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September, 1945.
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Germany and Japan
have surrendered unconditionally.
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The destruction and death
of the Second World War is over.
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There is jubilation
around the world.
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The United States
and the Soviet Union
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emerged from the conflict
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as the globe's
two dominant superpowers.
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They fought side by side
when they shared a common enemy.
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But now
that that enemy has been defeated,
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an American-Soviet rivalry
appears unavoidable.
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All wars changed the world,
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but none of them
changed the world
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like the Second World War did.
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Japan's on the march.
Germany's on the march.
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No-one can imagine
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the nightmare
they're about to unleash.
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The most destructive war
in history.
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Suddenly the world
is turned upside down
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and all hell is let loose.
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The West is stunned
by the speed of the advance.
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You get the Allies,
led by the Big Three:
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Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin.
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Men who are dealing with
immensely complicated questions.
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It's
the biggest military operation
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of human history.
- The Allies have to come together,
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not just militarily,
but industrial-scale.
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It's a global perspective.
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They have to fight
in every climate,
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from the Arctic
to the jungles of the Pacific,
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to the deserts of Africa.
and the depths of the ocean.
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But there was
no certainty of victory.
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It was going to be
a horrific bloodbath.
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We see humans
at their absolute worst,
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how they treat other human beings.
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And we see them
at their absolute best,
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willing to give their lives
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that others might live.
- World War II was a struggle
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in which there could be one victor
and one vanquished.
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It's official.
It's all over. It's total victory.
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The day of days
for America and her allies.
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Peace, it's wonderful.
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The war is over.
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The entire world
begins to breathe and live again.
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The Allies won this war
in the cause of freedom
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and the ideals of anti-fascism,
the ideals of democracy.
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One of the great legacies
of the Second World War
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is that a disputatious, complicated,
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often wrong nation
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like the United States
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can, in extremis,
marshal significant force
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to do the right thing.
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It took us a long time.
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As Churchill
is alleged to have said,
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"You can always
count on the Americans
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to do the right thing once we've
exhausted every other possibility."
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We spent blood and treasure
to defeat fascism.
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The United States
had fulfilled Roosevelt's ambitions
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to be the arsenal of democracy
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to orders of magnitude
no-one could have predicted.
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In New York, hundreds
of thousands lined the docks
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to greet America's ships
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and welcome home
their sons and daughters.
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President Harry Truman is honoured
with a ticker tape parade
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through the city's Canyon of Heroes.
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Speaking in Central Park,
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the President addresses the nation.
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The world cannot afford
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to let the co-operative spirit
of the Allies in this war
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disintegrate. The world
simply cannot allow this to happen.
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In Red Square,
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thousands celebrate and honour
Generalissimo Joseph Stalin.
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{\an8}He's dressed
in a white Marshal's summer uniform
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{\an8}with shoulder boards,
like a Russian Romanov emperor.
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Stalin
emerges from the Second World War
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with astonishing,
almost religious prestige
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in the Soviet Union.
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Stalin and the United States
have made an alliance
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that ultimately brings Hitler
and then Japan to its knees.
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The spirit of co-operation
is so high
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that Dwight Eisenhower,
the Supreme Allied Commander
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in Europe,
probably one of the future
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staunchest anti-communists
in American history,
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stands right next to Stalin.
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The bloodshed and horror
of the Second World War
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is unprecedented in human history.
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Nearly 70 million people are killed,
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the majority civilians.
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An estimated 27 million Soviets.
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20 million Chinese.
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10 million Germans and Japanese.
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One million British and Americans.
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And six million Jews.
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Europe is destroyed.
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The Brits are bankrupt.
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The Americans and the Soviets,
they're demobilising.
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What's really clear
coming out of World War II
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is that the U.S. has an incredibly
important role to play in the world.
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She hasn't been
physically touched by the war
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other than Pearl Harbor.
America is the superpower.
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There's every expectation that
some kind of peaceful coexistence
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will emerge.
When the Americans talk about
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the way they want
the international system to be,
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they talk about the United Nations.
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The United Nations, in many ways,
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is Franklin Roosevelt's dream
come true.
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During the war, it's Roosevelt
who says we must have
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this international body.
It's a very hopeful group.
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Lots of ideals, the UN Charter,
all of this comes into being
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in 1945.
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Leaders of the United Nations,
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representing all but a fraction
of the Earth's population,
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lay the post-war foundations
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of international security.
- Out of the fires of war,
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they wanted for there to be
an organisation
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where we don't have 1939 again.
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The United Nations
combines two ideas:
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the first is the General Assembly,
where equal states can meet
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and confer and make resolutions.
There is also
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the wartime military alliance
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between the Soviets,
the British, France,
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and the United States,
as well as China.
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And that's the Security Council
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that will be the cornerstone
to ensuring peace.
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Because it's not just
winning the battle of the day,
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it's trying to prevent the next one.
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One of the first challenges
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is to determine how Germany
will fit into the post-war world.
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We can't today perhaps understand
just how threatening
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and powerful Germany seemed
to the Allied leadership in 1945.
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They had just fought two world wars,
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the greatest enemy of which
was Germany.
