"Everything will now change.
"This is going to be the great
turning point."
He will be able to divide
the Allies.
The Americans surely will lose
interest in continuing with the war.
Just like their hero, Frederick
the Great
had been saved by the death of the
Empress of Russia,
they thought that maybe
this was the parallel.
This was history providing
for Goebbels and Hitler.
Who are now locked in a cycle
together where the two of them need
each other to continue to believe
that the final victory
is still possible.
Just four days after President
Roosevelt's death, the Red Army
launch a huge offensive.
This shatters the illusions
that Hitler was entertaining
about somehow the Allies being
divided, the Americans giving up,
the Soviets losing the support
of the West.
The Russians begin to encircle
Berlin.
Despite Germany's hopeless position,
Hitler issues an order to fight
to the last.
"Anyone trying
to save their miserable skins,"
he says, "..is a traitor
and will be arrested and executed."
Right up until the end,
Hitler is issuing orders
that everyone is to keep fighting.
They should sacrifice themselves.
They should allow themselves
to be shot.
They should place themselves
in the way of the guns.
For Hitler, it's all or nothing.
It's victory or death.
News of the Soviet offensive soon
reaches Hitler's inner circle.
Himmler is in a sanatorium
as the world is falling apart.
And he is thinking
about how the Third Reich
is about to lose the war.
He's increasingly unsure
about what to do next.
Himmler still knows that his entire
position exists,
his entire livelihood exists
because Hitler trusts him.
Himmler never says anything
in public against Hitler.
But for the first time in his life,
Himmler is a divided man.
Now that the chips are down,
he's thinking very carefully
about his top priority,
about how to come out of the war,
how to save his own neck,
how to position himself in a
scenario
where Hitler is perhaps no
longer the undisputed leader
of the Third Reich.
Stuck in this dilemma,
an unlikely adviser comes
to the rescue.
A physiotherapist trained
in ancient Tibetan medicine.
Himmler is spending a lot
of time with Felix Kersten,
who is Himmler's personal masseur.
Himmler is suffering from severe
stomach cramps.
His pain increases as the Allies
are closing in on Germany.
And he is using his masseur
as a sounding board.
He starts exploring with Kersten
potential scenarios
for how to reach out to the Western
Allies to try to negotiate
a post-Hitler Germany.
Himmler lets Kersten travel
to neutral Sweden on his behalf,
to find an intermediary
who can sound out the Allied
leaders in secret.
It seems simply unimaginable,
absurd that the head of an
organisation
that declares, "Our honour
is our loyalty to Hitler,"
that was the SS mantra.
That this man,
the supposedly most loyal henchman
of Hitler starts relaxing.
Acting behind Hitler's back.
Hitler occasionally leaves
the bunker to take walks
with his girlfriend, Eva Braun,
in the Chancellery Gardens.
She has moved into the bunker
to be with him.
Eva Braun presents him with the
comfort that he wants.
She provides affirmation to him.
She supports his delusions.
And this mustn't be underestimated,
the importance
of that stabilising domestic force.
She is his cup of tea. His packet of
crisps, at the end of a hard day.
Eva Braun first met Adolf
Hitler over 15 years ago
when she was just 17.
An aspiring model and actress
..she was working as an assistant
for Hitler's official photographer.
She is a young woman who likes
athletics, who likes
going to the movies,
who like skiing.
It's hard to imagine what this young
woman
who daydreams about film stars,
sees in this man.
But what it is, is.. ..is power.
But most of the German people
don't know Hitler has a girlfriend.
Hitler wants to conceal
his relationship.
Because he feels that he has great
authority as the unmarried leader
of his nation.
In a sense, he's married
to Nazi Germany.
This is very isolating for her.
And the more she's concealed,
the more desperate she is that one
day all will be revealed,
and she'll be shown
to be this incredibly loyal,
humble and hugely important support
to the Fuhrer.
Germany is losing the war, but it
doesn't cross Eva Braun's mind
to desert Hitler.
Her great mission in life
is to become the First Lady
of the Third Reich.
Realising that Germany can no
longer win the war,
Himmler's masseur
Felix Kersten, begins to explore
the possibility of negotiating
with the Allies.
Kersten suggests Himmler,
the architect of the Holocaust,
could offer to release imprisoned
Jews as a gesture
of his humanitarianism and goodwill.
Kersten speaks to the World
Jewish Congress who suggests
a Jewish intermediary.
Norbert Masur.
So Masur faces a moral dilemma.
Should he negotiate with Himmler
to save Jewish prisoners?
In the moment Norbert Masur
gets that call,
it's an immediate response
that he's ready to do it.
There's no hesitation whatsoever.
This lack of fear or anxiety
in that moment is almost surprising.
