Original subtitles

Narrator: ON JULY 6, 1940, IN BERLIN,

ADOLF HITLER CELEBRATED HIS VICTORY IN EUROPE.

HIS ARMY CHIEF CALLED HIM "THE GREATEST WARLORD IN HISTORY."

FROM MOSCOW, HITLER'S COLLABORATOR,

THE RUSSIAN LEADER JOSEF STALIN,

HAD SENT HIS CONGRATULATIONS.

IN LONDON, THE BRITISH PRIME MINISTER WINSTON CHURCHILL

WAS ISOLATED.

IN WASHINGTON, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT

STOOD ALOOF.

IN THE COMING 5 YEARS,

EVERYTHING IN THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN THESE 4 MEN WOULD CHANGE

IN WAYS THAT SEEMED UNIMAGINABLE.

Narrator: WHILE THEIR NATIONS FOUGHT A WAR OF WEAPONS...

THESE 4 GREAT WARLORDS OF THE 20th CENTURY

FOUGHT A WAR OF THE MIND.

President Roosevelt: WHAT STARTED AS A EUROPEAN WAR

HAS DEVELOPED INTO A WAR FOR WORLD DOMINATION.

Narrator: AT THE HEART OF THIS PRIVATE WAR WAS

A SERIES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DUELS IN WHICH THEY LIED,

SCHEMED, CHARMED, FLATTERED, AND DECEIVED TO WIN.

WHAT WAS CURIOUS WAS THAT THESE DUELS TOOK PLACE

NOT BETWEEN ENEMIES BUT BETWEEN MEN WHO, AT THE TIME,

WERE ALLIES.

YET, THEIR BEHAVIOR WAS EGOTISTIC, TEMPESTUOUS,

MONSTROUS, AND POLITICALLY, DESPITE THE ROSY GLOW

IN WHICH SOME ARE SEEN TODAY, ALWAYS SELFISH.

WE SHALL NEVER CEASE TO PERSEVERE AGAINST THEM

TILL THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT A LESSON WHICH THEY...

Narrator: THE DUELS OF THE WARLORDS DECIDED THE STRATEGY

FOR THE GREATEST BATTLES IN HISTORY.

THEY WERE ALSO THE EPICENTER OF A SEISMIC SHIFT IN WORLD POWER.

FROM THE AGE OF EUROPEAN EMPIRES TO THE AGE OF

TWO IDEOLOGICALLY OPPOSED SUPERPOWERS

WITH DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES

FOR HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.

Narrator: OVER SALZBERG IN SOUTHERN GERMANY,

ONE OF THE WORLD'S LOVELIEST PLACES...

IT WAS HERE IN AUGUST 1939 THAT ADOLF HITLER WAS THINKING

THE UNTHINKABLE.

HITLER HAD SET HIS HEART ON INVADING POLAND,

AND HIS GENERALS HAD TOLD HIM

HE MUST ATTACK BEFORE THE AUTUMN RAINS CAME.

BUT BRITAIN AND FRANCE HAD SAID THEY WOULD GO TO WAR FOR POLAND.

ONE THING STOOD IN HITLER'S WAY:

THE FEAR THAT RUSSIA WOULD ALSO TURN AGAINST HIM

AND PROPEL INTO A WAR ON TWO FRONTS.

THIS WAS THE VERY THING IMPRINTED IN HITLER'S MIND,

AS HAVING HELPED TO LOSE GERMANY THE FIRST WORLD WAR

20 YEARS BEFORE.

THERE WAS ONLY ONE WAY OUT:

A PACT WITH HIS GREATEST IDEOLOGICAL ENEMY--JOSEF STALIN.

HITLER PUT OUT FEELERS TO MOSCOW.

THOUGH HE LITTLE REALIZED IT,

HE WAS INSTIGATING A MENTAL DUEL WITH STALIN,

WHICH OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, WOULD DECIDE THE DESTINY

OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR.

STALIN WAS DEEPLY SUSPICIOUS OF HITLER'S APPROACH.

HE SPENT HOURS READING "MEIN KAMPF,"

WRITTEN 15 YEARS BEFORE UNDERLINING KEY PASSAGES,

LIKE HITLER'S VIEWS OF THE BOLSHEVIK LEADERS--

MEN SUCH AS STALIN HIMSELF.

Actor as Hitler: "NEVER FORGET THAT THE RULERS

"OF PRESENT-DAY RUSSIA ARE COMMON, BLOOD-STAINED CRIMINALS,

THAT THEY ARE THE SCUM OF HUMANITY."

Narrator: BUT STALIN COULD SEE THAT HITLER WAS

NOW DESPERATE FOR A DEAL AND OFFERING TO SEND

HIS FOREIGN MINISTER, RIBBENTROP, TO MOSCOW.

STALIN DECIDED HE WOULD GO WITH HITLER.

HITLER'S PROPAGANDA CHIEF, JOSEPH GOEBBELS

NOTED IN HIS DIARY:

Actor as Goebbels: "22 OF AUGUST, 1939.

"NON-AGGRESSION PACT WITH MOSCOW PERFECT.

"RIBBENTROP IN MOSCOW ON WEDNESDAY.

"THAT IS SOMETHING. WE'RE ON TOP AGAIN.

NOW WE CAN SLEEP MORE EASILY."

Narrator: ON AUGUST 23, RIBBENTROP LANDED IN MOSCOW.

BUT HITLER NEEDED ONE PIECE OF REASSURANCE.

HE SENT HIS PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHER HEINRICH HOFFMANN

TO FILM STALIN'S EARLOBES

TO SEE WHETHER THEY WERE INGROWN AND JEWISH

OR SEPARATE AND ARYAN.

THEY WERE SEPARATE.

STALIN PASSED HITLER'S TEST.

SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT, ON AUGUST 24, 1939,

THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT WAS SIGNED

AND WITH IT A SECRET PROTOCOL UNDER WHICH GERMANY AND RUSSIA

WOULD CARVE POLAND INTO TWO.

HITLER PHONED RIBBENTROP.

Actor as Hitler: "THIS WILL HIT LIKE A BOMBSHELL."

Narrator: BUT, AS GOEBBELS NOTED, IT WAS NOT STRENGTH

BUT FEAR OF STALIN KNIFING HIM IN THE BACK THAT HAD FORCED

HITLER INTO HISTORY'S BIGGEST U-TURN.

Actor as Goebbels: THE FUHRER BELIEVES HE'S IN THE POSITION

OF SCROUNGING FOR FAVORS, AND BEGGARS CAN'T BE CHOOSERS.

IN TIMES OF FAMINE, THE DEVIL FEEDS ON FLIES.