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Ultimately, they realised
that control of Germany
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will play a huge role
in determining Europe's future.
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The American view
is just like the Soviet one
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at the beginning, in the sense that
we've got to divide Germany.
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We've got to make sure
that it can never rise up again.
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That's the first urgent thing.
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The Allies split Germany
into four occupation zones.
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The British, Americans, and French
will govern western Germany.
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The Soviets will govern the east.
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Berlin, deep within the Soviet zone,
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is divided between all four nations.
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The wartime Allies
have very different plans
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for the new Germany.
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What Stalin is doing
is taking as much of the wealth,
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as much of the factories,
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as much of the productive capacity
and stockpiles
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from occupied Germany
back to the Soviet Union.
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Stalin would say
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he was only taking
what the Germans owed him
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for the horrible suffering
during the war.
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Conversely, the western Allies
want Germany rehabilitated.
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The Western idea
is not to devastate Germany
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economically through reparations,
but bring them into global markets,
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connect Germany to the world,
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and through that
you'll get German people
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who are incentivised to do things
that are constructive.
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So it's gonna need industrialists,
middle managers,
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local governance.
Many of these people
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would have been members
of the Nazi party.
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The crimes
of the Nazi Third Reich
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are so horrific
that the wartime Allies determine
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there must be an attempt
to achieve justice.
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Nuremberg is highly symbolic
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as the spiritual heart
of Nazi Germany
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and as the place
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where hopefully the demons
of Nazism can be purged.
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Everyone in court
stands up as the tribunal enters.
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Four judges and alternate members:
French, American,
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British, and Russian.
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The defendants
are to plead guilty or not guilty
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to the charges against them.
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Rudolf Hess.
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22 Nazi leaders
are put on trial.
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The next defendant called
was Ribbentrop.
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Robert Jackson, chief prosecutor
of the Nuremberg tribunals,
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announces that history will judge
the fairness of the trial
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not by the convictions
and the executions it obtains,
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but by the acquittals.
But the Soviets are expecting these
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to be old-fashioned show trials.
Wilhelm Keitel.
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Stalin had seen
how effective show trials could be
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in his own consolidation of power
in the 1930s...
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...and was happy
to give the Germans a trial...
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Hermann Wilhelm Goering.
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...and then hang them.
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12 of the defendants
receive the death sentence.
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Hermann Goeing
avoids the gallows
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by committing suicide.
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Seven are given
lengthy prison terms.
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Although the Soviets object,
three are acquitted.
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From '45 onwards,
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you just have
this constant growing tension
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between the United States
and Britain on one hand
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and the Soviet Union on the other.
Stalin has to play a careful game.
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He wants to keep what he has.
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But he doesn't want to directly
antagonise the United States,
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because the United States
is still much more powerful
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economically. It has complete
air and sea control.
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And it has the atom bomb.
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World War II
devastated the Soviet Union.
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Joseph Stalin
must rebuild his country,
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ensure its security,
and consolidate his power.
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But some of Stalin's
ambitions will conflict
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with the post-war plans
of his Western allies.
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Stalin saw the wartime alliance
as a way to defeat Nazi Germany,
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{\an8}but never something
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that would
permanently reshape the globe
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or that would make capitalism
and communism friends.
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Stalin is an ideologue.
That can never be forgotten.
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He believes that communism
and capitalism are incompatible,
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that they will at some point
wage a great fight
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for the future, and he believes
communism will win.
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Stalin
is in an extraordinary position.
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There's a moment when he reviews
what they've conquered
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in World War II, looks at
the map of Europe and Russia
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and says "We really haven't done
badly." An understatement.
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The Red Army is in Berlin
and most countries to the east:
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Poland, the Baltics,
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria.
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The Soviet wave
broke right around Berlin
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and they just never receded.
- Stalin has done better
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than any of the greatest
Czars in Russian history:
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Peter the Great,
Catherine the Great. He's created
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the biggest ever Russian empire.
Stalin intends
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to create a buffer against the West,
militarily and ideologically.
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He would say, we have now had
two world wars
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where first imperial Russia,
then the Soviet Union
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were invaded through Eastern
and Central Europe. I will make sure
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that they are never a threat
to us gain.
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For Stalin, the key thing
for Eastern and Central Europe
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is that it must be loyal
to the Soviets. It's non-negotiable,
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and the recipe for doing that
is communism.
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He starts to create
a new economic centralised system
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in Central and Eastern Europe:
controlled governments,
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armies, secret police,
factories, agricultural systems,
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with all of the decisions
effectively
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for those countries' economies
being made in Moscow.
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The Europe that the United States
wants to build
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does not look very much
like the Europe the Soviets want.
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The United States
has an enormous advantage
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over the Soviet Union:
the atomic bomb.
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The Soviets construct
numerous sites across the USSR
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in order to accomplish
task number one.
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Task number one
is to create a nuclear weapon
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at breakneck speed.
No resources are too much.
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The nuclear programme's
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what the USSR was almost designed
to do. It's a big country
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with lots of natural resources.
It can marshal and mobilise
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for the nuclear project.
It's not completely
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unlike the Manhattan Project,
which was also top-down,
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secretive and resource-heavy.
