Nazis: Threads of Evil
We discover how economic turmoil, wounded national pride, and 'charismatic' leadership gave rise to unprecedented brutality during WWII shaped by the men and women who stood closest to Hitler.
Director: Andrew Wall
Prelude to Madness
Post-WWI Germany, 1919: an Austrian man speaks to enthralled crowds that fill Munich's smoky beer halls, and his failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 transforms him from agitator to mythic…
Ernst Rohm
A loyal Nazi, Ernst Röhm came to the forefront alongside Hitler; once one of his closest allies, Röhm's openly gay identity and radical beliefs made him both indispensable and dangerous.
Rudolf Hess
Rudolf Hess, Hitler's devoted deputy, stunned the world with a solo flight to Britain in a bizarre attempt at peace; this mysterious flight and decades of silence raised questions about…
Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg, a Nazi ideologue, crafted the racist blueprint behind the regime - proving that ideas can kill, his writings shaped the intellectual foundation of Nazi brutality.
Joachim von Ribbentrop
Joachim von Ribbentrop, Hitler's foreign minister, became an architect of the Nazi-Soviet Pact; Ribbentrop's loyalty and opportunism placed him at the heart of Nazi Germany's decisions and alliance.
Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels, the ruthless Nazi propaganda minister, weaponised words to deceive a nation and glorify Hitler; he engineered the ideology that fuelled genocide and led to total war.
Albert Speer
Albert Speer, Hitler's architect and armaments minister, built the industrial foundations of the Nazi war machine; after the downfall, he crafted a carefully managed myth to escape the gallows.
Hans Frank
Hans Frank, Hitler's personal lawyer turned Governor-General of occupied Poland, oversaw the largest of the Nazi ghettos in occupied Poland; as defeat loomed, he sought redemption through confession.
Martin Bormann
Martin Bormann, Hitler's shadowy right-hand man, gained immense power from behind the scenes; as the Third Reich collapsed, he vanished leaving behind a decades-long mystery.
Hermann Goring
Hermann Göring, Hitler's designated successor, was one of the regime's most visible leaders; as the war slipped away, so did his influence ending in a final act of defiance at…
Karl Donitz
Karl Dönitz, Hitler's loyal naval commander, led a deadly U-boat war beneath the seas and unexpectedly inherited the crumbling Third Reich as he ruled a defeated nation for ten fleeting…
Wilhelm Keitel
Wilhelm Keitel, Hitler's top military yes-man, signed orders that unleashed war crimes and mass murder across Europe; blindly obedient to the end, he ended up answering to justice at Nuremberg.
Paulus and von Manstein
Friedrich Paulus and Erich von Manstein, two generals who charted opposite paths through the Nazi war machine - one broke under pressure, the other clung to his reputation.
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel earned fame for his tactical brilliance, while walking a tightrope between duty and personal ambition under Hitler's rule. As the tides turned, he's pulled into a plot against…
Leni Riefenstahl
Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl created propaganda that helped mythologise Hitler and seduce a nation into extremism. After the fall of the Third Reich, she spent a lifetime denying responsibility.
Geli Raubal and Eva Braun
Geli Raubal and Eva Braun, two women brought into Hitler's private life. One met a tragic end during his rise to power, the other followed him to a deadly finale.
Carin and Emmy Goring
Carin and Emmy Göring enabled Hermann Göring's ambitions in the Nazi regime. One a beloved companion committed to the Nazi vision, the other a star of the stage with little…
Magda Goebbels
Magda Goebbels embraced Nazi ideology with devotion and saw herself as a mother of the nation. In a horrifying act of loyalty, she enacted one of the most atrocious crimes…
Margarete Himmler and Lina Heydrich
Margarete Himmler and Lina Heydrich stood beside two of the Nazi regime's most ruthless architects. Through prejudice and chilling loyalty, they helped normalise a world built on terror and genocide.
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, built an organisation of terror rooted in racial fantasy and Nordic mythology. As Nazi Germany crumbled, his desperate bid for power ended in…
Reinhard Heydrich
Reinhard Heydrich, the ruthless figurehead behind the Holocaust's planning, wielded power through deadly efficiency. His assassination was a dramatic blow to the Nazi elite.
Rudolf Hoss
Rudolf Höss, the commandant of Auschwitz, oversaw the industrialised murder of over a million people. After the war, his confessions exposed the horrifying mechanics behind the Nazi death camps.
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann, the meticulous bureaucrat behind the mass deportation of Jews, organised genocide from behind a desk. After the war, he vanished - only to be hunted down and tried…
Karma
As the Third Reich collapsed, the perpetrators scattered - some dead, some hunted, others attempted to rewrite history. A final look at the unravelling threads of power within the Third…
