100:00:03,830 --> 00:00:07,3191945 was a tumultuous year it's so200:00:07,319 --> 00:00:09,990fierce fighting peace and the beginnings300:00:09,990 --> 00:00:12,830of a new world order400:00:12,830 --> 00:00:14,840the Allies were determined to inflict500:00:14,840 --> 00:00:16,940total defeat on their enemies at any600:00:16,940 --> 00:00:19,330cost700:00:19,720 --> 00:00:21,970but following victory the big three800:00:21,970 --> 00:00:23,800Britain America and the Soviet Union900:00:23,800 --> 00:00:26,740fought each other for supremacy the1000:00:26,740 --> 00:00:28,599shape of the world we live in today is1100:00:28,599 --> 00:00:33,660the legacy of events of 19451200:00:46,910 --> 00:00:50,070in this program we'll see a major upset1300:00:50,070 --> 00:00:54,239for the Western Allies in January how1400:00:54,239 --> 00:00:55,680the Red Army launched the biggest1500:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,070military offensive in history and how in1600:00:59,070 --> 00:01:01,079February British bombers took off to1700:01:01,079 --> 00:01:03,449pulverized German cities in a series of1800:01:03,449 --> 00:01:06,090controversial military decisions full of1900:01:06,090 --> 00:01:07,750behind-the-scenes scheming2000:01:16,159 --> 00:01:18,630the previous year had seen many2100:01:18,630 --> 00:01:23,520successful allied advances to the east2200:01:23,520 --> 00:01:25,290of Germany the Red Army rapidly2300:01:25,290 --> 00:01:27,030recovered virtually all of the land they2400:01:27,030 --> 00:01:30,020had lost to the Nazis2500:01:32,330 --> 00:01:34,700on the Western Front the Allies had2600:01:34,700 --> 00:01:36,350landed on the Normandy beaches on d-day2700:01:36,350 --> 00:01:39,230and then made fast progress through2800:01:39,230 --> 00:01:41,420northern Europe right up to the borders2900:01:41,420 --> 00:01:43,320of Germany3000:01:43,320 --> 00:01:45,930Paris had been liberated on the 25th of3100:01:45,930 --> 00:01:49,440August 1944 a week later British3200:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,030soldiers entered Brussels to a warm3300:01:51,030 --> 00:01:54,240welcome and by the start of 1945 Britain3400:01:54,240 --> 00:01:56,100expected their leader Churchill to take3500:01:56,100 --> 00:01:58,800them to a speedy victory in Europe of3600:01:58,800 --> 00:02:00,540course to people following the news in3700:02:00,540 --> 00:02:02,370the papers the breakout from Normandy3800:02:02,370 --> 00:02:04,680they advanced towards the Rhine the3900:02:04,680 --> 00:02:06,720liberation of Paris all these things did4000:02:06,720 --> 00:02:08,669happen after a certain point so quickly4100:02:08,669 --> 00:02:10,500that it looked as if everything would be4200:02:10,500 --> 00:02:14,370rolled out by the end of 1944 but those4300:02:14,370 --> 00:02:17,490in charge Churchill and his commanders4400:02:17,490 --> 00:02:19,709in chief and his War Cabinet knew that4500:02:19,709 --> 00:02:21,540in fact the Germans intended to fight4600:02:21,540 --> 00:02:24,320every inch of the way4700:02:24,880 --> 00:02:28,120the Allies destroy the German armies in4800:02:28,120 --> 00:02:29,140the West and then this is4900:02:29,140 --> 00:02:31,570extraordinarily rapid advance right up5000:02:31,570 --> 00:02:33,010almost to the Rhine and the border of5100:02:33,010 --> 00:02:34,420Germany never thinks the war will be5200:02:34,420 --> 00:02:36,130over by Christmas well of course it5300:02:36,130 --> 00:02:39,460isn't far from giving up in total5400:02:39,460 --> 00:02:42,360secrecy Hitler planned a counter-attack5500:02:42,360 --> 00:02:45,310this took the Allies completely by5600:02:45,310 --> 00:02:49,000surprise in the depths of one of the5700:02:49,000 --> 00:02:50,260worst winters on record5800:02:50,260 --> 00:02:52,810Hitler amassed 200,000 men on the5900:02:52,810 --> 00:02:54,610Belgian border hidden in the thickly6000:02:54,610 --> 00:02:59,380forested Ardenne area on the 16th of6100:02:59,380 --> 00:03:02,170December 1944 they launched their attack6200:03:02,170 --> 00:03:05,140on 83,000 unsuspecting American troops6300:03:05,140 --> 00:03:07,630what became known as the Battle of the6400:03:07,630 --> 00:03:09,700Bulge was Hitler's last desperate6500:03:09,700 --> 00:03:12,730attempt to avert defeat if anyone has6600:03:12,730 --> 00:03:14,470said the Germans are going to assemble a6700:03:14,470 --> 00:03:16,060quarter of a million men and a thousand6800:03:16,060 --> 00:03:17,590tanks for a surprise offensive in the6900:03:17,590 --> 00:03:19,690West people said they're mad yet that's7000:03:19,690 --> 00:03:22,060exactly what hit the dust in the winter7100:03:22,060 --> 00:03:24,040snow with cloud cover so there's no air7200:03:24,040 --> 00:03:26,440activity by the other side he bursts7300:03:26,440 --> 00:03:29,140something like 25 divisions on I think7400:03:29,140 --> 00:03:31,420five unsuspecting American divisions and7500:03:31,420 --> 00:03:33,730almost breaks through and his aim is to7600:03:33,730 --> 00:03:35,860try and get up to the the ports up7700:03:35,860 --> 00:03:37,630towards Antwerp and split the British7800:03:37,630 --> 00:03:40,410and Americans7900:03:53,140 --> 00:03:57,940the Germans took 25 thousand prisoners8000:03:57,940 --> 00:04:00,230American troops heard that the Nazis8100:04:00,230 --> 00:04:02,720were shooting and torturing captives one8200:04:02,720 --> 00:04:04,460of the Allied soldiers was Curtis White8300:04:04,460 --> 00:04:07,970Way I carefully crawled up to the scouts8400:04:07,970 --> 00:04:10,610as they pointed ahead in the trees one8500:04:10,610 --> 00:04:12,080of our guys was hanging in the tree8600:04:12,080 --> 00:04:14,360spread-eagle standing upright he was8700:04:14,360 --> 00:04:15,920twitching and his arms and legs were8800:04:15,920 --> 00:04:17,480tied to nearby trees8900:04:17,480 --> 00:04:19,820he was totally nude and the Germans had9000:04:19,820 --> 00:04:22,040taken some kind of torch they burned his9100:04:22,040 --> 00:04:25,690eyes out he was still alive9200:04:25,690 --> 00:04:28,490one of the men behind me cried out put9300:04:28,490 --> 00:04:31,070him out of his misery I realized that9400:04:31,070 --> 00:04:33,680this was a warning to us don't come any9500:04:33,680 --> 00:04:35,630further into Germany or this will happen9600:04:35,630 --> 00:04:37,690to you9700:04:37,690 --> 00:04:40,640the Germans succeeded in driving a bulge9800:04:40,640 --> 00:04:43,060straight through the Allies front line a9900:04:43,060 --> 00:04:45,710counter-offensive was launched General10000:04:45,710 --> 00:04:47,810Eisenhower in command of the European10100:04:47,810 --> 00:04:49,790operations put the American general10200:04:49,790 --> 00:04:51,860Bradley in Britain's Montgomery in10300:04:51,860 --> 00:04:54,010charge of beating back the Germans10400:04:54,010 --> 00:04:56,390Eisenhower stands back and he says to10500:04:56,390 --> 00:04:58,400Montgomery you handle all the armies10600:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,620including the American armies to the10700:05:00,620 --> 00:05:02,510north and he said to Bradley in the10800:05:02,510 --> 00:05:04,760south you handle all the American armies10900:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,310in the south and Eisenhower's coolness11000:05:07,310 --> 00:05:09,710and ability to delegate down to these11100:05:09,710 --> 00:05:12,470two heavyweights and these two are11200:05:12,470 --> 00:05:13,940heavyweights actually is that what11300:05:13,940 --> 00:05:16,520crushes the German offensive that and11400:05:16,520 --> 00:05:17,550lack of fuel11500:05:22,009 --> 00:05:24,159casualties were high on both sides11600:05:24,159 --> 00:05:26,749nearly a hundred thousand Germans and11700:05:26,749 --> 00:05:29,21080,000 Americans were killed missing or11800:05:29,210 --> 00:05:31,599injured11900:05:33,110 --> 00:05:35,490this was the most costly battle the12000:05:35,490 --> 00:05:37,080Americans had fought in northwestern12100:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,470Europe12200:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,760by mid-january in 1945 the Germans had12300:05:45,760 --> 00:05:47,560been forced to withdraw from the Arden12400:05:47,560 --> 00:05:50,320completely the consequences of this12500:05:50,320 --> 00:05:52,540battle stalled the Allies advanced into12600:05:52,540 --> 00:05:54,340Germany and delayed the end of the war12700:05:54,340 --> 00:05:59,020in Europe part of the shock of the12800:05:59,020 --> 00:06:00,370ardent offensive it's not just a12900:06:00,370 --> 00:06:02,260psychological shock of being attacked