The Soviet Union
251
00:15:25,160 --> 00:15:27,680
puts the full weight
of its coercive power
252
00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:30,200
behind this project.
Stalin puts
253
00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:33,000
one of his most ruthless lieutenants
in charge,
254
00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:35,240
the chief of his secret police.
255
00:15:35,400 --> 00:15:39,880
Lavrentiy Beria is a man
of brutal ruthlessness and sadism,
256
00:15:40,040 --> 00:15:42,960
one of the great monsters
of the Soviet story.
257
00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,520
He rapes women,
he tortures victims himself.
258
00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:50,240
But he's also
as efficient as a Swiss clock,
259
00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:54,280
and he uses everything.
He happily turns off power
260
00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,880
in several cities
just to power a project.
261
00:15:57,040 --> 00:16:00,080
He gives scientists villas,
dachas, cars,
262
00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:03,640
shooting rifles, holidays.
But at the same time,
263
00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:06,280
he threatens to kill them
and their whole families
264
00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,560
if they ever deceive him.
And he drives on the project.
265
00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:11,640
It's not gonna be quick
for Stalin.
266
00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:14,000
There's no way
that he can flip a switch
267
00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:16,200
and acquire nuclear weapons.
But the USSR
268
00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:20,080
can't sit on its laurels in 1946.
It has to be ready for new conflict.
269
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:28,120
After the turmoil
of the Second World War,
270
00:16:28,280 --> 00:16:30,840
the people of Great Britain
and the United States
271
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,600
hope to return
to a normal, prosperous life...
272
00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:37,280
...with peaceful coexistence
among nations...
273
00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:40,360
...including with the Soviet Union.
274
00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,120
For the past five years,
275
00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,760
Stalin had been your friend.
He had been Uncle Joe.
276
00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:47,720
But once again,
277
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:50,560
a familiar voice sounds a warning.
278
00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,800
Winston Churchill's
in a pretty bad mood.
279
00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:55,440
{\an8}He was thrown out by the public
280
00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:57,960
in a dramatic election defeat
in 1945.
281
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,520
His wife said
it might be a blessing in disguise.
282
00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,880
He said, "Pretty good disguise."
He feels he won the war,
283
00:17:04,040 --> 00:17:07,320
he saved Britain. And here he is
on the speaking circuit.
284
00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,600
Winston Churchill
receives an invitation
285
00:17:16,760 --> 00:17:18,560
to give a speech
at a small college
286
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:20,960
in President Truman's home state.
287
00:17:21,120 --> 00:17:23,520
This is an opportunity
for Churchill
288
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:27,680
to say things he's got in his mind,
also an opportunity to spend time
289
00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,320
with the President
of the United States of America.
290
00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,960
He'll stand on that stage and tell
American people some home truths.
291
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:44,640
From Stettin in the Baltic
to Trieste in the Adriatic,
292
00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:49,000
an iron curtain has descended
across the continent.
293
00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:51,160
{\an8}The famous Iron Curtain speech,
294
00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:56,240
where he very clearly lays out
what is happening in Europe,
295
00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:58,440
{\an8}one side free, the other side not.
296
00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:00,520
Behind that line,
297
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,120
all are subject to
a very high and in some cases
298
00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:08,080
increasing measure of control
from Moscow.
299
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:10,760
Churchill sees Soviet communism,
300
00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:14,440
Stalinism, as a greater threat,
really, as Nazism was
301
00:18:14,600 --> 00:18:16,800
a generation before.
- This is certainly not
302
00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:20,280
the liberated Europe
we fought to build up.
303
00:18:20,440 --> 00:18:22,640
It's dynamite.
304
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:27,280
Because what Churchill is doing
is reframing the wartime alliance.
305
00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:31,040
He's casting the Soviet empire
as a malign force in the world.
306
00:18:32,120 --> 00:18:34,600
Truman, by the way,
is absolutely
307
00:18:34,760 --> 00:18:37,560
on board with this speech.
But to Stalin,
308
00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:40,600
this is just proof that Churchill
is a warmonger.
309
00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:43,840
The alliance
that defeated Nazi fascism
310
00:18:44,000 --> 00:18:46,120
is beginning to fray.
311
00:19:02,520 --> 00:19:04,320
In late 1946,
312
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,520
the French
vote to elect a new government.
313
00:19:07,800 --> 00:19:10,640
The Communist Party does well,
314
00:19:10,800 --> 00:19:14,160
winning a plurality of seats
in the French legislature.
315
00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:17,440
With the politics of Europe
in a state of extraordinary upheaval
316
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:20,080
because of
the catastrophe of the war,
317
00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,520
you do have a high degree of concern
in Washington
318
00:19:22,680 --> 00:19:24,720
about Western Europe
turning to communism.
319
00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:27,040
There's a lot of unrest.
320
00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,880
There are strikes
starting to take place in France.
321
00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:32,520
{\an8}There's a huge
pro-communist movement in Italy.
322
00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,760
And Stalin thinks maybe he'll win
some of these countries
323
00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:37,600
without having to send an army in.
