Nazi Mega Weapons

BERLIN, THE CAPITAL OF NAZI GERMANY AND HITLER'S POWERBASE.

A GLEAMING CITY AT THE HEART OF THE FUHRER'S PLAN

FOR AN EMPIRE TO OUTSHINE THE ROMANS.

Adolf Hitler fancied himself as an architect.

BUT THEN THE RUSSIANS ARRIVE,

AND HITLER MUST PREPARE BERLIN FOR BATTLE.

It was all about elevating the most powerful cannons

above the city rooftops.

THE CITY BECOMES A FORTRESS.

BURIED AT ITS CENTER,

THE INDESTRUCTIBLE FUHRERBUNKER.

This is where Hitler's going to make his last stand.

ONE MILLION RUSSIAN SOLDIERS,

FIVE LAYERS OF NAZI DEFENSES: AND A BATTLE TO DECIDE THE FUTURE OF THE WORLD -

THIS IS THE STORY OF FORTRESS BERLIN.

[Thundering explosion]

Nazi Mega Weapons CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF WORLD WAR TWO,

ORDERED BY HITLER TO SECURE WORLD DOMINATION.

NOW THEY SURVIVE AS DARK REMINDERS

OF THE FUHRER'S FANATICAL MILITARY AMBITIONS.

THESE ARE THE SECRETS OF THE NAZI MEGA WEAPONS.

28th APRIL 1945

THE TANKS OF THE SOVIET RED ARMY ROLL THROUGH THE STREETS

OF WAR TORN BERLIN: GERMAN TROOPS, MANY JUST CHILDREN,

LIE IN WAIT TO DEFEND THEIR CITY FROM THE RUSSIAN HOARDS.

18 YEAR OLD SOLDIER, DIETER BORKOWSKI, WILL BE AN EYEWITNESS

TO THESE UNFOLDING EVENTS.

ALL OVER THE CITY ARE HAUNTING REMINDERS

OF THESE LAST DAYS OF THE NAZI CAPITAL.

HISTORIAN AND WW2 EXPERT MICHAEL DEMPSEY

HAS SPENT YEARS PIECING TOGETHER THE EVIDENCE.

The Battle of Berlin was of a scale we can scarcely imagine.

Over a million Soviet Red Army soldiers are entering the city -

less than a hundred thousand are defending it.

The scale, the intensity,

the brutality of this Battle of Berlin

would beggar belief, but for the evidence.

JUST 10 YEARS EARLIER, IN 1935,

THE PICTURE WAS VERY DIFFERENT.

BERLIN WAS THE SEAT OF NAZI POWER.

A COSMOPOLITAN WORLD CITY: AND ONE OF THE CULTURAL CAPITALS OF EUROPE.

HITLER AND HIS CHIEF ARCHITECT ALBERT SPEER HAD EMBARKED ON

AN AMBITIOUS CONSTRUCTION PROGRAM

TO TRANSFORM THE SKYLINE OF BERLIN.

Adolf Hitler always fancied himself as

something of an artist - as perhaps an architect.

A man with high cultural pretension.

COLOSSAL GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS, AIRPORTS AND STADIUMS

ALL SHOWCASED AT THE 1936 OLYMPIC GAMES.

HITLER HAD EVEN GREATER PLANS FOR THE CAPITAL -

TO MAKE IT THE CENTER OF A THOUSAND YEAR REICH

THAT WOULD MATCH THE ROMAN EMPIRE IN SCALE AND LONGEVITY.

Hitler's new created Berlin with its vast domes, huge streets,

massive giant outsize edifices -

this is very much part of the German psyche.

HITLER LAYS THE FOUNDATION FOR HIS THOUSAND YEAR REICH

BY CONQUERING LARGE SWATHES OF EUROPE.

BUT IN 1944, BRITISH AND AMERICAN TROOPS

LAND ON THE FRENCH COAST AND ADVANCE FROM THE WEST.

IN THE EAST, THE RUSSIANS PUSH BACK FROM STALINGRAD,

UNTIL THEY CROSS THE FROZEN RIVER ODER

BRINGING THEM TO WITHIN 30 MILES OF BERLIN AND HITLER.

THE ALLIES ARE ON THE VERGE OF ENDING WORLD WAR II IN EUROPE.

The battle along this river: could decide the fate of Germany.

All the weapons you have are the last we have.

You must fight fanatically to stop the Russian offensive.

HITLER WILL NEVER SURRENDER.

He's a man of extremes,

so it's the thousand year Reich

or it's collapsing in Armageddon,

there's no middle ground,

it's always one or the other in his mind.

THE FUHRER CLINGS TO THE HOPE THAT ONE OF HIS WONDER WEAPONS

MIGHT YET TURN THE WAR BACK IN HIS FAVOR.

TO BUY TIME HE HOLDS OUT IN BERLIN,

CREATING A CASTLE OF CONCRETE AND STEEL

AND ORDERING EVERY LAST GERMAN

TO DEFEND IT TO THE DEATH.

Berlin of course is going to become a fortress

because it's the capital of the Third Reich,

this is where Hitler's going to make his last stand.

HITLER'S PLAN IS TO ENCIRCLE BERLIN

IN FIVE LAYERS OF FORMIDABLE STRUCTURES,

STARTING WITH THE FIRST OBSTACLE,

36 MILES OF TANK TRAPS AT SEELOW HEIGHTS.

AN OUTER RING OF DEFENSE INCLUDING THE TELTOW CANAL.