Narrator: IN THE KREMLIN, STALIN PROPOSED A TOAST.

Actor as Stalin: I KNOW HOW MUCH THE GERMAN NATION LOVES

ITS FUHRER.

I SHOULD, THEREFORE, LIKE TO DRINK HIS HEALTH.

Narrator: BUT LIKE HITLER,

STALIN WAS ALSO ACTING FROM FEAR

THAT HITLER WOULD ATTACK HIM.

THAT EVENING, HE TOLD HIS INNER CIRCLE:

Actor as Stalin: OF COURSE, IT'S ALL A GAME

TO SEE WHO CAN FOOL WHOM.

HE THINKS HE'S OUTSMARTED ME,

BUT ACTUALLY IT'S I WHO'S TRICKED HIM.

Narrator: STALIN HAD FOUND A BEDFELLOW FOR WHOSE CUNNING

HE HAD HELD A LONG AND SNEAKING ADMIRATION.

BACK IN 1934, STALIN HAD OBSERVED HITLER ELIMINATE

HIS RIVALS WITHIN THE NAZI PARTY

IN THE SO-CALLED "NIGHT OF THE LONG KNIVES."

HE REMARKED:

Actor as Stalin: DID YOU HEAR WHAT HAPPENED IN GERMANY?

SOME FELLOW, THAT HITLER. SPLENDID.

THAT'S A DEED OF SOME SKILL.

Narrator: HITLER HAD FELT NO SUCH MUTUAL ADMIRATION.

IN HIS EARLY YEARS IN POWER,

HE WAS SET ON THE DREAMS OF "MEIN KAMPF--"

AN ALLIANCE WITH BRITAIN'S SEA EMPIRE,

WHILE HE EXPANDED TO THE EAST AND BUILT HIS GERMAN LAND EMPIRE

ON THE CONTINENT.

ONLY WHEN THAT PLAN HAD CLEARLY FAILED

DID HITLER BEGIN TO SEE IN STALIN

SOMEONE HE MIGHT DO BUSINESS WITH.

STALIN WAS THE FIRST OF THE TWO TO BE A MASS MURDERER.

HIS TERRORS KILLED MILLIONS.

HE ONCE COMPARED HIS VICTIMS WITH THE BOYAR LANDOWNERS

MASSACRED BY IVAN THE TERRIBLE 400 YEARS BEFORE.

Actor as Stalin: WHO'S GOING TO REMEMBER ALL THIS RIFF RAFF

IN 10 OR 20 YEARS' TIME?

NO ONE!

WHO REMEMBERS THE NAMES NOW OF THE BOYARS

IVAN THE TERRIBLE GOT RID OF?

NO ONE.

Narrator: A WEEK BEFORE HE INVADED POLAND,

HITLER MADE AN EERILY SIMILAR REMARK TO HIS GENERALS.

Actor as Hitler: GENGHIS KHAN HAD MILLIONS OF MEN AND WOMEN

KILLED BY HIS OWN WILL

AND WITH A GAY HEART.

HISTORY SEES HIM ONLY AS A GREAT STATE BUILDER.

AND WHO, AFTER ALL, SPEAKS TODAY OF THE ANNIHILATION

OF THE ARMENIANS?

Narrator: FOR BOTH MEN, MASS MURDER WAS JUST ANOTHER WEAPON

IN THE IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE.

THE STATE--WHETHER COMMUNIST OR NAZI--WAS SUPREME.

INDIVIDUALS WERE ITS DISPOSABLE TOOLS.

THEY EVEN EXTENDED THIS IDEA TO THEIR DOMESTIC LIVES.

HITLER HAD SECRET MISTRESSES--

MOST NOTABLY EVA BRAUN, BUT IN PUBLIC,

NO WOMAN COULD COME BETWEEN HIM AND HIS NATION.

ONE OF HIS SECRETARIES RECALLED THAT HE EMPHASIZED

AGAIN AND AGAIN:

Actor as Hitler: MY LOVER IS GERMANY.

Narrator: STALIN DID MARRY--TWICE AND HAD CHILDREN.

BUT THE SUICIDE OF HIS SECOND WIFE NADYA IN 1932

FURTHER BRUTALIZED HIM.

ECHOING HITLER, HE TOLD AN ASSOCIATE:

Actor as Stalin: A TRUE BOLSHEVIK SHOULDN'T AND COULDN'T

HAVE A FAMILY BECAUSE HE SHOULD GIVE HIMSELF

WHOLLY TO THE PARTY.

Narrator: STALIN TOLD HIS SON, VASSILY:

Actor as Stalin: I'M NOT STALIN. STALIN IS SOVIET POWER.

Narrator: NOW, IN AUGUST 1939, THESE TWO GREAT

IDEALOGICALLY-OPPOSED WARLORDS WERE INEXTRICABLY LINKED.

8 DAYS AFTER THE SIGNING OF THE PACT,

HITLER INVADED POLAND.

BRITAIN DECLARED WAR.

WINSTON CHURCHILL REJOINED THE BRITISH CABINET.

STALIN PUBLICLY SUPPORTED HIS NAZI COLLABORATOR.

HE TOLD THE WORLD:

Actor as Stalin: IT IS NOT GERMANY WHO HAS ATTACKED

ENGLAND AND FRANCE, BUT ENGLAND AND FRANCE

WHO HAVE ATTACKED GERMANY.

Narrator: THE ENSLAVEMENT OF POLAND FURTHER UNITED

THE TWO EXTREME PROPONENTS OF TOTALITARIAN VIOLENCE.

SS UNITS KILLED 60,000 JEWS AND MEMBERS OF

THE POLISH RULING CLASS.

IT WAS HITLER'S FIRST EXPERIENCE OF MASS MURDER

AND PROFOUNDLY INFLUENCED HIM.

IT SHOWED HIM HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD ACTUALLY DO IT.

STALIN'S SECRET POLICE, THE N.K.V.D.,

LONG-VERSED IN MASS KILLING, WOULD CARRY OUT

SIMILAR MASSACRES IN THE EAST OF POLAND.

AMONG THEIR VICTIMS WERE MORE THAN 20,000 POLISH OFFICERS

AND POLITICAL PRISONERS WHOSE BODIES WOULD BE DISCOVERED

3 YEARS LATER.

AS THEIR SECRET POLICE MUTILATED POLAND,

THE TWO DICTATORS FACED THEIR DESTINIES HAND IN HAND.

OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, IN A MIND WAR UNPARALLELED

IN WORLD HISTORY,

THEY WOULD BOTH BECOME GRIPPED BY A SERIES OF DELUSIONS

THAT WOULD LEAD THEM INTO COLOSSAL ERROR

AND THE BLOODIEST CONFLICT THERE HAS EVER BEEN.