324
00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:42,080
To the south,
325
00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,080
Stalin attempts to pressure Turkey
326
00:19:44,240 --> 00:19:46,680
into giving him control
of the Turkish Straits,
327
00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:49,240
which would allow access
to the Mediterranean
328
00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:50,520
and the Middle East.
329
00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:54,520
And in Greece, communist guerrillas
and government forces
330
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,680
are fighting an ongoing civil war.
331
00:19:59,000 --> 00:20:01,520
{\an8}These countries have never
been viewed as essential
332
00:20:01,680 --> 00:20:04,240
{\an8}to American security.
The United States does not have
333
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:08,080
{\an8}a history of backing
the governments of Turkey or Greece.
334
00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:11,520
The British
have been funding the Greek army
335
00:20:11,680 --> 00:20:13,360
and sending weapons to Turkey.
336
00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,920
But early in 1947
in the White House,
337
00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,720
this document arrives, a shocker.
It's from the British government,
338
00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:29,120
and it says, for a long time,
we've been supporting Greece
339
00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,680
and Turkey, but we are broke.
340
00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:35,440
This is a really important moment,
341
00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,360
the winding down
of the British Empire.
342
00:20:38,520 --> 00:20:40,960
By early 1947, they do not wish
to be a great force
343
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:43,960
in the east Mediterranean,
which they had been for a long time.
344
00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,360
It becomes clear to Truman
and the American State Department
345
00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:51,760
that this issue in Greece and Turkey
is a threat to national security.
346
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:53,520
They believe that if Greece
347
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,840
and Turkey become Stalinised,
these are dominoes,
348
00:20:57,000 --> 00:20:59,840
and the rest of Western Europe
could possibly fall.
349
00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:02,200
And the British
say to the Americans,
350
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:07,080
if you wanna make sure
these places remain pro-Western,
351
00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:10,280
you as the United States
will have to use military force.
352
00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:13,320
Now, that is a real
put up or shut up moment for Truman.
353
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:19,880
Truman is a very practical,
plainspoken, linear thinker.
354
00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:23,040
He doesn't come into office
with some big vision
355
00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:26,440
of what the world should be.
He picks up the mantle of FDR
356
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,640
and tries to build
a post-war order
357
00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:33,760
according to what he thought
FDR would have done. But really,
358
00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,120
from the moment of meeting Stalin
at Potsdam,
359
00:21:36,280 --> 00:21:39,480
he starts
to formulate his own views.
360
00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:42,760
And now Truman recognises
that this is a turning point.
361
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:47,320
In this post-war world, what happens
on another side of the globe
362
00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:48,680
can be critical
363
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,880
to America's national security.
After deliberating
364
00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:54,600
with his diplomatic
and military advisors,
365
00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:58,080
President Truman addresses
a joint session of Congress.
366
00:21:58,240 --> 00:22:03,560
I believe that it must be
the policy of the United States
367
00:22:03,720 --> 00:22:07,840
to support free peoples who are
resisting attempted subjugation
368
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:12,200
by armed minorities
or by outside pressure.
369
00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:15,560
We must assist free peoples
to work out their own destinies
370
00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:16,720
in their own way.
371
00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:21,800
The United States
is shifting away from isolationism.
372
00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:25,240
The Truman Doctrine
is now U.S. policy.
373
00:22:27,320 --> 00:22:29,880
The Truman Doctrine
is the culmination,
374
00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,080
going all the way back
to Woodrow Wilson,
375
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:34,800
of setting out American ideals,
American principles,
376
00:22:34,960 --> 00:22:37,440
but this time backing them
with more power, more force,
377
00:22:37,600 --> 00:22:40,160
because Truman's vision
is that the U.S. will support
378
00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:42,840
any country
resisting communist aggression.
379
00:22:43,000 --> 00:22:45,480
Any country.
- It is difficult to overstate
380
00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:49,080
what a dramatic departure
the Truman Doctrine is for the U.S.
381
00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:53,720
In 1941, the United States
had to be dragged into war.
382
00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:57,560
But what Truman is saying is now,
we're ready to take the fight
383
00:22:57,720 --> 00:22:59,280
{\an8}wherever democracy requires us.
384
00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:03,720
We must take
immediate and resolute action.
385
00:23:03,880 --> 00:23:08,120
Truman asks Congress,
and he receives $400 million
386
00:23:08,280 --> 00:23:11,320
of military aid
for Greece and Turkey.
387
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:12,760
It's only the beginning.
388
00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:21,720
This is a radical shift, not only
in the way that America had thought
389
00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:25,040
about its place in the world,
but in where Truman's own line was.
390
00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:29,120
It's actually putting American power
behind a global ideological contest
391
00:23:29,280 --> 00:23:31,680
with the Soviet Union.
392
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,360
As the American-Soviet
alliance fades,
393
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,000
a contest between superpowers
emerges.
394
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,840
Europe is in the grip of one of
the coldest winters in memory.
395
00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:56,760
People have little to eat,
and struggle to stay warm.
396
00:23:56,920 --> 00:23:58,000
They begin to despair
397
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:01,040
at the slow pace
of post-war recovery.
398
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,080
Western governments
have not been able
399
00:24:05,240 --> 00:24:09,000
to rebuild their economies.
Agriculture has been destroyed.
