Hitler's Circle of Evil

I have seen a number of documentaries about German history through the two World Wars, but this is the first one that actually reveals the intricate interpersonal relationships among a group of deranged individuals that lead a political party from relative obscurity into the driving force behind a national and global tragedy. The group comprising Hitler's 'inner circle' were all psychologically unbalanced and fanatical individuals. It is interesting to see how they were able to use the socio-economic circumstances of Germany to convince a substantial portion of the German population to adopt their arrogant and wicked philosophy. Bravo to the producers of this documentary for showing an original perspective on the events of history!

This excellent historian-narrated docu-drama retells the history of the making of the Nazi party and the Third Reich by focusing on the interplay of the main characters at the center of it all: Hitler and his inner circle of Nazi leaders. For me, the series rates very highly among many others in the genre for the seamless use of archival photos and footage, rich and convincing dramatization, and constant narrative driven commentary by numerous historians. The use of music to heighten the drama is not too intrusive, and is actually effective. One can forgive the British historians for their obvious bias in describing Hitler and his henchmen as "evil" and "deranged" because they were! Yet, it is important to take in the lessons the narrative also presents (with less obvious emotional force) in how Germany's economic ruin after WWI and the colonial ambitions of other European powers at that time abetted the drive toward the rabid nationalism that Hitler promoted... lessons that America had taken in far better than Britain and other Allies following WWII with the brilliant Marshall Plan. Back to this production, though: Even if you are well familiar with the history of the Nazi party, Hitler's Circle of Evil is fascinating and even entertaining viewing.

This is a documentary series that sheds a light on how the Nazis became the power and force and the leaders in Germany before the second World War. It also shines a light on how they feel apart during and espcially toward the end of that war. This is really well made and I guess you can have a problem with the show having actors reanacting certain situations, but this is the medium film and visual pointers are what this is about.

Of course it also uses old material wherever there is some available. It is really well mixed and there is gravitas to it all. It is narrated of course and very easy to follow. I guess if you are not too much into book reading or if you want to have it served to you visually (additionally to books), this is as good as it gets. The single episodes have an arc and a story they sort of finish within the whole arc and storyline, so you don't have to worry about having to binge watch it in one day. Although at around 50-60 minutes an episode you could do that on a weekend or some other free days you have at hand. It may also be something you can watch with kids and both can learn from this experience

This is an excellent doc on the inner workings of the Nazi top tier of characters. The re-enactments are well done, some of the actors don't look anything like their real life counter-parts but I guess they took what actors they could. Tons of little seen and rare footage. The historians give a balanced account of these horrible men in-the-making rather than the standard they are totally evil repugnant creatures stance seen in more unbiased documentaries that only serve to distance and turn-off the viewer and possibly taint the lessons needed to be learned by the Nazi era. This doc could easily have been named "Absolute Power corrupts..."

I just read Erik Larson's book "In the garden of beasts". The book tells you the story of William E. Dodd, american ambassador in Berlin from 1933 to 1937. Recommended! Combined with this series, it gives you a great view on what happened in Germany during that period, and we can only wonder why USA, GB and France didn't do something about it much earlier. They absolutely underestimated the situation. Hitler just wanted time to build his army.

William E. Dodd foresaw all this, and allthough he was criticized by many during that time because of what he said and wrote about what he thought would happen, he was later seen as a prophet they all should have listened to.

"Hitler's circle of evil" is an excellent documentary!