Hitler's bodyguard - Season 1

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How Hitler's Bodyguard Worked

1 - How Hitler's Bodyguard Worked

Air Date: February 12, 2010

Hitler's personal protection squad grew from a few fiercely loyal, handpicked ruffians into an army with a complicated structure and intense internal competition.

Early Attempts on Hitler's Life

2 - Early Attempts on Hitler's Life

Air Date: February 12, 2010

Beer hall brawls, street fighting, and several brushes with death marked Hitler's rise to power in the stormy politics of interbellum Germany.

Kill the new Chancellor

3 - Kill the new Chancellor

Air Date: February 26, 2010

During Hitler's first year in office--as he steered Germany abruptly towards tyranny--he faced no fewer than a dozen attempts on his life.

Night of the Long Knives

4 - Night of the Long Knives

Air Date: March 5, 2010

In one bloody, well-planned purge, Hitler eliminated his political rivals and ended the looming threat from Ernst Röhm's well-armed Sturmabteilung.

Jewish and Emigre Attempts to Kill Hitler

5 - Jewish and Emigre Attempts to Kill Hitler

Air Date: March 12, 2010

As the Nazis amped up their anti-Semitic and expansionist activities, Jewish groups, Soviet Communists, and Otto Strasser's rival Black Front all targeted Hitler.

Kill Hitler Before War Starts

6 - Kill Hitler Before War Starts

Air Date: March 19, 2010

By 1938, people inside and outside Germany--including some of Hitler's senior military personnel--planned preemptive strikes against the Führer.

Bombs and Paranoia

7 - Bombs and Paranoia

Air Date: March 26, 2010

Convinced that a failed bomb plot had roots in England, a Gestapo counterintelligence officer engineered an elaborate sting to snatch British agents.

Dangerous Car Journeys

8 - Dangerous Car Journeys

Air Date: April 2, 2010

Hitler liked to tour cheering crowds in a customized, open-top Grosser Mercedes and later a G4-a predilection that gave his bodyguards nightmares.

Flights into Danger

9 - Flights into Danger

Air Date: April 9, 2010

Hitler appreciated the power of aircraft, not only as a military weapon, but as a political tool. During the early 1930s, he hired aircraft for election campaigning, often facing weather and mechanical problems, as well as specific assassination attempts.

Hitler's Dangerous Train Journeys

10 - Hitler's Dangerous Train Journeys

Air Date: April 16, 2010

British operatives targeted Hitler's special train, the Führer-Sonderzug--a rolling fortress on rails--despite its heavy armor and tight security measures.

Attempts to Kill Hitler at Wolf's Lair

11 - Attempts to Kill Hitler at Wolf's Lair

Air Date: April 23, 2010

Heavily camouflaged and fortified, Hitler's military headquarters in Poland saw several assassination attempts--including one that came closest to succeeding.

Nearly Assassinated at the Berghof

12 - Nearly Assassinated at the Berghof

Air Date: April 30, 2010

Hitler's Alpine retreat in Bavaria offered opportunities for a pistol-packing German officer, a sniper, a long-range bombing raid, and even an aerial assault by the Allies.

Poison Gas Plot in the Bunker

13 - Poison Gas Plot in the Bunker

Air Date: May 7, 2010

One member of Hitler's inner circle later claimed to have contemplated flooding the Fuhrer's Berlin bunker with nerve gas as the Allies closed in.