400
00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:11,960
Transportation and manufacturing
have been destroyed.
401
00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:14,560
And there's
an enormous refugee crisis
402
00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,560
that is ongoing.
403
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,600
During the war, there was
the deliberate forced movement
404
00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,040
of populations. So there are
millions and millions of refugees
405
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,440
on the roads, in camps, in towns,
cities and villages not their own.
406
00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:33,560
Truman and his advisors
407
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:35,880
fear that Europe
is on the verge of collapse.
408
00:24:36,040 --> 00:24:39,480
General George Marshall,
one of the chief architects
409
00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:42,440
of American victory
in World War II,
410
00:24:42,600 --> 00:24:45,800
believes the whole world
hangs in the balance.
411
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,440
What Truman and George Marshall,
his Secretary of State, realise
412
00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:51,960
is you need to
rebuild the European economy.
413
00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:55,120
It has to be not just
the militarised Truman Doctrine,
414
00:24:55,280 --> 00:24:57,360
but there needs to be
a way of getting money
415
00:24:57,520 --> 00:25:00,400
to support Western European
or capitalist states.
416
00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:05,640
The Marshall Plan
is a $13.3 billion, essentially,
417
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:08,440
handout to foreign governments
to help these countries
418
00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:12,560
rebuild themselves, westernise,
and stabilise politically.
419
00:25:12,720 --> 00:25:15,000
And it would be
keeping people alive
420
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:17,760
in places where starvation
was an actual real thing.
421
00:25:17,920 --> 00:25:22,120
So it's done for altruistic
reasons, but also geopolitical ones.
422
00:25:22,280 --> 00:25:24,680
President Truman
and George Marshall
423
00:25:24,840 --> 00:25:28,440
believe that the best guarantee
against communism
424
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,520
are well-fed bellies,
good schools, orderly societies,
425
00:25:32,680 --> 00:25:35,800
the kind of things that can only
happen in a prosperous economy.
426
00:25:41,120 --> 00:25:44,440
Stalin recognises how Marshall's plan
427
00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:46,400
threatens his objectives.
428
00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:48,160
To him, it's another trick.
429
00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:51,240
It's another American way
to try to undermine the Soviet Union
430
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:53,240
and pull Europe
into the American orbit.
431
00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,640
It's presented
as Stalin's typical paranoia.
432
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:00,800
Actually, he's got every reason
to distrust the West.
433
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,920
He was right.
- Today, our aid
434
00:26:04,080 --> 00:26:05,720
to the free nations of Europe
435
00:26:05,880 --> 00:26:08,640
is helping them
to resist dictatorship.
436
00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,720
Stalin understands
that Western goods
437
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:14,400
with Western money
would lead to Western values
438
00:26:14,560 --> 00:26:16,840
of liberal democracy,
of open society,
439
00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:21,280
and also would spread
the attractions of capitalism.
440
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:25,240
And it would
undermine Stalin's own rule.
441
00:26:25,400 --> 00:26:27,520
For him, the Marshall Plan
must be stomped out.
442
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,600
Stalin directs the countries
under his command
443
00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:33,600
to reject the American offer.
444
00:26:33,760 --> 00:26:36,960
Very clearly,
Stalin has drawn a line
445
00:26:37,120 --> 00:26:41,240
and said, this is my turf,
this is your turf, and that's that.
446
00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:45,080
Stalin expects
to maintain complete control
447
00:26:45,240 --> 00:26:47,760
of the East European countries
liberated from Germany
448
00:26:47,920 --> 00:26:52,280
by the Red Army.
But one nation will test him.
449
00:26:56,120 --> 00:27:00,000
Czechoslovakia is deeply connected
to the Western European economy.
450
00:27:00,160 --> 00:27:03,120
The Czechs have advanced industry.
They could become wealthy
451
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,720
with access to Western capital
via the Marshall Plan.
452
00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:09,280
The democratically elected
government in Prague
453
00:27:09,440 --> 00:27:11,640
is led by President Edvard Benes.
454
00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:16,160
Several of its ministers are members
of the Czech Communist Party.
455
00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:24,120
Stalin pressures Benes
to reject American aid
456
00:27:24,280 --> 00:27:27,040
and compels the Czech communists
to seize control.
457
00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:30,040
Over the next few months,
458
00:27:30,200 --> 00:27:33,720
local communists stir up unrest
throughout the country.
459
00:27:33,880 --> 00:27:36,440
The citizens of Czechoslovakia
haven't gotten the memo
460
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:38,800
that they're the subordinates
of Soviet power.
461
00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,800
In 1948,
there is a communist-led coup
462
00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:48,360
in Prague
that topples the Benes government
463
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,480
and places
another East European country
464
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:53,480
firmly in Moscow's orbit.
465
00:27:54,360 --> 00:27:58,080
Now, Stalin
decides to take fewer risks
466
00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,200
in Eastern Europe, no risks at all.
He doesn't believe
467
00:28:01,360 --> 00:28:04,680
that ultimately communism
will flower politically
468
00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:07,000
and economically,
and that working peoples
469
00:28:07,160 --> 00:28:09,800
around the world will embrace it
because it is the true,
470
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:13,520
scientific approach to civilisation.
