How could a political party as fundamentally evil and overtly racist as the Nazis come to power? This remains one of the most enigmatic questions of the last century. Acclaimed historian Laurence Rees examines what led a cultured nation at the heart of Europe to commit the atrocities it did. In so doing, he exposes popular myths and encourages understanding of the real forces that led to one of the darkest chapters in modern history. Was it simply the hypnotic power of Hitler's rhetoric? Did the Gestapo really impose themselves by terror on an unwilling population? Through interviews with witnesses and perpetrators, along with archive film and records, this six-part series unveils a more chilling reality. The entire film: The Nazis: A Warning from History, can be viewed online at:

The companion book for this film series is: Rees, Laurence (1997). The Nazis: A Warning from History. BBC Books. ISBN 978-0563387046.

January 17, 2012: Episode 1: "Helped into Power" - How the Nazi party was formed and Adolf Hitler was able to rise to power. Interviewees include former Nazi party members and their opponents.

January 24, 2012: Episode 2: "Chaos and Consent" - Examines how the Nazis consolidated power and how extreme and radical policies were formed and implemented, using the example of the euthanasia policy of Philipp Bouhler. The help given to the Gestapo by ordinary citizens is also explored and other events covered include Kristallnacht and remilitarisation. Interviewees include former Nazi officials, an army officer, a Jewish man and an inmate of an early concentration camp.

January 31, 2012: Episode 3: "The Wrong War" - Traces the path to war with Great Britain and the alliance with the Soviet Union. Interviewees include former Nazi officials and diplomats.

February 7, 2012: Episode 4: “The Wild East” - Examines Nazi rule and 'ethnic cleansing' in occupied Poland under Hans Frank, Albert Forster and Arthur Greiser. Interviewees include a Polish man who was subject to 'Germanisation', an ethnic German who was resettled in Poland and a former Nazi official.

February 14, 2012: Episode 5: "The Road to Treblinka" - An account of mass killings in occupied territories after the invasion of the Soviet Union. Interviewees include a former member of an execution squad and a survivor of Treblinka extermination camp.

February 21, 2012: Episode 6: “Fighting to the End” - Explores why Germany fought on when military defeat was inevitable. Interviewees include German soldiers and civilians.

As a slimmed-down history of Nazi-ruled Germany during the 1930s and 1940s, The Third Reich offers a stylish and engaging look at the rise and fall of a nation. Comprised entirely of vintage film clips shot by Russian troops, journalists, German citizens and others, it's a visual tour-de-force of a terrifying era. The Third Reich reminds viewers of the horrors of war, the dangers of a totalitarian government and the fragility of human life. The accompanying book by William Shirer is available online at Google Books. Just enter The Third Reich: Rise and Fall (http://books.google.com/books). The entire film: The Third Reich: Rise and Fall, can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k56wFujOMOg

February 28 & March 6, 2012: Episode 1: �The Rise of the Third Reich� - A unique perspective on the rise of Nazi Germany and how millions of people were so vulnerable to fascism, told through rare and never-before-seen amateur films shot by the Germans who were there.

March 13 & 20, 2012: Episode 2: �The Fall of the Third Reich� How did the Germans experience the Allied victory in WWII? Rarely-and never-before-seen amateur films recount the catastrophic downfall of the Third Reich through the eyes of the people who lived it: the Germans themselves

Each session of this film presentation and lecture will consist of approximately an hour of film and 45 minutes of lecture and discussion.

If time permits we will also review the famous - or more accurately "infamous" - Nazi propaganda film "Triumph of the Will." Here is the online link to this film:

"Triumph of the Will (German: Triumph des Willens) is a propaganda film made by Leni Riefenstahl. It chronicles the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg (the Nuremburg Rally was attended by Nazi supporters to promote the Nazi political party), which was attended by more than 30000 Nazi supporters. The film contains excerpts from speeches given by various Nazi leaders at the Congress, including portions of speeches by Adolf Hitler, interspersed with footage of massed party members. Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his name appears in the opening titles. The overriding theme of the film is the return of Germany as a great power, with Hitler as the True German Leader who will bring glory to the nation. Triumph of the Will was commissioned by Hitler in 1934 and directed by Leni Riefenstahl, and covers the events of the Sixth Nuremberg Party Congress. The original intention was to document the early days of the NSDAP, so future generations could look back and see how the Third Reich began. In reality, Triumph of the Will shows historians how the Nazi state drew in the masses through propaganda and also how Adolf Hitler had a unique and terrifying ability to entice crowds to his beliefs by the very power of his words."

