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July 6, 1940.
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Berlin has never given a victorious leader
such a warm welcome.
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Adolf Hitler crushed France,
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rumored to have
the best army in the world.
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How did our destiny change in 1940
when Hitler took on the West
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and unleashed the Apocalypse?
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When Hitler attacks,
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setting off the biggest conflict
in History,
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he is 50 years old.
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Hitler was a corporal in World War I,
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and a violent,
racist Nationalist militant in 1933
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when he seized power in Germany.
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Along with his accomplices,
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including the renowned fighter-pilot
Herman Goering,
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now in charge of the county's air force,
the Luftwaffe.
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Hitler has the support of both the army
and the German people.
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Hitler prepares his great attack
from his chalet
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near Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps,
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known as the Berghof.
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Hitler lets himself be
filmed by Eva Braun,
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his secret mistress.
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He doesn't marry her until the day before
they commit suicide.
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Hitler considers himself
married to Germany.
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Hitler spends half the year
in this idyllic setting.
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He is protected by the fanatical
SS officers in their black uniforms,
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capable of any crime.
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At the Berghof,
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Hitler receives his ministers,
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foreign heads of state and film stars.
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He also relaxes there,
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listening to famous tenor Joseph Schmidt,
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who is Jewish and has fled Germany.
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Why? Because Hitler has built his regime
on racism and anti-Semitism.
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With the help of his propaganda minister,
Joseph Goebbels,
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who is a Berghof regular like all
the upper echelons of his party,
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the National Socialist Party,
"Nazi" for short.
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Nazis like Himmler and Heydrich
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who, under Hitler's orders,
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orchestrate the extermination
of six million Jews.
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Many Nazis met during World War I.
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They were put in power by
a multitude of other frustrated veterans.
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Frustrated by four years of
fighting in the trenches,
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only to be defeated and humiliated
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by the armistice of November 11, 1918
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and the Treaty of Versailles
that followed.
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Hitler's entire entourage
dreams of revenge.
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They organize and prepare for it,
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along with their families and children,
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who all belong to the Hitler Youth.
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1939.
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Hitler decides to put an end
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to what he considers to be one of
the Treaty of Versailles's worst clauses.
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The division of German territory
by the famous Danzig corridor,
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which gives Poland access to the sea.
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Hitler wants to reclaim this territory
and invade Poland.
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But to avoid a war with Stalin,
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the despotic leader of Communist Russia,
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Hitler sends his foreign minister,
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Joachim von Ribbentrop, to Moscow.
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He signs the German-Soviet
non-aggression pact
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in exchange for a part of Poland.
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The Soviets manage to fly
an upside-down swastika flag,
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found on the set of an anti-Nazi film.
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MOSCOW
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Stalin's signing of this treaty
with his worst enemies
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provokes a serious crisis of faith
among Communists,
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especially in France,
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during those last paid holidays
in the summer of 1939.
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Some intellectuals leave the Party.
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But the Communist workers
remain loyal to Moscow.
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The French government suspects they are
capable of sabotage, in the event of war.
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This non-aggression pact comes as
a shock to the Italian fascists as well.
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The Führer's closest ally and model,
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Benito Mussolini, is opposed to
Hitler's turnaround and writes to him...
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"Russia was World Enemy No. 1.
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She cannot become, and is not,
Friend No. 1."
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Hitler coldly replies...
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"I believe the existence
of a sufficiently strong German army
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will allow us to deal with
any eventuality in the East."
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And Hitler attacks Poland
on September 1, 1939.
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Two days later, on September 3,
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France and England, allied with Poland,
enter the conflict.
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FRENCH REPUBLIC WARTIME MOBILIZATION ORDER
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World War II has just begun.
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Barely a month later, on October 5, 1939,
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Hitler, triumphantly arrives
in Poland's capital city, Warsaw,
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wearing his green leather coat.
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The Allies have not budged.
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This footage, shot and edited by
Goebbels' propaganda teams,
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impresses the entire world.
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This is the face of German might,
forged by the Nazis.
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Hitler has managed to make his soldiers
hold him in awe.
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He says,
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"Each man must feel that
I have chosen him personally."
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For them, for his generals
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and for the whole world,
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he delivers a key speech in the Reichstag,
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Germany's parliament, ruled by the Nazis.
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There never will be another
November 1918 in German history!
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It is foolish to hope
for the disintegration of our nation.
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Mr. Churchill may be convinced
that Great Britain is going to win,
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I myself do not doubt for a second
that Germany will be victorious!
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NARRATOR
Hitler versus Churchill,
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the deadly duel begins.
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Churchill writes...
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"A gaping void was opened...