Narrator: STALIN HAD ENTERED HIS PACT WITH HITLER

WITH OPEN EYES.

HE NEVER DOUBTED HE WAS SUPPING WITH THE DEVIL.

BUT HE BELIEVED THE PACT WOULD GIVE THE SOVIET UNION

BOTH PROTECTION AND OPPORTUNITY.

JUST A WEEK AFTER THE NAZIS INVADED POLAND,

HE TOLD HIS INNER CIRCLE:

Actor as Stalin: A WAR IS ON BETWEEN TWO GROUPS

OF CAPITALIST COUNTRIES.

HITLER, WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING IT OR DESIRING IT,

IS SHAKING AND UNDERMINING THE CAPITALIST SYSTEM.

WE CAN MANEUVER, PIT ONE SIDE AGAINST THE OTHER

TO SET THEM FIGHTING WITH EACH OTHER AS FIERCELY AS POSSIBLE.

Narrator: STALIN WAS ALSO EYEING UP A FURTHER DESIRABLE OUTCOME:

THE CHANCE TO EXPAND HIS COMMUNIST EMPIRE.

Actor as Stalin: WHAT WOULD BE THE HARM IF, AS A RESULT OF

THE ROUT OF POLAND, WE WERE TO EXTEND THE SOCIALIST SYSTEM

ONTO NEW TERRITORIES AND POPULATIONS?

Narrator: FOR HITLER, THE PACT ALSO OPENED THE DOOR

TO CONQUEST.

HE COULD NOW TURN ALL HIS ENERGY AND ATTENTION

TO PLANNING THE INVASION OF FRANCE.

JOSEPH GOEBBELS NOTED HITLER'S HOPES

FOR A LONG-TERM COLLABORATION WITH STALIN.

Actor as Goebbels: 1 OF OCTOBER 1939:

CONFERENCE WITH THE FUHRER IN PRIVATE.

HE IS CONVINCED OF RUSSIA'S LOYALTY.

AFTER ALL, STALIN IS SET TO POCKET A HUGE PROFIT.

Narrator: BUT STALIN SAW NO SUCH LOYALTY IN HITLER.

"MEIN KAMPF" WAS ETCHED IN HIS MIND--

ABOVE ALL, HITLER'S YOUTHFUL AMBITIONS TO CONQUER

RUSSIAN TERRITORY FOR THE NEW GERMAN REICH.

Actor as Hitler: IF WE SPEAK OF TERRITORY IN EUROPE TODAY,

WE CAN PRIMARILY HAVE IN MIND

ONLY RUSSIA AND HER VASSAL BORDER STATES.

Narrator: BECAUSE HE CALCULATED THAT HITLER MIGHT STILL

ONE DAY TURN ON HIM, STALIN SET OUT TO BUILD

A LINE OF BUFFER ZONES TO PROTECT HIMSELF

AGAINST POSSIBLE NAZI ATTACK.

HE FORCED THE BALTIC STATES-- LITHUANIA, ESTONIA, AND LATVIA--

TO ACCEPT RUSSIAN GARRISONS.

HE TOLD A LATVIAN DELEGATION:

Actor as Stalin: THERE HAS BEEN AN UNEXPECTED TURN

BUT ONE CANNOT RELY UPON IT.

WE MUST BE PREPARED IN TIME.

OTHERS WHO WERE NOT PREPARED PAID FOR IT.

THE GERMANS MIGHT ATTACK.

Narrator: STALIN ALSO TRIED TO BULLY FINLAND

INTO GIVING HIM A SWATHE OF TERRITORY AS A FURTHER BUFFER.

THE FINS REFUSED.

STALIN INVADED THEIR COUNTRY.

IT WAS A DISASTER.

WITHIN DAYS, THOUSANDS OF FROZEN RUSSIAN CORPSES

LITTERED THE SNOW.

FINALLY, THE FINS WERE BEATEN BUT NOT BEFORE KILLING

125,000 RUSSIAN SOLDIERS.

STALIN SENT IN HIS POLITICAL COMMISSARS

TO SHOOT THE SOVIET COMMANDERS.

BUT THE REAL FAULT WAS HIS OWN.

HIS TERROR HAD GOT RID OF THE RED ARMY'S BEST OFFICERS.

AS GOEBBELS NOTED, THE RED ARMY'S INCOMPETENCE

OFFERED HITLER YET MORE COMFORT.

Actor as Goebbels: 15 OF MARCH 1940.

THE RUSSIANS CAN NEVER BECOME DANGEROUS FOR US.

IF STALIN SHOOTS HIS OWN GENERALS,

WE WON'T NEED TO DO IT.

SO FAR, WE'VE HAD NOTHING BUT ADVANTAGES

FROM OUR ALLIANCE WITH RUSSIA.

Narrator: ON MAY 10, 1940,

HITLER, WITH HIS EASTERN FRONT SECURED BY STALIN,

LAUNCHED HIS BLITZKRIEG TO THE WEST.

THE GERMAN ARMY SLICED THROUGH FRANCE, BELGIUM, AND HOLLAND.

THE BRITISH WERE DRIVEN FROM THE CONTINENT.

FOR HITLER, IT WAS A TRIUMPH.

FOR STALIN, A DISASTER.

NIKITA KRUSCHEV, LATER RUSSIA'S PRIME MINISTER,

RECALLED STALIN'S REACTION TO HITLER'S LIGHTNING VICTORIES.

Actor as Kruschev: I REMEMBER BEING WITH STALIN

HE WAS EXTREMELY NERVOUS.

HE WAS RACING AROUND, CURSING LIKE A CAB DRIVER.

HE CURSED THE FRENCH, HE CURSED THE ENGLISH,

HOW COULD THEY ALLOW HITLER TO DEFEAT THEM,

TO CRUSH THEM?

STALIN NOT ONLY SAW THE SUPERIORITY OF THE GERMAN ARMY,

HE KNEW THAT THE GERMANS SENSED OUR WEAKNESS

BECAUSE OF THE WAR WE HAD FOUGHT WITH FINLAND.

Narrator: ON JUNE 17, 1940,

THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT SUED FOR PEACE.

THE LONG-LASTING AND MUTUALLY DESTRUCTIVE WAR

OF THE CAPITALIST AND FASCIST STATES

WHICH STALIN HAD SO GLEEFULLY ANTICIPATED

WAS OVER IN A TRICE.

THE NEXT DAY, AS HITLER CELEBRATED IN MUNICH

WITH THE ITALIAN DICTATOR MUSSOLINI,

STALIN, WITH GRITTED TEETH, SENT HIS CONGRATULATIONS

ON THE WEHRMACHT'S SPLENDID SUCCESS.

FOR HITLER, VICTORY HAD LANCED A BOIL.

GERMANY'S DEFEAT IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR HAD BEEN AVENGED.

NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS POLITICAL LIFE,

HE WANTED A REST FROM CONQUEST.

AND, REVERTING TO HIS OLD INSTINCTS,

PEACE WITH BRITAIN.

THE ITALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, COUNT GALEAZZO CIANO,

WAS ALSO IN MUNICH AND OBSERVED

HITLER'S STATE OF MIND.

Actor as Ciano: HITLER MAKES MANY RESERVATIONS

ON THE DESIRABILITY OF DISMANTLING THE BRITISH EMPIRE

WHICH HE CONSIDERS EVEN TODAY TO BE AN IMPORTANT FACTOR

IN WORLD EQUILIBRIUM.

HITLER IS NOW LIKE THE GAMBLER WHO, HAVING MADE THE BIG WIN,

WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE THE TABLE RISKING NOTHING MORE.

Narrator: BUT STALIN FEARED THAT HITLER,

HAVING WON HIS VICTORY IN THE WEST,

MIGHT IMMEDIATELY BE TEMPTED BY HIS LONG-HELD AMBITION

OF EXPANDING TO THE EAST.

STALIN NOW EMBARKED ON A HUGELY RISKY DOUBLE STRATEGY--

GOING ON A 10 DAY LAND GRAB TO EXPAND AND PROTECT HIS EMPIRE

WHILE ALSO TRYING NOT TO PROVOKE HITLER.

HE OCCUPIED THE BALTIC STATES AND BESSARABIA,

THE NORTHERN PROVINCE OF ROMANIA.

THIS WAS ALLOWED UNDER THE NAZI-SOVIET PACT.

BUT HE ALSO DECIDED TO INVADE ANOTHER ROMANIAN PROVINCE--

BUKOVINA.

IT WAS NOT ASSIGNED TO STALIN UNDER THE PACT.

HITLER'S CHIEF OF STAFF, GENERAL FRANZ HALDER,

NOTED HITLER'S ALARM IN HIS DIARY.

Actor as Halder: 25th OF JUNE, 1940.

THE ISSUE OF BUKOVINA RAISED BY RUSSIA IS NEW

AND GOES BEYOND OUR AGREEMENTS WITH THE RUSSIANS.

Narrator: AT PRECISELY THIS MOMENT,

STALIN'S DUEL WITH HITLER TOOK A SECOND, UNEXPECTED TWIST.

THE SOVIET LEADER RECEIVED HIS FIRST LETTER

FROM WINSTON CHURCHILL, WHO HAD BECOME BRITISH PRIME MINISTER

ON THE DAY HITLER LAUNCHED HIS BLITZKRIEG.

IT WAS AN APPEAL TO STALIN TO BEWARE OF HITLER

AND COME OVER TO BRITAIN'S SIDE.

STALIN DID NOT REPLY.

INSTEAD, TO SHOW HITLER HIS LOYALTY,

HE REPORTED CHURCHILL'S APPROACH TO BERLIN.

HITLER NOW BEGAN TO MAKE HIS OWN INTERPRETATION

OF THESE TWO PIECES OF EVIDENCE:

STALIN'S RAPACITY IN ROMANIA AND CHURCHILL'S APPROACH.

BEFORE THE WAR, HITLER HAD DESCRIBED TO HIS ADJUTANT

HIS SECRETIVE MENTAL PROCESSES.

Actor as Hitler: BEAR IN MIND THAT MY BRAIN WORKS

LIKE A CALCULATING MACHINE.

EACH PERSON WHO MAKES A PRESENTATION TO ME

INTRODUCES INTO THIS CALCULATING MACHINE

A SMALL WHEEL OF INFORMATION.

THERE FORMS A CERTAIN PICTURE OF A NUMBER ON EACH WHEEL.

I PRESS A BUTTON AND THERE FLASHES INTO MY MIND

THE SUM OF ALL THIS INFORMATION.

Narrator: NOW THE HITLER CALCULATING MACHINE

BEGAN TO BUILD A CONSPIRACY THEORY

WHICH WOULD HAVE DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES.

ON JULY 6, 1940, HITLER, THE VICTOR IN EUROPE,

RETURNED TO BERLIN TO A HERO'S WELCOME.

Actor as Goebbels: OUR WONDERFUL JULY SUN SHINES

ALL OVER THE PLACE.

AN UNIMAGINABLE ECSTASY FILLS THE CITY.

THE CROWD ROARS.

THE STATION LOOKS LIKE A GREAT BANQUETING HALL.

THEN THE FUHRER ARRIVES.

A ROAR OF JOY FILLS THE STATION.

Narrator: ON THIS DAY, HITLER'S ARMY CHIEF, GENERAL KEITEL,

CALLED HIM "THE GREATEST WARLORD IN HISTORY."

BUT AMID HIS TRIUMPH, HITLER WAS INCREASINGLY TORMENTED

BY ONE OVERRIDING THOUGHT:

AS FAR AS HE WAS CONCERNED, HE HAD WON THE WAR.

SO WHY DID THE BRITISH NOT RECOGNIZE THAT FACT

AND MAKE PEACE WITH HIM?

HE BEGAN TO CONVINCE HIMSELF THAT THERE MUST BE

SOME EXTERNAL FACTOR THAT BRITAIN AND CHURCHILL

WERE RELYING ON.

A WEEK AFTER THE DAY OF GLORY IN BERLIN,

GENERAL HALDER RECORDED A MOMENTOUS DEVELOPMENT

IN HITLER'S REASONING.

Actor as Halder: 13 OF JULY, 1940.

THE FUHRER IS GREATLY PUZZLED BY BRITAIN'S PERSISTENT

UNWILLINGNESS TO MAKE PEACE.

HE SEES THE ANSWER IN BRITAIN'S HOPE IN RUSSIA.

Narrator: ON JULY 19, 1940, IN A SPEECH TO THE REICHSTAG,

HITLER MADE HIS FINAL PLEA FOR PEACE TO BRITAIN.

CHURCHILL AND THE BRITISH WERE NOT INTERESTED.

LATER THAT DAY,

A FURTHER WHEEL OF INFORMATION FROM THE UNITED STATES

ENTERED HITLER'S MIND.

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT WAS NOMINATED BY THE DEMOCRAT PARTY

TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT FOR THE THIRD TIME.

HIS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH CONTAINED AN ATTACK ON NAZI AGGRESSION.

HITLER WAS NOW SEEING SPECTERS ACROSS THE GLOBE.

Actor as Halder: 22 OF JULY, 1940.

THE FUHRER'S VIEW:

REASONS FOR CONTINUATION OF WAR BY BRITAIN:

1--IT HOPED FOR A CHANGE IN AMERICA.

2--IT PUTS HOPE IN RUSSIA.

STALIN IS FLIRTING WITH BRITAIN TO KEEP HER IN THE WAR

AND TIE US DOWN.

Narrator: HITLER RETREATED TO THE MOUNTAINS OF OBERSALZBERG.

THE DELUSION WAS BUILDING.

HERE THE SUMMER BEFORE, HE'D BEEN DREAMING UP

HIS PACT WITH STALIN.

NOW HE SUSPECTED HIM.

AT THE END OF JULY, HE ANNOUNCED TO HIS GENERALS

THE RESULTS OF WEEKS OF AGONIZED REFLECTION.

Actor as Halder: 31 OF JULY, 1940.

11:30, BERGHOF.

FUHRER CONCLUDES: RUSSIA IS THE FACTOR ON WHICH BRITAIN

IS RELYING THE MOST.

SOMETHING MUST HAVE HAPPENED IN LONDON.

THE BRITISH WERE COMPLETELY DOWN.

NOW THEY HAVE PERKED UP AGAIN.

WITH RUSSIA SMASHED, BRITAIN'S LAST HOPE WOULD BE SHATTERED.

THE SOONER RUSSIA IS CRUSHED, THE BETTER.

IF WERE TO START IN MAY, 1941, WE WOULD HAVE 5 MONTHS

TO FINISH THE JOB.

Narrator: IT WAS, AS YET, ONLY AN IDEA.

BUT TWO ENORMOUS DELUSIONS:

THE FIRST, THAT HE HAD ALREADY WON THE WAR,

AND THE SECOND THAT SOME SECRET DEAL WAS BREWING

BETWEEN BRITAIN AND RUSSIA, WERE LEADING HITLER

DOWN THE ROAD TO CATASTROPHE.

Narrator: FOR HITLER, THE INVASION OF RUSSIA WAS

STILL ONLY A CONTINGENCY PLAN,

SHOULD ALL OTHER MEANS OF FORCING THE BRITISH

TO MAKE PEACE FAIL.

THE AUTUMN OF 1940 NOW BROUGHT 4 LONG MONTHS OF FRUSTRATION.

THE R.A.F. DEFEATED THE LUFTWAFFE

IN THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN.

PLANS FOR A CROSS-CHANNEL INVASION WERE QUIETLY SHELVED.

YET, DESPITE THESE SETBACKS, HITLER KIDDED HIMSELF

THAT HE'D DONE ENOUGH.

Actor as Halder: 15 OF OCTOBER, 1940.

FUHRER ON MILITARY SITUATION: "WAR IS WON.

REST IS MERE QUESTION OF TIME."

Narrator: BUT HITLER COULD STILL NOT FORCE TO BRITISH

TO COME TO TERMS.

AND HE HAD BECOME SPLIT-MINDED ABOUT RUSSIA,

MOVING TROOPS NEARER HER BORDERS

BUT ALSO WANTING STALIN TO JOIN HIM IN THE FIGHT

AGAINST BRITAIN.

HITLER'S ADJUTANT, MAJOR GERHARD ENGEL,

NOTED IN HIS DIARY:

Actor as Engel: 4 OF NOVEMBER, 1940.

FUHRER VISIBLY DEPRESSED.

HE CONVEYS THE IMPRESSION THAT AT THE MOMENT HE DOES NOT KNOW

HOW THINGS SHOULD PROCEED.

Narrator: THEN CAME THE DEFINING MOMENT.

ON NOVEMBER 12, 1940,

THE RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, VYACHESLAV MOLOTOV,

ARRIVED IN BERLIN AT HITLER'S INVITATION.

MOLOTOV WAS GIVEN THE FULL NAZI FANFARE,

BUT THE CONVERSATIONS THAT FOLLOWED WERE TENSE.

HITLER'S PURPOSE IN SUMMONING MOLOTOV WAS TO OFFER RUSSIA

A SHARE IN THE SPOILS OF VICTORY

IF HE'D HELP THEM FINISH OFF THE BRITISH.

HE TOLD HIM:

Actor as Hitler: ENGLAND'S FINAL CAPITULATION

IS JUST A MATTER OF TIME.

FRAGMENTS OF ITS EMPIRE WILL BE LEFT ALL OVER THE WORLD.

IT'S TIME TO THINK ABOUT DIVISION OF THIS PROPERTY

WITHOUT A MASTER AFTER OUR VICTORY.

Narrator: BUT STALIN WASN'T INTERESTED IN JOINING

HITLER'S WAR OR SPECULATIVE CARVE-UPS OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO MOLOTOV WERE TO FIND OUT

WHAT HITLER'S TROOP WERE UP TO IN FINLAND AND ROMANIA--

PLACES RIGHT ON HIS DOORSTEP.

MOLOTOV PUT THE QUESTIONS BLUNTLY.

HITLER GAVE VAGUE REASSURANCES.

DESPITE THE SUPERFICIAL COURTESIES,

MOLOTOV'S COLD ARROGANCE AND HIS NEEDLING ON THE QUESTION

OF TERRITORY IN EASTERN EUROPE INFURIATED HITLER,

AND IT REINVIGORATED HIM.

Actor as Engel: 15 OF NOVEMBER, 1940.

THE TALKS HAD SHOWN WHERE THE RUSSIAN PLANS WERE HEADING.

MOLOTOV HAD LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG.

FUHRER WAS REALLY RELIEVED.

IT WOULD NOT EVEN REMAIN A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE.

Narrator: WHEN MOLOTOV REPORTED BACK TO MOSCOW

ON THE TALKS IN BERLIN,

STALIN REALIZED THAT HITLER WAS TURNING AGAINST HIM.

IN EARLY DECEMBER, HE TOLD HIS GENERALS:

Actor as Stalin: WE KNOW THAT HITLER IS INTOXICATED

BY HIS VICTORIES AND BELIEVES THAT THE RED ARMY WILL NEED

AT LEAST 4 YEARS TO PREPARE FOR WAR.

OBVIOUSLY 4 YEARS WOULD BE MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR US,

BUT WE MUST BE READY MUCH EARLIER.

WE WILL TRY TO DELAY THE WAR FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS.

BUT HITLER WAS MOVING AT A PACE STALIN COULD NOT IMAGINE.

ON DECEMBER 18, 1940,

HE ISSUED WAR DIRECTIVE NUMBER 23.

Actor as Hitler: THE GERMAN WEHRMACHT MUST BE PREPARED

BEFORE THE ENDING OF THE WAR AGAINST ENGLAND

TO CRUSH SOVIET RUSSIA IN A RAPID CAMPAIGN.

Narrator: THE INVASION DATE WAS SET FOR MAY, 1941.

BUT BEHIND THE ORDER LAY UNCERTAINTY.

Actor as Engel: 18 OF DECEMBER, 1940.

I'M CONVINCED THAT THE FUHRER HIMSELF DOES NOT KNOW

HOW IT WILL TURN OUT.

HE'S VERY CONCERNED AT THE LACK OF CLARITY

AS REGARDS THE STRENGTH OF THE RUSSIANS.

HOPES FOR AN ENGLISH SURRENDER;

DOES NOT THINK AMERICA WILL ENTER THE WAR.

Narrator: HITLER HAD FINALLY MADE THE MOMENTOUS DECISION:

A WAR ON TWO FRONTS.

THE VERY THING HE'D SOUGHT TO AVOID WHEN HE FIRST MADE

HIS PACT WITH STALIN.

BUT HE'D DELUDED HIMSELF THAT ONE FRONT--BRITAIN--

WAS ALREADY WON.

IT SIMPLY REQUIRED A KNOCKOUT BLOW AGAINST RUSSIA

FOR THE BRITISH TO UNDERSTAND THEIR DEFEAT.

HITLER'S LINE OF REASONING NEVER BEGAN TO OCCUR TO STALIN.

HE BELIEVED THAT HITLER EITHER HAD TO BEAT CHURCHILL

OR MAKE A DEAL WITH HIM BEFORE HE COULD THINK

OF TURNING AGAINST RUSSIA.

IN EARLY 1941, HE TOLD POLITBURO MEMBERS:

Actor as Stalin: WE MUST CHERISH NO ILLUSIONS.

FASCIST GERMANY IS CLEARLY PREPARING FOR AN ATTACK

ON THE SOVIET UNION.

WHY DOES HITLER WANT TO MAKE AN AGREEMENT WITH ENGLAND?

BECAUSE HE WANTS TO AVOID WAR ON TWO FRONTS.

Narrator: STALIN WAS TRUSTING HITLER TO ACT RATIONALLY.

AND TO FIGHT BRITAIN AND RUSSIA AT THE SAME TIME

WAS CLEARLY IRRATIONAL.

BUT STALIN FAILED TO REALIZE

THAT, DESPITE THEIR SIMILARITIES,

THERE WAS ONE PROFOUND DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

HIM AND HITLER WHICH MADE HIS PERFECT LOGIC

IRRELEVANT:

HE HIMSELF WAS A METHODICAL, CALCULATING, HARD-WORKING MAN,

A MASTER OF DETAIL,

PERSONALLY SIGNING DEATH LISTS AT ONE EXTREME

AND AT THE OTHER KEEPING THE TINIEST DETAILS OF

GOLD PRODUCTION IN HIS NOTEBOOK.

HITLER, BY CONTRAST, WAS AT HEART AN IDLE DREAMER.

HE ONCE DESCRIBED WHY HE'D LOVED THE MOUNTAINS

OF OBERSALZBERG.

Actor as Hitler: WHEN I GO TO OBERSALZBERG,

I'M NOT DRAWN THERE MERELY BY THE BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE.

I FEEL MYSELF FAR FROM PETTY THINGS.

MY IMAGINATION IS STIMULATED.

WHEN I STUDY A PROBLEM ELSEWHERE,

I SEE IT LESS CLEARLY.

I'M SUBMERGED BY THE DETAILS.

BY NIGHT AT THE BERGHOF,

I OFTEN REMAIN FOR HOURS WITH MY EYES OPEN

CONTEMPLATING FROM MY BED MOUNTAINS LIT UP BY THE MOON.

IT'S AT SUCH MOMENTS THAT BRIGHTNESS ENTERS MY MIND.

Narrator: FOR HITLER, THE BIG IDEA WAS NEVER

TO BE DISRUPTED BY SMALL FACTS.

AND HAVING MADE UP HIS MIND TO ATTACK RUSSIA

FOR TACTICAL REASONS,

THE ORIGINAL AND BIGGEST IDEA OF ALL WAS REASSERTING ITSELF:

THE IDEOLOGICAL STRUGGLE AGAINST JEWS AND BOLSHEVIKS.

THROUGHOUT 1940, HITLER HAD HARDLY MENTIONED THE JEWS.

BUT ON JANUARY 30, 1941, IN HIS TRADITIONAL SPEECH

MARKING THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAZIS' RISE TO POWER,

HE REPEATED A CHILLING THREAT

HE'D FIRST MADE BEFORE WAR BROKE OUT.

Narrator: AT A SERIES OF CONFERENCES WITH HIS GENERALS

IN THE SPRING OF 1941,

HITLER MADE HIS AIMS BRUTALLY CLEAR.

Actor as Halder: 3 OF MARCH, 1941.

THE FORTHCOMING CAMPAIGN WILL LEAD TO A SHOWDOWN

BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT IDEOLOGIES.

THE JEWISH/BOLSHEVIK INTELLIGENTSIA

MUST BE ELIMINATED.

30 OF MARCH: WE MUST FORGET THE CONCEPT OF COMRADESHIP

BETWEEN SOLDIERS.

THIS IS A WAR OF EXTERMINATION.

Narrator: WHILE HITLER PLANNED HIS ANNIHILATION,

STALIN STILL BELIEVED HE HAD AT LEAST A YEAR TO PREPARE.

ON APRIL 13, 1941, HE MOVED TO PROTECT HIS BACK,

SIGNING A PACT WITH HITLER'S ALLY JAPAN.

STALIN WAS THRILLED WITH HIS COUP

AND GOT HAPPILY TIPSY WITH THE JAPANESE

FOREIGN MINISTER MATSUOKA.

BUT HE WAS STILL FOLLOWING HIS DOUBLE STRATEGY.

AS HE SAID GOOD-BYE TO MATSUOKA,

THE GERMAN MILITARY ATTACHE IN MOSCOW WAS PRESENT.

STALIN TOLD HIM:

Actor as Stalin: WE MUST REMAIN FRIENDS,

AND YOU MUST NOW DO EVERYTHING TO THAT END.

WE WILL STAY FRIENDS WITH YOU WHATEVER HAPPENS.

BUT STALIN KNEW SUCH LONG-TERM FRIENDSHIP WAS A FANTASY.

SOON AFTER, HE TOLD GRADUATES OF MOSCOW'S MILITARY ACADEMY:

Actor as Stalin: THERE WILL BE WAR,

AND THE ENEMY WILL BE GERMANY.

Narrator: BUT THAT WAR WOULD NOT HAPPEN YET.

UP UNTIL THIS POINT, STALIN'S REASONING WAS IRREPROACHABLE.

