Bringing History to Life

In 1933, Adolf Hitler seizes power in Germany, where he has seduced the population with golden promises of a restoration of the Great German Empire. He allies himself with Mussolini's fascist Italy, Stalin's communist Soviet Union and the military dictatorship in Japan, which has the same dreams of grandeur as Germany. In this series, you get a thorough review of World War II - from the birth of fascism through the war's many dramas to the aftermath, where the victors deal with the war's worst criminals.

Nazi Germany’s dreaded air force

ESTABLISHED IN SECRET • At the end of World War I, the victors agreed that the German air force should be disbanded. Fighter planes were scrapped and pilots lost their jobs. But the Germans refused to give up. At secret bases in the Soviet Union, the Luftwaffe trained new pilots and tested the aircraft of the future.

SPANISH INITIATION • During the Spanish Civil War, the Luftwaffe was able to develop its tactics using dive bombers and fighters. While Franco received strong support, the German Condor Legion tested its new equipment in action. The Ju 87 Stuka and Messerschmitt Bf 109, for example, received a baptism of fire ahead of the coming world war.

AVIATION ACE AND WAR CRIMINAL • After the Nazi Party seized power in Germany in 1933, Hermann Göring quickly built the Luftwaffe into a formidable offensive weapon in the service of Adolf Hitler. But he also helped the Führer realise his plans for a ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Question’.

Adapted to destruction • Germany’s most versatile and hard-to-beat plane was only undone by its own tactics.

BATTLE OF THE NIGHT • The German night fighter aircraft had only one mission: to stop the British bombing raids on factories and cities. Thanks to both tactical and technical developments, the Nazi night fighters repeatedly outperformed the droves of British bombers.

FLYING ARTILLERY • When the artillery failed to keep pace with Hitler’s panzer divisions, it fell to the Luftwaffe to pave the way. Germany’s infamous dive bombers played a crucial role in clearing the ground.

WWII’s greatest tank destroyer • Two months after his leg was amputated, Hans-Ulrich Rudel flew his Junkers 87 Stuka against the enemy again. He carried out by far the most combat missions of all Germans, despite being twice thrown out of dive-bombing units for lack of flying ability.

LUFTWAFFE’S SUPER-PLANE • The German Junkers Ju 88 aircraft was successful in all sorts of roles: bomber, torpedo, reconnaissance and night fighter plane. But some German airmen also used the Ju 88 to defect.

WHY GERMAN AIRLIFT FAILED • The Luftwaffe’s failure to carry supplies to the trapped 6th Army can be blamed neither on the weather nor on too few transport planes. Christer Bergström explains how these popular theories don’t hold up; instead he points to the role played by fighter aircraft.

GERMANY’S BATTERING RAM • The Luftwaffe’s backbone was the versatile Focke-Wulf Fw 190. The mass-produced fighter aircraft proved highly effective against Allied bombing raids. With its thick armour and powerful autocannons, German aces were able to bring down US four-engine bombers. On the Eastern Front, the Focke-Wulf also enjoyed success as a ground-attack aircraft.

She would die for the Führer • Thanks to her courage and skill, Hanna Reitsch became Nazi Germany’s most famous test pilot. At the end of the war, she even prepared for a suicide bombing attack on London.

THE GERMAN STEALTH PLANE MYTH • In the final months of the war, two German brothers toiled to build a revolutionary new jet aircraft. Its unusual shape gave rise to the myth that the plane would not have been seen on Allied radar – a technological feat far ahead of its time.

Luftwaffe’s Last Hurrah • In...