Conformity
Nazi Germany 10 years before the 1944 assassination attempt: it’s the era just after the seizure of power, when enforced conformity becomes part of all aspects of life. Within the space of a single year, the usurper Hitler manages to bring not only the state and its institutions under his power as ‘Führer and Reich Chancellor’, but he also controls key organizations like the trade unions and the military. This shift in power doesn’t happen by force. For many, being close to the party is an opportunity. It kick-starts some breath-taking careers as officials, lawyers, doctors, technicians, artists and entrepreneurs. Stories taken from the everyday lives of ordinary people enable a fresh understanding of the Reich’s power structures and mechanisms of repression: from the block warden to the sceptic, the party-careerist to the denunciator – they all offer different insights into life under the Nazi regime and shed light on how and why the German public obediently followed its Führer. The ‘Third Reich’ is unthinkable without its instigator Hitler. But it’s the structures he puts in place that keep him in power. He surrounds himself with helpers prepared to put themselves entirely at his service, who court his favour, and outdo each other in unquestioning obedience. These minions are central to his success – willing enforcers who do what the tyrant orders, unquestioning and completely loyal. They in turn find accomplices form all sections of society who – following many years of economic and political uncertainty – seek advantages by joining the Nazi Party. It’s a network of terror that spreads right through society into all aspects of daily life – a kind of all-encompassing indoctrination that becomes the norm.
S1E1 49 min
