Hitler's Britain

2008
Hitler's Britain
6.7| 1h34m| en| More Info
Released: 28 November 2008 Released
Producted By: Lion Television
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.liontv.com/Our-Work/Specialist-Factual/Hitler%E2%80%99s-Britain
Synopsis

A "What if?" alternative history sees Nazi Germany prevailing in the second World War. First the occupiers establish their power bases, before they find themselves under attack from the underground resistance.

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Theo Robertson This is a speculative documentary showing what would have happened if Nazi Germany was successful in invading the British Isles in 1940 . Alternative history literature is full of this " What if " which comes as no surprise because who knows how human history would have developed if Hitler had succeeded with Operation Sealion ? Real history is compelling whilst alternative history is intriguing . But - and it's a massive BUT - speculative fiction shouldn't be given the same respect as historical fact same as science and religion should be viewed as being compatible . On the surface HITLER'S Britain might be of some interest but if you have any knowledge of the second world war you'll be irritated by historical conjecture masquerading as fact and bits that are just plain wrong Early in the story we're told that the Nazis had a campaign of rape , murder and looting in Poland but treated the French with politeness and kindness . Well of course they did because Nazi Germany was unique in its ideology in that people were viewed due to their ethnic origin . Poles being Slavs were viewed as being " untermenschen " and unworthy of existence being in theory of Asiatic descent . Western Europeans were viewed by the Nazis as being pure bred Ayrans hence the mass genocide seen in Eastern Europe wasn't seen in the occupied countries of Western Europe. I also have to question what is meant by " politeness and kindness " not committing genocide doesn't automatically qualify something as being polite There's also a lot of " artistic license " used in Hitler having to conquer Britain . In reality the Nazis didn't have the seaborne logistics to conquer the island so you have to ignore this . What can't be ignored is that the documentary states " 4,000 panzers are landed " because there's no way the Wermacht had that amount of panzers in 1940 After the invasion Churchill is killed by a Luftwaffe raid and the Nazis install a puppet government where many individuals named in the Nazis " black book " are liquidated . Often in alternative history Oswald Mosley is head of this puppet state but to its credit HITLER'S Britain speculates that Lord Halifax would be installed . That said Britain had its own black book where people with Nazi sympathies - one of whom would be Mosley - were to be executed before the Nazis took control . I'm guessing that the producers didn't have knowledge of this black book ?There's also a ridiculous insert showing Ante Pavlic who described as " The puppet ruler of Yugoslavia " when he was in fact the puppet ruler of The Independent State Of Croatia As the time-line goes in to 1941 the dubious storytelling then starts collapsing as it tells how Operation Barbarossa is delayed due to the Nazis invading the Balkans and Greece . It suggests if the Nazis invaded the USSR in May they might have succeeded in conquering the country . But would they ? It was only a short delay . One of the enduring myths of the war is that because some forward German units were within sight of Moscow in the early winter of 1941 the Balkans campaign effectively caused a big enough delay in the Germans plan to make it to Moscow before winter set in . This remains a myth because the Germans didn't have the logistics to get enough men and equipment to the Soviet capital . It also ignores the certainty that the Soviets would have defended their capital with the same brutal intensity seen at Leningrad and Stalingrad Perhaps the most ridiculous aspect is that after winning the war is that the Nazis then embarked on an atomic program and rocket program . The problem with the former is that for decades a large proportion of the German scientific and engineering elite were Jewish and they'd left the country taking their expertise with them . There was some evidence the Nazis were trying to attain an atomic capacity but were a long way behind American research and hadn't got round to even the fundamental aspects . As for the latter why would they be setting up a rocket program ? In this alternative world they're not fighting a war anymore hence there'd be no V weapon program In short this is a very disappointing " What if " documentary . If you've got a knowledge of the second world war then you'll recognise that despite having to give the show some slack some of the " facts " aren't facts at all and are just plain wrong and will have you putting your foot through the TV . It's about as accurate as Mel Brooks THE PRODUCERS