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and into that void there strode
a maniac of ferocious genius,
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the repository and expression
of the most virulent hatreds
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that have ever corroded the human breast."
Corporal Hitler.
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Churchill is 66 years old.
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A member of the Duke of Marlborough's
illustrious family,
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he is raised, as is customary
in these circles,
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to be a cavalry officer.
Instead, he becomes a journalist.
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With the support of his
brilliant wife Clementine,
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he will go on to be a Conservative MP
and a cabinet minister,
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and will fight against all dictatorships.
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When war breaks out,
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he is First Lord of the Admiralty,
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in other words, Navy Minister.
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He embodies the resistance to Nazism,
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which leads Goering to say...
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"With Churchill now in government,
we are truly at war with England."
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Goering started building
concentration camps,
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immediately after the Nazis
rose to power in 1933,
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like here in Dachau.
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A place to lock up the Communists,
Freemasons or even Christians,
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anyone opposed to the Nazi regime.
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Goering made himself a willing accessory
to every form of persecution.
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Goering has powerful
European connections.
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His hunting companion is none other than
the British ambassador to Germany,
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Sir Nevile Henderson,
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who appears here in a short film
from Goering's private collection.
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After the Nazis murderous outburst
against the Jews in 1938,
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the horrific Kristallnacht pogrom,
Nevile Henderson comments...
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"The persecution of German Jews
should be regularized in an orderly
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and systematic manner,
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00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,280
so as not to offend
British public opinion so much!"
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Sir Nevile Henderson is recalled to London
when war is declared.
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He writes a book
with the revealing title...
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00:10:19,720 --> 00:10:21,640
The Failure of a Mission.
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For him,
this declaration of war is a disaster.
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He had always advocated
a policy of appeasement,
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like many members of British high society
who were Nazi sympathizers.
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00:10:36,240 --> 00:10:40,680
From aristocrat Oswald Mosley,
leader of the English fascists...
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to the royal family itself.
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King George VI's brother,
the Duke of Windsor,
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had made the trip to Berghof.
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Hitler dreamed of an agreement
with England.
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From the outset of the war,
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Great Britain sent an Expeditionary Force
to the North of France,
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warmly praised by the propaganda machine.
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MAN Britain and France
stand side by side,
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as they did 25 years ago,
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bound by a strong friendship.
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The old comradery between Tommy
and the "poilu" is back.
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The English are no strangers
on French soil.
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The land where their
fathers fought before them,
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and Napolean's precept,
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"an army marches with its stomach,"
have not been forgotten.
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00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:31,200
Everywhere behind the lines,
men are at work,
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digging trenches, raising parapets,
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and fortifying their positions.
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Viscount Gort,
commander-in-chief of the English troops
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and a hero from the last war,
is working closely with General Gamelin.
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NARRATOR The French
General-in-Chief, Maurice Gamelin,
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he is a former senior officer
from World War I.
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A cautious yet indecisive man,
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he is overly confident about
the famous Maginot Line,
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the fortifications on the German border.
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Along the Rhine, for ten months,
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soldiers on either side
observe each other,
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occasionally exchanging a few shots.
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The French call this the Drôle de Guerre,
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from the English term Phony War.
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And the Germans call it the Sitzkrieg,
the Sitting War.
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But how long will it last?
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The French are obsessed
with the bloodbath of World War I.
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There are pacifistic, even Nazi-friendly,
factions within the country.
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Ever since the Dreyfus Affair
in the late 19th century,
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anti-Semitism has been
at the heart of French politics.
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A specific elite fight in favor
of Nazi Germany.
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Louis-Ferdinand Céline,
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considered one of the greatest
French authors, writes...
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"I feel very friendly to Hitler,
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very friendly to all Germans,
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I think they are brothers,
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that they are right to be so racist.
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It would hurt me a lot
if they were beaten.
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I think our real enemies are
the Jews and the Freemasons.
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It is a crime that we are forced to bear
arms against people of our race,
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who ask nothing of us."
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In the early spring of 1940,
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the French continue to go away
on weekend excursions
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and film themselves doing the Nazi salute.
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Most of them live under the illusion
that there will never be a real war.
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Mr. Fernand Bignon,
a peace-loving photographer in Gisors,
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continues to shoot portraits
of quiet Normans.
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He also films
his 10-year-old daughter Jacqueline,
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00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:29,560
who is curious about
the English motorcyclists
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00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:32,800
and the many French soldiers
strolling through the streets,
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cluttered with military equipment.
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As for the Germans,
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most of them think
Hitler has restored order,
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00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:51,520
chased out the Communists,
and abolished unemployment.
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They are indifferent
to the plight of the Jews.
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00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,000
Hitler's popularity is immense
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and for his birthday, on April 20, 1940,
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00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,240
crowds of Germans
gather together in Munich
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00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:07,560
in front of his private home.