HE'D FORESEEN THE EVENTUAL CONFLICT WITH GERMANY

AND WAS STEADILY PREPARING FOR IT.

BUT A BIZARRE TWIST WOULD NOW PROPEL HIM

INTO HIS OWN HUGE DELUSION.

IN APRIL 1941, STALIN RECEIVED HIS SECOND LETTER

FROM WINSTON CHURCHILL.

LIKE THE FIRST, IT WOULD HAVE AN ELECTRIFYING EFFECT

ON HIS DUAL WITH HITLER.

CHURCHILL TOLD HIM THE BRITISH HAD RECEIVED

INTELLIGENCE REPORTS OF GERMAN TROOP MOVEMENTS

WHICH COULD ONLY BE PREPARATIONS FOR A NAZI ATTACK ON RUSSIA.

STALIN WAS INSTANTLY SUSPICIOUS--

NOT OF HITLER BUT OF CHURCHILL.

HE TOLD HIS ARMY CHIEFS:

Actor as Stalin: BRITAIN IS THREATENING US WITH THE GERMANS

AND THREATENING THE GERMANS WITH THE SOVIET UNION.

THEY'RE PLAYING US OFF AGAINST EACH OTHER.

Narrator: THEN ON MAY 10, 1941,

IN ONE OF THE WAR'S STRANGEST MOMENTS,

HITLER'S DEPUTY RUDOLF HESS TOOK OFF FROM GERMANY

IN A MESSERSCHMITT FIGHTER, FLEW ACROSS THE NORTH SEA,

AND PARACHUTED TO THE GROUND IN SCOTLAND.

AT THAT TIME, STALIN'S ASSISTANT,

PRESENT AT HIS KEY MEETINGS, WAS YURI CHEDYEV

WHO NOTED DOWN AND LATER TYPED UP EVERYTHING STALIN SAID.

FROM CHEDYEV'S SECRET, UNPUBLISHED RECORDS,

IT IS POSSIBLE TO PIECE TOGETHER HOW CHURCHILL'S MESSAGE

AND HESS'S FLIGHT BEGAN TO LEAD STALIN TOWARDS

A CONSPIRACY THEORY WHICH WOULD HAVE

IMMENSELY DESTRUCTIVE CONSEQUENCES FOR HIS COUNTRY.

3 DAYS AFTER HESS LANDED,

CHEDYEV RECORDED THE INTERPRETATION STALIN GAVE

OF THESE TWO EVENTS.

Actor as Stalin: ON THE ONE HAND, CHURCHILL SENDS US

A PERSONAL MESSAGE IN WHICH HE WARNS US ABOUT HITLER'S

AGGRESSIVE INTENTIONS.

AND ON THE OTHER HAND, THE BRITISH MEET HESS

WHO IS UNDOUBTEDLY HITLER'S CONFIDANTE.

WHAT IS THE CONCLUSION THEN?

APPARENTLY WHEN CHURCHILL SENT US HIS PERSONAL WARNING,

HE BELIEVED THAT WE WOULD ACTIVATE OUR MILITARY MACHINE.

THEN HITLER WOULD HAVE DIRECT AND FAIR REASON TO LAUNCH

A PREVENTIVE CRUSADE AGAINST THE SOVIET UNION.

Narrator: IN STALIN'S EYES, CHURCHILL'S WARNING WAS

DELIBERATELY DESIGNED TO PROVOKE

A WAR BETWEEN GERMANY AND RUSSIA.

AND CHURCHILL WAS MEETING HESS TO TELL GERMANY

IT SHOULD STRIKE FIRST.

AS HE BROODED ON THIS IDEA,

STALIN CONCLUDED THAT CHURCHILL WAS NOT THE ONLY PROVOCATEUR.

ON JUNE 5, HE TOLD HIS MILITARY CHIEFS:

Actor as Stalin: ENGLAND, FRANCE, AND AMERICA

SEE IN GERMANY THE ONLY HOPE TO GET RID OF BOLSHEVISM

AND, THEREFORE, HELP THE NAZIS IN ALL POSSIBLE WAYS

IN THEIR CRUSADE TO THE EAST.

Narrator: THIS DEDUCTION--

THAT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONS OF EUROPE AND AMERICA

WERE GANGING UP ON HIM

BECAME A BLINDING ARTICLE OF FAITH.

THROUGHOUT MAY AND JUNE, INTELLIGENCE REPORTS GAVE

WARNING AFTER WARNING OF IMMINENT GERMAN ATTACK.

STALIN DISMISSED EVERY ONE OF THEM

AS PART OF THE GREAT CONSPIRACY TO PROVOKE HIM.

ON JUNE 12, HE TOLD HIS GENERALS:

Actor as Stalin: I AM CERTAIN THAT HITLER WILL NOT RISK

CREATING A SECOND FRONT BY ATTACKING THE SOVIET UNION.

HITLER IS NOT SUCH AN IDIOT.

Narrator: MILLIONS OF GERMAN TROOPS GATHERED

WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE OF RUSSIA'S BORDERS.

OPERATION BARBAROSSA, AS IT WAS NOW CALLED,

WAS SCHEDULED FOR 10 DAYS' TIME--JUNE 22.

THE DUEL BETWEEN HITLER AND STALIN

WAS REACHING ITS END GAME.

Narrator: AS OPERATION BARBAROSSA DREW NEAR,

HITLER CONVINCED HIMSELF HE WAS FULFILLING HIS DESTINY.

ON JUNE 16, 1941, WITH 6 DAYS TO GO,

HE TOLD GOEBBELS:

Actor as Hitler: THAT WHICH WE HAVE SPENT OUR LIVES FIGHTING

WE WILL NOW ANNIHILATE.

WHETHER RIGHT OR WRONG, WE MUST WIN.

AND WHEN WE HAVE WON, WHO WILL ASK ABOUT THE METHOD?

Narrator: THAT DAY A SOVIET SPY IN THE LUFTWAFFE SENT

YET ANOTHER WARNING OF IMMINENT GERMAN ATTACK.

STALIN RETORTED:

Actor as Stalin: TELL THE SOURCE IN THE STAFF

OF THE GERMAN AIR FORCE TO F... HIS MOTHER.

Narrator: ON JUNE 18, STALIN'S TWO TOP GENERALS,

ZHUKOV AND TIMOSHENKO,

PLEADED WITH HIM FOR A FULL ALERT.

STALIN REMINDED THEM THAT HITLER COULD NOT ATTACK

WITHOUT FIRST DOING A DEAL WITH BRITAIN.

Actor as Stalin: YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THAT GERMANY WILL NEVER

FIGHT RUSSIA ON THEIR OWN.

