L'histoire interdite d'Hitler

They are 150,000. And they're only there will of one man. Together under the same banner. United in one gesture. Ready to follow him into war. To madness. Him, their guide, their führer. few names, Resonate with so much force in contemporary history, Like that of Adolf Hitler. Few men remain associated, In the collective memory to such a feeling of horror and hatred. Through his nationalist and fanatical speeches, He galvanized a whole people. And rush her into conflict the deadliest of the 20th century, The Second World War. Five years of war. More than 60 million ****. the

face of the world, Has been changed. And the trauma marked generations. 70 years after his death, The history of the Nazi leader retains still its gray areas. How a man came from nowhere did he rise to the top, To commit the worst war crimes, And the worst crime ever committed against humanity? This is the story we are going to tell you. How can you imagine that this little boy baby-faced, Will one day be in charge absolute horror. Because initially He was destined for a life without relief, A life in complete anonymity. The one who will

later be called the Führer, Was born in Austria, In the rural province of Linz, One day in April 1889. He leads an uneventful adolescence. He's a young boy that nothing does not distinguish from his comrades, Nor a top of the class, Nor a dunce to speak of. His masters know he's smart, And that he is also very lazy, And that he is above all extremely undisciplined. If the young, Adolf Hitler, Shows little interest in school. He does, however, have a passion. his free time, He spends it locked up in his room drawing. It's his only

hobby. The drawing also becomes very quickly, Much more than just a kid's fad. He had a good pencil stroke, his whole family, Of which no one had a culture in pictorial matter, Was ecstatic in front of these drawings or these watercolors. And at that moment, He conceives it very young, Around 11, 12 years old. A vocation as a painter. A vocation as an artist, therefore, Which is not unanimous in the family. Because his father, Alois, Already has a career mapped out for her son, He will be a civil servant like him. His father dreams of

making him a civil servant of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, And so he tells her that it's out of the question. So there are indeed cries, tears, Could possibly be trowels. His father was a violent character, focused on alcohol, And so there were temper tantrums. But when he was 13 years old, His father died suddenly of a heart attack. So Adolf Hitler knows that nothing will stand in the way anymore, To the path he has chosen. Later, He will be an artist. We are in 1907. Hitler is just 18 years old. He leaves the family home and

his province of Linz, North of Austria. His goal, The capital, 200 km away, Vienna. The city was at the time a major cultural center in Europe, The great rival of Paris. An unmissable event for artists, And the intellectuals of the beginning of the century. Convinced of his talent, Adolf Hitler thinks that here, He will finally be able to break through as an artist. And the royal road. Well, it is that of the Academy of Fine Arts. To cross the doors of this institution, You have to pass an ultra-selective competition. But that does not scare Adolf

Hitler. For him, there is no shadow of a doubt. The entrance exam will only be a formality. He is someone who believes in natural distinction, To genius, Exceptionally. We see throughout Hitler's life, And that goes for the Beaux-Arts competition, Primarily, A real and very strong self-confidence. He is confident that he will succeed when he arrives, And he's sure he'll be caught at the Academy of Fine Arts. Signed Adolf Hitler, Here are the canvases he painted at the time. If it attests to a certain pencil stroke, Of meticulous work, They don't show much originality. In any

case, this is the opinion of the Academy of Fine Arts. His work is considered insufficient by the professors. He is turned down. When the jury's verdict falls, It's a stab at Hitler. We can say, without fear of being wrong, That Adolf Hitler hadn't worked hard enough. That he went there, hands in his pockets. Because he was normally good at drawing. Nothing more. In his book Mein Kampf years later, He will describe that day as one of the worst moments of his life. "I was so convinced of success that the announcement of my failure, Hit me

like a thunderbolt in a clear sky." He absolutely did not expect it and he is devastated. Adolf Hitler does not accept his failure, As he is convinced, If he failed, it was not for lack of talent, The jury is wrong. It's an effect of frustration and anger, Against an institution. This failure marks the beginning of the darkest years, From the life of Hitler. A social collapse, A sort of descent into hell. A little-known episode in its history. And yet, It was at this time that a deep, A visceral hatred of others. Although rejected by the