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They come to show
their admiration bearing gifts...
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00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,600
anything that can be melted down
for cannons and planes.
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Hitler prepares the Germans
for the great offensive,
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00:15:25,960 --> 00:15:28,960
mobilizing them
with his animal-tamer's voice
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HITLER
Let's make a solemn oath!
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00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,400
The war imposed on
the Greater German Reich
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00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:37,000
by the capitalist rulers of France
and England
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00:15:37,080 --> 00:15:40,080
must become the most glorious
German victory of all time!
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00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:44,560
NARRATOR This scrap metal
will also be used to produce
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00:15:44,640 --> 00:15:46,320
hundreds of thousands of practical,
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00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:49,320
handy containers that the British call Jerrycans,
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00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:50,640
the Kraut cans.
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Thanks to them,
German tanks can be fuel self-sufficient,
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00:15:57,920 --> 00:15:59,760
unlike their French counterparts.
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And Stalin provides
massive quantities of fuel.
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00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:08,920
The Sitzkrieg or Sitting War,
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00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,920
has allowed Hitler
to stock up on material,
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00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:13,320
food rations, and ammunition.
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Goebbels, the propaganda genius
in the service of evil,
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00:16:21,800 --> 00:16:25,960
repeatedly shows off the Reich's strength
and power to the German people.
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But these same Germans who love Hitler,
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00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,160
are they ready to go to war?
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Not all of them.
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00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:44,320
With the terrifying memory of World War I
still in their minds,
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00:16:44,400 --> 00:16:47,280
German mothers aren't happy to see
their 20-year-old sons
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don the gray-green uniform again
and go off to combat.
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00:16:54,200 --> 00:16:55,840
Neither are the girlfriends...
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Nor the wives.
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00:17:03,440 --> 00:17:06,480
Most of these soldiers have been
turned into fanatics.
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00:17:08,680 --> 00:17:11,160
To avoid any anxiety or hesitation,
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00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,160
thirty-five million Pervitin pills
are distributed,
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00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:20,600
methamphetamine that eliminates doubt,
fear, and fatigue.
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00:17:26,560 --> 00:17:29,320
NARRATOR On the evening of
May 9, 1940,
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00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:31,480
the night before the attack on the West,
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00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,280
the Seventh Air Division paratroopers
leave for battle.
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00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:38,000
Get on board!
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00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:39,520
To your planes!
247
00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:49,120
The German paratroopers sing their anthem.
248
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:53,080
Red shines the sun
249
00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:55,920
Who knows whether morning
Will smile at us?
250
00:17:56,480 --> 00:17:59,000
Throw all the engines
Into full throttle
251
00:17:59,400 --> 00:18:01,480
Start, and then fly!
252
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:07,520
And off they go, toward the Netherlands,
253
00:18:07,600 --> 00:18:10,320
even though this country
has declared its neutrality.
254
00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:16,480
This is the very first time in history
that a nation has invaded from the sky.
255
00:18:25,760 --> 00:18:28,120
For Goebbels, every image counts,
256
00:18:28,200 --> 00:18:30,600
and this is a message for the English...
257
00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:35,320
"Your navy can't ensure
the safety of your island."
258
00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:41,680
At dawn on May 10,
259
00:18:41,760 --> 00:18:46,400
a German paratrooper rushes towards
the strategic Dutch bridge in Moerdijk,
260
00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,440
to defuse any potential explosives.
261
00:18:51,840 --> 00:18:54,240
The other paratroopers
kill the alerted defenders...
262
00:18:57,720 --> 00:18:59,920
...and the explosives are neutralized.
263
00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:10,840
A German commando simultaneously
attacks the Eben-Emael fort,
264
00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:12,160
the key to Belgium.
265
00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,480
The fort is armed to the teeth
with machine guns,
266
00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,040
impregnable, except from overhead!
267
00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:35,000
At that very moment,
268
00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:39,000
Hitler is on a train taking him
to his headquarters near the fighting,
269
00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:41,480
codename Felsennest,
270
00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:43,360
or Rocky Eyrie,
271
00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:45,800
on the border of the Netherlands
and Belgium.
272
00:19:53,320 --> 00:19:57,640
Early morning on May 10,1940
is the greatest moment of his life.
273
00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,880
Hitler launches his bombers
toward the Netherlands
274
00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,240
and triggers the invasion
of Luxembourg and Belgium.
275
00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:13,720
Hitler has mobilized three million men
for his assault.
276
00:20:14,200 --> 00:20:17,000
The Allies have just as many to stop him.