AN INNER RING AT THE STRONGHOLD OF TEMPELHOF AIRPORT.

THREE ENORMOUS FLAK TOWERS.

A FINAL LAYER OF WATERWAYS: AND THE CORE OF THE FORTRESS - THE CITADEL...

IT IS HERE THAT THE REICHSTAG AND HITLER'S BUNKER ARE LOCATED.

This is a car park in the middle of Berlin -

probably the most interesting car park in the world

given that it is the authentic historical site

of Hitler's bunker.

26 FEET BENEATH THIS PARKING LOT

ARE THE REMAINS OF THE INFAMOUS FUHRER BUNKER.

AFTER THE WAR, THE ALLIES TRIED TO DEMOLISH IT

TO PREVENT IT BECOMING A NAZI SHRINE,

BUT IT WAS TOO STRONG.

And it wasn't until 1988 that the lid of that concrete case,

was actually destroyed over a 6 month period.

THE STORY OF ITS CONSTRUCTION AND THE START OF FORTRESS BERLIN

BEGINS WITH ALLIED BOMBING RAIDS OVER THE CAPITAL.

THE FUHRER NO LONGER FEELS SAFE.

From the outset Hitler has always been a bit obsessed

with being underground.

It goes back to his experiences in the trenches

in the First World War - you find a lot of people

who've lived through the First World War,

they feel secure underground.

THERE IS ALREADY AN OLD AIR RAID SHELTER UNDER THE CHANCELLERY.

BUT HITLER DEMANDS SOMETHING MUCH DEEPER AND TOUGHER -

AN ENGINEERING CHALLENGE IN THIS CITY.

The geology here in Berlin is difficult to build on,

it's sand, simply, with a ground water, indeed.

When they were building the bunker they were dropping in

pre-fabricated concrete slabs into this watery foundation

to ensure that the concrete will not have a problem setting.

THE NAZIS BURY THE FUHRERBUNKER

DEEP BENEATH THE CHANCELLERY GARDENS.

THERE ARE 30 SMALL ROOMS DISTRIBUTED OVER TWO LEVELS,

AND HITLER'S ROOM IS IN THE DEEPEST SECTION

WITH THE MOST PROTECTION.

25 MILES SOUTH OF BERLIN, IN THE TOWN OF ZOSSEN,

ARE THE REMAINS OF ANOTHER NAZI COMPLEX

THAT GIVES A UNIQUE INSIGHT INTO HITLER'S BUNKER.

FORMER ARMORED SQUADRON LEADER NIGEL DUNKLEY

IS AN EXPERT IN THE FALL OF BERLIN.

Right, here we are in the Zossen bunker complex.

This bunker complex was built by the same company

that also built Hitler's bunker.

So it's the last thing that we've got

anywhere near or in Berlin: which is pretty well identical in construction

and in atmosphere to Hitler's bunker.

Hitler's bunker was only ever supposed to be

an air raid shelter and that's why it looked exactly like this.

We've got a little bit of flaking off of the walls now,

but it was the same kind of paint,

it was the same kind of dimensions

the same kind of flooring.

THESE BUNKERS COVER AN AREA: OF NEARLY 53,800 SQUARE FEET.

IT WAS THE GERMAN MILITARY COMMUNICATION NERVE CENTER,

THE NAZI EQUIVALENT OF THE PENTAGON.

TO PROTECT IT FROM ALLIED AIR ATTACK,

THE ENGINEERS DIDN'T JUST BURY IT 36 FEET BELOW GROUND,

THEY ALSO GAVE IT AN IMPENETRABLE ROOF -

SOMETHING HITLER WANTED IN HIS BUNKER TOO.

This is 3 meters of reinforced concrete,

reinforced with steel rods,

now over Hitler's bunker, he had 4.5m of reinforced concrete

designed to protect him from anything

that either the Soviets: or anybody else could throw at him.

HITLER'S BUNKER WAS HIS REFUGE,

BUT IT STILL NEEDED TO FUNCTION AS A COMMAND POST.

AND THAT MEANT IT NEEDED A SELF-CONTAINED

AND FAIL-SAFE SOURCE OF POWER UNDERGROUND.

THIS CREATED ITS OWN PROBLEMS.

They smelt, they smelt of the diesel

that was coming from the power plant.

Two mark 7 U-Boat diesel engines were providing power

for electricity and for communication,

and it's amazing how spartan they were.

IN BERLIN THE CITY BEGINS TO TRANSFORM INTO A FORTRESS,

WITH HITLER'S BUNKER AT ITS CORE IN THE CITADEL,

LIKE THE KEEP OF A MEDIEVAL CASTLE.

The principles of defense in an urban environment like this

haven't really changed since the mediaeval era.

The difference is that obviously here

the scale of the battle is far larger.

We talk about moats and waterways,

and indeed getting a high vantage point for observation

and lines of covering fire.

HITLER'S BUNKER IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FORTRESS.

LIKE A CASTLE, IT IS SURROUNDED WITH WATER.

THE RIVER SPREE AND LANDWEHR CANAL ENCIRCLE THE CITADEL

IN A NATURAL MOAT.

THE NEXT LAYER IS THE THREE FLAK TOWERS.

FORTRESSES 164 FEET HIGH,

EACH BRISTLING WITH 20 ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONS.

ONLY ONE STILL EXISTS: AND ACCESS TO ITS EXTRAORDINARY INTERIOR IS LIMITED.

LOCAL GUIDE SION DAVIES IS AN EXPERT ON THEIR CONSTRUCTION.

we're standing on the only side of the building

that still survives, the north face of the flak tower,

and it really gives us an idea of the scale of the building.

THESE FLAK TOWERS WILL SOON BECOME

THE MOST IMPORTANT DEFENSIVE STRUCTURES

IN THE WHOLE OF BERLIN.

BUT THEY GET THEIR START: WHEN ALLIED FORCES BEGIN TO BOMB THE CITY.

[Whistling bombs and explosions]

The first British bombing raid

found Berlin relatively lightly protected.

The reason is very simple,

the Nazis had traditionally not thought

that the British and indeed any other Air Force

would successfully bomb Germany.

HITLER NEEDS TO PROTECT BERLIN,

TO PRESERVE IT FOR ITS FUTURE AS THE CAPITAL OF HIS EMPIRE.

The Nazis immediately embarked on a building program

to create air-raid shelters and fortresses to protect the cities

from future bombing raids: and that's what Hitler was involved in.

THE FLAK TOWER DESIGN IS HITLER'S BRAIN-CHILD

AND HE EMPLOYS HIS FAVORITE ARCHITECT TO OVERSEE THE PROJECT

...ALBERT SPEER.

This is how I see the new flak towers.

Are they a viable design?

Of course,

they are impregnable and they will be guarding

this new fabulous city of ours for centuries.

Well Albert Speer is a very interesting character

because he's an architect he buys into Hitler

and he buys into what the Nazis represent,

but he's a hugely capable, clever,

highly motivated individual.

HITLER'S DESIGN REQUIRES: OVER 100,000 TONS OF TOUGH CONCRETE AND STEEL.

EVERY DAY 3,700 TONS IS SHIPPED TO THE CAPITAL

JUST TO BUILD THE FLAK TOWERS.

THE RAILWAY TIMETABLE IS CHANGED

TO ACCOMMODATE A NEVER-ENDING STREAM OF MATERIAL.

DESPITE THEIR SCALE: EACH OF THESE BASTIONS OF FORTRESS BERLIN

ARE CONSTRUCTED IN JUST 8 MONTHS.

The flak tower was all about: elevating the most powerful cannons in the German arsenal

above the city rooftops, giving them a perfect field of fire.

THE SQUARE TOWER HAD FOUR TURRETS,

EACH WITH DUAL 128MM FLAK GUNS -

POWERFUL WEAPONS DESIGNED TO BRING DOWN ALLIED BOMBERS.

BUT WHEN THE RUSSIANS ARRIVE: THESE GUNS WILL BE POINTED DOWN AT THE STREETS.

ONE OF THE SOLDIERS TASKED WITH MANNING THESE FLAK TOWER GUNS

IS 18 YEAR OLD DIETER BORKOWSKI,

WHO KEPT A DIARY RECOUNTING HIS EXPLOITS.

Heil Hitler.

BY 1945, TEENAGERS LIKE DIETER

ARE TYPICAL OF THE INEXPERIENCED TROOPS

LEFT TO DEFEND HITLER'S CAPITAL.

Can I help you?

Uh...

Please may I apply for a weekend leave pass

to see my mother?

Your name, please?

Dieter Borkowski.

Ah, similar to mine.

Dombrowski, Inge.

Where are you from?

Uh...

I'm from Berlin.

AT JUST 18, NAZI GERMANY IS ALL DIETER HAS KNOWN.

HE WILL SOON HAVE TO DEFEND HIS FAMILY,

HIS FUHRER AND HIS NATION.

FEBRUARY 1945, THE SOVIET FORCES CAMPED ON THE RIVER ODER

PLAN THEIR ATTACK ON BERLIN AS THEIR ARMY GROWS

WITH REINFORCEMENTS FROM RUSSIA.

THE ALLIES SEND THEIR BOMBERS TO FLATTEN BERLIN

AND EASE THE WAY FOR THE RUSSIANS TO INVADE.

From this height: we can look out straight over the northern approach to Berlin.

And of course the anti-aircraft guns would have had

absolutely no problem turning and facing in any direction

that the enemy bombers were using to fly in to Berlin.

[Air raid siren wails]

ON TOP OF THE FLAK TOWERS, ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNNERS

BATTLE TO BRING DOWN THE ALLIED PLANES.

[Whizzing and explosions of artillery]

WITH GUNS CAPABLE OF FIRING 8 MILES,

THEY CAN CREATE 360 DEGREES OF COVER.

[Bomb wails]

AND THE SHEER POWER OF THESE WEAPONS MUST BE CALCULATED

INTO THE BUILDING'S DESIGN.

[Explosion]

Every time a shot was fired: it created somewhere in the region of forty tons

that punched down onto the building.

And the cannons working together could fire around

a hundred times a minute, so you're talking about

a hundred times a minute a forty-ton hit on the building.

TO WITHSTAND THE RECOIL FROM THE GUNS,

ALBERT SPEER HAD ENGINEERED AN INGENIOUSLY SIMPLE SOLUTION -

A BED OF SAND BENEATH THE FLAK TOWER.

And that bed of sand was then meant to work

a little bit like a shock-absorber.