Academy of Fine Arts, Adolf Hitler chooses to stay in Vienna. He spends his days holed up in his little maid's room, From this downtown building. His failure, he doesn't tell anyone about it, Not even his relatives. It's an absolute shame. So all his family who are in Linz, And does not know that he failed at the Beaux-Arts, And believe he's in Vienna, In the process of following the courses of this school. Young Hitler lives on the small inheritance left by his mother, Died 2 years earlier. Without projects, without prospects, He sinks into bitterness. And the

days go by Then the weeks Then the months. He wasn't doing anything special. He got up late, He sat in cafes, He read the newspapers a lot. He has no desire to work, Neither as a civil servant, Nor as an employee somewhere. All this seems to him below what he deserves, Because he sees himself as a great artist. Step by step, The young man nibbles all his savings. Soon, he will not have a penny left in his pocket, Even more than enough to pay his rent. He will have to seek refuge in homes, And sometimes

find yourself on the street. Some nights, he sleeps on park benches. Adolf Hitler is 20 years old and homeless. To earn some coins, He paints landscapes, Which he resells to tourists. He sold his little cards, his little paintings, When he could. He didn't eat much Because it didn't pay much. But he was totally marginal. This life of wandering will last several years, years during which Adolf Hitler sinks into resentment. Because he is convinced of it. If it came to that, It can't be his fault. Others than him are necessarily responsible. Failures are always due to

external factors or people. So he does not question himself, And he considers himself misunderstood. It's related, of course. I think about this self-representation that he has, That he cultivates by himself, Which is its exceptionality and its genius. So whatever comes against him, Everything that comes to deny it, Can only be due to fierce hostility, Essential, Bad and almost demonic of enemies who wish him harm. And his enemies who wish him harm, Those on whom he will blame his failures, Adolf Hitler identified them. They are ready-made scapegoats at the time. In Austria in the 1920s, Part

of the press lays the blame, Of all the problems of society on a category of the population, Specifically, The Jews. This anti-Semitism Who speaks openly and unambiguously, As evidenced by this newspaper, the Deutsches Volksblatt, The German People's Journal. One of the biggest draws in Vienna. In this article, The daily evokes, economic damage, For which the Jews are responsible. They are compared to a disease that plagues Austrian society. "The Jewish element is a harmful foreign body which must be evacuated, So that the state and the people remain healthy." In this other article, An appeal is launched

to German anti-Semitic voters, In full election in Vienna. The Jews are shown as the adversary to be defeated. "The German electorate must not follow the electoral motto of Jewry." The Jews are doomed, repudiated, As being the anti-nationals par excellence. That is to say people who have no fires and no place, Have no faith or laws and therefore pose a threat. Hitler regularly reads this anti-Semitic press, He even turns to even more radical readings. One of his favourites, It's a small far-right publication, Ostara. Very explicit about his hatred of Jews, Here crudely caricatured and threatened by

a Germanic knight. Ideas that echo the young Adolf Hitler. He finds in this press the reasons for his downfall. At that time, Hitler sees himself as a social outcast. And read all that literature there, Read all this press there, See that the places are taken, By people who shouldn't have access to it, By Jews. Well, this, indeed, Feeds his social resentment. At that time, Hitler was 24 years old. He is about to miss his life. But an external event will change everything. An event that will change the course of his destiny. In the summer of

1914, The First World War breaks out. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, Go to war against France, England and Russia. Hitler is Austrian, But he joined the German army. Because it is the German people that he wants to defend. And in this conflict of unprecedented violence, He will find new meaning in his life. In this photo, the emaciated face, Barred by a long mustache where you can hardly recognize him, He poses alongside his roommates. And within the army, The young man will discover a reassuring environment. And for him, it's almost a revelation. At the start of

the First World War, He is a man without a family. In a few weeks, He finds a place where he feels good. For the first time since the death of his mother. Young Adolf Hitler finally finds a home. The soldier Hitler is named Estafette, A kind of liaison officer in charge of delivering the messages, Between the command posts behind the front. And he who has always been only a mediocre student, A failed painter Become a model soldier, dedicated and obedient. For the first time in his life, Adolf Hitler even gets recognition. The army the decor