277
00:20:30,200 --> 00:20:31,160
CUSTOMS
278
00:20:41,480 --> 00:20:43,040
Hitler declares,
279
00:20:43,120 --> 00:20:45,000
"I hadn't slept a wink all night,
280
00:20:45,080 --> 00:20:47,680
and at 7 a.m. I received the news...
281
00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:50,960
the Eben-Emael fort had been captured!
282
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,720
For Hitler, this attack on Belgium
will not be a repeat performance
283
00:20:56,800 --> 00:20:58,480
of the 1914 offensive.
284
00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:03,280
He has another plan,
devised with General von Manstein.
285
00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:09,560
Hitler and his Chief of Staff, Keitel,
286
00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,400
see what they were hoping for
appear on the map.
287
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:19,080
As in 1914, the French and the English
rush toward Belgium,
288
00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:20,320
not to rescue her,
289
00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:24,040
but to prevent the great battle
from taking place in France.
290
00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:25,600
This is the trap--
291
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,040
the real German offensive
must go through the Ardennes
292
00:21:29,120 --> 00:21:30,320
and head towards the sea,
293
00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,560
in a massive encircling maneuver.
294
00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:35,280
Hitler says,
295
00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:37,800
"When I heard that all along the front,
296
00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:39,600
the enemy was advancing,
297
00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:41,560
I could have cried with joy.
298
00:21:41,920 --> 00:21:43,960
They had fallen into our trap."
299
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,760
The French entering Belgium
wear the same overcoats
300
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:50,960
as the soldiers from
World War I.
301
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:55,640
The same helmet, the same gun
and the same courage.
302
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,600
They have as many tanks as the Germans.
303
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:02,800
Some of them very powerful,
304
00:22:02,880 --> 00:22:05,560
but they are scattered across
the entire front.
305
00:22:06,760 --> 00:22:08,040
They have powerful artillery,
306
00:22:08,520 --> 00:22:11,600
but their communications systems
are prehistoric.
307
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,280
Messages are delivered by couriers...
308
00:22:17,080 --> 00:22:19,240
whereas the Germans
have radios everywhere,
309
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:23,200
and encryption machines
like the notorious Enigma.
310
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,200
One of the French soldiers in Belgium,
311
00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:39,480
Sergeant Henri Militon
wrote to his parents on May 10, 1940...
312
00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:42,680
"I'm dashing off a quick note.
313
00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,480
Fatigue is nothing in this atrocious war.
314
00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:49,960
All the villages here have been bombed,
and the civilians are fleeing.
315
00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:53,760
These are poignant, heartbreaking scenes.
316
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:55,680
But our morale is excellent.
317
00:22:55,760 --> 00:22:58,080
We will stop them and we will win.
318
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:00,840
Courage, confidence, we will get them!
319
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:05,280
Sergeant Militon is wounded in battle.
320
00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:08,400
He dies two days later, at the age of 36.
321
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:16,960
In the Netherlands, the German army
continues its push towards Rotterdam,
322
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:19,040
the major port on the North Sea.
323
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:30,520
Active resistance is everywhere.
324
00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:40,800
The Germans have wounded troops,
but they are rarely filmed,
325
00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:43,120
like this Waffen-SS unit,
326
00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:45,840
making its appearance on the front lines.
327
00:23:56,040 --> 00:24:00,360
After four days of unequal battle,
the Dutch army surrenders.
328
00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,480
But this doesn't stop the German air force
from bombing the city,
329
00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:07,440
killing 800 civilians.
330
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:14,840
Rotterdam, martyred city of the war,
after Warsaw.
331
00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:20,480
Also on May 10, 1940,
332
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,160
Churchill becomes
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
333
00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:26,040
He immediately declares...
334
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:27,920
I have nothing to offer...
335
00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,560
but blood, toil, tears and sweat.
336
00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:36,800
Churchill throws the English fascists,
337
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:40,680
their leader Oswald Mosley,
and his high society cronies in jail.
338
00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,000
On the same day in Belgium,
339
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,080
life has come to a halt.
340
00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:03,080
Mary Jayne Gold, an American tourist
stranded in France,
341
00:25:03,160 --> 00:25:06,240
sees thousands of refugees
on the northern roads.
342
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:07,160
She writes...
343
00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:11,320
"These unwitting nomads,
in the depths of distress,
344
00:25:11,400 --> 00:25:14,200
remain for me the most
terrible image of this war."
345
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,240
The Germans meet with unexpected
resistance from the Belgians,
346
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:29,640
which culminates in Leuven,
famous for its university
347
00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:31,720
founded in 1425.
348
00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:41,320
Like in 1914,
349
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:43,680
the sacrifice of these Belgian soldiers
350
00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,760
won't prevent the destruction
of the precious medieval library.
