June 22, 1941 at dawn, Hitler launches a surprise attack on the USSR, defying the non-aggression pact signed between Stalin’s country and his own. This marks the beginning of the horrific “Operation Barbarossa".
EPISODE 1
Conquering the Living Space
At dawn on June 22nd, 1941, Hitler launches a surprise attack of the USSR, violating its non-aggression pact with Stalin. This begins operation “Barbarossa”. Hitler gives his army only a few weeks to conquer the world’s largest country and its “inferior” people. His goal, expand the living spaces for Germany. The first months of the conflict go exactly according to plan, but soon, German troops face the harsh reality of war in the USSR.
EPISODE 2
The Decisive Fight
Late 1941. The Nazi army is at Moscow’s gates. With winter settling in and Germany’s advance slowing, the Soviets turn their capital into a fortress. German soldiers don’t have winter gear weakening their resolve and halting any advance. The spring of 1942 brings new victories for Germany but after months of fighting, the German 6th army is surrounded and annihilated, leading to the greatest tank battle in history at Kursk in the summer of 1943.
Mathieu Kassovitz
Isabelle Clarke
Daniel Costelle
Louis Vaudeville
Diane Imbault-Huart