But for him, it just seems such
a clear, unquestionable thing to do.
It's a tremendous act of courage.
Just hours later, Norbert Masur
boards a plane from Stockholm
to Berlin, for one of the most
extraordinary meetings
of the Second World War.
Masur, a German-born Jew,
left his homeland before the Nazis
came to power in the 1930s.
He hasn't been back for a decade.
Masur really sees a country
on the run.
He sees a scared population
that's defeated.
He's really observing now first-hand
the end of this war,
seeing a very different Germany,
a defeated regime.
Masur is driven by the Gestapo
to Felix Kersten's country estate,
not far from the infamous
Ravensbruck concentration camp.
In the time Masur has been away,
six million Jewish people
have been murdered by the Nazis
and their collaborators,
including members of his own family.
The Allies have liberated several
concentration camps, and the scale
of the genocide is now becoming
known to a horrified, wider world.
Masur was under no illusions
about what this regime had done.
He's clearly aware of the fact
that this could be his last mission.
The idea that you're going to find
yourself, in a few hours,
face-to-face with the person
singularly responsible for this kind
of death and destruction
..it's really very dangerous.
Something could also go
terribly wrong.
That same evening, while Masur
waits patiently for Himmler,
Joseph Goebbels takes to the
airwaves
to rally the German people, for one
last great effort
on the Fuhrer's behalf.
It's just a few hours before
Hitler's 56th birthday.
In a rare moment of quiet, Hitler
escapes the bunker to inspect
the battered remains of the iconic
Reich Chancellery building.
The last known photographs
of him ever taken.
By now, Germany is almost cut
in two.
Only a narrow corridor of land
divides the British and Americans
from the Soviets.
And with the Soviets just ten
miles from central Berlin,
there are just two shrinking
passages in and out of the city.
Berlin is now on the front line.
And is openly described
as the Reich's funeral pyre.
Its population of three million
is suffering, and they've lost
their faith in their leaders'
empty promises.
Pride and patriotism have turned
to resentment and desperation.
They fear for their lives,
and have little access to food
or fresh water.
Hitler's inner circle receive
an invitation
that few of them want
but cannot refuse.
It's Hitler's birthday.
On Hitler's birthday,
Eva Braun is very concerned
that he gets a birthday cake,
so she ensures that one
is baked for him that morning.
It seems quite bizarre
that Eva Braun is concerned
with such small details.
And yet for her, this makes absolute
sense, because what she wants
is to maintain appearances
to the end.
Even in the dying days,
she is loyal to the ultimate
degree, beside Adolf Hitler.
This is no day for a birthday party.
Berlin is being shelled
by the Soviets.
Bombs are falling on the city.
It is deeply inappropriate
and deeply weird.
With some of them already
betraying Hitler,
his inner circle must now travel
across Germany to the bunker.
The Soviets are attacking Berlin,
the Allies are bombing the city
to smithereens, and all of the Nazi
hierarchy, all these big figures,
travel to pay their tribute
to the Fuhrer on his birthday.
It becomes, in some ways,
I think, an act of loyalty.
For discredited Luftwaffe
chief Hermann Goring,
it's awkward, as he's been so
publicly humiliated. As Hitler's
nominated successor, he has long
harboured fantasies of taking
over the Third Reich.
After months and months
when he's been on the outside,
it's impossible to take
seriously any longer
the idea that Goring might become
the Fuhrer if anything happened
to Hitler, because nobody
seems to obey him.
They have no respect for him at all.
They don't regard him as the
legitimate heir of the Fuhrer.
Himmler has also been invited
in from the cold.
He knows what's happening
on the outskirts of Berlin.
Even in the worst moment
in the history of the Third Reich,
when defeat is imminent
..top Nazi leaders are unable
to confront Hitler with the truth.
They simply do not have the guts,
because they all owe their positions
of power to Hitler.
This tells you so much about
the mind-set of the Nazis.
They're all trying to come
out of the war alive.
They are, essentially, cowards.
When they arrive, Hitler
is nowhere to be seen.
The Fuhrer is refusing to get
out of bed.
Hitler says he doesn't want
to be congratulated.
It's all completely meaningless.
What is there to congratulate
when everything is falling apart?
It is Eva Braun who is sent
to collect him,
to stir him
back into life.
Eva Braun is riding high
at this point.
She is at the height of her power.
She is the only one that can, not
just have access to Hitler
in his bedroom,
but can also bring him back out to
face the world.
It shows the consolidation
of her power and she loves this.
While the inner circle wait
for their Fuhrer, he receives
his daily pick-me-up.
By April, Hitler's having 28
different medications per day.