by13000:06:02,260 --> 00:06:03,970an enemy you think is defeated but it's13100:06:03,970 --> 00:06:05,530also the heavy casualties and the13200:06:05,530 --> 00:06:07,930logistic build up for the push into13300:06:07,930 --> 00:06:10,660Germany for 1945 is completely disrupted13400:06:10,660 --> 00:06:13,300American confidence had been severely13500:06:13,300 --> 00:06:15,850bruised by that experience after January13600:06:15,850 --> 00:06:18,3101945 they were determined to move very13700:06:18,310 --> 00:06:21,370cautiously the Bulge offensive had13800:06:21,370 --> 00:06:24,100slowed up the Western Allies while13900:06:24,100 --> 00:06:26,110making it easier for the Russians to14000:06:26,110 --> 00:06:28,750drive much faster and harder into14100:06:28,750 --> 00:06:31,060Germany14200:06:31,060 --> 00:06:33,610by mid January Northern Europe was in14300:06:33,610 --> 00:06:34,330ruins14400:06:34,330 --> 00:06:35,980the Western Allies put their plans to14500:06:35,980 --> 00:06:38,860invade Germany on hold but in the Soviet14600:06:38,860 --> 00:06:39,430Union14700:06:39,430 --> 00:06:42,310tanks poured off the production lines so14800:06:42,310 --> 00:06:44,080that Stalin could launch a major new14900:06:44,080 --> 00:06:45,850offensive on the Eastern Front the15000:06:45,850 --> 00:06:48,040Russians were poised to launch their15100:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,670huge offensive vast armies had been15200:06:51,670 --> 00:06:54,850masked so the Russians had had four or15300:06:54,850 --> 00:06:56,890five months of building up their forces15400:06:56,890 --> 00:06:59,530because they had big difficulties there15500:06:59,530 --> 00:07:01,390wasn't anything like the road network or15600:07:01,390 --> 00:07:03,160rail network that there was in the West15700:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,160and every inch of the way they had to15800:07:06,160 --> 00:07:08,860build railways and restore roads to move15900:07:08,860 --> 00:07:11,260supplies forward to enable their16000:07:11,260 --> 00:07:13,360millions of men to launch the offensive16100:07:13,360 --> 00:07:16,690so the Germans knew that they were16200:07:16,690 --> 00:07:21,430approaching the last act for two long16300:07:21,430 --> 00:07:23,080years the Red Army had fought the16400:07:23,080 --> 00:07:25,720Germans in the Soviet Union as they16500:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,510began to reclaim their homeland the true16600:07:28,510 --> 00:07:30,820horror of the Nazi occupation slowly16700:07:30,820 --> 00:07:34,360dawned on them in Kiev they found that16800:07:34,360 --> 00:07:36,400hundreds of civilians had been killed by16900:07:36,400 --> 00:07:39,510the fleeing Germans17000:07:40,319 --> 00:07:46,419as Soviet troops move very fast they17100:07:46,419 --> 00:07:52,050came across even worse scenes of bestial17200:07:52,050 --> 00:07:55,839behavior and this convinced Soviet17300:07:55,839 --> 00:07:58,149troops if they weren't already convinced17400:07:58,149 --> 00:08:02,699that they were facing an enemy that had17500:08:02,699 --> 00:08:08,069behaved in an utterly inhuman fashion17600:08:08,069 --> 00:08:12,099they didn't regard the Germans as fellow17700:08:12,099 --> 00:08:15,069members of the human race and they17800:08:15,069 --> 00:08:18,149themselves carried out a campaign of17900:08:18,149 --> 00:08:21,449pillage and rape18000:08:21,599 --> 00:08:24,879that was pretty disgraceful many Soviet18100:08:24,879 --> 00:08:26,469soldiers have been encouraged to keep18200:08:26,469 --> 00:08:29,080revenge Diaries through the past few18300:08:29,080 --> 00:08:30,759years by their political officers in18400:08:30,759 --> 00:08:32,169which they wrote down the terrible18500:08:32,169 --> 00:08:33,698things they'd seen the Germans do in18600:08:33,698 --> 00:08:34,990Russia so that they could extract18700:08:34,990 --> 00:08:37,000revenge of interest in their revenge18800:08:37,000 --> 00:08:38,549ledger18900:08:38,549 --> 00:08:41,100on the 12th of January in freezing cold19000:08:41,100 --> 00:08:43,020weather the Red Army started a massive19100:08:43,020 --> 00:08:45,120new offensive towards Germany through19200:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,620Poland it began on the Ukrainian front19300:08:55,060 --> 00:08:58,029two days later general Zhukov led the19400:08:58,029 --> 00:09:00,460main push from the Belarusian front the19500:09:00,460 --> 00:09:02,620Soviet Union succeeded in mobilizing a19600:09:02,620 --> 00:09:05,200massive force of over 6 million men an19700:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,670amazing feat by the 19th of January they19800:09:09,670 --> 00:09:12,000had taken the Polish capital Warsaw19900:09:12,000 --> 00:09:14,589fleeing Germans had destroyed much of20000:09:14,589 --> 00:09:17,200the city three-quarters of the buildings20100:09:17,200 --> 00:09:18,100were in ruins20200:09:18,100 --> 00:09:22,330then on the 27th of January the Red Army20300:09:22,330 --> 00:09:31,960entered a schvitz the real horror of20400:09:31,960 --> 00:09:33,910what they'd found did not become widely20500:09:33,910 --> 00:09:37,680known until the war in Europe was over20600:09:38,490 --> 00:09:41,320meanwhile the red army continued its20700:09:41,320 --> 00:09:44,350relentless advance on Germany one of the20800:09:44,350 --> 00:09:48,279paradoxes about the Red Army was that it20900:09:48,279 --> 00:09:50,320was an extraordinary mixture of the most21000:09:50,320 --> 00:09:52,570savage discipline and the most ferocious21100:09:52,570 --> 00:09:55,360in discipline that I remember meeting a21200:09:55,360 --> 00:09:57,190Soviet tank officer called could rush21300:09:57,190 --> 00:10:00,100off who tell me a story about his driver21400:10:00,100 --> 00:10:02,490who was a completely illiterate tartar21500:10:02,490 --> 00:10:04,780who one night he'd been left on watch21600:10:04,780 --> 00:10:09,970and fell asleep could rush off woke him21700:10:09,970 --> 00:10:13,300up and said it's a firing squad for you21800:10:13,300 --> 00:10:18,630and he didn't mean it but his driver21900:10:18,630 --> 00:10:21,760knew very well that if could rush of the22000:10:21,760 --> 00:10:23,530reported him it probably would be the22100:10:23,530 --> 00:10:25,480firing squad and the man fell helpless22200:10:25,480 --> 00:10:29,400on his knees and the next day the driver22300:10:29,400 --> 00:10:32,800came to coud rush off and he said would22400:10:32,800 --> 00:10:34,990he write a letter home for it because he22500:10:34,990 --> 00:10:36,970couldn't write himself and Cooder22600:10:36,970 --> 00:10:38,680aschoff said yes he said I'll write22700:10:38,680 --> 00:10:39,910letter home saying how you'll fell22800:10:39,910 --> 00:10:42,280asleep on watch last night and again the22900:10:42,280 --> 00:10:43,839driver fell on his knees in terror23000:10:43,839 --> 00:10:46,450because he said say anything you likes23100:10:46,450 --> 00:10:48,529anything but don't do it23200:10:48,529 --> 00:10:50,749the poor driver was killed in action two23300:10:50,749 --> 00:10:52,810days later23400:10:52,810 --> 00:10:55,510a tremendous cost the Soviet Union now23500:10:55,510 --> 00:10:57,790occupied large parts of Eastern Europe23600:10:57,790 --> 00:11:00,100but Churchill was worried by this tenet23700:11:00,100 --> 00:11:03,279events Churchill hope to bring style23800:11:03,279 --> 00:11:06,400into a conference before the Red Army23900:11:06,400 --> 00:11:08,560was in any one of the Eastern European24000:11:08,560 --> 00:11:10,660capitals so that they could discuss the24100:11:10,660 --> 00:11:14,200future of Eastern Europe with no force24200:11:14,200 --> 00:11:17,470majeure of Soviet tanks being in every24300:11:17,470 --> 00:11:21,250capital and he pleaded with Stalin and24400:11:21,250 --> 00:11:23,170Roosevelt let's have our conference now24500:11:23,170 --> 00:11:26,890and Stalin candidly and understandably24600:11:26,890 --> 00:11:29,710from his perspective said no Churchill24700:11:29,710 --> 00:11:31,180even if the conference was going to be24800:11:31,180 --> 00:11:33,880held in Jerusalem and Sarna said I can't24900:11:33,880 --> 00:11:35,950fly my doctor say I can't fly so25000:11:35,950 --> 00:11:37,900Churchill send him the railway timetable25100:11:37,900 --> 00:11:41,230in those days you could take a train but25200:11:41,230 --> 00:11:43,779Stein was an intensely suspicious man25300:11:43,779 --> 00:11:45,820and he thought that at any time25400:11:45,820 --> 00:11:48,310Roosevelt or Churchill might play a25500:11:48,310 --> 00:11:50,890trick on him might gang up on him just25600:11:50,890 --> 00:11:52,870as he would do to them if he possibly25700:11:52,870 --> 00:11:54,910could he loved to play Roosevelt off25800:11:54,910 --> 00:11:57,010against Churchill and vice versa25900:11:57,010 --> 00:12:01,690Churchill felt very much that the the26000:12:01,690 --> 00:12:05,530borders of post-war Europe will be26100:12:05,530 --> 00:12:09,110determined where the armies met26200:12:09,110 --> 00:12:12,020fear was that communism which was26300:12:12,020 --> 00:12:13,850advancing with the Red Army steadily26400:12:13,850 --> 00:12:16,910would essentially advance to the26500:12:16,910 --> 00:12:19,310Atlantic by the end of January the26600:12:19,310 --> 00:12:21,890Allies had Germany surrounded but still26700:12:21,890 --> 00:12:24,740Hitler wouldn't give up the Nazis wanted26800:12:24,740 --> 00:12:27,080to fight to the bitter end and the war26900:12:27,080 --> 00:12:29,910in Europe was far from over27000:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,540by the end of January 1945 the Americans27100:12:41,540 --> 00:12:43,100were making headway in the Pacific27200:12:43,100 --> 00:12:46,089against the Japanese27300:12:47,520 --> 00:12:49,930they had won a major sea battle27400:12:49,930 --> 00:12:51,790capturing the strategically important27500:12:51,790 --> 00:12:55,020island of Leyte in the Philippines27600:12:56,950 --> 00:12:59,230but the outcome of the Pacific War was27700:12:59,230 --> 00:13:00,610still far from certain27800:13:07,520 --> 00:13:10,350in Europe by the end of January the27900:13:10,350 --> 00:13:12,360Western Allies were moving towards28000:13:12,360 --> 00:13:14,190northern Germany waiting for the big28100:13:14,190 --> 00:13:18,270push worried about the size of potential28200:13:18,270 --> 00:13:20,190casualties the Americans wanted28300:13:20,190 --> 00:13:22,440reinforcements to be fully prepared for28400:13:22,440 --> 00:13:27,360the onslaught on the Eastern Front the28500:13:27,360 --> 00:13:29,910Red Army had made astonishing advances28600:13:29,910 --> 00:13:32,700and had reached the river oder just 4528700:13:32,700 --> 00:13:36,209miles from Berlin but Stalin was also28800:13:36,209 --> 00:13:39,360forced to pause they faced ferocious28900:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,279German resistance and their supply line29000:13:41,279 --> 00:13:43,830was stretched to the limit they had no29100:13:43,830 --> 00:13:47,510choice but to wait for more troops29200:13:47,510 --> 00:13:51,600Stalin's army was a fighting force such29300:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,600as the world had never before seen it29400:13:54,600 --> 00:13:57,060was an extraordinary blend of the29500:13:57,060 --> 00:14:01,350sophisticated and the technological with29600:14:01,350 --> 00:14:05,760the barbaric in front went punishment29700:14:05,760 --> 00:14:08,459battalions they were units composed to29800:14:08,459 --> 00:14:10,020people who had committed either29900:14:10,020 --> 00:14:12,390political or disciplinary offenses and30000:14:12,390 --> 00:14:15,300who was simply thrown Routh to see at30100:14:15,300 --> 00:14:17,160the enemy as cannon fodder either to30200:14:17,160 --> 00:14:19,110clear minefields or just to test the30300:14:19,110 --> 00:14:20,970enemy's fast and then you've got the30400:14:20,970 --> 00:14:23,130guards divisions behind the guards30500:14:23,130 --> 00:14:26,730divisions were mostly formations such as30600:14:26,730 --> 00:14:28,290Western armies might just about30700:14:28,290 --> 00:14:31,200recognize they had some pretty educated30800:14:31,200 --> 00:14:33,510sophisticated people in them and they30900:14:33,510 --> 00:14:35,160were given the best of the equipment and31000:14:35,160 --> 00:14:38,010then behind them in turn you had this31100:14:38,010 --> 00:14:42,900great mass of more or less brute mostly31200:14:42,900 --> 00:14:46,800from the Soviet Asian republic as the31300:14:46,800 --> 00:14:49,140Soviet Army pushed on this they were31400:14:49,140 --> 00:14:52,079fired up with revenge hatred and a lust31500:14:52,079 --> 00:14:55,440to punish the supporters of Nazism rape31600:14:55,440 --> 00:14:57,000was commonplace31700:14:57,000 --> 00:14:58,800as they entered the Hungarian capital31800:14:58,800 --> 00:15:01,710Budapest a young Jewish girl was hiding31900:15:01,710 --> 00:15:06,180in a cellar when liberation came it was32000:15:06,180 --> 00:15:08,430the Mongolians not the White Russian32100:15:08,430 --> 00:15:11,640we was expected to come they were rough32200:15:11,640 --> 00:15:14,670and uncultured using beautiful books for32300:15:14,670 --> 00:15:18,060toilet paper and heating here of course32400:15:18,060 --> 00:15:19,860the first thing they wanted were women32500:15:19,860 --> 00:15:22,320the first time it happened they burst32600:15:22,320 --> 00:15:24,150into the cellar where I was hiding with32700:15:24,150 --> 00:15:26,790two sisters while later discovered we're32800:15:26,790 --> 00:15:29,310borrowin asses I will never forget the32900:15:29,310 --> 00:15:31,590look on the poor girls faces as the33000:15:31,590 --> 00:15:33,480Russians grabbed them and marched them33100:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,650away to be raped outside never inside33200:15:36,650 --> 00:15:41,760they were only 14 or 15 thank God I only33300:15:41,760 --> 00:15:45,180looked about 10 if that I must have been33400:15:45,180 --> 00:15:47,520too small and skinny after three weeks33500:15:47,520 --> 00:15:50,730of literal starvation though be still in33600:15:50,730 --> 00:15:52,980many ways they were specifically on the33700:15:52,980 --> 00:15:54,760front line to do the dirty work33800:15:58,170 --> 00:16:02,490we have to face the fact that the33900:16:02,490 --> 00:16:06,759Western Allies needed the barbarians the34000:16:06,759 --> 00:16:09,690soldiers of Stalin in order to defeat34100:16:09,690 --> 00:16:12,370Hitler's tyranny that if we look at this34200:16:12,370 --> 00:16:14,170in the most brutal terms in the course34300:16:14,170 --> 00:16:16,300of the Second World War American and34400:16:16,300 --> 00:16:18,970British ground troops killed about two34500:16:18,970 --> 00:16:20,589hundred thousand Germans that's in the34600:16:20,589 --> 00:16:23,410desert in Italy in northwest Europe the34700:16:23,410 --> 00:16:25,449Soviets killed about three and a half34800:16:25,449 --> 00:16:29,889million so although yes one can take34900:16:29,889 --> 00:16:31,509pride in the fact that the Western35000:16:31,509 --> 00:16:33,459Allies maintain their civilized values35100:16:33,459 --> 00:16:36,040they needed the savages in order to35200:16:36,040 --> 00:16:38,860bring down Hitler the West was worried35300:16:38,860 --> 00:16:40,930about the Red Army's excesses but35400:16:40,930 --> 00:16:42,819publicly newsreels showed the gratitude35500:16:42,819 --> 00:16:44,680of local people liberated by the35600:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,470advancing soldiers I am sure that Stalin35700:16:47,470 --> 00:16:49,720would have been aware of Churchill's35800:16:49,720 --> 00:16:52,449concerns about the treatment of people35900:16:52,449 --> 00:16:55,300in the occupied through the territories36000:16:55,300 --> 00:16:58,600being occupied in the East but frankly36100:16:58,600 --> 00:17:00,459there was nothing Churchill could do36200:17:00,459 --> 00:17:02,980about it the prediction Americans were36300:17:02,980 --> 00:17:06,010still a long way away in the West the36400:17:06,010 --> 00:17:08,949Red Army was advancing at extraordinary36500:17:08,949 --> 00:17:11,829speed and in the Vistula oder operation36600:17:11,829 --> 00:17:16,109starting in January 1945 they traversed36700:17:16,109 --> 00:17:19,929hundreds of kilometers the Germans were36800:17:19,929 --> 00:17:21,760pulling back very fast because of course36900:17:21,760 --> 00:17:23,349they realized that they were going to37000:17:23,349 --> 00:17:24,240have to defend you37100:17:24,240 --> 00:17:32,610itself Stein was determined that that37200:17:32,610 --> 00:17:35,250movement would be as fast and as deep as37300:17:35,250 --> 00:17:39,600possible he saw that the more territory37400:17:39,600 --> 00:17:42,059he conquered the stronger would be his37500:17:42,059 --> 00:17:43,800bargaining position at the next37600:17:43,800 --> 00:17:45,710conference that would have to be37700:17:45,710 --> 00:17:50,960arranged so he had a much more acute37800:17:50,960 --> 00:17:55,260anticipation of the political37900:17:55,260 --> 00:17:57,240consequences of the military campaign38000:17:57,240 --> 00:18:00,720than was the case of Roosevelt when one38100:18:00,720 --> 00:18:02,790looks at Roosevelt's foreign policy what38200:18:02,790 --> 00:18:05,250comes out is a desire to constrain38300:18:05,250 --> 00:18:07,380Germany to make Germany realize she'd38400:18:07,380 --> 00:18:10,200lost the war but not to make her so weak38500:18:10,200 --> 00:18:12,240that you have a vacuum of power in38600:18:12,240 --> 00:18:13,980Europe that the Soviet can just walk38700:18:13,980 --> 00:18:16,530over initially Russia's aspirations of38800:18:16,530 --> 00:18:19,679course was simply to survive but when it38900:18:19,679 --> 00:18:21,690became apparent that they were going to39000:18:21,690 --> 00:18:24,920win the war then the prospect of39100:18:24,920 --> 00:18:27,990overwhelming Germany and dominating39200:18:27,990 --> 00:18:31,350eastern and central Europe came to the39300:18:31,350 --> 00:18:35,309fore but towards the end of January the39400:18:35,309 --> 00:18:37,320Germans were still a formidable fighting39500:18:37,320 --> 00:18:39,900force and they constantly refused the39600:18:39,900 --> 00:18:41,670Allies demand for unconditional39700:18:41,670 --> 00:18:44,010surrender one of the reasons the Germans39800:18:44,010 --> 00:18:46,740resist so strongly both here and in the39900:18:46,740 --> 00:18:48,660East is because of the doctrine of40000:18:48,660 --> 00:18:50,520unconditional surrender which Roosevelt40100:18:50,520 --> 00:18:52,050has thrown on the table but if you're40200:18:52,050 --> 00:18:54,540fighting for your homeland and the40300:18:54,540 --> 00:18:55,860invaders at the gates you're going to40400:18:55,860 --> 00:18:57,330fight to the last they were fighting40500:18:57,330 --> 00:19:00,420with the fanaticism of despair and40600:19:00,420 --> 00:19:02,400especially this was true of the very40700:19:02,400 --> 00:19:02,970young40800:19:02,970 --> 00:19:05,730this was Goebbels triumph that here he40900:19:05,730 --> 00:19:07,650had a whole generation of young Germans41000:19:07,650 --> 00:19:12,390who'd spent 12 years indoctrinated into41100:19:12,390 --> 00:19:15,750Nazism into a belief that the Third41200:19:15,750 --> 00:19:18,230Reich mattered more than life itself and41300:19:18,230 --> 00:19:22,140many allied soldiers have said that they41400:19:22,140 --> 00:19:24,120found one of the worst aspects of this41500:19:24,120 --> 00:19:26,040last phase was fighting the children a41600:19:26,040 --> 00:19:28,44013-year old with a rifle could kill he41700:19:28,440 --> 00:19:31,850was dead as any adult41800:19:34,320 --> 00:19:37,000German morale was buoyed up by a belief41900:19:37,000 --> 00:19:38,740that new weapons would turn the tide of42000:19:38,740 --> 00:19:43,840the war by early 45 the Germans can42100:19:43,840 --> 00:19:46,809thump beat v2s into Antwerp and on the42200:19:46,809 --> 00:19:48,580Rhine bridges and places like that but42300:19:48,580 --> 00:19:50,110everyone knows they're never going to42400:19:50,110 --> 00:19:52,600alter the outcome of the war amazingly42500:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,760despite the Allied strategic bombing42600:19:54,760 --> 00:19:56,740which had been massive and continuous42700:19:56,740 --> 00:19:59,140and effective despite that the Germans42800:19:59,140 --> 00:20:02,320were still manufacturing secret weaponry42900:20:02,320 --> 00:20:04,330I mean what secret Hitler always called43000:20:04,330 --> 00:20:05,350his secret weapons43100:20:05,350 --> 00:20:07,120the first being of course the V bombs43200:20:07,120 --> 00:20:09,450and in these terrifying rocket bombs43300:20:09,450 --> 00:20:12,370which were being produced long after the43400:20:12,370 --> 00:20:14,860Normandy landings so even when the43500:20:14,860 --> 00:20:17,380Allies were ashore in Western Europe or43600:20:17,380 --> 00:20:19,690on land in Western Europe these things43700:20:19,690 --> 00:20:21,760were raining down on London and raining43800:20:21,760 --> 00:20:23,799down on Antwerp and denying us of course43900:20:23,799 --> 00:20:28,210a port this bombardment by v1 and v2 s44000:20:28,210 --> 00:20:30,520had seriously dented the morale of the44100:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,010British people the first V ones were44200:20:33,010 --> 00:20:36,880launched in June 1944 one devastated the44300:20:36,880 --> 00:20:38,470guards chapel near Buckingham Palace44400:20:38,470 --> 00:20:41,060killing 121 people44500:20:44,139 --> 00:20:47,299the faster and more deadly v2s44600:20:47,299 --> 00:20:50,360started to rain down in September 194444700:20:50,360 --> 00:20:53,960and into 1945 by the end of the war they44800:20:53,960 --> 00:20:56,149had killed over two and a half thousand44900:20:56,149 --> 00:20:58,070Londoners hit with secret weapons45000:20:58,070 --> 00:21:00,409they've been expected throughout the war45100:21:00,409 --> 00:21:02,480and then they came and of course the45200:21:02,480 --> 00:21:03,649government was very cagey about45300:21:03,649 --> 00:21:05,119revealing information about what they45400:21:05,119 --> 00:21:07,820were and denied the effect of them and45500:21:07,820 --> 00:21:09,139of course that is always in public45600:21:09,139 --> 00:21:11,210opinion terms in morale terms that's45700:21:11,210 --> 00:21:13,999always an absolute disaster I think45800:21:13,999 --> 00:21:14,989there was a feeling of complete45900:21:14,989 --> 00:21:17,299desperation because they were pilots46000:21:17,299 --> 00:21:19,700planes they seemed more sinister than46100:21:19,700 --> 00:21:22,129the bombers and I think the deaths from46200:21:22,129 --> 00:21:23,659the deaths from the beaches I mean46300:21:23,659 --> 00:21:25,789things like Smithfield disaster or the46400:21:25,789 --> 00:21:28,190ones that God's Chapel were quite46500:21:28,190 --> 00:21:30,350devastating to people even if the46600:21:30,350 --> 00:21:33,759statistics weren't necessarily let out46700:21:33,759 --> 00:21:37,159we had a shelter in the basement but if46800:21:37,159 --> 00:21:38,899we ran to the shelter every time an46900:21:38,899 --> 00:21:40,970air-raid siren went off we'd never get47000:21:40,970 --> 00:21:41,830any work done47100:21:41,830 --> 00:21:44,539so we'd stay where we were on the fourth47200:21:44,539 --> 00:21:46,789floor while the planes came over and the47300:21:46,789 --> 00:21:50,090bombs dropped and then we'd be told best47400:21:50,090 --> 00:21:52,879to run downstairs now and so we go just47500:21:52,879 --> 00:21:56,869in time I remember the v1 and v2 rockets47600:21:56,869 --> 00:22:00,470I remember looking out of my window and47700:22:00,470 --> 00:22:06,289seeing Euston station go up a direct hit47800:22:06,289 --> 00:22:08,690with a rocket thousands of pieces of47900:22:08,690 --> 00:22:12,009white paper fluttering up in the air48000:22:12,009 --> 00:22:14,509other secret weapons were on their way48100:22:14,509 --> 00:22:17,299including long distance submarines which48200:22:17,299 --> 00:22:19,159would enable them to go to the coast the48300:22:19,159 --> 00:22:21,440United States without surfacing without48400:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,470refueling so Churchill knew and the48500:22:24,470 --> 00:22:26,090people at the very top knew this is not48600:22:26,090 --> 00:22:27,859going to be a pushover there's not going48700:22:27,859 --> 00:22:29,420to be a sudden surrender48800:22:32,309 --> 00:22:34,869at the end of January the Americans48900:22:34,869 --> 00:22:36,369continued to make progress in the49000:22:36,369 --> 00:22:38,710Pacific they were preparing for an49100:22:38,710 --> 00:22:40,690advance on Manila the capital of the49200:22:40,690 --> 00:22:43,419Philippines but Japanese resistance was49300:22:43,419 --> 00:22:45,519strong so they realized defeating Japan49400:22:45,519 --> 00:22:48,879would be costly they would need the49500:22:48,879 --> 00:22:51,340formidable Red Army to beat Japan after49600:22:51,340 --> 00:22:52,509the break49700:22:52,509 --> 00:22:54,460we'll see how this ended up costing49800:22:54,460 --> 00:23:07,089Eastern Europe its freedom at the start49900:23:07,089 --> 00:23:10,089of February 1945 the Allied powers were50000:23:10,089 --> 00:23:11,950marshalling their forces for the final50100:23:11,950 --> 00:23:15,489assault on Germany the Germans had50200:23:15,489 --> 00:23:17,589fought back fiercely but the outcome of50300:23:17,589 --> 00:23:20,320the war was by now in no doubt it was50400:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,150just a matter of time50500:23:23,150 --> 00:23:25,460the Red Army's final advanced on Berlin50600:23:25,460 --> 00:23:28,550had paused but further east it continued50700:23:28,550 --> 00:23:30,290to take over German territory in East50800:23:30,290 --> 00:23:32,960Prussia this land had hardly been50900:23:32,960 --> 00:23:35,480touched by war its population lived in51000:23:35,480 --> 00:23:38,120relative comfort this was in stark51100:23:38,120 --> 00:23:39,830contrast to the privations of the Red51200:23:39,830 --> 00:23:43,070Army and when they saw this their51300:23:43,070 --> 00:23:45,080soldiers looted raped and killed51400:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,540civilians on a massive scale the51500:23:47,540 --> 00:23:49,730resulting flood of refugees is one of51600:23:49,730 --> 00:23:53,270the biggest single migrations ever over51700:23:53,270 --> 00:23:55,5808 million people fled before the51800:23:55,580 --> 00:23:58,340advancing Red Army and many were killed51900:23:58,340 --> 00:24:01,640trying to get away the German generals52000:24:01,640 --> 00:24:03,530bravely held open a corridor for their52100:24:03,530 --> 00:24:06,380exit defying Hitler's orders and risking52200:24:06,380 --> 00:24:08,660execution one of the most extraordinary52300:24:08,660 --> 00:24:11,660took place in East Prussia near the52400:24:11,660 --> 00:24:16,460Baltic in January February March 45 when52500:24:16,460 --> 00:24:19,520in four feet of snow and temperatures 2552600:24:19,520 --> 00:24:23,480below zero the Soviets were smashing52700:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,660their way into East Prussia driving more52800:24:26,660 --> 00:24:28,760than a million civilians befallen men52900:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,950women children with their carts and53000:24:30,950 --> 00:24:33,559their prams and their bearers struggling53100:24:33,559 --> 00:24:36,320through the snows for survival and as53200:24:36,320 --> 00:24:38,960the Soviets swept into East Prussia that53300:24:38,960 --> 00:24:41,000finally there was only one escape route53400:24:41,000 --> 00:24:44,360left across a frozen lagoon the Frisch's53500:24:44,360 --> 00:24:47,420half beside the Baltic and tens of53600:24:47,420 --> 00:24:49,130thousands of people were struggling53700:24:49,130 --> 00:24:51,260across this with Russian shells falling53800:24:51,260 --> 00:24:53,960smashing holes in the ice and carts of53900:24:53,960 --> 00:24:55,700screaming people falling into it and54000:24:55,700 --> 00:24:59,870scenes of terrible horror the German54100:24:59,870 --> 00:25:02,150army in those days fought some very54200:25:02,150 --> 00:25:05,450gallant actions to keep open that last54300:25:05,450 --> 00:25:08,750path into Germany for the refugees from54400:25:08,750 --> 00:25:09,950East Prussia54500:25:17,280 --> 00:25:19,809by the beginning of 1945 it was54600:25:19,809 --> 00:25:21,640absolutely essential for the big three54700:25:21,640 --> 00:25:24,940to get together to deal with each other54800:25:24,940 --> 00:25:27,840not through diplomats but directly54900:25:27,840 --> 00:25:30,970Stalin as usual refused to travel abroad55000:25:30,970 --> 00:25:33,280and down in Crimea there were all the55100:25:33,280 --> 00:25:36,540old palaces of the Tsar's55200:25:36,540 --> 00:25:43,750he could show off so Roosevelt and55300:25:43,750 --> 00:25:45,460Churchill travelled to the seaside town55400:25:45,460 --> 00:25:47,950of Yalta at previous conferences they55500:25:47,950 --> 00:25:49,390had agreed on the establishment of the55600:25:49,390 --> 00:25:51,700United Nations German reparations to the55700:25:51,700 --> 00:25:53,910Soviet Union and the division of Germany55800:25:53,910 --> 00:25:56,170but each leader had a very different55900:25:56,170 --> 00:25:58,809agenda and each engaged in secret and56000:25:58,809 --> 00:26:01,559separate talks when they got to Yalta56100:26:01,559 --> 00:26:04,660this tension in the the three-part56200:26:04,660 --> 00:26:07,179relationship is something that the three56300:26:07,179 --> 00:26:09,670leaders tried not to let show publicly56400:26:09,670 --> 00:26:12,940but we're very aware of privately if56500:26:12,940 --> 00:26:16,050Great Britain goes down the Axis powers56600:26:16,050 --> 00:26:18,880will control the continents of Europe56700:26:18,880 --> 00:26:24,179and Asia and Africa and Australasia and56800:26:24,179 --> 00:26:28,000the high seas I think the basic question56900:26:28,000 --> 00:26:31,809is how did Churchill sea Britain's role57000:26:31,809 --> 00:26:35,080now that the United States was playing a57100:26:35,080 --> 00:26:37,510major part in securing the Victorian and57200:26:37,510 --> 00:26:39,429when the Soviet Union was making the57300:26:39,429 --> 00:26:41,260largest contribution in terms of57400:26:41,260 --> 00:26:44,290manpower he understood that he accepted57500:26:44,290 --> 00:26:47,020that he fought every day to make sure57600:26:47,020 --> 00:26:49,210that the British didn't get shortchanged57700:26:49,210 --> 00:26:50,980in terms of what they were doing57800:26:50,980 --> 00:26:52,809certainly Roosevelt's developing the57900:26:52,809 --> 00:26:57,190idea that the USSR is perhaps not quite58000:26:57,190 --> 00:27:01,990as friendly towards the rest as it might58100:27:01,990 --> 00:27:04,090be and this is curious because for a58200:27:04,090 --> 00:27:06,550good part of the war Roosevelt saw the58300:27:06,550 --> 00:27:09,940USSR as friendly or at least as someone58400:27:09,940 --> 00:27:12,780the US could work with and his58500:27:12,780 --> 00:27:15,550perception of the post-war world has not58600:27:15,550 --> 00:27:17,620precisely a condominium but as a world58700:27:17,620 --> 00:27:20,470in which the USA and the USSR would have58800:27:20,470 --> 00:27:22,480some sort of overview now what this does58900:27:22,480 --> 00:27:25,419of course is deal out the United Kingdom59000:27:25,419 --> 00:27:28,570Churchill did not trust Stalin but he59100:27:28,570 --> 00:27:30,279didn't know that Roosevelt was also59200:27:30,279 --> 00:27:32,709maneuvering behind his back this59300:27:32,709 --> 00:27:34,539double-dealing was most obvious in the59400:27:34,539 --> 00:27:37,389case of Poland the British had gone to59500:27:37,389 --> 00:27:39,929war over Poland which now lay in ruins59600:27:39,929 --> 00:27:42,549the exiled Polish government wanted to59700:27:42,549 --> 00:27:44,739return but Churchill knew Stalin had59800:27:44,739 --> 00:27:47,559designs on their country so he wanted to59900:27:47,559 --> 00:27:49,539walk away from the altar with agreement60000:27:49,539 --> 00:27:52,200that the poles would have free elections60100:27:52,200 --> 00:27:54,989the old four agenda was dominated by60200:27:54,989 --> 00:27:58,119Poland where Stalin became as the60300:27:58,119 --> 00:28:01,059official records a very affable very60400:28:01,059 --> 00:28:02,679friendly calls a moment when both60500:28:02,679 --> 00:28:04,779Churchill and Roosevelt rather nervously60600:28:04,779 --> 00:28:06,969sort of are Stalin you know free60700:28:06,969 --> 00:28:10,029elections in Poland yes said Stalin and60800:28:10,029 --> 00:28:11,379they thought well you know he can agree60900:28:11,379 --> 00:28:12,789to free elections but when will they be61000:28:12,789 --> 00:28:14,589so they said you know can we have them61100:28:14,589 --> 00:28:16,119within the year and so on I said why not61200:28:16,119 --> 00:28:17,919have them you know within six months why61300:28:17,919 --> 00:28:18,789not why wait61400:28:18,789 --> 00:28:21,489so of course Stalin was posing as being61500:28:21,489 --> 00:28:24,209on the side of the angels but in reality61600:28:24,209 --> 00:28:26,709Roosevelt was prepared to abandon Poland61700:28:26,709 --> 00:28:29,169the three leaders agreed that at some61800:28:29,169 --> 00:28:31,059future date Poland's borders would move61900:28:31,059 --> 00:28:33,549west into Germany and Stalin would gain62000:28:33,549 --> 00:28:35,109territory which suited his political62100:28:35,109 --> 00:28:39,399goals and for Stalin security came62200:28:39,399 --> 00:28:43,649through having a territorial buffer62300:28:43,649 --> 00:28:48,839between himself and Germany and he found62400:28:48,839 --> 00:28:51,190Roosevelt and Churchill were willing to62500:28:51,190 --> 00:28:55,089grant him this now why did they make62600:28:55,089 --> 00:28:59,139that decision in early 1945 it looked as62700:28:59,139 --> 00:29:03,099if an even more severe war would still62800:29:03,099 --> 00:29:06,299have to be fought in the Far East and62900:29:06,299 --> 00:29:11,079the Western Allies badly wanted Stalin63000:29:11,079 --> 00:29:13,839to agree once the war had been won in63100:29:13,839 --> 00:29:17,679Europe to turn his Red Army and put it63200:29:17,679 --> 00:29:22,149at the disposal of the alliance against63300:29:22,149 --> 00:29:25,359Japan in the Pacific the Americans had63400:29:25,359 --> 00:29:27,009won an important naval victory with63500:29:27,009 --> 00:29:27,510Leyte63600:29:27,510 --> 00:29:29,700and by the 6th of February during the63700:29:29,700 --> 00:29:31,800altar conference they had recaptured the63800:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,880Philippine capital Manila63900:29:36,429 --> 00:29:38,919but a new disturbing phenomenon and64000:29:38,919 --> 00:29:42,240emerged during his battles64100:29:43,950 --> 00:29:47,530suicide or kamikaze pilots attacked the64200:29:47,530 --> 00:29:49,570American fleet in large numbers and64300:29:49,570 --> 00:29:52,740inflicted heavy damage64400:30:08,870 --> 00:30:11,330it was still not clear who would win in64500:30:11,330 --> 00:30:13,580the Pacific the atom bomb remained64600:30:13,580 --> 00:30:15,590untested and the Americans thought they64700:30:15,590 --> 00:30:18,350needed the help of the Red Army this was64800:30:18,350 --> 00:30:21,710to steal Poland's fate at Yalta the64900:30:21,710 --> 00:30:24,110problem for Churchill at Yalta was the65000:30:24,110 --> 00:30:26,420American side that what Churchill didn't65100:30:26,420 --> 00:30:29,090know was that Roosevelt had already been65200:30:29,090 --> 00:30:31,520negotiating with Stalin on all sorts of65300:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,710elements of the war against Japan65400:30:33,710 --> 00:30:35,870Dresden already had a secret agreement65500:30:35,870 --> 00:30:40,190with Stalin for American planes bombing65600:30:40,190 --> 00:30:43,340Japan to use Siberian air bases and65700:30:43,340 --> 00:30:45,679therefore Roosevelt did not want to pick65800:30:45,679 --> 00:30:48,650a quarrel of anything certainly not ever65900:30:48,650 --> 00:30:50,150Poland about which Roosevelt was66000:30:50,150 --> 00:30:52,730actually quite cynical he makes in the66100:30:52,730 --> 00:30:55,400original Yalta transcripts result makes66200:30:55,400 --> 00:30:57,620very cynical remarks about the poles and66300:30:57,620 --> 00:31:00,140about the poles in America and here they66400:31:00,140 --> 00:31:02,120have no influence on me and you know who66500:31:02,120 --> 00:31:03,440cares about them in other words he66600:31:03,440 --> 00:31:05,809didn't have the Churchill in or the66700:31:05,809 --> 00:31:07,790British commitment to the poles as a66800:31:07,790 --> 00:31:11,000people in their country Poland as a66900:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,370result Poland became part of the empire67000:31:13,370 --> 00:31:16,550of the Soviet Union under the heel of67100:31:16,550 --> 00:31:19,970Stalin's tyranny in recent years there's67200:31:19,970 --> 00:31:24,710been a lot of criticism of Yalta as a67300:31:24,710 --> 00:31:25,580supposed67400:31:25,580 --> 00:31:29,300betrayal by the Western Allies and in67500:31:29,300 --> 00:31:31,100particular by Roosevelt because he had67600:31:31,100 --> 00:31:33,860the power in the way that Churchill did67700:31:33,860 --> 00:31:37,940not the ball fact was the Soviets had67800:31:37,940 --> 00:31:39,340got there first67900:31:39,340 --> 00:31:42,260to put it bluntly unless the Western68000:31:42,260 --> 00:31:44,120Allies were prepared to fight to go to68100:31:44,120 --> 00:31:47,059war with the Soviets to save Eastern68200:31:47,059 --> 00:31:50,090Europe which nobody was in 1945 for a68300:31:50,090 --> 00:31:54,410moment the fact was that Stalin had got68400:31:54,410 --> 00:31:56,720these countries physically in his grasp68500:31:56,720 --> 00:31:58,940when the exiled Polish government68600:31:58,940 --> 00:32:00,800returned it was greeted by Stalin's68700:32:00,800 --> 00:32:03,740troops and arrested free elections were68800:32:03,740 --> 00:32:04,700quickly forgotten68900:32:04,700 --> 00:32:06,730darling chastity was doubly simple69000:32:06,730 --> 00:32:10,309Stalin said in Western Europe those who69100:32:10,309 --> 00:32:12,020liberated these countries have imposed69200:32:12,020 --> 00:32:14,000the systems of government that they saw69300:32:14,000 --> 00:32:15,950appropriate we think a different system69400:32:15,950 --> 00:32:17,929is appropriate we have liberated the69500:32:17,929 --> 00:32:20,840East we will decide what governments69600:32:20,840 --> 00:32:22,470the least69700:32:22,470 --> 00:32:25,019however at Yalta the big three leaders69800:32:25,019 --> 00:32:26,879did agree on how they would run Germany69900:32:26,879 --> 00:32:28,919the first thing was that there should be70000:32:28,919 --> 00:32:31,409zones of occupation in Germany and here70100:32:31,409 --> 00:32:34,679Churchill had of a strong dispute with70200:32:34,679 --> 00:32:36,210Reza the Americans didn't want the70300:32:36,210 --> 00:32:38,190French to participate in these zones of70400:32:38,190 --> 00:32:40,470occupation and Churchill insisted that70500:32:40,470 --> 00:32:42,120they showed themselves as a result of70600:32:42,120 --> 00:32:44,039really quite a long fight as we were70700:32:44,039 --> 00:32:45,720behind the scenes at Yalta between the70800:32:45,720 --> 00:32:47,519British and Americans the French got70900:32:47,519 --> 00:32:50,159their their zone of occupation the71000:32:50,159 --> 00:32:52,440Allied powers also agreed at yata how71100:32:52,440 --> 00:32:54,179the United Nations should be structured71200:32:54,179 --> 00:32:57,389making the Soviet Union China the United71300:32:57,389 --> 00:32:59,340States and Britain the most powerful71400:32:59,340 --> 00:33:01,769members of it this is when the structure71500:33:01,769 --> 00:33:03,620of the United Nations was agreed71600:33:03,620 --> 00:33:06,990negotiations give-and-take came up with71700:33:06,990 --> 00:33:09,000an organization each of the great powers71800:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,090could live with agreement on the71900:33:12,090 --> 00:33:13,950long-term future proved easier than on72000:33:13,950 --> 00:33:17,070short-term military strategy while their72100:33:17,070 --> 00:33:19,379troops showed fraternal comradeship the72200:33:19,379 --> 00:33:21,419leaders each had their own eyes on72300:33:21,419 --> 00:33:27,139Berlin when Nazism was finally to die72400:33:36,010 --> 00:33:39,230on the 19th of February the Americans72500:33:39,230 --> 00:33:40,940started an offensive onto Japanese72600:33:40,940 --> 00:33:42,530territory and landed on the72700:33:42,530 --> 00:33:44,540strategically important island of Iwo72800:33:44,540 --> 00:33:50,030Jima the Japanese immediately put them72900:33:50,030 --> 00:33:53,180under heavy fire the Americans lost73000:33:53,180 --> 00:33:56,8404,000 men in the first two days then for73100:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,760the next month they advanced slowly73200:33:58,760 --> 00:34:01,880across the island the Japanese were73300:34:01,880 --> 00:34:03,920prepared to die in their thousands and73400:34:03,920 --> 00:34:07,660out of a total force of 23,000 all but73500:34:07,660 --> 00:34:11,060216 died defending what they saw as73600:34:11,060 --> 00:34:12,250their sacred land73700:34:14,859 --> 00:34:17,839in Europe the Germans were also battling73800:34:17,839 --> 00:34:20,659to the last they were fighting local73900:34:20,659 --> 00:34:23,829resistance movements street-by-street74000:34:23,829 --> 00:34:26,510the Allies had yet to advance into the74100:34:26,510 --> 00:34:31,219heart of Germany itself in the minds of74200:34:31,219 --> 00:34:34,190the Western Allies like their Eastern74300:34:34,190 --> 00:34:38,690brethren Berlin Hitler's capital the74400:34:38,690 --> 00:34:40,429heart of the Third Reich was always the74500:34:40,429 --> 00:34:42,859symbolic target the Western Allies and74600:34:42,859 --> 00:34:44,149all their plans and all their74700:34:44,149 --> 00:34:46,369conversations always talked as if Berlin74800:34:46,369 --> 00:34:49,629was going to be where they'd end up and74900:34:49,629 --> 00:34:53,210when for example representatives of the75000:34:53,210 --> 00:34:56,210Dutch who were suffering terribly under75100:34:56,210 --> 00:34:57,890German occupation was starving in75200:34:57,890 --> 00:35:00,859thousands and the Dutch begged that a75300:35:00,859 --> 00:35:03,309few divisions could be diverted to75400:35:03,309 --> 00:35:06,470liberate Holland and the fall are going75500:35:06,470 --> 00:35:10,279on - into Germany and Allied command has75600:35:10,279 --> 00:35:12,380always gave the same answer they