Hitler: The Rise and Fall

The opening episode investigates the first three decades of Adolf Hitler's life to discover what transformed a down and out Austrian into the undisputed leader of the Nazi Party. World-renowned experts analyse the defining events of Hitler's early life, including his heartbreak at witnessing the death of his beloved mother and his time as a failed artist living on the streets of Vienna. Based on groundbreaking research, we reveal the true story of Hitler's years serving on the front line in World War One - exposing how Nazi propagandists would later exploit a comrade's courageous act to portray Hitler as a war hero. As the social outcast later sets about transforming the fledgling Nazi Party, we explore the key attributes and style makeover that fuel his political ascent. In the aftermath of the failed Beer Hall Putsch, experts pinpoint Hitler's leadership qualities as he turns defeat on its head and, during his time in prison, writes the most infamous book in history, Mein Kampf. They also unpick the transformation of his image, including analysis of the incredible photos taken by his personal photographer Heinrich Hoffman in which Hitler practises a series of dramatic gestures to enhance his speeches. State of the art colourisation helps bring Hitler back to life as he prepares to face down his rivals at the Bamberg Conference - where the Heil Hitler salute becomes compulsory and the stage is left set for his ruthless rise to political power.

This episode investigates Adolf Hitler's breathtaking political rise from right-wing crank to the messiah of Germany. Hitler sees absolute power as his divine destiny. As he rises from the ashes of a crushing election defeat in 1928, leading experts analyse how he rebrands himself to become Germany's Führer by 1933. His fabled speech-making skills are put under the microscope by a behavioural analyst and a propaganda specialist explores his gifts as a pioneer of political spin. We investigate how Hitler overcomes a career-threatening scandal when his niece is discovered dead in his private apartment, shot with a bullet from his own pistol, and explore Hitler's first meeting with his mistress of twelve years, Eva Braun. We explore the propaganda blitz that transformed Hitler into a messiah figure, descending from the skies in his personal plane to captivate his audience; and explore the mind of a man who would execute his closest comrade in a night of brutal mass murder. Having dissected his irresistible public rise, experts peer behind the doors of the Reich Chancellery to reveal the private Hitler. They attempt to square a dysfunctional leader paranoid about his own security with the celluloid god immortalised in the ultimate propaganda film, Triumph of the Will. Cutting edge colourisation shows Hitler as never seen before: a Nazi movie star at the peak of his performance powers. History's greatest actor has conquered Germany. Now he's ready to take on the world.

This episode explores inside the mind of a dictator as Hitler tightens his iron grip on Germany and turns his sights to conquest. The Führer has ambitious plans to restore Germany to greatness. But to fulfil his vision, he must inspire his country's people to follow him without question and conceal his true motives for expansion from the world. Leading Hitler experts investigate his mindset during the defining moments in his first four years in power - starting with his ambush of Germany's World War One victors when he rips up the treaty of Versailles and declares that Germany is rearming. As Hitler's vision of himself as heroic leader grows, we reveal his extraordinary self-indulgence - transforming the Berghof, a simple Bavarian farmhouse, into a state of the art mansion worthy of a Hollywood celebrity. We explore how Hitler's audacity and bullying tactics enable him to expand Germany's borders without firing a shot. At the same time, he dupes foreign leaders and the German people into believing he is a man of peace. As national pride swells, so does Hitler's self-belief. State of the art colourisation techniques bring the Führer back to life as his dictatorship grows and he assumes command of the armed forces. The Führer is now worshipped as a saviour. And when a Nazi official is murdered by a Jew, Hitler gives the green light for revenge against his most hated enemy - revealing his true colours and laying the foundation for his horrific racial program.

As Hitler's messiah complex reaches its zenith, this episode investigates how his war-mongering reaches an epic scale. Hitler's megalomania is fuelled by his conviction that he's divinely chosen to become the new deliverer of Germany. He's a man who marks his fiftieth birthday with the biggest military parade in German history and whose ornate inner sanctum at the heart of the Reich Chancellery is fit for a Roman emperor. Experts forensically examine images of Hitler to understand how he hid the psychopath beneath to march a rebranded Germany into the global carnage of World War Two. After his defeat of France in 1940, Hitler's demeanour is put under the microscope by a behavioural analyst, while a body language expert reveals the key clues that indicate his secret thoughts. Rarely-seen unofficial photographs taken by Hitler's videographer, Walter Frentz, give us an insight into the Führer's private moments, such as fantasising about his Nazi megacity Germania. As he plans the obliteration of his peaceful ally Russia, Hitler's divided mind is illustrated by a lifestyle feature for The New York Times Magazine and an indulgence in classical music. Meanwhile, he's taking a cocktail of more than 80 drugs a day and harbouring a hidden addiction to cocaine. Declaring war on America, he believes their conflict is proof of a Jewish conspiracy and that they will be a pushover. The Nazi messiah is now ready to launch global genocide - and, in his eyes, there's no going back.

In this episode, fresh expert analysis unpicks the darkest arts of Hitler's personality as the tide of war turns against him. Having declared war on the USA, Hitler sees an opportunity to escalate his vendetta against the Jews and enact the Final Solution. He manipulates his long list of enemies into proof of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy. It's the pretext for an unprecedented level of violence and horror - but as millions die in concentration camps, Hitler meticulously and deviously covers his tracks. Hitler's state of denial soon brings him into conflict with his own generals. When his exhausted forces hit a wall of Red Army soldiers they can't defeat, his solution is to fire the generals and appoint himself as their replacement. But he's neither skilled nor trained for the job. And when his soldiers pay for it with their lives, the Führer has no empathy. After the surrender at Stalingrad, Hitler slides into a dark, isolated world, hiding from the truth. Anyone who brings him bad news is dismissed. His only relief is escapism and he consumes himself with the childish excitement of rescuing his fascist ally, Benito Mussolini, from imprisonment. Ultimately, it's a reunion that simply confirms how far both have fallen. Dealt blow after blow, Hitler runs away to hide in the German Alps behind a haze of drugs. Retreating into a bizarre world of delusion and denial, he surrounds himself with luxury, as the nation he professes to love starts to burn.

The final episode explores Hitler's mental and physical decline as he is forced to confront his endgame of inevitable defeat. Never-before-seen photographs reveal the development of the secret weapons Hitler is convinced can turn the tide of the war. But his own army officers are plotting against him. The Führer miraculously survives an assassination attempt, convincing him of his divine status as the saviour of the German people. Then, driven by a lust for vengeance against the plotters, he launches an unequalled reign of terror. Leading Hitler experts investigate his mindset during the defining moments of his subsequent downfall - starting with his final military gamble, the disastrous Ardennes Offensive. Not for the first time, faced with a devastating reality, he threatens to take his own life. With the Allies advancing from east and west, Hitler is forced to accept he has no cards left to play. As he descends into a specially built Führer bunker in Berlin, private photographs reveal his escape into a fantasy world. Overwhelmed by feelings of betrayal, he turns the full force of his anger onto the German people, ordering that the nation should burn before it is captured. When he learns the 3rd SS Panzer Corps has not carried out the counterattack he ordered and that even his closest allies have turned against him, Hitler finally accepts the inevitable. He rewards his hidden mistress of 13 years with marriage then less than forty hours later asks his valet for his gun and pulls the trigger.