Amphetamines to try and bolster
his physical and mental state,
and keep him going in a situation
which was hugely stressful
and where he doesn't have a lot
of sleep.
He can't stand the thought
of meeting his staff, who must also
surely know that everything is lost.
He's come right to the end
of his tether.
The meeting is uneasy,
uncomfortable
..and, for the first time, perhaps
for many attendees, there's doubt
as to Hitler's capability.
Goebbels is assessing, particularly,
Goring and Himmler.
What are they doing?
Are they loyal? Are they useful?
Are they what we need?
Will they betray the Fuhrer?
Himmler is greatly shocked
when he sees Hitler,
because Hitler is a wreck.
Trembling, looks much older than 56.
Himmler realises that Hitler
is losing the plot.
Little does Hitler know,
Faithful Heinrich,
as he affectionately calls him,
is already making plans
behind his back.
Himmler is feeling stressed out.
Where do his loyalties lie now?
Himmler certainly doesn't
want to stay in the bunker.
He's trying to get out as soon
as possible, but he feels
that he cannot leave before other
Nazi bigwigs leave, because Himmler
fears that if he leaves
before others, other Nazi leaders
will talk behind his back,
and say something critical
about him to Hitler.
Before Himmler can make his excuses,
Hitler urges everyone
into his Situation Room,
to discuss their next moves.
Hitler has always dominated strategy
meetings,
but now he looks
to them for answers.
Himmler and others suggest
that Hitler should go southwards
to lead Germany from there.
Hitler has none of it.
This is a turning point.
Himmler thinks this is the moment
where everything changes.
Hitler is written
off as Germany's leader.
When they've had their conference,
most of them make their excuses
and leave rather hurriedly.
When Himmler leaves the bunker
..he probably knows that this is
the last time he is meeting Hitler.
His mentor.
His staunchest supporter.
His idol.
He is somewhat nostalgic,
but he also knows that now
is the time to make alternative
plans
for his, Himmler's, own future.
Himmler escapes the party
and immediately heads north.
The head of the SS has arranged
another meeting that night.
Just after the party, Himmler drives
through the night to the estate
of Felix Kersten, his masseur,
to meet with Norbert Masur.
During the course of the evening,
Mazer received a telephone call
that Himmler would not come
until around 2:30am in the morning.
He's sitting in that place waiting
for Himmler,
agitated at the thought that, in
a few minutes,
he would be face-to-face with one
of the worst murderers of
the Jewish people.
It is an extremely tense,
eerie atmosphere.
There isn't a single word of apology
by Himmler towards Masur.
There isn't a single word of regret.
What is going on here?
Masur is really sitting there and
not allowing himself
to burden himself with the horrors
of the entire Holocaust,
not allowing his pulse
to start to pace at a faster rate,
to maintain his calm throughout.
Masur is forced to listen
to Himmler's lies.
And Himmler totally downplays
the severity of the Holocaust.
For Himmler, it has been a moral
duty to murder the Jews.
For Himmler, these Jewish prisoners
are not really human beings.
They are simply bargaining chips.
This is the moment where Masur
really wants to reach
across the table and grab
his counterpart by the throat.
He really worries that his resolve
to stay calm
and collected, might crumble.
So what Masur does is negotiate
the release of as many inmates
of these concentration camps
as he can.
In the end, Himmler concedes
that 1,000 Jews will be released
from the Ravensbruck concentration
camp, to the Red Cross.
For him, it perversely is an act
of generosity, an act of goodwill.
Himmler, mass murderer,
he thinks that by releasing some
Jewish prisoners, he may well clean
up his reputation, that the Western
Allies will actually start
listening to him.
Meanwhile, in Berlin, Hitler
has long gone to bed.
His girlfriend, Eva Braun,
takes the party upstairs
to her old apartment in the Reich
Chancellery building.
Hitler's birthday party provides a
huge opportunity for release.
The pressure in the bunker,
the smell, the atmosphere,
the knowledge of almost certain
death is incredibly oppressive.
They absolutely know
they're going to be defeated.
They haven't got hope.
What they have got is champagne.
Eva leads a gang of revellers
for one last dance.
They've only got one record
which they play over and over again.
And it's quite a manic scene,
really.
Eva is determined to be at
the centre, at the heart of things.
One thing that she can affect now
is the mood and the atmosphere,
the environment of the people
she's with.
And she's always loved a party.
But the party atmosphere is soon
interrupted by the sound
of artillery shells landing
all around the Reich Chancellery.
Hitler decides on this desperate
moment,
on one last throw of the dice.
To launch a huge assault
on the besieging Red Army.
He makes it clear that anybody
who disobeys his orders
for this final assault is
going to be shot.
And he sits back and waits
for the reports of the victory.