said75700:35:12,380 --> 00:35:14,210the best service we can render to all75800:35:14,210 --> 00:35:16,970the oppressed peoples of Europe is to75900:35:16,970 --> 00:35:21,140get on to Berlin to end the Nazi tyranny76000:35:21,140 --> 00:35:24,349and then everyone will be free76100:35:24,349 --> 00:35:26,329to make the Dutch people's lives more76200:35:26,329 --> 00:35:27,559desperate and miserable76300:35:27,559 --> 00:35:29,869the Germans flooded acres of land76400:35:29,869 --> 00:35:32,089including fields that could provide them76500:35:32,089 --> 00:35:34,970with food the Dutch daily food ration76600:35:34,970 --> 00:35:38,390had fallen to starvation levels living76700:35:38,390 --> 00:35:41,539in Rotterdam was Anna it was bitterly76800:35:41,539 --> 00:35:44,390cold and we were all starving if we76900:35:44,390 --> 00:35:46,190could find tulip bulbs we dressed them77000:35:46,190 --> 00:35:48,160in an old dustbin77100:35:48,160 --> 00:35:52,009we had a bicycle with no tyres my older77200:35:52,009 --> 00:35:53,839two sisters and my father would go east77300:35:53,839 --> 00:35:56,380of the city in desperate search of food77400:35:56,380 --> 00:35:58,819we hope the farmers just might have77500:35:58,819 --> 00:35:59,859something77600:35:59,859 --> 00:36:02,479but the nasty Germans would stop them on77700:36:02,479 --> 00:36:04,729the way back and confiscate any food77800:36:04,729 --> 00:36:07,869they'd found for themselves77900:36:08,930 --> 00:36:11,340the plight of the Dutch did not go78000:36:11,340 --> 00:36:13,740entirely ignored and food was eventually78100:36:13,740 --> 00:36:17,220parachuted in all over Europe people78200:36:17,220 --> 00:36:18,120were starving78300:36:18,120 --> 00:36:20,310but the Western Allies refused to be78400:36:20,310 --> 00:36:21,990diverted from getting to Berlin and78500:36:21,990 --> 00:36:23,940trying to keep Poland as part of the78600:36:23,940 --> 00:36:26,550West it meant that if the Allies could78700:36:26,550 --> 00:36:28,410reach Berlin and a hundred miles beyond78800:36:28,410 --> 00:36:31,650the Allies in Poland would be contiguous78900:36:31,650 --> 00:36:33,780and therefore Polish independence could79000:36:33,780 --> 00:36:36,450be secured what happened was that Stalin79100:36:36,450 --> 00:36:38,430of course knew this he knew the Allied79200:36:38,430 --> 00:36:40,560plans we communicated our plans to him79300:36:40,560 --> 00:36:42,870and so he came to a private arrangement79400:36:42,870 --> 00:36:44,700with Eisenhower which is most79500:36:44,700 --> 00:36:47,540extraordinary and we now have the whole79600:36:47,540 --> 00:36:49,140correspondence between Churchill on79700:36:49,140 --> 00:36:53,460Eisenhower about it that Stalin said to79800:36:53,460 --> 00:36:53,940Eisenhower79900:36:53,940 --> 00:36:56,490Berlin is no longer important all the80000:36:56,490 --> 00:36:58,920German ministries have moved to our80100:36:58,920 --> 00:37:01,320moving south to Leipzig Geminids Dresden80200:37:01,320 --> 00:37:03,990itself so why don't you move you advance80300:37:03,990 --> 00:37:05,940you're on his South right and leave80400:37:05,940 --> 00:37:07,170Berlin to us because that's not80500:37:07,170 --> 00:37:07,890important80600:37:07,890 --> 00:37:10,200well the moment Churchill learned of80700:37:10,200 --> 00:37:11,790this which he did by accident but by the80800:37:11,790 --> 00:37:13,950accident of seeing the armies going in a80900:37:13,950 --> 00:37:15,030different direction to what he'd81000:37:15,030 --> 00:37:16,980expected he said what is this nice now81100:37:16,980 --> 00:37:19,530said no no the the Soviets save and it's81200:37:19,530 --> 00:37:22,020not important and Churchill saw the trap81300:37:22,020 --> 00:37:24,150immediately and Churchill said but wait81400:37:24,150 --> 00:37:25,470a minute you know even if all the81500:37:25,470 --> 00:37:27,810ministers have left Berlin which I don't81600:37:27,810 --> 00:37:29,910believe because it wasn't true still81700:37:29,910 --> 00:37:32,280Berlin has a psychological importance81800:37:32,280 --> 00:37:34,590Berlin is the German capital Berlin is81900:37:34,590 --> 00:37:38,490where Hitler is by now Hitler had no82000:37:38,490 --> 00:37:40,620faith in his military advisors and as82100:37:40,620 --> 00:37:42,030defeat was inevitable his82200:37:42,030 --> 00:37:43,650decision-making became increasingly82300:37:43,650 --> 00:37:46,710irrational he wasted limited German82400:37:46,710 --> 00:37:50,550resources on developing secret weapons82500:37:50,550 --> 00:37:52,990addicted to painkillers and holed up in82600:37:52,990 --> 00:37:53,740his bunker82700:37:53,740 --> 00:37:58,410he became deeply paranoid he's demented82800:37:58,410 --> 00:38:01,510he's obviously got terrific physical82900:38:01,510 --> 00:38:03,120problems his health is broken and he's83000:38:03,120 --> 00:38:05,950completely lost trust completely lost83100:38:05,950 --> 00:38:09,280trust in the general staff in the Army83200:38:09,280 --> 00:38:10,420he's acting as his own military83300:38:10,420 --> 00:38:12,940commander and he's become fanatical for83400:38:12,940 --> 00:38:14,530example he appoints him blur of all83500:38:14,530 --> 00:38:17,710people as the commander of the defenses83600:38:17,710 --> 00:38:20,260of Berlin who's quite useless Caesar and83700:38:20,260 --> 00:38:21,790Nazi Party functioning a politician83800:38:21,790 --> 00:38:23,740completely the wrong man but he doesn't83900:38:23,740 --> 00:38:26,860trust the army and really by this time84000:38:26,860 --> 00:38:28,420Hitler knows the game's up and he84100:38:28,420 --> 00:38:31,000determined to bring the German people84200:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,940down with him the most blameworthy were84300:38:33,940 --> 00:38:36,520Germany's generals who whatever their84400:38:36,520 --> 00:38:38,380military genius and many of them did84500:38:38,380 --> 00:38:40,690possess Alec true genius they failed84600:38:40,690 --> 00:38:43,180their nation in the world because they84700:38:43,180 --> 00:38:45,160were the only people who both knew that84800:38:45,160 --> 00:38:47,710Germany was losing the war knew what the84900:38:47,710 --> 00:38:50,620Nazis had done and had the power to do85000:38:50,620 --> 00:38:51,500something about it85100:38:59,250 --> 00:39:01,710as the Allied forces moved through the85200:39:01,710 --> 00:39:04,170ruins of Europe they faced defeated and85300:39:04,170 --> 00:39:06,670injured Germans85400:39:06,670 --> 00:39:08,829but many Red Army soldiers were so85500:39:08,829 --> 00:39:10,809brutalized but they show little or no85600:39:10,809 --> 00:39:15,640mercy to their enemy the Germans often85700:39:15,640 --> 00:39:17,500fared better at the hands of the Western85800:39:17,500 --> 00:39:23,260invaders the vast majority of Western85900:39:23,260 --> 00:39:25,740Allied soldiers weren't natural killers86000:39:25,740 --> 00:39:28,410they felt miserably unhappy about86100:39:28,410 --> 00:39:31,539fighting among villages and towns that86200:39:31,539 --> 00:39:33,880look pretty much like their own villages86300:39:33,880 --> 00:39:37,119and towns and a story always sticks in86400:39:37,119 --> 00:39:41,410my mind of a British tank officer who as86500:39:41,410 --> 00:39:44,710they were armed advancing into Germany86600:39:44,710 --> 00:39:47,010on the edge of a forest he saw movement86700:39:47,010 --> 00:39:50,079and he saw vehicles moving around and86800:39:50,079 --> 00:39:53,650they swivel the tire and fired several86900:39:53,650 --> 00:39:56,410rounds of high explosive and then put a87000:39:56,410 --> 00:39:57,849couple of bursts of machine-gun fire87100:39:57,849 --> 00:40:01,150there and then he said to his horror he87200:40:01,150 --> 00:40:04,930saw through the oculars that the people87300:40:04,930 --> 00:40:06,430on the edge of the forest weren't German87400:40:06,430 --> 00:40:09,760soldiers they were civilians and two87500:40:09,760 --> 00:40:12,309small figures detached themselves from87600:40:12,309 --> 00:40:16,900the wreckage of the carts and the87700:40:16,900 --> 00:40:19,480vehicles that they shot up and walked87800:40:19,480 --> 00:40:21,700towards the thing and one of them their87900:40:21,700 --> 00:40:25,390children and they stood and looked up at88000:40:25,390 --> 00:40:28,539the turret of his tank and a little boy88100:40:28,539 --> 00:40:31,599about ten says in English to the bridge88200:40:31,599 --> 00:40:35,190obser you have just killed my father and88300:40:35,190 --> 00:40:38,019British officer wrote in his diary there88400:40:38,019 --> 00:40:39,110was nothing I could