Documentary series examining how a cultured nation at the heart of Europe allowed Hitler to come to power

The programme considers how it was possible for a man such as Adolf Hitler to come to power in a supposedly cultured country such as post First World War Germany. It gives a number of long term and short term factors to explain the Nazi phenomenon

The theme of the programme focuses on the paradoxical nature of Germany under Nazi rule - a society obsessed by order and yet characterised by administrative inefficiency. It opens with daunting images of Nazi crowds and the comment that the

The programme starts, with Hitler in his retreat in southern Bavaria, watching feature films about the British Empire - supposedly, these offered proof of the superiority of the Aryan Race! In 1941 he said 'Let's learn from the English - what India was to the English, let Russian territories be to us'. The programme then asks the question - How did Hitler end up fighting the wrong war? - a war against both the English and the Russians.

The programme starts with a view of a railway line, followed by the view of a field. Between July 1942 - August 1943 this area became a 'killing factory'. This is TREBLINKA, one of six extermination camps set up in Poland by the Germans to tackle the Jewish Question'

The programme starts with the observation that because Italy was 'the birthplace of fascism', an alliance between Rome and Berlin in the 1930's therefore seemed natural and not unexpected.

The World at War (1973–74) is a 26-episode British television documentary series chronicling the events of the Second World War.

The conflicts in Europe and the Pacific are two separate wars. Many Americans are content to forget about Hitler and Europe and concentrate their war efforts on the Japanese. President Roosevelt is committed to the fight against Hitler, but Congress is not. Inexplicably, Hitler declares war on America, thus relieving Roosevelt of a difficult decision and, ultimately, altering the course of the war. Seventh in the series

Hitler's early successes in Russia made him reckless and he resolves to capture Stalingrad. The battle lasts six months with the Russians emerging as victors. The Wehrmacht never recovers.