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND THIS.

Narrator: ON JUNE 20-- TWO DAYS TO GO--

HITLER CHOSE HIS FANFARE FOR VICTORY:

A PASSAGE FROM LISZT'S SYMPHONIC POEM "LE PRELUDE."

THOUGH STALIN STILL REFUSED TO SEE IT COMING,

IT WAS NOW APPARENT TO HIS CLOSEST ASSOCIATES

THAT THE NAZIS WERE ON THEIR WAY.

ON JUNE 21, ONE OF THEM, GEORGI DIMITROV,

WAS IN MOSCOW.

Actor as Dimitrov: RUMORS OF AN IMPENDING ATTACK ARE

MULTIPLYING ON ALL SIDES.

HAVE TO BE ON GUARD.

CALLED MOLOTOV THIS MORNING.

MOLOTOV SAYS THE SITUATION IS UNCLEAR.

THERE IS A MAJOR GAME UNDERWAY.

Narrator: ON JUNE 22, THE SAME DAY NAPOLEON HAD

ONCE INVADED RUSSIA, HITLER FOLLOWED IN HIS FOOTSTEPS.

Actor as Goebbels: AT 3:30 A.M. THE ATTACK BEGINS.

THE GREATEST DEPLOYMENT IN WORLD HISTORY.

THE FUHRER IS AS IF RELEASED FROM A BAD DREAM.

THE NEARER WE GET TO THE DECISIVE MOMENT,

ALL HIS TIREDNESS SEEMS TO DISAPPEAR.

I'M GIVEN A DEEP INSIGHT INTO HIS THOUGHTS.

"WE HAVE NO OPTION BUT TO ATTACK.

"THIS CANCEROUS ABSCESS MUST BE CAUTERIZED.

STALIN WILL FALL."

Actor as Dimitrov: AT 7 A.M., I WAS URGENTLY SUMMONED

TO THE KREMLIN.

GERMANY HAS ATTACKED THE USSR.

THE WAR HAS BEGUN.

STALIN TO ME:

"THEY ATTACKED US WITHOUT DECLARING ANY GRIEVANCES,

"WITHOUT DEMANDING ANY NEGOTIATIONS.

THEY ATTACKED US VICIOUSLY, LIKE GANGSTERS."

Narrator: STALIN'S GREAT CONSPIRACY THEORY

THAT THE DEMOCRACIES WERE PLOTTING TO PROVOKE HIM

WAS SHATTERED.

HIS MISREADING OF HITLER,

THE MAN HE'D VIEWED AS A RATIONAL STRATEGIST,

WAS TOTAL.

HITLER HAD COMPLETED AN EXTRAORDINARY MENTAL JOURNEY.

A YEAR BEFORE, HE HAD SEEN THE INVASION AS A TACTIC

TO MAKE BRITAIN TREMBLE.

NOW THE IDEOLOGY WITH WHICH HE HAD SET OUT 20 YEARS BEFORE

HAD ONCE AGAIN TAKEN PRIDE OF PLACE.

HE WROTE TO HIS ITALIAN ALLY BENITO MUSSOLINI:

Actor as Hitler: LET ME SAY ONE MORE THING, DUCE,

SINCE I STRUGGLED THROUGH TO THIS DECISION

I AGAIN FEEL SPIRITUALLY FREE.

THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SOVIET UNION

WAS OFTEN VERY IRKSOME TO ME FOR, IN SOME WAY OR OTHER,

IT SEEMED TO ME TO BE A BREAK WITH MY WHOLE ORIGIN,

MY CONCEPTS, AND MY FORMER OBLIGATIONS.

I AM HAPPY NOW TO BE RELIEVED OF THESE MENTAL AGONIES.

Narrator: WHILE OPERATION BARBAROSSA CLEANSED HITLER,

IT ONLY SHOCKED AND DEPRESSED STALIN.

HIS FURY WAS DIRECTED EQUALLY AT HITLER

AND AT HIS OWN GENERALS

WHOSE POSITIONING OF THEIR FORCES,

INSISTED UPON BY STALIN HIMSELF, HAD ALLOWED THE GERMANS

TO SMASH THROUGH RUSSIAN DEFENSES.

Actor as Stalin: THIS IS A MONSTROUS CRIME.

THOSE RESPONSIBLE MUST LOSE THEIR HEADS.

Narrator: N.K.V.D. UNITS WERE SENT TO THE FRONT

TO ARREST THE GUILTY MEN.

THE COMMANDER, GENERAL PAVLOV, WAS SHOT.

5 DAYS LATER, STALIN REMARKED:

Actor as Stalin: LENIN FOUNDED OUR STATE AND WE'VE F... IT UP.

Narrator: THE RED ARMY, TAKEN BY SURPRISE

BECAUSE STALIN HAD REFUSED TO ALLOW IT TO PREPARE,

WAS IN HEADLONG RETREAT.

TWO WEEKS AFTER THE INVASION,

GENERAL HALDER NOTED IN HIS DIARY:

Actor as Halder: 3 OF JULY, 1941.

IT IS PROBABLY NO OVERSTATEMENT TO SAY THAT THE RUSSIAN CAMPAIGN

HAS BEEN WON IN THE SPACE OF TWO WEEKS.

Narrator: MILITARILY, BARBAROSSA TURNED THE WAR ON ITS HEAD.

AND HIS EXPERIENCE WITH HITLER ALSO HAD

A VITAL PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECT ON STALIN.

HE LATER REMARKED:

Actor as Stalin: WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO MAKE A DECISION,

NEVER PUT YOURSELF INTO THE MIND OF THE OTHER PERSON.

BECAUSE IF YOU DO, YOU CAN MAKE A TERRIBLE MISTAKE.

Narrator: STALIN HAD LOST THE MIND GAME.

HITLER HAD OUTWITTED HIM.

BUT HITLER WOULD BE THE EVENTUAL LOSER.

HIS DECISION TO ATTACK RUSSIA SIGNED THE DEATH WARRANT

OF HIS OWN DREAMS OF EMPIRE

AND OF EUROPEAN IMPERIALISM IN GENERAL.

AND IT WOULD CREATE AN UNLIKELY COALITION

OF 3 IDEOLOGICALLY OPPOSED WARLORDS TO FIGHT HIM.

BUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO GREAT DEMOCRATS

IN THAT COALITION BEGAN WITH ANOTHER MENTAL DUEL

WHICH RAN IN PARALLEL WITH THE DUEL OF THE DICTATORS.

IT, TOO, WAS RIDDLED WITH MUTUAL SUSPICIONS,

FALSE PROMISES, AND EVASION.

IT, TOO, WOULD SHAPE THE DESTINY OF THE WORLD.