say88500:40:47,339 --> 00:40:49,510one event more than any other88600:40:49,510 --> 00:40:51,760highlighted the ambiguous attitude the88700:40:51,760 --> 00:40:54,700British had towards German civilians the88800:40:54,700 --> 00:40:57,940bombing of Dresden on the 13th of88900:40:57,940 --> 00:41:01,359February 244 RAF bombers dropped over89000:41:01,359 --> 00:41:05,2503,000 tons of bombs on the city killing89100:41:05,250 --> 00:41:10,45035,000 civilians the strategic value of89200:41:10,450 --> 00:41:11,950the relentless bombing campaign of89300:41:11,950 --> 00:41:14,020German cities is the source of vehement89400:41:14,020 --> 00:41:16,810disagreement to this day among those who89500:41:16,810 --> 00:41:18,160think that we shouldn't judge the past89600:41:18,160 --> 00:41:20,230by the standards of the present is John89700:41:20,230 --> 00:41:22,030Hughes Wilson one of the great89800:41:22,030 --> 00:41:23,319controversies that come out of the89900:41:23,319 --> 00:41:25,240second world is the bombing of German90000:41:25,240 --> 00:41:27,339cities we have really rather agonized on90100:41:27,339 --> 00:41:29,170about this after the war that's90200:41:29,170 --> 00:41:31,030desperately unfair and it's revisionist90300:41:31,030 --> 00:41:33,130history of the worst kind because you90400:41:33,130 --> 00:41:35,470can't alter what things were like at the90500:41:35,470 --> 00:41:37,030time people's view I think on the90600:41:37,030 --> 00:41:38,380bombing and the saturation bombing of90700:41:38,380 --> 00:41:41,050Dresden was very mixed I mean on the90800:41:41,050 --> 00:41:43,839whole I think there was not the gung-ho90900:41:43,839 --> 00:41:45,550attitude that there was in the popular91000:41:45,550 --> 00:41:46,720press the Daily Mail and the Daily91100:41:46,720 --> 00:41:48,369Express there wasn't that there was a91200:41:48,369 --> 00:41:50,170feeling I think well we've had it why91300:41:50,170 --> 00:41:52,270shouldn't they but I don't think there91400:41:52,270 --> 00:41:54,010was this sort of very strong feeling of91500:41:54,010 --> 00:41:56,349revenge I think also there was a degree91600:41:56,349 --> 00:41:58,210of apathy I think people would just so91700:41:58,210 --> 00:41:59,980and have exhausted about that their91800:41:59,980 --> 00:42:02,770ability in a sense to be shocked had91900:42:02,770 --> 00:42:05,650somewhat diminished by that time92000:42:05,650 --> 00:42:08,660other historians like Max Hastings take92100:42:08,660 --> 00:42:10,549the view that at the time it was known92200:42:10,549 --> 00:42:12,319that there was little strategic value to92300:42:12,319 --> 00:42:15,799this bombing more bombs were dropped on92400:42:15,799 --> 00:42:19,220Germany in this last phase when the Nazi92500:42:19,220 --> 00:42:21,470defenses of more or less collapsed and92600:42:21,470 --> 00:42:23,269the Allied air forces have reached the92700:42:23,269 --> 00:42:25,220zenith of their path then in the whole92800:42:25,220 --> 00:42:27,589of the rest of the war put together and92900:42:27,589 --> 00:42:31,640when you say what did destroying Dresden93000:42:31,640 --> 00:42:34,299and PAL leipzig all those other cities93100:42:34,299 --> 00:42:36,289contribute to the end of the war the93200:42:36,289 --> 00:42:39,140answer is virtually nothing Dresden is93300:42:39,140 --> 00:42:40,670the best-known German city which was93400:42:40,670 --> 00:42:43,339kaarvok bond it is now also known that93500:42:43,339 --> 00:42:45,109it was the one city that the Soviet93600:42:45,109 --> 00:42:47,059Union specifically asked to be attacked93700:42:47,059 --> 00:42:48,920in order to stop German troop movement93800:42:48,920 --> 00:42:51,710the Soviets knew that some 1593900:42:51,710 --> 00:42:53,869first-class German divisions were moving94000:42:53,869 --> 00:42:56,420away from northern Italy from Central94100:42:56,420 --> 00:42:59,180Europe from Norway to go against the94200:42:59,180 --> 00:43:00,950Russian Eastern Front and Soviets were94300:43:00,950 --> 00:43:03,049desperate to have Dresden and Leipzig94400:43:03,049 --> 00:43:05,480pulverized so that this massive movement94500:43:05,480 --> 00:43:07,730of armor wouldn't take place the next94600:43:07,730 --> 00:43:10,369day the united states air force mustangs94700:43:10,369 --> 00:43:13,190the fighters come along and machine gun94800:43:13,190 --> 00:43:15,440survivors in the parks you don't often94900:43:15,440 --> 00:43:17,960hear that but it's a fact as the united95000:43:17,960 --> 00:43:19,849states air force follow up so this isn't95100:43:19,849 --> 00:43:21,799just a british problem it's a problem of95200:43:21,799 --> 00:43:24,759the whole bombing strategy95300:43:25,030 --> 00:43:28,690why in 1945 did they go on bombing95400:43:28,690 --> 00:43:31,050cities the RAF got the bombing the city95500:43:31,050 --> 00:43:33,430and I'm afraid the answer has to be95600:43:33,430 --> 00:43:36,910twofold one technological fanaticism and95700:43:36,910 --> 00:43:38,590sort of taken over that the fact that95800:43:38,590 --> 00:43:40,390you've got this huge bomber force which95900:43:40,390 --> 00:43:42,370existed and you could hardly tell it to96000:43:42,370 --> 00:43:45,850do nothing when the Germans were still96100:43:45,850 --> 00:43:48,580fighting furiously and the whole thing96200:43:48,580 --> 00:43:50,440had achieved as a dynamic momentum of96300:43:50,440 --> 00:43:53,380its own and secondly because our Air96400:43:53,380 --> 00:43:55,210Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris the96500:43:55,210 --> 00:43:57,730commander Bomber Command had become96600:43:57,730 --> 00:44:00,370completely personally obsessed with96700:44:00,370 --> 00:44:02,170completing the destruction of Germany's96800:44:02,170 --> 00:44:07,150cities before the war ended one of the96900:44:07,150 --> 00:44:09,130most shameful things of the Second World97000:44:09,130 --> 00:44:12,160War is the way that Churchill who has97100:44:12,160 --> 00:44:14,500launched this bombing offensive and97200:44:14,500 --> 00:44:16,540written warmly to Harris to congratulate97300:44:16,540 --> 00:44:19,660him on bombing out German cities by the97400:44:19,660 --> 00:44:21,070time March has come around97500:44:21,070 --> 00:44:22,840he actually retracts and writes a really97600:44:22,840 --> 00:44:24,760quite disgraceful memorandum to the97700:44:24,760 --> 00:44:26,470Chiefs of the air staff saying I don't97800:44:26,470 --> 00:44:28,210think we should do this you know and97900:44:28,210 --> 00:44:30,100it's nothing to do with me guv and has98000:44:30,100 --> 00:44:31,960to retract and he's doing that because98100:44:31,960 --> 00:44:33,130suddenly he realizes98200:44:33,130 --> 00:44:35,440perhaps the airmen have gone too far for98300:44:35,440 --> 00:44:37,540public conscience but the airmen have98400:44:37,540 --> 00:44:39,610only done what the Prime Minister98500:44:39,610 --> 00:44:42,340requested and indeed applauded them but98600:44:42,340 --> 00:44:44,190Churchill was not thinking much about98700:44:44,190 --> 00:44:47,380bombing by that stage in 1940 and 41 he98800:44:47,380 --> 00:44:48,880devoted a huge amount of energy and98900:44:48,880 --> 00:44:50,170attention to money because it was the99000:44:50,170 --> 00:44:53,620only way of attacking the Nazis but by99100:44:53,620 --> 00:44:56,5001944-45 his mind was focused on what99200:44:56,500 --> 00:44:58,540land armies were doing in the future of99300:44:58,540 --> 00:45:00,490post-war Europe in his memoirs he99400:45:00,490 --> 00:45:02,820scarcely mentions bombing in the last99500:45:02,820 --> 00:45:06,310volume or two there are two distinctly99600:45:06,310 --> 00:45:07,810different views on the Allied bombing99700:45:07,810 --> 00:45:10,090campaign of German cities but everyone99800:45:10,090 --> 00:45:12,610agrees that by 1945 the war had numbed99900:45:12,610 --> 00:45:14,960people to its horrors100000:45:14,960 --> 00:45:17,450what we're actually seeing here is if100100:45:17,450 --> 00:45:20,599you like the ratchet effective wall what100200:45:20,599 --> 00:45:23,960in 1939 would have been unthinkable by100300:45:23,960 --> 00:45:26,4801945 it's become a common place the100400:45:26,480 --> 00:45:27,619Second World War100500:45:27,619 --> 00:45:30,790shows the ratchet effect of100600:45:30,790 --> 00:45:32,750desensitization of human feeling and100700:45:32,750 --> 00:45:34,160human psychology and it's the100800:45:34,160 --> 00:45:36,230involvement of civilians that ratchets100900:45:36,230 --> 00:45:37,670up the casualties and makes the point101000:45:37,670 --> 00:45:42,250the second world war is a total