351
00:25:55,320 --> 00:25:58,320
900,000 books go up in smoke.
352
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,000
The Germans take their time
expanding their control,
353
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:12,040
to bait the Allies'
best motorized divisions.
354
00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,040
Hitler gives instructions
not to bomb or fire at them,
355
00:26:17,440 --> 00:26:21,520
allowing them to make their way
as far as possible into Belgium.
356
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:29,120
The head of the French government,
Paul Reynaud, is surprised.
357
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,040
He asks General Gamelin--
358
00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:36,680
"Doesn't it worry you to see the English
and French armies entering Belgium
359
00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:39,000
without being threatened
by the German Air Force?"
360
00:26:41,280 --> 00:26:43,480
Gamelin is reluctant to answer,
361
00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:49,040
especially since he has seen
German planes bombing Belgian civilians.
362
00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,080
Hitler saves most of his air force
for the decisive fight
363
00:26:59,160 --> 00:27:00,960
that he is preparing with Goering,
364
00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:05,360
the head of the Luftwaffe,
the aerial warfare corps.
365
00:27:08,480 --> 00:27:11,800
For May 10, 1940
and the main attack against France,
366
00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:14,760
Goering lines up 600 Dornier,
367
00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:16,760
Heinkel and Junkers bombers,
368
00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,720
500 Messerschmitt fighter planes,
369
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:27,760
and a multitude of Stuka dive bombers.
370
00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:31,440
In total, over 1500 planes
371
00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:33,680
are ready to back up the armored tanks.
372
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,320
The Allies in Belgium are caught
in Hitler's trap.
373
00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:47,600
His main assault is on the Meuse
and the town of Sedan,
374
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,640
where the French army had already been
defeated in 1870.
375
00:27:55,680 --> 00:27:58,120
Since the morning of May 10, 1940,
376
00:27:59,120 --> 00:28:01,840
in the Ardennes forest, a natural border,
377
00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,960
German tanks struggle to move across
the toughest terrain.
378
00:28:09,360 --> 00:28:12,120
Most defenders run from these monsters,
379
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,320
except for a few Belgian soldiers,
380
00:28:15,760 --> 00:28:18,040
the brave Ardennes "chasseurs" battalion,
381
00:28:18,360 --> 00:28:21,680
who keep the tanks at bay
for one precious day.
382
00:28:24,400 --> 00:28:26,360
On May 11, 1940,
383
00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,360
German tanks crossed the Ardennes
and take Sedan!
384
00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:34,800
The French artillerymen
use their ammunition sparingly.
385
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:37,360
They anticipate a drawn-out battle,
386
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:38,360
like in Verdun.
387
00:28:42,040 --> 00:28:44,320
On May 13, under fire,
388
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:46,960
German assault troops
make their way across the Meuse
389
00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:48,520
in their inflatable rafts!
390
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:54,880
And the pioneers build bridges
for the tanks.
391
00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:01,280
Goering's air force
relentlessly bombs for hours,
392
00:29:01,360 --> 00:29:03,120
to break the Chasseurs' morale.
393
00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,080
In addition to their diabolical precision,
394
00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:11,280
the Stukas are also equipped
with a blood-curdling siren.
395
00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:21,800
Lieutenant Henri Michard
was on the ground.
396
00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:24,400
He recalls...
397
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:28,200
"The whistle gets louder and closer.
398
00:29:28,280 --> 00:29:30,560
You feel you're being personally targeted.
399
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:32,360
We wait, paralyzed,
400
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:35,280
for the explosions
and the sound of thunder!"
401
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,440
By the morning of May 14, 1940,
402
00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:46,480
the Germans have crossed the Meuse.
403
00:29:46,800 --> 00:29:50,040
The French front
has finally been broken through.
404
00:29:54,560 --> 00:29:58,320
On May 15, five days after
the German invasion began,
405
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:02,400
the head of the French government,
Paul Reynaud, calls Churchill and says,
406
00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:04,920
"We have been defeated.
407
00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:07,760
We have lost the battle."
408
00:30:15,400 --> 00:30:17,920
The German tanks seem unstoppable.
409
00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:25,440
So Churchill rushes to Paris,
410
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,400
where General Gamelin explains
what caused this disaster.
411
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:31,480
Gamelin says...
412
00:30:33,040 --> 00:30:36,440
"Inferior numbers, inferior equipment,
413
00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:37,880
inferior method."
414
00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:44,960
Many French soldiers from the Meuse
and Sedan must surrender.
415
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:50,360
The great historian Marc Bloch,
416
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,360
ultimately shot by the Nazis, writes...
417
00:30:55,680 --> 00:30:58,520
"Our leaders didn't just
let themselves be beaten.