Quex 1933: Our Flags Lead Us Forward

Quex 1933: Our Flags Lead Us Forward is a famous Nazi propaganda film which concerns the life and death of Hitler Youth member Herbert Norkus, killed while distributing flyers in a Communist neighborhood. Here is the link to this film:

"Heini V�lker is a teen-aged boy. His comrades give him the nickname "Quex". He lives in poverty in Berlin, in a one room apartment. The year is 1932 - the depth of the Depression. His father is an out-of-work supporter of the Communist Party who sends his son on a weekend of camping with the Communist Youth Group. While there Quex finds the undisciplined revelry of the Communists to be distasteful. There is smoking, drinking, and dancing late into the night. Meals are served by cutting hunks from loaves of bread and throwing them to hungry campers who push to get something to eat. Boys and girls play games where they take turns holding each other down and slapping each other on their private parts. Quex runs away and in another part of the park finds a group of Hitler Youth camping by a lake. He spies on them from a distance.

The Hitler Youth are working together to make fires and cook a hot dinner. They sing patriotic songs, listen to speeches, and shout in unison their support for an "awakened Germany." There is no smoking or drinking. In the morning they awake early and run to the lake for a before-breakfast communal swim. Health, cleanliness, teamwork and patriotic nationalism is the image projected.

When Quex returns to his home singing one the Hitler youth songs, his father, an ardent Communist, beats him and signs him up to become a member of the Communist Party. However, Quex informs the Hitler Youth that the Young Communists are planning to ambush them during a march using guns and dynamite. He becomes a pariah to the Communists, and a hero to the Hitler Youth. His distraught mother tries to kill her son and herself by extinguishing the pilot light and leaving the gas on in their one room apartment at night. She is killed. Quex survives. His father, crushed by what happens, begins to wonder whether his son isn't right�National Socialism may be better for Germany than Communism.

A recurring character in the film is the Communist street performer. His theme is that "for some people things work out well...but for George they never do." The message is that life in Germany may improve for everyone else, but for the workingman, George, life won't be good unless he joins the Communist Party. It is eventually the Communist street performer who corners Quex in the streets of Berlin at night, and stabs him to death. Quex posthumously becomes a hero to the Nazi movement.

Heini V�lker's antagonist is the communist youth leader Wilde, "a Nazi version of the incarnation of the 'Jewish-Bolshevik' will to destruction". The movie's message is characterized by its final words, "The flag means more than death"."

Jud Suss is a "notorious Nazi propaganda historical costume melodrama, a conniving, ambitious Jewish businessman, Suess Oppenheimer, snares a post as treasurer to the Duke of Wurttemburg by showering the corrupt duke with treasure and promises of even greater riches. As the Jew's schemes grow more elaborate and his actions more brazen, the dukedom nearly erupts into civil war. Persuaded by the Jew, the Duke all but scuttles the constitution and alienates the assembly by lifting the local ban on Jews in Stuttgart. In a final outrage, the Jew rapes a wholesome German girl and tortures her father and fiancee. When the Duke succumbs to a sudden heart attack, the assembly of Elders try the Jew and sentence him to death for having "carnal knowledge of a Christian woman."" Here is the link to this film:

The Eternal Jew concerns itself with the Jews of Poland (invaded by Germany in 1939) who are depicted as filthy, evil, corrupt, and intent on world domination. Street scenes are shown prejudicially, along with clips from Jewish cinema of the day and photos of Jewish celebrities, while the narrator "explains" the Jewish problem. The climax and resolution of the film is Hitler's 1939 announcement that the Jewish race will meet its "annihilation" (Vernichtung). Here is the link to this film: