Nazis: Evolution of Evil
How did Adolf Hitler and his small band of criminal conspirators persuade the German people to follow him into a nightmare of brutality, genocide, and military defeat? This 10-episode documentary chronicles how Hitler and his inner circle rose to power by exploiting the economic turmoil of their time. The National Socialists created an illusion of justice and legality, but behind the scenes they subverted democracy and planned a monstrous secret conspiracy. Their gangster regime not only used violence and suppression but also groomed the German people into willing complicity in history's worst crimes. Through archival film footage, interviews, and dramatic reconstructions, this series tells the true story of the rise and fall of the Nazis, from Hitler's recuperation in a hospital bed at the end of World War I to his dramatic final days in a Berlin bunker.
- 2013-2014
- 1 season
- Fifth Season
- Documentary
How did Adolf Hitler and his small band of criminal conspirators persuade the German people to follow him into a nightmare of brutality, genocide, and military defeat? This 10-episode documentary chronicles how Hitler and his inner circle rose to power by exploiting the economic turmoil of their time. The National Socialists created an illusion of justice and legality, but behind the scenes they subverted democracy and planned a monstrous secret conspiracy. Their gangster regime not only used violence and suppression but also groomed the German people into willing complicity in history's worst crimes. Through archival film footage, interviews, and dramatic reconstructions, this series tells the true story of the rise and fall of the Nazis, from Hitler's recuperation in a hospital bed at the end of World War I to his dramatic final days in a Berlin bunker.
Season 1 Episode Guide
10 Episodes 2013 - 2014
Episode 1
The Misfits Gather
50 mins
At the end of World War I, Hitler makes his way to the politically charged city of Munich, where he joins a fringe group and begins to transform it into the Nazi Party. After recruiting Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler, and others to the cause, he readies his "Brownshirts" for his all-or-nothing bid to seize power by putsch.
Episode 2
Becoming Respectable
49 mins
Released from prison after just nine months of a five-year sentence, Hitler works with party propagandist Joseph Goebbels to rebrand the National Socialists and broaden their appeal. But by now the Weimar Republic is enjoying a better economy, and people seem unreceptive to the Nazi message until the worldwide events of 1929 change the course of history.
Episode 3
Seizing Power
49 mins
As the Great Depression grips the country, the Nazis grow in popularity to become the second-biggest party in the country. When the Reichstag is burned down, Hitler makes his power grab: he suppresses the Communist Party, reaches out to centrists, blames the Jews, and promises peace abroad and full employment at home.
Episode 4
In Power
49 mins
Now führer, or supreme ruler of Germany, Hitler puts the country to work and the military on a rebuilding program. In a series of new laws, the Nazis identify the group they consider to be the country's chief enemy, targeting them during the events of Kristallnacht in November 1938. Soon, Hitler is ready for war.
Episode 5
Preparing for War
49 mins
Hitler unveils his plans for Germany's future in Europe, much to the horror of some of his generals, who believe his timetable is reckless and unrealistic. Austria, the Sudetenland, and the rest of Czechoslovakia are his first targets, followed by Poland and the Soviet Union. By 1941, he has accomplished most of his goals, and it looks like the war is essentially over.
Episode 6
Hitler's Biggest Blunder
49 mins
After invading Russia in June 1941, Hitler makes his biggest error of the war in the wake of Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor. The Nazis suffer a series of reverses at Stalingrad, in North Africa and Italy, and in the round-the-clock bombing of their cities by U.S. and British air forces. No amount of Goebbels's propaganda can convince Germans they are still winning.
Episode 7
The Final Solution
49 mins
The Nazis groom the nation for the worst genocide in human history. Blaming the Jews for everything from Germany's surrender in World War I to its postwar economic woes, Hitler takes a series of steps to deny them their rights as citizens and then their rights as human beings.
Episode 8
Plots and Delusions
49 mins
Defeat after defeat on the battlefield undermine the führer's image of invincibility, and some army officers plot his overthrow. But Hitler believes Germany can still win the war, and just before Christmas 1944, he prepares for his final roll of the dice on the western front.
Episode 9
End Game
49 mins
With the Red Army closing in on Berlin, Hitler is a wreck of a man: prematurely aged, pill-dependent, losing touch with reality, and determined to fight to the end. Nazi ringleaders maneuver to save themselves and cut their own deals with the Allies. The inner circle gathers for one last time to celebrate the führer's 56th birthday, days after which he arrives at his own final solution.
Episode 10
Aftermath
49 mins
The Allies make a gruesome discovery as they advance through Germany--Nazi concentration and death camps and the systematic wholesale murder of millions of people. They institute a program of denazification that only comes to an end in 1951, by which time Germany is front and center in the Cold War, which the Allies believe former Nazis can help them win.