418
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:02,480
Very early on,
they felt it was normal to be beaten."
419
00:31:05,480 --> 00:31:07,680
On May 16, 1940,
420
00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:10,480
Paris is empty and under great threat.
421
00:31:11,040 --> 00:31:13,520
Churchill sees sandbags
around the monuments,
422
00:31:13,600 --> 00:31:18,160
and smoke billowing from the ministries,
who are burning their archives.
423
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,240
The next day, May 17,
424
00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:23,880
Paul Reynaud sacks Gamelin
425
00:31:23,960 --> 00:31:27,480
and replaces him
with two World War I heroes...
426
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,960
General Weygand, 73, commander-in-chief,
427
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:37,080
and Marshal Pétain, the victor at Verdun,
who is 84.
428
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:41,440
Weygand is very critical. He exclaims,
429
00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,480
"We went to war with an army from 1918,
430
00:31:45,560 --> 00:31:48,560
against Germany's army from 1939.
431
00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:50,520
This is utter madness!"
432
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:57,560
On May 17, 1940,
the Allied troops abandon Belgium
433
00:31:57,640 --> 00:32:00,200
and the Germans move towards Brussels.
434
00:32:02,640 --> 00:32:06,920
King Leopold III of Belgium
declares his capital an open city,
435
00:32:07,280 --> 00:32:10,040
so that it doesn't suffer
the same fate as Rotterdam.
436
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,200
The weekly newsreels
depicting France's power
437
00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:34,600
now look to the potential savior,
438
00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:37,480
the United States President,
Franklin Roosevelt
439
00:32:37,800 --> 00:32:41,520
who brings the North and South American
leaders together in Washington.
440
00:32:48,960 --> 00:32:50,640
I am a pacifist,
441
00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:53,360
you,
442
00:32:55,360 --> 00:33:00,760
my fellow citizens
of 21 American Republics,
443
00:33:01,600 --> 00:33:04,320
you are pacifists too...
444
00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:08,080
But I believe,
445
00:33:08,920 --> 00:33:11,280
by an overwhelming majority,
446
00:33:12,520 --> 00:33:13,960
in all the Americans,
447
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,240
you and I, in the long run
448
00:33:18,760 --> 00:33:21,080
and if it be necessary...
449
00:33:21,560 --> 00:33:23,040
You and I...
450
00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:27,000
will act together to protect,
451
00:33:27,800 --> 00:33:32,120
to defend, by every means at our commands,
452
00:33:32,720 --> 00:33:36,480
To protect and to defend our science,
453
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:38,680
our culture,
454
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,200
our American freedom
455
00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,040
and our civilization.
456
00:33:48,200 --> 00:33:49,840
Can Roosevelt's America
457
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:52,400
fly to the rescue of democracies,
458
00:33:52,760 --> 00:33:55,080
as it did in 1917?
459
00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,240
To raise awareness,
460
00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:01,600
the news shows the horrible destruction
caused by German bombers,
461
00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:04,600
and the desperate flight of civilians.
462
00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:14,920
And the dead soldiers,
already numbering more than 20,000.
463
00:34:19,160 --> 00:34:23,240
The heads of state and governments
of occupied countries flee to London,
464
00:34:23,880 --> 00:34:25,680
like the Dutch royal family.
465
00:34:30,240 --> 00:34:34,040
The German tanks forge ahead,
just like in a parade.
466
00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:36,280
After barely a week's fighting,
467
00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:40,240
the German general staff is concerned
that they're moving too fast!
468
00:34:41,160 --> 00:34:44,360
General Rommel's 7th Panzer
is called The Ghost Division
469
00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:46,680
because nobody knows where it is!
470
00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:51,200
They are going too far, says high command.
471
00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:52,920
They could be attacked on either flank.
472
00:34:57,280 --> 00:34:59,120
Still far from the front,
473
00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:01,080
back in Gisors, Normandy,
474
00:35:02,040 --> 00:35:05,520
photographer and amateur filmmaker
Fernand Bignon
475
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:08,240
is filming what is now called the Exodus.
476
00:35:11,240 --> 00:35:12,560
Like the biblical event,
477
00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:14,920
ten million people flee
to the west and south
478
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:17,640
in the largest mass movement
of the century.
479
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:29,440
In Gisors, his wife, Mrs. Bignon,
a devout Catholic,
480
00:35:29,520 --> 00:35:32,240
doesn't see why their daughter, Jacqueline,
481
00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:34,120
shouldn't take her first communion.
482
00:35:49,040 --> 00:35:51,880
At least, this event gives
all the families in Gisors
483
00:35:51,960 --> 00:35:54,280
an opportunity to defy their misfortune
484
00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:56,840
and pray eagerly for France's salvation.
