German Occupation (05:16)

FREE PREVIEW

In 1941, German soldiers take R&R in Paris. Philippe Pétain collaborates with Germany and promotes anti-Jewish statutes. British citizens support Winston Churchill. President Roosevelt sends equipment to Great Britain; German submarines target British vessels. (Credits)

Eastern Offensive Plans (05:22)

Adolf Hitler wants to attack Russia. Troops, including the 9th Panzer Division, gather in the east. Prisoners and Jews construct a motorway across Poland. Hitler delays plans, dispatches the Afrika Korps to Libya, and attacks Greece.

Operation Barbarossa (06:07)

Moscow celebrates international Workers Day with German soldiers in attendance. Rudolph Hess crashes in Scotland and reveals Hitler's invasion plans. Joseph Stalin ignores the warning and Hitler launches his offensive.

German Advance (08:02)

German troops quickly move through the Soviet Union. The northern Balkan states welcome the soldiers and people organize pogroms against Jews. Gen. Heinz Guderian's troops advance through central Russia and casualties rise.

Scorched Earth Policy (05:43)

The Russians are often forced to retreat. Stalin orders factories to relocate and farmers to destroy their properties. The Germans advance to Smolensk where the battle lasts three weeks. Survivors and peasants form resistance movements.

Germans Enter Ukraine (04:11)

Hitler and Wilhelm Keitel visit the front. Hitler orders Guderian to Kiev and troops capture 600,000 Russian soldiers. Many Ukrainians side with the Nazis. Hermann Goering and Alfred Rosenberg implement Ukrainian enslavement and Jewish annihilation.

Holocaust by Bullets (02:36)

Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich establish the Einstazgruppen. After attending an execution, Himmler orders the SS to use more humane methods, eventually leading to the gas chambers.

Siege of Leningrad (03:33)

German soldiers use artillery and starvation against the city. In September 1941, Guderian's troops advance toward Moscow; Rasputitsa slows progress until the frosts arrive.

Winter Campaign (04:07)

Right Wing extremists join the German Army. The Wehrmacht are not equipped for Russia's hard winter. The Afrika Korps lacks supplies in the desert. German soldiers reach the outskirts of Moscow but Stalin orders the Revolution Commemoration Parade to continue.

Defending Moscow (06:28)

Stalin and Georgi Zhukov coordinate the defense. Russian troops take 57,000 prisoners; another 50,000 are dead or missing. German troops are pushed back 200 kilometers and Hitler takes personal charge of the Wehrmacht before returning to his chalet. Japan attacks Pearl Harbor.

Credits: Episode 3: The Shock (01:14)

Credits: Episode 3: The Shock