Summary: BBC schools programme for secondary pupils, using stock footage and a conventional historical commentary.
Description: Simple characterisation of Hitler as "... a fanatic who wasn't in the least concerned with the things that matter to ordinary people - things like peace and friendship and prosperity. He was interested only in power and he enjoyed violence and destruction." The programme chronicles the German defeat in 1918 and the Versailles settlement, the occupation of the Ruhr and the economic depression, as the background of "frustration and bitterness" against which Hitler rose to prominence. The process by which Hitler actually attained power is dealt with only cursorily, although he is described as a "spellbinding speaker". Hitler establishes concentration camps and a huge secret police force, but he is genuinely popular with many Germans because he created an "atmosphere of drama and excitement and power". The programme then follows German rearmament and Hitler's successive aggressions culminating in the Munich Crisis. British acquiescence is explained by initial feelings that Hitler was justified in repudiating the Versailles Treaty, and a desperate desire to avoid another war. However, the destruction of Czechoslovakia causes a change in British opinion, and Hitler's invasion of Poland finally precipitates war.
Alternative Title:HISTORY 1917-67 [Series Title]
Colour:B&W
Digitised:
Object_Number:MGH 477
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:NON-IWM
Featured Period:
Production Date:1967
Production Country: GB
Production Details: BBC Television (Production company)
Radcliffe, John (Production individual)
Pask, Eric (Production individual)
Harris, Jack (Production individual)
Cowdy, Harry (Production individual)
Thomson, David (Production individual)
Redhead, Brian (Production cast)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords: Germany (geography)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Subtitle language: None
Technical Details: Format: 16mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 1
Footage: 805 ft; Running time: 22 mins
