Hitler's bodyguard

Season

2010

UK

7.6

The story of Adolf Hitler, his large security detail and the numerous threats faced, both real and imagined.

Episode List

S1 • E1

How Hitler's Bodyguard Worked

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

S1 • E2

Early Attempts on Hitler's Life

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

S1 • E3

Kill the New Chanchellor

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.

S1 • E4

Night of the Long Knives

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

S1 • E5

Jewish and Emigre Attempts to Kill Hitler

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.

S1 • E6

Kill Hitler Before War Starts

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

S1 • E7

Bombs and Paranoia

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

S1 • E8

Dangerous Car Journeys

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

S1 • E9

Flights Into Danger

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.

S1 • E10

Hitler's Dangerous Train Journeys

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

S1 • E11

Attempts to Kill Hitler at Wolf's Lair

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

S1 • E12

Nearly Assassinated at the Berghof

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.