485
00:36:00,640 --> 00:36:02,880
MAN At Notre Dame de Paris
486
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:04,880
Mr. Paul Reynaud,
President of the Council,
487
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:06,760
surrounded by several members
of the government,
488
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:11,480
attended a ceremony where
Monsignor Bossard gave a powerful sermon.
489
00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:14,080
"We ask God for victory", he said,
490
00:36:14,160 --> 00:36:18,880
"to safeguard the spiritual values
without which there is no reason to live."
491
00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:24,040
NARRATOR "Protect Paris" is
the order now given to all units.
492
00:36:24,440 --> 00:36:26,520
Like the 4th Armored Division,
493
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:30,160
inspected several months prior
by the President of the French Republic,
494
00:36:30,240 --> 00:36:31,560
Albert Lebrun.
495
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:33,840
He met with Colonel de Gaulle,
496
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:36,720
who has written books
on the use of armored tanks,
497
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,360
put into practice mainly by the Germans.
498
00:36:40,840 --> 00:36:42,760
De Gaulle is ready for the attack.
499
00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,240
He writes to his wife, Yvonne de Gaulle,
500
00:36:45,680 --> 00:36:49,320
"I am confident! We will succeed
in overpowering the Germans!"
501
00:36:54,520 --> 00:36:57,600
De Gaulle puts his theory on
the concentration of tanks into action...
502
00:36:57,960 --> 00:37:00,920
sending them off on May 17, 1940,
503
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,120
to attack the flank
of the German columns at Montcornet.
504
00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:13,240
But the enemy's strength
forces them to retreat.
505
00:37:19,960 --> 00:37:23,120
And the German advance
continues relentlessly,
506
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:25,280
towards the coasts of Northern France,
507
00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:28,400
to close the circle
around the Allied armies.
508
00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:34,560
As they retreat,
some French soldiers even get lost
509
00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:36,240
amongst the Germans.
510
00:37:44,000 --> 00:37:47,000
And some wander through the chaos
of the Exodus,
511
00:37:47,320 --> 00:37:49,200
like the sailor Pierre Paillon,
512
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:51,440
a witness to civilian tragedy.
513
00:37:51,840 --> 00:37:52,960
He recalls,
514
00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:56,880
"These unfortunate people,
who have left everything behind,
515
00:37:57,200 --> 00:37:59,880
are shot like dogs
by the German Air Force,
516
00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:03,000
along the road that leads them
to nowhere."
517
00:38:13,880 --> 00:38:17,040
This machine-gun fire kills 20,000 French,
518
00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,600
6000 Belgians and 2000 Dutch civilians.
519
00:38:23,560 --> 00:38:25,280
After two weeks of fighting,
520
00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:29,400
the French and the British are overpowered
by the perseverance of the Germans,
521
00:38:31,040 --> 00:38:35,280
unwavering despite losses
of 2500 men a day.
522
00:38:35,720 --> 00:38:38,440
But the Germans have strong,
aggressive leaders,
523
00:38:38,520 --> 00:38:42,720
like General Guderian,
Nazi determination personified.
524
00:38:47,840 --> 00:38:49,720
He swore allegiance to Hitler,
525
00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,920
as did all the other brilliant
war leaders, like Rommel,
526
00:38:53,720 --> 00:38:57,440
and the rest of the aristocrats
at the Führer's service.
527
00:39:00,320 --> 00:39:03,320
They are prepared to go to
the depths of hell for Hitler,
528
00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:06,240
and are complicit in all his crimes,
529
00:39:06,640 --> 00:39:09,000
from the generals down to their soldiers.
530
00:39:16,040 --> 00:39:19,760
And the 150,000 men
from France's African colonies
531
00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:23,240
are now prisoners
of the worst racists in the world.
532
00:39:25,040 --> 00:39:29,400
Karl Heinz Mende
of the 3rd Infantry Division writes...
533
00:39:29,480 --> 00:39:31,720
The image of this mixture of races
534
00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:35,960
with their narrow-minded, jeering faces,
is simply disgraceful.
535
00:39:40,040 --> 00:39:44,920
May 24th, 1940. British, French,
and Belgian soldiers,
536
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:48,440
beat a fighting retreat in formation,
back to Dunkirk.
537
00:39:53,160 --> 00:39:56,960
In London, a black cat
walks past 10 Downing Street,
538
00:39:57,040 --> 00:39:58,720
headquarters of the government.
539
00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:02,760
This is a bad omen
for the Minister of Defense,
540
00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:06,760
Anthony Eden, and the British generals,
summoned by Churchill.
541
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:11,520
They all feel that the war in France
has been lost
542
00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:15,760
and that British soldiers
must be evacuated as a matter of urgency.