He believes in power.
471
00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:22,640
Across Eastern Europe,
472
00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:26,920
he crushes any hint of liberalism,
free speech.
473
00:28:27,080 --> 00:28:29,560
He doubles down
on his Soviet system.
474
00:28:30,920 --> 00:28:33,920
He arrests
tens of thousands of people.
475
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:37,360
More people are sent to the Gulags
after the war
476
00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,240
than before the war in the 1930s
during the Great Terror.
477
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:51,520
Marshall Aid
is an essential component
478
00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:54,160
in the American post-war
recovery plan for Europe.
479
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:58,960
But its success widens
the increasing divide
480
00:28:59,120 --> 00:29:04,640
economically and politically
between East and West.
481
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:06,800
We are now in a bipolar world.
482
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:20,920
It's a world of rivalry
like the world had never seen.
483
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,840
The Soviet Union has proved
again and again
484
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:25,520
that it cannot be trusted.
485
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:26,920
And it's a race.
486
00:29:27,080 --> 00:29:29,960
It's a competition for pre-eminence,
487
00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,280
and it's ultimately going to be
a competition for security.
488
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:35,920
And Berlin,
the former capital
489
00:29:36,080 --> 00:29:39,440
of the Third Reich,
is at the centre of the conflict.
490
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,200
In the summer of 1948,
491
00:29:51,360 --> 00:29:53,160
billions of Marshall Aid dollars
492
00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:55,400
flow into the countries
of Western Europe.
493
00:29:56,480 --> 00:29:58,880
Europe is slowly
but surely
494
00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,400
edging back
towards economic health.
495
00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:04,920
Careful planning for the use
of the $324 million allotted
496
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,480
has helped Western Germany
temporarily to its feet.
497
00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:09,680
Great Britain
and the United States
498
00:30:09,840 --> 00:30:14,480
merge their German occupation zones.
The French will soon join them.
499
00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,640
A common currency is introduced,
the Deutschmark.
500
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,040
Stalin understands
that the Western powers
501
00:30:21,200 --> 00:30:25,240
intend to establish a strong
and independent West Germany.
502
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:30,280
Since the end of the war,
Great Britain, France,
503
00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:32,680
the United States
and the Soviet Union
504
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,440
have occupied Berlin. It lies
505
00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:38,280
deep within
Soviet-dominated Eastern Germany.
506
00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:44,480
Now, imagine for someone
as paranoid as Stalin
507
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:47,640
having these Western militaries
going back and forth
508
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:51,520
between Berlin
and the Western occupation zones.
509
00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:54,320
This is a source of instability,
disruption, dangerous.
510
00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,920
Stalin wants
to sever direct contact
511
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:00,600
between Berlin
and the western half of Germany.
512
00:31:01,560 --> 00:31:03,480
He doesn't
want to invade West Berlin,
513
00:31:03,640 --> 00:31:06,400
because that's an act of war,
but what he believes he can do
514
00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:08,720
is he can blockade Berlin.
- At this time,
515
00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:11,120
{\an8}Berlin is still a pile of rubble.
516
00:31:11,280 --> 00:31:13,160
it has
very little tactical significance
517
00:31:13,320 --> 00:31:17,960
for the United States government.
- So it really made no sense
518
00:31:18,120 --> 00:31:19,520
{\an8}to keep West Berlin,
519
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:24,480
and Stalin believed that in the end
the West would blink and withdraw.
520
00:31:28,280 --> 00:31:31,600
On June 24th,
the Soviets cut all road,
521
00:31:31,760 --> 00:31:34,120
rail and water routes
linking West Berlin
522
00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:35,720
to Western Germany.
523
00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:38,840
Suddenly
the trains stopped.
524
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:42,360
Traffic between Berlin
and the Western zones was banned.
525
00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,960
The famous autobahns were deserted,
526
00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:49,440
and even canal traffic
was at a standstill.
527
00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,680
The blockade
even cut electric power
528
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:54,800
and put out 75% of the lights.
529
00:31:56,520 --> 00:32:00,400
Truman is a pragmatic person.
This could be a moment
530
00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:04,080
where he says,
it's not worth saving this city,
531
00:32:04,240 --> 00:32:06,440
because I don't know
what Stalin's gonna do.
532
00:32:06,600 --> 00:32:10,080
I don't know how dangerous
this is gonna be. Instead, he says,
533
00:32:10,240 --> 00:32:11,400
{\an8}we're not going anywhere.
534
00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:16,000
The U.S. and Britain realise
this is Stalin testing the wire.
535
00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:18,440
It'll be Berlin first,
then it'll be elsewhere.
536
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:22,280
And the Allies choose
to make it a red line.
537
00:32:22,440 --> 00:32:25,080
Keep in mind, it's 1948.
538
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,760
For Truman, it's an election year.
It's the first post-war election.
539
00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:30,480
The firs in the nuclear age.
540
00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:32,400
The first in the television age.
541
00:32:32,560 --> 00:32:34,680
He's aware that all eyes are on him.
542
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:38,680
The British and Americans ask,
what can we do short of war?
543
00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,840
And the answer is,
they can keep Berlin supplied.
