The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

The theatrical version loses nearly one-half of the mainly German footage comprising this cinematic transposition of Shirer’s great scholarly work, but gives a complete structure answerable to the title.

A divided Germany conquered by a dedicated Fascist organization is resolved to meet the world on similar terms, here it fails, and while the rise is quite explicit in its documentation, the fall is somewhat more veiled, a list of opposing countries on Nazi radio, the result is scattered pictures of Allied troops, the distinct end almost mysterious in a way, though clearly announced by Churchill in a trumpet blast.

The narrator states the rise, “it happened with miraculous ease. At the proper moment, in the midst of chaos, there appeared a handful of determined, ruthless men. Because others were timid, unconcerned or too filled with self-interest, Hitler triumphed. This was the triumph of the will.”