History Rediscovered: The Nazis Strike

The second film in Frank Capra's epic "Why We Fight" series, "The Nazis Strike" was released in 1943 — a year after the Academy Award-winning "Prelude to War." Where that film dealt with the history of Japanese and Italian aggression, this installment focuses on Nazi Germany and Hitler's diplomatic and military deceptions. Part history lesson, part call to arms, the film makes clear that the invasion of Poland in 1939 was the last in a long series of violations of international law, made by a leader who believed he was destined to achieve world domination. Despite the fact that Hitler made clear his expansionist ideas in Mein Kampf, he was also a master propagandist who deceived the French and British. Their appeasement of Hitler resulted in the worst challenge to Western Civilization in a millennium. The documentary concludes with a stirring portrait of the Invasion of Poland.