544
00:32:42,000 --> 00:32:45,920
Not by road, not by rail,
not by canal, but by air.
545
00:32:50,920 --> 00:32:53,800
The British and the Americans
construct an air bridge
546
00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:57,120
into West Berlin.
- The plan is to deliver it
547
00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,920
on airplanes, everything
that a modern city needs to survive.
548
00:33:01,080 --> 00:33:05,480
Got food, got coal, you got fuel,
you've got medical supplies.
549
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:07,880
It's a superb example
of an operation
550
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,240
that's pulled together very quickly.
Huge numbers of aircraft,
551
00:33:11,400 --> 00:33:14,680
plans flying round the clock.
These British and American officers,
552
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:19,120
the same officers that organised
the war's triumphs of logistics.
553
00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:23,600
A continuous stream
of cargo planes
554
00:33:23,760 --> 00:33:26,040
land in West Berlin
every few minutes.
555
00:33:27,120 --> 00:33:28,960
But to reach the city,
556
00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:32,800
they must fly over hundreds of miles
of Soviet-controlled territory.
557
00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,400
They're choosing to defy Stalin.
558
00:33:38,160 --> 00:33:42,560
And if you fill the airspace
with military aircraft,
559
00:33:42,720 --> 00:33:44,160
even though they're unarmed,
560
00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,640
you have to assume
that Stalin might strike back.
561
00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:50,600
You have
all this military capacity.
562
00:33:50,760 --> 00:33:55,120
You have the paranoia and fear
in Washington and in Moscow.
563
00:33:55,280 --> 00:33:58,040
You have
this hall of mirrors quality.
564
00:33:58,200 --> 00:34:01,160
The two countries are involved
in a kind of escalatory spiral.
565
00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,320
Truman now deploys dozens of B-29s
566
00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:12,480
to air bases in England,
567
00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:15,880
the same plane
that dropped the atomic bombs
568
00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:17,520
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
569
00:34:18,600 --> 00:34:20,840
Nuclear weapons go
from being a secret weapon
570
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,600
to a public strategic weapon.
571
00:34:23,760 --> 00:34:27,600
The pressure on Truman
at this point is incalculable
572
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:30,800
He knows that this move
could be provocative enough
573
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:32,040
to start World War III.
574
00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:37,560
But the Americans are hoping
that this strong show of resolve
575
00:34:37,720 --> 00:34:39,400
will encourage Stalin to back off.
576
00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:44,360
They are gambling that Stalin
does not want World War III.
577
00:34:50,040 --> 00:34:52,960
After nearly a year
of daily international tension,
578
00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:56,480
Stalin halts the blockade.
579
00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:00,960
Here's a glimpse
of Berlin itself
580
00:35:01,120 --> 00:35:03,960
as the first trains and vehicles
got going at night.
581
00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,840
All routes
that connect Berlin to the West
582
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:09,440
are reopened.
583
00:35:13,280 --> 00:35:16,360
Restrictions within Berlin
between the Soviet zone
584
00:35:16,520 --> 00:35:18,960
and American, British,
and French zones
585
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:20,360
are lifted as well.
586
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:23,920
Stalin set up a challenge
for the West.
587
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,560
He was probing the West.
588
00:35:26,720 --> 00:35:29,240
He needed to know
how far he could go.
589
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:34,520
But in fact,
Truman rose to the challenge,
590
00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,320
and in the end,
it was Stalin who blinked.
591
00:35:44,080 --> 00:35:46,720
As relations
between the United States
592
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:49,760
and the Soviet Union
continue to deteriorate,
593
00:35:49,920 --> 00:35:53,480
Western governments plan
to provide collective security
594
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:55,600
against possible Soviet aggression.
595
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,000
When the United States
and the Soviet Union
596
00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:00,280
look like they can be
on the verge of war,
597
00:36:00,440 --> 00:36:01,800
{\an8}it became obvious
598
00:36:01,960 --> 00:36:04,800
that the United States
couldn't continue to ad hoc this,
599
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:06,600
{\an8}to lurch from crisis to crisis.
600
00:36:07,720 --> 00:36:11,360
The post-war path
that FDR anticipated
601
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:17,120
was one in which the United Nations
would help adjudicate disputes
602
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:19,120
{\an8}and rule the peace.
603
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,520
What he was not able
to fully anticipate
604
00:36:22,680 --> 00:36:26,800
was that a struggle
against his former ally,
605
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:29,960
the Soviet Union, would become
the defining force of the era.
606
00:36:34,760 --> 00:36:37,640
Representatives from Europe, Canada,
607
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:40,440
and the United States
meet in Washington to discuss
608
00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:43,280
the formation
of a new military alliance,
609
00:36:43,440 --> 00:36:46,800
the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, NATO.
610
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:48,840
The idea is to create
611
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,200
what military strategists
call deterrence.
612
00:36:51,360 --> 00:36:53,960
It's an alliance
that is created to make sure
613
00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:56,520
that the Russians know
that if they attack one state
614
00:36:56,680 --> 00:36:59,200
in the alliance,
they could theoretically face a war
615
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:01,240
{\an8}against all states in that alliance.
