Hitler 'nobly' awaiting his fate -- gag me

Diappointed to see only one discussion on this excellent series, and this is it...

I disagree with the sentiments expressed here. The quoted narration given by the OP "comforted by a few treasured possessions... reminders of better days... marries Eva Braun" has nothing to do with pro-German pandering. It sets a juxtaposition between the relative safety and comfort that Hitler tried to provide for himself versus the ongoing slaughter on the streets of Berlin, just above; the last remanants of the German military laying down their lives against the Red Army onslaught just so Hitler could have an extra few days to knob his wife. The dramatical recreation of his last days, "Der Untergang" ("Downfall") shows that Hitler used his last days to have many Germans shot for failing him. He knew the battle was lost, he let thousands continue to die anyway, without a hope.

It's worth bearing in mind that the series was produced by a British historian who collaborated with Russian historians. It is highly unlikely that they would support a series which glorified Hitler and Naziism right after showing the images of men, women and children being slaughtered, starved and suffering under Nazi occupation. Some of the saddest displays of humanity torn apart, unforgettable scenes which are haunting and disturbing, are presented in this series: those are the things to lose one's lunch over. There was no apologetic tone, no approval for either of the dictators. There was a sympathetic tone for soldiers and citizens, including Germans, because they were the true victims of the eastern war – pawns and fodder – millions of lives destroyed to satisfy two great egos, two conflicting ideals. Both were monsters and megalomaniacs.

We know now, and they knew when this series was made, that Stalin's attrocities far outweigh Hitler's. Germany's greatest crimes were the Holocaust, concentration camps, Gestapo and SS massacres throughout Europe and Russia against citizens. Stalin's crimes began long before Hitler came to power and continued long after he died: gulags, NKVD attrocities, purges and murders everywhere. The "Great Purge" preceeded the "Final Solution" by several years. Katyn was inexcusable. The gulags went on far longer and in far greater numbers than the German labour camps. Communist Russia was a far more inhospitable environment for anyone to live in than Fascist Germany.

Final note: I didn't hear the words "Hitler 'nobly' awaited his fate" ar anything similar in the narration. This appears to be the conclusion of the OP. And it's the wrong one. Neither Hitler nor Stalin were ever painted as noble, just or heroes (except in their own eyes), but as fanatics, murderers and brutal leaders set on destroying each other.

I mostly agree with pmalt. I disagree with his assessment of footage as excellent though. I just watched the doc over the weekend, and was really disappointed. It is a poorly made film. Many shots are repeated several times throughout and out of chronological order or relevance. They didn't have enough material to fill the required length? Many interviews were lame: a famous choreographer, a boy that was 10 years old when the war broke out, a peasant near Katyn forest (who did not know who was brought in and where they went afterwards!), an artist who drew propaganda cartoons for the entire length of his very long career (talk about gagging!) - all giving their "professional" opinion... In 1995 when the doc was made they could have found lots of much more relevant people. Even the name is misleading. It should have been called not "Russia's War", but "Why Stalin is the worst, the absolute baddest, the most horrible person that ever lived, period", because that is what the doc is really about. or "Everything bad that happened in Europe/Russia between 1924 and 1953 was Stalin's fault, and everything seemingly good that happened was indeed really bad and his fault, too" How much more simplistic and propagandistic can you get? The movie quotes Goebbels at one point! Goebbels, the name synonymous with the word "lie".

I even caught translators lying: what was written in the documents shown on the screen, did not match the narration. Key words and numbers did not match! Carelessness, or deliberate distortion? Great many historical facts and dates were just plain wrong. The film makers did not care: they were making a hard core propaganda missive, not a true documentary. Sadly, based on the reviews here, they achieved their goal.

Even more disappointing is the fact that the documentary is advertised to be based on an excellent book by the same name, written by Prof. Richard Overy of the University College London. There is very little in the documentary from the book, besides the general story line. Richard Overy is listed as a historical consultant, but not a script writer nor an editor. What a shame.