Rent Hitler's Special Forces (2005)
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2h 50min
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- Synopsis:
Triple-bill of documentaries about the elite fighting forces of the German Army during the Second World War.
StormtroopersOne of the most potent weapons used by the German Army during the first two years of the Second World War was the use of the infamous 'Stormtroopers'. These were sent in advance of the main thrust of the attack - taking their targets by complete surprise - in a quick, but immensely effective, short outburst of heavy force. These raids were carried out by top units of trained marines, paratroopers and infantry and proved to be highly successful time after time. Includes archive footage showing various attacks plus interviews with stormtroopers.
Waffen-SS
The SS had its beginnings in the turbulent street politics of the Weimar Republic. It became Heinrich Himmler's personal power-base and under him the SS grew into a vast private army and state-within-the-state. It was a chaotic, corrupt and often grossly inefficient organisation but one part of it - the "Waffen" or "Armed" SS, formed initially as a fighting force - achieved worldwide fame and notoriety. The Waffen-SS won a unique reputation for daring elan and unfailing professionalism in combat. Yet if their courage was unquestioned, so too was the fear and loathing which they elicited - even, eventually, amongst their own people, and in the regular soldiers alongside whom they fought. The SS played a conspicuous role in most of the important German triumphs, one far disproportionate to their numbers. In the long period of decline and retreat, as the Germans were steadily pushed back from east and west, despite repeatedly sustaining horrendous casualties, their discipline remained unbroken, their fighting ardour unimpaired, almost to the very end. After the war, the Waffen-SS were burdened with the near-exclusive blame for the most hideous crimes of the Nazi regime. It was only unfair insofar as many others were involved as well; and for all their matchless undoubted bravery, the Waffen-SS bears a reputation which will remain forever stained with infamy.
Paratroopers
With the use of archive footage, follow this documented account of Germany's elite parachute troops. Restricted after World War One, Germany looked on as Russia and America experimented with an airborne army. Convinced of its strategic and tactical potential, German leaders such as Goering and Student championed the creation of an elite parachute corp. When Hitler declared war on the civilised world, the new paratrooper divisions were to prove instrumental as the tidal wave of the Third Reich poured across Europe. From the opening day's hostilities in Poland, through France, Italy, Greece and North Africa, Hitler's elite parachute troops were to prove their worth.- Actors:
- Adolf Hitler, Herman Goering
- Aka:
- Hitler's Special Forces: The Elite Forces of The Third Reich
- Studio:
- Pegasus
- Genres:
- Children & Family, Documentary, Special Interest