616
00:37:01,400 --> 00:37:03,480
NATO is created
to keep the Americans in,
617
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:06,440
the Russians out,
and the Germans down.
618
00:37:08,840 --> 00:37:11,840
What Harry Truman does
with the Marshall Plan,
619
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,960
with the Truman Doctrine, with NATO,
620
00:37:15,120 --> 00:37:19,680
is establish an infrastructure
of deterrence
621
00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:23,880
to try to contain
the communistic influence.
622
00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:26,760
If there is anything inevitable
in the future,
623
00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,680
it is the will
of the people of the world
624
00:37:29,840 --> 00:37:31,560
for freedom and for peace.
625
00:37:35,400 --> 00:37:38,120
But the world
is about to cross a threshold
626
00:37:38,280 --> 00:37:40,560
from which there is no return.
627
00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:50,120
In an appropriately desolate landscape,
628
00:37:50,280 --> 00:37:55,120
the Soviet Union prepares
to test its first atomic bomb.
629
00:37:55,280 --> 00:37:58,680
Lavrentiy Beria,
Stalin's kind of mega-manager,
630
00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:03,120
arrives to supervise in a little hut
in the middle of nowhere.
631
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:08,280
He's incredibly nervous.
If it doesn't work,
632
00:38:08,440 --> 00:38:10,280
his downfall is quite likely.
633
00:38:11,760 --> 00:38:15,000
He watches from a safe distance.
634
00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:29,880
The test is a success.
635
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:32,680
Stalin's overjoyed
636
00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:34,400
and relieved.
637
00:38:34,560 --> 00:38:37,520
Now he's got an equal footing
with the West,
638
00:38:37,680 --> 00:38:39,080
{\an8}and they cannot push him around
639
00:38:39,240 --> 00:38:40,880
any more.
- After this period
640
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:45,120
when Stalin's struggling to catch up
with America, he's back in the game.
641
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:48,680
Truman's a poker player,
and for these years after the war,
642
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:51,640
he had an ace in the hole.
He had the bomb, the Soviets didn't.
643
00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:55,280
That surety was gone.
There was no turning back.
644
00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:58,560
You've got two superpowers,
two nuclear powers
645
00:38:58,720 --> 00:39:01,200
that are facing each other
across the world,
646
00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:03,600
and all of a sudden
the world is much less stable.
647
00:39:06,840 --> 00:39:09,880
An 18th or 19th century scholar
would say, oh,
648
00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:12,600
you're gonna have a war
between those two powers.
649
00:39:12,760 --> 00:39:16,880
Inevitable, they're the two great
superpowers. But atomic weapons
650
00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,440
change things. If the Soviets
and the United States can't compete
651
00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:23,360
in the military sense directly
because it's too dangerous,
652
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,280
{\an8}well, then you compete indirectly.
653
00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:30,680
After 1949, there'll be
one war after the other:
654
00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:35,120
big wars,
small wars, guerrilla wars,
655
00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:38,600
proxy wars
between the two superpowers.
656
00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:41,720
But what hasn't happened
is the big one.
657
00:39:42,880 --> 00:39:46,120
There has not been a World War III,
658
00:39:46,280 --> 00:39:48,880
a general war involving the globe
659
00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:50,560
that involves nuclear weapons.
660
00:39:50,720 --> 00:39:54,280
World War II
began in a universe
661
00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:58,280
that would have been recognisable
50 years before.
662
00:39:58,440 --> 00:40:02,600
It ends in a world
that wouldn't have been recognisable
663
00:40:02,760 --> 00:40:05,600
to anyone, because of
the splitting of the atom.
664
00:40:07,640 --> 00:40:11,360
{\an8}The moral
and philosophical underpinnings
665
00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:15,160
{\an8}that enabled the Allies
to triumph in World War II,
666
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:17,880
{\an8}an appreciation for the individual,
667
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,200
{\an8}support
for the dignity of all peoples,
668
00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:23,840
{\an8}a bias for democracy,
669
00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:29,960
{\an8}have for almost a century now
enabled us to live and thrive
670
00:40:30,120 --> 00:40:34,080
{\an8}in a world
where Armageddon is always at hand.
671
00:40:34,240 --> 00:40:36,240
{\an8}But it hasn't come,
672
00:40:36,400 --> 00:40:39,920
{\an8}not least
because we've done the right thing.
673
00:40:45,160 --> 00:40:47,960
The Second World War
alters everything.
674
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:51,720
National, political,
even moral boundaries are redrawn.
675
00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:54,360
What was inconceivable
before the war
676
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:56,720
is now part of the fabric of life.
677
00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:00,360
The conflict that follows,
the Cold War,
678
00:41:00,520 --> 00:41:02,560
poses even graver consequence,
679
00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:05,040
because now
for the first time in human history
680
00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:08,680
the world
could literally destroy itself.
681
00:41:08,840 --> 00:41:13,920
One war replaced by another
and the world remains on edge.
682
00:41:14,080 --> 00:41:17,440
As President Dwight D. Eisenhower
observed,
683
00:41:17,600 --> 00:41:21,200
"The only way
to win the next world war
684
00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:22,960
is to prevent it."