Every time the guns fired the vibration would pass

through the building but get absorbed with that bed of sand

and stop the building from ripping itself to pieces.

THE ALLIED BOMBERS DIRECTLY HIT THE FLAK TOWERS

NUMEROUS TIMES,

BUT ALBERT SPEER'S DESIGN IS WORKING.

THE SHEER VOLUME OF MATERIAL IN THE STRUCTURES

MAKES THEM INDESTRUCTIBLE.

THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT REMAINS OF THESE FLAK TOWERS

IS SASCHA KIEL.

This is a very good point to show you how thick the wall was.

We have here two meters of steel concrete

and I am standing in the wall.

You have to imagine that the ceiling is double,

four meters of steel concrete and more.

THE TOWER STRETCHES OVER 6 FLOORS,

EACH ONE THE SIZE OF A FOOTBALL PITCH.

WITH THE MILITARY LIVING QUARTERS

AND COMMAND POSTS AT THE TOP,

THE LOWER LEVELS PROVIDE AMPLE SPACE FOR CIVILIANS.

So down below us is the freight elevator

and it allows us to look almost

right to the bottom of the building.

[Falling bombs wail]

THE BOMBING OF THE CITY IS RELENTLESS.

BERLINERS TURN TO THE ENORMOUS FLAK TOWERS FOR PROTECTION.

OVER 15 THOUSAND CROWD INTO EACH ONE.

[Thundering explosions]

IN THE CITADEL, HITLER ALSO SEEKS SHELTER.

HE HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO MOVE HIS COMMAND CENTER UNDERGROUND,

INTO THE SAFETY OF HIS BUNKER.

[Rumbling]

Hitler is determined to fight to the end,

to fight for every yard and he's not going to leave Berlin,

he's going to hunker down in his bunker

and stay there till the bitter end.

AND THE NAZI ELITE HAVE ACCESS TO OTHER PURPOSE BUILT SHELTERS.

So here we are in a Luftestrain

an air protection room, an air raid shelter.

This is actually quite a small shelter,

but it would have been packed,

especially towards the end of the war.

We've got some light comedy on the wall around me.

It's enough perhaps to make this place seem more homely.

THE DESIGN OF THESE ELITE BUNKERS

USED THE LATEST ENGINEERING TECHNIQUES

[Pulsing heart beat]

So what we've got within this air raid shelter

is actually quite a sophisticated method

of raising air pressure within the bunker space

to act then as an airlock against the potential of gas

or smoke from fires that might occur outside the building.

DOORS AND WINDOWS SEAL THE ROOM.

AIR IS THEN DRAWN IN THROUGH A CHARCOAL FILTER

REMOVING ANY POISONS FROM GAS OR FIRES OUTSIDE -

LIKE THE PANIC ROOM OF A SKYSCRAPER.

AFTER EVERY RAID, BERLINERS LIKE DIETER BORKOWSKI

EMERGE TO FIND THEIR MAGNIFICENT CITY BOMBED INTO OBLIVION.

When you look at pictures of Berlin by the Spring of 1945,

this is a post apocalyptic world.

It's a world of shattered buildings,

of barely a single pane of glass still intact.

There's rubble everywhere, there's gaunt, thin,

emaciated people, there's disease, there's open sewage.

This is a town, a city that has already been destroyed

before the Soviets have got: within artillery range of the capital.

THE PEOPLE OF NAZI BERLIN: MUST NOW PREPARE THEIR DAMAGED CITY FOR BATTLE.

AND EXTEND THE FORTRESS BEYOND THE FLAK TOWERS

TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY ITSELF.

People below and above military age are mobilized

for the so called Volksstung - the people's storm.

Hitler Youth are called into military formations also.

This is a massive effort to bring every resource to bear,

both human and material.

THEIR JOB IS TO CONSTRUCT HITLER'S VISION

FOR FORTRESS BERLIN.

THE INNER AND OUTER DEFENSIVE RINGS

THAT WILL PROTECT THE FUHRER IN HIS BUNKER.

You're talking about 14 year old kids, 60 year old men and told:

"Go and defend the Reich, go and defend your capital,

go and defend your family."

AN ARMY OF CITIZENS WORK DAILY

TO DIG DITCHES AND LAY MINES,

PREPARING FOR THE FINAL BATTLE.

AMONG THEM IS DIETER BORKOWSKI,

DRAFTED IN TO BUILD TANK BLOCKADES

AT THE INNER DEFENSE RING.

Boys, keep going.

Put your backs into it.

The Fuhrer's well-being depends on you.

Well they were building all sort of defenses here.

There would be trams filled with rubble, for example.

They would be bringing railway sleepers.

They were creating, if you like, thick castle walls

of whatever materials came to hand.

Although there was a joke about this -

the Berliners said that it would take about 20 minutes

for these obstacles to be overrun -

ten minutes for the soviets to stop laughing at them -

and ten minutes then to drive through them.

BERLINERS ARE TERRIFIED OF THE ADVANCING RUSSIANS -

THEY HAVE A FEARSOME REPUTATION.

EARLIER IN THE WAR THE NAZI ARMY HAD MARCHED ALL THE WAY

TO THE GATES OF MOSCOW, INFLICTING BRUTAL ATROCITIES

ON THE PEOPLE WHO STOOD IN THEIR WAY.

