Hitler's Circle of Evil
This is the inside story of the rise and fall of the Third Reich told like the drama it really was: from the perspective of those who made it happen - Hitler’s inner circle - the movers and shakers of the most evil regime in history.
Heroes and Misfits
In the aftermath of WW1, Germany is on its knees. The country is crying out for a saviour and in the beer halls of Munich, wealthy occultist, Dietrich Eckart thinks he’s found him - a young soldier named Adolf Hitler. Others soon join them. A dashing fighter pilot ace, Hermann Göering, believes he’s found the man to fuel his ambitions while war hero Captain Ernst Rohm sees the young firebrand as someone he can use. Young student, Rudolf Hess, falls under Hitler’s spell while unassuming school teacher’s son, Heinrich Himmler finds his chance to play soldier and fight for his crazy ideals. This small gang of heroes and misfits find each other in the violence and disenchantment of their broken nation and cement their relationship in a daring coup attempt. This is the inside story of the early days of Hitler’s inner circle.
Regrouping
The failure of the Munich Beer Hall Putsch dramatically influences Hitler. He realises power through revolution won’t work. After writing ‘Mein Kampf’ in prison with besotted follower Rudolf Hess, he expands his inner circle. Dismissing Ernst Röhm and any threat to his powerbase he surrounds himself with rising stars. People who will become the great Nazi names. Failed author and aspiring journalist Dr Josef Goebbels vows eternal loyalty and tirelessly campaigns for the cause. Struggling chicken farmer and backroom boy Heinrich Himmler proves his loyalty through the development and expansion of the SS... and returning from exile, wounded war hero Hermann Göring uses his social status to try and bring the establishment on side. But only after the Wall Street Crash are they taken seriously.
The Fall of Röhm
From 1930 the Nazi party is on the rise. Playing on the public’s fears following the Wall Street Crash, their policies now seem legitimate. A series of elections bring all the key players together. Goebbels devises a series of innovative propaganda campaigns, Göring uses his social and political influence to bring the establishment on side and Himmler’s expanding SS police the organisation. Steady political gains are made until their first big success - Hitler is made Chancellor in 1933. Weeks later the Reichstag fire provides the excuse they were looking for to crush the only remaining political opposition, the communists. Now secure in power the inner circle are all rewarded - except for Röhm. His SA is out of control. Göring and Himmler cleverly orchestrate his downfall in the purge known as the Night of the Long Knives.
The Rise of Antisemitism
As the Nazis seize power in 1933, there is a secret struggle between the larger-than-life war hero, Hermann Göring, and the spin doctor and vociferous anti-Semite, Josef Goebbels. Goebbels gains a strong influence over the party as he steers ever-harsher Jewish policy. Göring sees his powerbase as a threat to his own and plots with other senior Nazis to take down his rival. Using the infamous gestapo and wire taps, he collects compromising information of Goebbels’ infidelities, which he strategically feeds to Hitler. And as Goebbels’ marriage crumbles, he falls from grace. Desperate to reassert himself, he finds the perfect opportunity, in a brutal chance to please Hitler and punish the Jews - in a night of destruction and murderous violence now known as Kristallnacht.
The Berghof Set
As the Third Reich prepares for war ruthless infighting divides the leaders of the Nazi party. Rudolf Hess, Hermann Göring and Josef Goebbels are all vying to be the Führer’s favourite. Then a new player steps onto the scene. Martin Bormann, a little known party organiser, is intent on crushing all his rivals. But how will he achieve his plan? With fox-like cunning he rises through the ranks and willingly takes charge of the rebuilding of Hitler’s mountain retreat. He’s shrewd enough to realise that overseeing this project will place him in direct - and frequent - contact with the Fuhrer. Soon he gains his leader’s trust and becomes an important player in the inner circle. But for Hess this is bad news - the Deputy Fuhrer is beginning to fear he’s now being usurped, losing influence and falling out of favour.
The Madness of Rudolf Hess
As Europe is engulfed by total war, Hitler’s loyal Deputy, Rudolf Hess, is feeling increasingly isolated from the inner circle. He’s desperate to regain the Fuhrer’s attention and trust, but as time goes by he’s pushed further and further from the centre of power. If only he can persuade Great Britain to sue for peace, then the Third Reich can concentrate on the real enemy - Stalin’s Russia. But Hitler won’t listen. So finally, in May 1941 Hess stakes his reputation on one last throw of the dice. But the gamble is an absolute disaster. The only real winner to come out of the most bizarre episode of the Second World War is Hess’ Deputy, Martin Bormann. He steps out of the shadows and worms his way to Hitler’s side. Once installed as the leader’s faithful gate keeper, he becomes one of the most powerful men in the Reich.
The Rise and Fall of Reinhard Heydrich
In 1939 on the eve of World War 2, Heinrich Himmler plans to establish his SS as the most powerful organisation within the Nazi regime. To do this, he has a cunning and ruthless deputy: Reinhard Heydrich. He is a rising star within Hitler’s inner circle. However, their radical plans to create a new German Empire dominated by the SS are soon thwarted by powerful rivals within the Party. Undeterred Himmler and Heydrich escalate the actions of their SS against the Jews in a horrifying bid to fulfil their Fuhrer’s darkest dreams. In doing so Heydrich sets in motion the mass murder of millions of Jews establishing himself as chief architect of Hitler’s final solution. But after he skilfully crushes Czech resistance in Prague his growing reputation makes him a target both in and outside Hitler’s circle of evil.
The Rise of the Sycophants
Its early 1942 and the Nazi’s invasion of Soviet Russia has reached a critical stage. With the United States also about to join the war, Germany is crying out for more tanks and aircraft. Who can Hitler trust to save the war effort? No one is expecting Albert Speer, his friend and favourite architect. Despite his inexperience Speer proves to be shrewd and capable operator rationalizing German industry to maximise production. But his success soon stirs up a rat’s nest of jealousy and intrigue and when he tries to convince Hitler to accept increasingly painful sacrifices to save the Third Reich, his more sycophantic rivals are ready to pounce. Speer’s rise will put the ambitious architect into the firing line of the most notorious figures in the Nazi regime. It’s a confrontation that would threaten his life.
Beginning of the End
There is unrest in Nazi ranks. Hitler narrowly escapes a bomb assassination attempt. It soon becomes clear, the German Army is behind it. The bomb plot fails to destroy the Third Reich: it makes its inner circle even more powerful. Key beneficiaries are, head of SS Heinrich Himmler, Josef Goebbels, propaganda minster, private secretary to the Fuhrer, Martin Bormann and Albert Speer, architect and armaments minister. Hitler and his entourage enter a world of fantasy. ‘Total War’ is unleashed and the final card is played: the Battle of the Bulge. It doesn’t take long before the inner circle realizes they have been set an impossible task: failure is inevitable. Hitler’s absolute control was waning. With enemy attacks, a lack of fuel and a loss of men, the noose is tightening around them.
Meltdown
It’s 1945; with allies are advancing on all sides, a lack of fuel and men; the dreams of the Nazi high command are in ruins. Hitler the “all-conquering genius” is falling apart, and his inner circle isn’t doing what they're told, the whole network built on Hitler’s charisma is starting to disintegrate. The key inner circles players are Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Göring, Albert Speer, Josef Goebbels and Martin Bormann. Behind the propaganda the inner circle is a rats nest of envy, greed and vicious power plays. Peace talks, cash for Jews, assassination attempts and stashing away stolen treasure: chaos and madness prevail! With troops circling the capital, it’s time for them to plot their exit strategy before it's too late. Stay loyal to the Fuhrer or jump ship and save their own skin? The day of reckoning is here.
