Traces the SS agency's rise to power, from their ascent in the Weimar Republic to their establishment within the Nazi regime.

An agriculturalist by trade, Heinrich Himmler goes on to lead the SS and tries to escape responsibility at the end of the war. His diary provides terrifying insights into the SS leader, revealing details of his private life and his work.

Reinhard Heydrich orchestrates mass murder. More than any other Nazi leader, he is responsible for rational planning with cold efficiency.

Nazi propaganda paints the Waffen-SS as a military elite. Though many recruits were poorly trained, they fight with contempt for death and slaughter anything that gets in their way.

As concentration camp guards, the SS Death Head Unit torture and murder prisoners on a daily basis. Despite these heinous acts, personal photos show the guards attending cheerful social gatherings in their free time.

Many Nazi perpetrators flee to exile unscathed with the help of the Vatican or the US intelligence services. But some do not escape punishment and are forced to confront their responsibility.