BUT WHEN THE WAR TURNED,

THE RUSSIANS FOUGHT ALL THE WAY BACK

TO THE EDGE OF THE GERMAN CAPITAL,

WITH ONE THING ON THEIR MINDS...

The Soviet army had fought relentlessly

through areas that extended from Stalingrad

all the way to the gates of Berlin.

They'd seen horrific things,

they'd seen what Nazi soldiers had done

as they progressed through the occupied territories

where the Reich had been.

And they arrived at the gate ready to take revenge.

[Dialog inaudible]

REFUGEES FLEEING FROM THE EAST ARRIVE IN THE CITY

WITH TALES OF THE TREATMENT BERLINER'S CAN EXPECT

FROM THE SOVIETS.

Silence!

What did she say?

Nothing.

Don't lie!

She said when the Russians come...

...they will take us to the mines in Siberia.

And our women will all be turned into prostitutes.

[Shouts]

MARCH 1945.

AFTER CAMPING ON THE ODER RIVER FOR 2 MONTHS,

THE SOVIETS HAVE STOCK-PILED OVER 7 MILLION SHELLS

READY TO FIRE AT BERLIN.

THE ALLIES IN THE WEST HAVE CROSSED THE RIVER RHINE.

AGAINST THE ADVICE OF HIS GENERALS,

HITLER IS DETERMINED TO DEFEND HIS CAPITAL

EVEN WITHOUT HIS PROMISED WONDER WEAPONS.

Albert Speer his architect came to him and said

listen we need to do something to protect German industry

so that we can rebuild properly after the defeat.

Hitler said, after the defeat

are you kidding, there will be no defeat

and the next day issued his Nero order,

scorched earth policy,

that Berlin would not be left standing

with anything of value that Soviets could use.

The enemy will leave us nothing but scorched earth

when he withdraws: without paying the slightest regard to our population.

I order anything of value: which could in any way be used by the enemy to be destroyed.

Nothing should be left.

Nothing!

IN A STUNNING TURN,

HITLER PROPOSES DEMOLISHING INDUSTRIAL COMPLEXES,

STRATEGIC RAILWAYS AND ANCIENT BRIDGES.

DESTROYING PRICELESS ARCHITECTURAL WONDERS

IS SOMETHING THAT HORRIFIES HIS CHIEF ARCHITECT ALBERT SPEER.

At this stage of the war it makes no sense for us

to undertake demolitions: which may strike at the very life of the nation.

We must leave nothing for the Russians.

But by destroying everything?

If you could believe that the war can still be won,

if you could at least have faith in that, all would be well.

Do you?

I cannot, with the best will in the world.

I do not want to be one of the swine in your entourage

who tells you they believe in victory

when I don't.

You have 24 hours to think over your answer.

MARCH 30th 1945, ALBERT SPEER BENDS TO HITLER'S WILL.

HE STARTS THE STRATEGIC DEMOLITION

OF THE NAZI INDUSTRIAL MACHINE.

30 MILES AWAY THE SOVIET FORCES ARE CAMPED

ON THE WEST BANK OF THE RIVER ODER,

10 MILES FROM THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE SEELOW HEIGHTS,

READY TO ATTACK.

THEY HAVE NOW ASSEMBLED 41 HEAVILY ARMORED DIVISIONS

AND OVER 9,000 ASSAULT GUNS.

The Russians weren't even considering attacking

unless they had 10 to 1: and preferably 40 to 1 at least

at the main point of attack.

In other words overwhelming numbers.

ONE MILLION RUSSIAN TROOPS, 2500 TANKS

AND 1500 ROCKET LAUNCHERS.

HITLER'S GENERALS KNOW THEY ARE HUGELY OUTNUMBERED,

BUT THE FUHRER WON'T LISTEN TO THEIR CONCERNS.

These generals, they tell me this is not possible

and that is not possible.

Unbelievable!

The army must hold the Russians at the Oder.

The 30 miles to Berlin between the River Oder

and the capital, is open.

So this is your last defense: before the Red Army reaches the capital,

the heart of the Third Reich.

THE GERMAN GENERALS KNOW: THE ONLY WAY TO HOLD BACK THE RED ARMY

IS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NATURAL TERRAIN

BETWEEN THE SOVIET CAMP ON THE RIVER AND THE CAPITAL.

So we are standing on the Seelow Heights

and this is the last high ground

before you get to the city itself

making this an ideal position for the Germans to then defend.

FROM SEELOW HEIGHTS THE GERMANS WILL SEE

THE ENEMY'S 2 AND HALF THOUSAND TANKS ADVANCE.

THE NAZI'S NEED TO REDUCE RUSSIAN TANK NUMBERS

AND EVEN THE ODDS.

INGENIOUSLY THEY EXPLOIT WHAT ALREADY EXISTS

IN THE GERMAN COUNTRYSIDE.

So they are going to adapt the irrigation ditches

that criss-crossed this landscape,

and they are going to adapt them to form anti tank ditches.

AN ANTI-TANK DITCH MUST BE WIDER

THAN THE LENGTH OF THE TANK TRACKS

SO IT CAN'T DRIVE OVER THE TOP.

THE DITCH EDGE IS ANGLED TO 70 DEGREES -

GENTLE ENOUGH FOR THE TANK TO DRIVE STRAIGHT INTO THE TRAP.

So they will have to bridged by engineers,

that will cause the tanks to stop.

A static tank is easier to hit than a moving tank

and around these obstacles: you can concentrate anti-tank weapons.

THE GERMAN CREATE OVER 36 MILES OF TRENCHES

AND ANTI-TANK DITCHES TO DEFEND SEELOW HEIGHTS.

[Explosions]

THE FINAL BATTLE, THE FIGHT FOR BERLIN,

BEGINS AT 3.00am ON APRIL 16TH 1945.

[Explosions]

AT FIRST LIGHT, RUSSIAN TANKS AND INFANTRY SURGE FORWARD.

The soviets were in a rush at this point.

They wanted to make their way as fast as possible

into Fortress Berlin.

BUT AT THE END OF THE FIRST DAY,

THE RUSSIANS STILL HAVEN'T TAKEN SEELOW HEIGHTS.

To their horror they discovered that the German defenses

were much more effective than they had imagined.

AMAZINGLY, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE OUTNUMBER 10 TO 1,

THE GERMANS HOLD BACK THE MIGHTY RED ARMY FOR 4 DAYS.

[Explosion]

No amount of German ingenuity

and solid determined defense: was going to last forever.

It really was only a question of time

before shear weight of numbers

and dogged determination on the Soviet side won the day.

EVENTUALLY RUSSIAN ENGINEERS BRIDGE THE TANK TRAPS

AND ON APRIL 19th THE SOVIETS OVERCOME SEELOW HEIGHTS.

THEY HAVE LOST OVER 30,000 MEN AND 700 TANKS,

BUT ARE ONE STEP CLOSER TO BERLIN.

AT THE FUHRERBUNKER, HITLER IS CELEBRATING HIS 56th BIRTHDAY.

IN WHAT WILL BE HIS LAST PUBLIC APPEARANCE

AND THE LAST FOOTAGE OF HIM,

HE GREETS A SELECTION OF THE HITLER YOUTH

WHO SURVIVED SEELOW HEIGHTS.

Adolf Hitler is congratulating and indeed decorating boys

with medals of honor, the Iron Cross,

for their courage in taking on Soviet tanks,

in many cases at close range.

OUTSIDE BERLIN, NEARLY 2000 RUSSIAN TANKS

ARE STORMING TOWARDS THE OUTER DEFENSE RING OF THE CITY.

TO COMBAT THESE TANKS THE NAZI'S HAVE A REVOLUTIONARY WEAPON.

A LIGHT WEIGHT ANTI-TANK MISSILE LAUNCHER - THE PANZERFAUST.

No, no, no, stupid!

You have to keep it down.

Have a look, I'll show you.

[Speaks in German]

THIS GROUND-BREAKING MISSILE CAN PIERCE OVER 200MM OF ARMOR

AT A RANGE OF 330 FEET.

The Panzer Faust, literally the tank fist,

was ahead of its time.

It was very simple technology.

In fact you could give this to a young boy - or an old man,

and they would fire it with confidence

because this is a recoilless weapon - there is no kick.

And indeed, if you can get close enough to the tank,

you can be confident that the warhead will do its work.

IN THE CITY, BERLINERS OLD AND YOUNG

TRAIN WITH THIS LATEST IN NAZI WEAPON ENGINEERING.

AND SOON THEY WILL BE TESTED.

[Explosion]

THE SOVIETS REACH THE TELTOW CANAL.

25th April the Soviet Red Army manage to cross this canal.

Somehow they get inflatable boats across here.

They then establish a bridge head,

and then they're bringing up barges

to create improvised pontoon bridges

to bring more infantry and more soviet armor,

more tanks in their wake.

They are then moving, and moving fast,

up to the next concentric ring within Berlin's defense system,

the inner ring.

THE TELTOW CANAL, BERLIN'S OUTER DEFENSE RING,

CRUMBLES IN JUST 4 DAYS.

THE SOVIETS ARE NOW LESS THAN 4 MILES FROM THE FUHRERBUNKER.

HITLER'S GENERALS WANT TO FLEE AND HE IS FURIOUS.

You all offer me cowardice and baseness.

All around me is disloyalty.

For years you, my generals, have resisted me constantly.

For years!

You are traitors!

Traitors!

I can no longer lead you like this.

Every order, a waste of my breath.

But, gentlemen,

if believe that I will leave Berlin...

...you are sorely mistaken!

I'd rather put a bullet through my head.

HITLER IS GOING NOWHERE.

HE STILL BELIEVES HIS FORTRESS BERLIN

WILL NOT FALL TO THE SOVIETS.

BUT THEY ARE CLOSING IN FAST: AND HAVE REACHED ONE OF THE MOST FORMIDABLE STRUCTURES

IN THE INNER DEFENSE RING - TEMPELHOF AIRPORT.

As a command post this is where

you've got food stored, ammunition stored.

Everything that's required for a defense is going to be

concentrated in this particular kind of a building

in this fortress within a fortress.

IT IS AN IMPORTANT PRIZE FOR THE SOVIETS,

AS THEY DESPERATELY NEED AN AIRPORT

TO RESUPPLY THEIR EXHAUSTED ARMY.

BUT THE GERMANS HAVE TURNED THE AIRPORT INTO A STRONGHOLD.

[Thundering explosions]

So what you've got here is a series of towers behind me.

It's like a castle in that respect.

Call it the Great Wall of China in a way.

You've got these flat towers: where you can site artillery without a problem.