Hitler has very few believers
left by now.
Everyone in the bunker knows
that Nazi Germany has been defeated,
that they have lost.
But Hitler is determined to fight
on until the bitter end.
And the human cost of this is tens
of thousands of lives.
But Eva Braun is one of the key
enablers keeping him going.
To prepare for the arrival
of the Red Army,
Eva Braun practises her shooting
in the Chancellery Gardens.
She is resolute and determined,
and she is absolutely confident
that she can play the role
to the end.
She has agency and she makes active
choices to support the regime,
and to support the leader
of that murderous criminal regime.
She absolutely is culpable.
She is a Nazi.
Hitler is expecting to hear
of stunning victories around Berlin.
And is told that the attack
never took place.
The troops weren't there.
The whole plan was simply a fantasy.
He breaks down completely.
And has a half an hour rant,
screaming and shouting at them.
By the end, Hitler was commanding
troops that didn't actually exist.
But he sees it in terms of lack
of bravery,
lack of commitment,
lack of will.
Hitler believes that everyone
has betrayed him.
There will be a complete defeat,
and Germany will go down with him.
He's going to kill himself.
He's going to end it all.
Hitler's staff are appalled by
this outburst.
The only thing they can think
of doing is telephoning Goebbels
and asking him to come along
straight away to calm Hitler down.
He goes into Hitler's bedroom,
finds him exhausted, dishevelled.
The very picture of defeat.
In many ways, this is a moment
of liberation for Goebbels,
because Hitler gives up
on the delusion that the war
can still be won.
Goebbels decides himself to stay
in Berlin in the bunker, and share
the Fuhrer's fate with him.
Hitler starts preparing
for the Red Army's arrival,
instructing staff to destroy
top secret documents
from his private safe.
And in a moment of magnanimity
towards his staff, Hitler grants
permission for them to leave
the Fuhrer bunker to flee
for their lives.
He's now seeing the rats
leaving the sinking ship.
He has this feeling of being left
alone and deserted
by his closest comrades.
There's no point in in carrying on.
Hitler's outburst only encourages
those of his disciples
who have decided to save themselves.
When Himmler receives the news
of Hitler's meltdown,
Himmler feels emboldened.
He feels a certain sense
of liberation.
He knows that Hitler is going to die
within the next few days.
He feels that his decision to enter
into negotiations with the Western
Allies is now more urgent
than ever before.
As Himmler thinks about life
without Hitler, he entertains
the idea that he could be the next
leader of Germany.
At this moment, you can see
the true colours of Himmler.
As a ruthless, selfish egomaniac
who cares only about himself.
Himmler wants to create
a new role for himself
in a post-Hitler Germany.
This, while the war is still raging
on all fronts.
This, while Nazi
terror is still going on.
This, while Hitler is still alive.
Now is the time, Himmler believes,
for himself to step up.
As Himmler makes
plans to save his own skin,
there is news from Stockholm.
Following Norbert Masur's
negotiations with Himmler,
1,000 prisoners from the Ravensbruck
concentration camp
have been released.
There is a Jewish principle
in Hebrew called Pidyon Shvuyim.
It means the redemption
of prisoners, which is that the act
of saving a soul is the act
of saving humanity.
There are not just 1,000 plus
people who are alive thanks to him.
But they're the descendants,
and their descendants' descendants,
who are alive, thanks to him.
The heroes of wars are very often
people such as Norbert Masur, people
who rise to the moment and rise
to the occasion and do
the right thing.
This is the BBC Home Service.
Here is the news.
Berlin is tonight completely
surrounded by Russian armies.
That is the good news.
There are signs that the Germans
are on the run.
And the Germans say Hitler
is still inside the city.
With Berlin completely encircled
by the Allies, the Fuhrer remains
over 15 metres underground
in his concrete bunker, accompanied
only by a few secretaries
and die-hard loyalists.
On the 25th of April, Russians
succeed in cutting off
communications to the bunker.
Telephone wires are cut.
All that Hitler has got
left is radio, and even
that is problematic.
They become ever more isolated.
By this time, you can hear
the Russian guns and shells
from inside the bunker,
deep underground.
The Russians are clearly coming.
The Red Army is moving in.
It's only a matter of days,
perhaps even hours, to the end.
There's no more talk of forces
coming with relief from outside.
So it looks as if the Nazis
are preparing to write off
both their Fuhrer
and their capital.
The Red Army is already nearing
the Reich Chancellery,
threatening it.
The Goebbels' decision to take
their children in the bunker seems
crazy, but in their own logic,
it made a lot of sense.
It's an act of courage.
It's probably his last resort.
This is a grim event,
but she's facing a grim reality.
The clock is ticking.
Time is running out.