Tyrant: The Rise of Adolf Hitler

The first edition look at the six months between March 1938 and September 1938, and explores how Adolf Hitler began to drag the world towards a devastating war. The programme recalls how Hitler manipulated and played games with the people of Czechoslovakia and with the western powers of Britain and France to achieve his ends.

In September 1938, Hitler makes his intention to invade Czechoslovakia known, but Britain and France make it clear they will go to war against Germany if he does so. On the night of 9 November in Germany, Nazi forces attack Jewish property and homes, killing many Jews and arresting thousands more. Known as Kristallnacht, this was the start of the Holocaust, which exposed Hitler and his horrific plans on the world stage. Finally, this episode travels back to 15 March 1939, when Hitler's troops marched across the border and occupied Czechoslovakia.

Fresh from invading Czechoslovakia, Hitler now turned to his next target: Poland. He saw this vast country as ripe for German expansion, taking him to the borders of the Soviet Union. In private, Hitler ordered his army commanders to plan for the invasion. But in public, Hitler continued to play the man of peace, enjoying extravagant 50th birthday celebrations and making a public tour around Germany visiting a new Volkswagen factory, going to the opera in Vienna, and opening an Exhibition of German Art in Munich. But behind the scenes, Hitler was masterminding an unexpected alliance with his ideological enemy: the Soviet Union. Hitler thought that with the might of Russia on his side, the western powers of Britain and France wouldn't dare stop him invading Poland. But, when news of the German-Soviet alliance spread around the world, the British and the French made it very clear to Hitler that they would stand by Poland, regardless of his deal with the Soviets. Hitler decided to invade regardless, and sent his troops in on 1 September 1939. With this act of aggression Adolf Hitler triggered the Second World War…