And indeed this is a raised trench wall in a way.

You can site artillery behind this visual screen

that could fire then at higher elevation

and take on the Soviets.

THE FIGHTING IS INTENSE: AND EVIDENCE OF IT CAN STILL BE SEEN

IN THE BURNT OUT TUNNELS UNDER TEMPELHOF.

This would have been a really confusing chaotic environment.

Lots of noise, people shouting orders to and fro.

When you are coming into these spaces with the electricity out,

filled with smoke, brick dust and what have you.

EVENTUALLY THE SHEAR VOLUME OF TROOPS IN THE RED ARMY WINS OUT

AND BY APRIL 27th, THE SOVIETS HAVE CONTROL OF TEMPELHOF.

IT IS A MASSIVE STRATEGIC VICTORY.

Just 36 hours after the battle ends

in this particular place: they're actually flying biplanes

into this particular part of Berlin

to get Soviet casualties out,

resupply fighter aircraft that are coming in.

[Explosion]

THE SOVIETS RESUPPLY AND PUSH ON.

THEY FACE STRONG RESISTANCE: FROM THE REMAINING BERLINERS DEFENDING THE CITY.

BERLIN HAS BEEN HIT WITH OVER 2 MILLION ARTILLERY ROUNDS

AND THE RESULTING DEBRIS FORMS NATURAL TANK OBSTACLES

AND BARRICADES.

The more confusing the terrain for the tank,

the better chance I have of catching that tank,

at close range and take out the turret

and then take out the main armament in the process.

RUSSIAN TANK SUPERIORITY COUNTS FOR LITTLE

AS THE HITLER YOUTH WITH THEIR PORTABLE PANZERFAUST

ADOPT HIT AND RUN TACTICS.

[Explosion]

EVERY BERLINER, OLD, YOUNG,

MILITARY OR CIVILIAN IS FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL.

AS THE SOVIETS PUSH THROUGH THE CITY

SOME BERLINER CHOOSE TO SURRENDER RATHER THAN DIE.

BUT HITLER'S FEARED S.S.

SOLDIERS: TERRORIZE CITIZENS INTO FIGHTING.

There would be roving execution squads

made up of S.S. and Nazi party fanatics

who were actually, uh, a big problem

for anyone trying to stay out of the action,

because you could be picked up as a deserter

and hanged then and there.

And this was of course to discourage others

from staying out of the battle too.

SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS,

ACCUSED OF DESERTION, HANG IN THE CITY -

A WARNING TO ANY WHO TRY TO FLEE.

TRYING TO GET BACK TO HIS FLAK TOWER,

DIETER RUNS STRAIGHT INTO AN S.S.

OFFICER.

You are a deserter, aren't you?

I'm not a traitor.

Not a traitor, eh?

Traitor!

Cowardly pig!

You wanted to flee!

[Laughter]

Lieutenant, I'm not a traitor.

I would not desert.

"All traitors and deserters

"are to be rounded up

"and liquidated by any means necessary."

Round him up with the rest of the scum and shoot him.

I'm not a traitor!

I don't want to desert!

I'm not a traitor.

I don't want to desert!

I don't think there was any clear way out

for the average Berliner, at this stage.

You were either going to be picked up

as a potential deserter by these execution squads of S.S.,

Or... if they didn't get you,

the Soviet Red Army would be beyond your doorstep

within the next few days, if not hours towards the end.

DIETER IS ONE OF THE FEW TO BE SPARED AS, EVERY HOUR,

THE RED ARMY INCHES CLOSER TO THE FUHRERBUNKER AND HITLER.

BERLINERS DRIVEN BACK BY THE ADVANCING TANKS,

SEEK REFUGE IN THE INDESTRUCTIBLE FLAK TOWERS.

Somewhere in the region of fifty thousand civilians

should have come inside.

The key word there is of course "should",

because we know that people were crowding into these buildings.

Three to four times the official number of civilians

pushing their way inside: UP TO 60,000 CITIZENS

COWER IN EACH OF THE THREE FLAK TOWERS,

RELYING ON THE MASS OF CONCRETE FOR SURVIVAL.

OUTSIDE, THE RED ARMY THROW EVERYTHING THEY HAVE

AT THESE LAST GREAT NAZI STRUCTURES.

The Russian tanks stood over there,

some three hundred meters.

And they tried to blast through the three meter strong concrete,

steel concrete wall...

but they didn't manage.

[Explosions]

DESPITE THE ENTIRE MIGHT OF THE SOVIET ARMY

BEING TURNED ON THE FLAK TOWERS,

THEY ARE STILL STANDING.

They were able to resist the Soviets,

they couldn't do anything about the Soviets

swallowing up the rest of Berlin.

Which simply meant of course: that the Soviets just had to wait,

at some point the people inside would have to give up.

THE RUSSIANS SIMPLY LEAVE THE FLAK TOWERS

AND FLOOD PAST TOWARDS HITLER'S BUNKER

AND THE REICHSTAG.

THE NEXT DEFENSIVE LINE: IS THE WATER SURROUNDING THE CITADEL.

THE GERMANS HAVE BLOWN EVERY BRIDGE ACROSS...

EXCEPT ONE.

The outer ring of defense has been broken,

the inner ring of defense has been broken

and now we are at the defense line

for the Citadel itself,

the Citadel on the other side of the water here.

But German Army engineers have failed to break,

to destroy the Moltke bridge.

THIS BRIDGE IS THE LAST MAJOR DEFENSIVE STRONGPOINT

BETWEEN THE SOVIET ARMY: AND HITLER'S BUNKER ITSELF.

[Explosions]

28th APRIL, 1945.

AT DUSK THE SOVIETS LAUNCH THEIR ATTACK

ON BERLIN'S CITADEL.

IF THEY CAN SEIZE CONTROL OF THE MOLTKE BRIDGE,

THE CITY WILL FALL.

This bridge was heavily and bitterly defended.

The closer that you got to the Citadel

the more desperate and the more fanatical

the troops would become.

DEFENDING THIS BRIDGE IS THE LAST HOPE FOR THE NAZIS.

IF THE SOVIETS CROSS,

THEY ARE LESS THAN A MILE FROM THEIR ULTIMATE PRIZE -

HITLER IN HIS BUNKER.

It was extremely important for the Soviets

to get the body of Hitler to be able to show it to their public.

They fought so hard against him against the regime

that was a top down regime with Hitler as the leader,

the Fuhrer.

THE SOVIETS SECURED THE BRIDGE BY MIDNIGHT.

THEY ARE AT LAST IN THE CITADEL.

THERE IS NOW ONLY THE FUHRERBUNKER

BETWEEN THE SOVIETS AND HITLER.

HE PUTS HIS LAST PLAN INTO ACTION.

On the 29th he marries Eva Braun

his long-term mistress rewarding her for her misplaced loyalty.

On the 30th April at approximately 3.30pm

he will commit suicide with her in the bunker itself.

[Gunshot]

Hitler knew what had happened to Mussolini in Italy.

He had been urinated on in public,

he had been taken and hung in the main square in Milan.

Hitler had his body incinerated in order to avoid that fate.

From the Fuhrer's headquarters, it is announced

that out Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler,

this afternoon at his command post

in the Reich Chancellery: fighting to his last breath against Bolshevism

fell for Germany.

After the news of Hitler's death

Berliners felt abandoned and betrayed

by the man who had set himself up as their leader,

as, if you like, the father of the nation.

INSIDE THE FLAK TOWER,

DIETER DISCOVERS TRAGIC CASUALTIES.

NEARLY 4000 BERLINERS DECIDE TO END THEIR LIVES

DURING THE BATTLE,

INSTEAD OF SURRENDERING TO THE SOVIETS.

Uh, Sergeant,

have you seen Inge Dombrovski?

She is dead.

Lieutenant Seidler shot her.

THE SOVIETS ARE OUTSIDE THE GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS

AND THE REICHSTAG.

THREE ATTEMPTED ASSAULTS ARE HELD OFF

WITH HEAVY SOVIET LOSSES.

THEY HAVE TO BLAST THEIR WAY IN

THROUGH THE BRICKED UP ENTRANCES

AND RESUME HAND TO HAND FIGHTING.

Eventually by 22.40 on the 30th April 1945

the red flag of the Soviet union is raised above this building.

That means that systematically

every line of defense put in their way

by the Germans defending: has been broken by the Soviet Red army.

Beyond that Nazi Germany is shown to be defeated

and the war in Europe is all but over.

[Explosions]

A MODERN CITY, REVERED JUST A FEW YEARS EARLIER,

HAS BEEN REDUCED TO RUBBLE.

JUST 7 HOURS AFTER HITLER'S SUICIDE,

FORTRESS BERLIN HAS FALLEN.

A quarter of the city lay in ruins.

500,000 apartments were destroyed.

The infrastructure of a very modern city was in tatters,

there was no safe drinking water,

you had women forced into slave labor

moving stones from this rubble to clear streets.

And more than anything else the stench,

the stench of collapse buildings with bodies rotting under it.

THE SOVIET FORCES LOST OVER 80,000 MEN

IN THE BATTLE OF BERLIN.

GERMAN CASUALTIES NUMBER CLOSE TO DOUBLE THAT.

I think we should remember that the battle of Berlin

should never have been fought,

and that the only reason it was fought

was because Adolf Hitler,

the man who could always have surrendered

and bowed to the inevitable, didn't,

and the whole of this city and much more besides

would then be sacrificed on the altar of his ego.

SPEER SERVES 20 YEARS IN JAIL

FOR HIS ROLE IN NAZI WAR CRIMES.

WHEN RELEASED, IN 1966,

HE WRITES ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE

AS THE ARCHITECT OF THE THIRD REICH.

DIETER STUDIES HISTORY AT BERLIN UNIVERSITY

AND BECOMES A JOURNALIST.

HE DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES IN 2000, AGED 71.

AFTER BERLIN FALLS,

NAZI GERMANY OFFICIALLY SURRENDERS

ONE WEEK LATER ON MAY 8th 1945

AND VICTORY IN EUROPE IS DECLARED.

WITH THE JAPANESE SURRENDER, NEARLY 4 MONTHS LATER,

WORLD WAR II IS AT AN END.

DESPITE ALL THE MILITARY TECHNOLOGY

AND MEGA-WEAPONS PIONEERED BY THE NAZIS,

HITLER'S THIRD REICH HAS ULTIMATELY FAILED.

AND OVER 60 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE LOST THEIR LIVES

IN THE DEADLIEST MILITARY CONFLICT IN HISTORY.

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