Keith Williamson What if Hitler had invaded the UK? What if Germany had won WWII? What if the United Kingdom was a Nazi State? This documentary - or I suppose, more correctly docu-dram paints a very vivid and very credible picture of what life would have been like under the Nazis.The documentary is very methodical, as it takes us step-by-step, down the path from initial invasion, via appeasement, to UK death camps.I watched this on television on its first showing and it has left an indelible mark on my memory. I only wish it was available to purchase.I strongly recommend that anyone with an interest in history, politics or the war, who gets the opportunity to watch this - to make every effort to do so - you will not be disappointed.
Jmhl3 Hitler's Britain. This documentary sets out a Britain where we had been defeated and lay under the Nazi jackboot.Many of you military historians out there may have noticed that the idea for a successful German invasion, that the program puts forward, kinda falls down when it comes to crossing the channel and not mentioning the Royal Navy, which as the Sandhurst War Game proved, could have straddled the German's supply and reinforcement line via the Channel. It also mentions the successful German paratroop landings. Which would'nt have been possible. Even in October 1940 the German Airborne divisions were still re-equipping and training replacement recruits for their losses in France and the Low-Countrys. Even if the BEF had been cut off at Dunkirk the Royal Navy would have made a massacre of the invasion fleet which consisted mainly on Rhine River Barges. About a quarter would have capsized in the Channel anyway. So there's the history.Whilst the actual invasion itself was poorly thought out by the writers the content of the program was fascinating. The German's prepared a list of about 2,300 Britons to be "detained" if Britain was taken. With Einzatzgrupen sqauds (Death Sqauds) at London, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh. Also mentioned was the treatment of Freemasons and Jews but most of you pretty much know all about this so I wont go into it. How the Britsh police force was to be handled. And of course the big question, who was going to be the Prime Minister ? (The program killed Churchill off in an air raid). The first name that will pop into someones head is probably Oswald Mosley the interned leader of The British Union of Fascists. You might be screaming TRAITOR, TRAITOR at Mosley but it was not to be the case. The Nazi's rarely let local Fascist or Nazi party's run occupied country's governments and anyway Mosley announced he was supporting the British war effort and called on BUF men and women to resist the invaders. The program settles on Lord Halifax becoming leader and surrendering the country after the British counter attack is defeated due to lack of armour. (Which also doesn't stand up as we had an armoured division that was nearly fully equipped and also that Air Chief Marshall Dowding had a plan to withdraw what was left of the RAF to the Midlands, and don't forget there was also a considerable force in Scotland and the North of England at that time). So anyway the the writers have the Royal Family as we know it George VI, Queen Elisabeth (later Queen Mother), Princess Elisabeth (later Queen) and Princess Margret, fleeing to Canada. It has Edward VIII being instated as Prince Regent and Wallis Simpson, his Princess. They rule from Balmoral Castle in Scotland. I'm guessing they rule the North of England, Scotland, Nothern Ireland and a part of the British Empire (as the Dominions, the West Indies, the South Atlantic Islands and some African colonies would remain loyal to King George.) Others like India would stay loyal to the puppet government so that Germany could restrain Japan from trying to seize British colonys there.Anyhow it ends up with another program on the Auxiliury Units or "The British Resistance". The Auxiliury Units were set up in mid 1940 to act as a resistance movement in case the country was occupied. This is the most interesting program as it has interviews with former members and charts a fictional one in a what-if scenario.All in all it's a good documentary, if flawed on the historical side. Worth a watch though and much better than ITV's horrible attempt to put their view of it in "When Hitler Invaded Britain".
gavsivan This documentary is actually the first part of a (two-part) miniseries entitled "Hitler's Britain." Part One gives a terrifyingly convincing picture of what might well have occurred if the Nazis had launched a successful invasion of Great Britain in 1940. It suggests that eminent appeasers, such as Neville Chamberlain and Lord Halifax, would have collaborated with Hitler and that "enemies of the Reich" (Socialists, Freemasons, and of course Jews) would have been rounded up and shot or sent to the European death camps. Part Two visualizes the collapse of British military resistance within a few months of the invasion, the activating of Churchill's civilian underground fighters, and their ultimate destruction. That would have left Hitler free to perfect his long-range missiles and launch them in waves against the Soviet Union and the United States. Having lived through the World War 2 Blitz (in Liverpool), and knowing how the Nazis treated many millions of so-called "Untermenschen," I believe that these two documentaries provide a clear idea of what the British people's fate would have been under Nazi occupation.