543
00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:20,240
But there are those who believe
they should go further.
544
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:22,200
Make peace with Hitler.
545
00:40:23,040 --> 00:40:26,760
A entire group of MPs
has gathered behind Lord Halifax,
546
00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:29,680
Minister of Foreign Affairs, who claims...
547
00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:33,720
"The country might be spared
an inevitable disaster.
548
00:40:34,360 --> 00:40:37,600
In these dark hours, Churchill hesitates."
549
00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:42,400
A Labor MP, Harold Nicolson,
wrote at the time...
550
00:40:42,720 --> 00:40:45,760
"His gaze is aggressive and tragic,
551
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:48,760
and reflects both his resolve
and despair."
552
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,320
Churchill refuses to give in. He states,
553
00:40:54,640 --> 00:40:57,080
"Entering into negotiations with Hitler
554
00:40:57,160 --> 00:40:59,080
would mean handing over our fleet to him,
555
00:40:59,160 --> 00:41:00,800
our naval bases,
556
00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:02,120
and much else.
557
00:41:02,200 --> 00:41:04,840
We would become a slave state."
558
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,640
Churchill keeps fighting.
559
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:14,400
He rushes to greenlight Operation Dynamo.
560
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:16,440
Anything in England that floats
561
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:19,040
will sail to Dunkirk
to pick up her troops.
562
00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:24,520
Hundreds of tugboats, barges,
pleasure crafts,
563
00:41:24,600 --> 00:41:27,440
protected by fifty armed destroyers
and trawlers
564
00:41:27,840 --> 00:41:30,040
alongside French battleships.
565
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:37,280
Will they get there in time?
566
00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:40,400
The three armies at Dunkirk--
567
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:44,480
British, French, and Belgian
are now completely surrounded.
568
00:41:46,200 --> 00:41:50,600
Allied navy men were counting on
rescuing 40,000 men.
569
00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:53,560
But there are 400,000
trapped on the beaches,
570
00:41:53,880 --> 00:41:56,600
waiting for ships or a German attack.
571
00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:02,920
Yet on May 24, 1940,
572
00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:05,560
an order from Hitler, the Haltbefehl,
573
00:42:05,640 --> 00:42:08,760
suddenly stops the German tanks
in their tracks.
574
00:42:11,880 --> 00:42:14,840
Many historians have
wondered about this order,
575
00:42:14,920 --> 00:42:16,960
a miracle for the Allies.
576
00:42:18,960 --> 00:42:22,000
General Guderian is sad to see
his men in the ditches,
577
00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:24,480
and he writes...
578
00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:28,920
"Hitler and Goering thought the Luftwaffe
would be enough to prevent
579
00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:31,080
the British from leaving by sea.
580
00:42:31,560 --> 00:42:34,480
This idea caused them to make
a fatal mistake."
581
00:42:37,040 --> 00:42:39,800
The truth is that Hitler
no longer has enough tanks
582
00:42:39,880 --> 00:42:42,040
for the second phase
of his French campaign.
583
00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:46,080
A considerable number of tanks
have been destroyed,
584
00:42:46,160 --> 00:42:49,240
and ammunition stockpiles
are at an all-time low.
585
00:42:50,680 --> 00:42:52,280
The men are exhausted.
586
00:42:52,640 --> 00:42:54,000
Thanks to the Pervitin,
587
00:42:54,080 --> 00:42:56,400
they have been marching and fighting
day and night,
588
00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:57,560
for two weeks.
589
00:42:58,800 --> 00:43:01,160
But if they suddenly stop taking the drug,
590
00:43:01,240 --> 00:43:03,360
they crash immediately.
591
00:43:11,600 --> 00:43:15,000
Hitler's order is also criticized
by the officers,
592
00:43:15,080 --> 00:43:18,840
who expected to consolidate
their victory with a bloodbath.
593
00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:22,360
Hitler claims he wanted to
spare the British,
594
00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:26,440
so they might come to an agreement
and divide the world up between them.
595
00:43:28,040 --> 00:43:32,840
Now, it is up to the Nazi pilots
to exterminate the surrounded Allies.
596
00:43:44,520 --> 00:43:47,520
Their target is the beaches of Dunkirk,
597
00:43:47,600 --> 00:43:49,960
where these hundreds of thousands
men have gathered,
598
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,520
and the Allied fleet
that has just reached the shores.
599
00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:56,800
The men have begun to board.
600
00:43:57,120 --> 00:43:59,480
But do these poor souls
have the slightest chance
601
00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:01,320
of escaping the Stukas?
602
00:44:04,400 --> 00:44:07,560
Will Dunkirk turn into the Apocalypse?
603
00:44:07,640 --> 00:44:09,160
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