of the Iron Cross, A high military award. It will be one of the greatest prides of his life. Become Führer years later, He will never part with it. It is something important on a personal level. It's his first degree. This is his first distinction. In the army, the young man has finally found his place. However, On November 11, 1918, Germany signs the armistice. The war is over. For Adolf Hitler, it is a tragedy. Because it means for him a return to square one, A return to his life before, Without a penny, Without family and without

landmarks. He has no desire to leave the army, It's the only medium Where he has been able to live fairly well since childhood. Since he left home. If he is discharged, He will end up starving, Painting postcards and trying to sell them. Good, so he's going to do anything to stay in the army. And the young man is going to benefit from precious help, That of a man who will take him under his wing. That man, It's Karl Mayr. His name and his face certainly mean nothing to you, But he will play a decisive role

in the career of Adolf Hitler. It is he who will allow the young man to forge the roots, Of what Nazi ideology will soon be. If there is a person who made Hitler, It's Karl Mayr who will be, This element of Hitler's gateway. This foothold that will allow him to meet, The ability that will make him the Führer, Who will make him the guide. Karl Mayr is an important man in the army. He is the head of the intelligence services. And after the war, He must face a threat within the troops. far-left agitators, Are among

the soldiers returning from the front. And Mayr fears that their ideas will spread. Army leaders were concerned, By the fact that these demobilized soldiers, Returned to civilian life with left-wing ideas, With a leftist mentality. They saw how the Bolsheviks managed to take the army, The control of the army in Russia. And they say to themselves that it could very well happen to them. Mayr, Wants imperatively to prevent these extremist movements, Don't contaminate the whole army. And for that he needs reliable men, Devoted, Who will watch over the black sheep. So he's going to recruit Adolf

Hitler, who him, Will do anything to stay in the army. He starts off as a vulgar little informant, Who tells the command which soldiers are reliable, And which soldiers are not. He will denounce the friends. At the same time, himself Without a doubt, There lies very patriotic. He will help separate the army from the bad elements. The young soldier also has other qualities, That Mayr sees with a very good eye. He is a fierce patriot. And he has an unparalleled flair. It's someone who is suffering from logorrhea, Almost permanent verbal incontinence. As soon as he

has the opportunity, he harangues individuals, He makes speeches. There actually better and the others, Will realize that he has, A very different ability from others to speak in public, And to speak in particular to the people. Hitler has everything to become a good propagandist, But it lacks education and culture. So Mayr is going to send him to the University of Munich to take a few courses. And it is here that Adolf Hitler will structure his thought. He notably took courses in history and politics. Some of his teachings will interest him particularly. Because in these amphitheatres,

at the time, Some economics courses, for example, Are based on radical anti-Semitism. Financial capitalism would be the work of the Jews, And would aim, in fact, Cut up the productive forces of the different countries. For Hitler, it is the revelation. He thinks about it while drawing him towards his own anti-Semitism, Who is a completely crazy anti-Semitism, Completely obsessive completely radical, And completely new. hatred of the Jews, Becomes the pivot of all Hitler's thought. And he will express it in writing, With violent and raw words, In a 1919 letter. This letter, here it is, 4 pages

typed by Hitler himself. It is addressed to a soldier, Adolf Gemlich, Who questioned him on the Jewish question. And here is Hitler's response. He asserts that the Jews are an alien race, Which he compares to a racial tuberculosis of peoples. Further away, He says he is in favor of a reasoned anti-Semitism, Which must lead to a methodical fight on the legal level, And to the elimination of the privileges of the Jew. The letter ends with a thinly veiled threat. The final objective must be the definitive removal of the Jew. There is the beginning of an

anti-Semitic political theory, Who already Makes it clear that the goal will be entfernung, That is, the violent expulsion of Jews from German society. It means to separate Separating the good German grain, Bad Jewish seed. And therefore dissociate these 2 elements. And then walk away. There is also the idea of exile, of putting them out. Hitler is just 30 years old. This is his first political act. A text that lays the foundations of its absolute anti-Semitism. And if he is still only a small non-commissioned officer, Who shares his ideas in military circles, Hitler will soon spread,

His ideology well beyond the borders of the army. It is during a secret mission that everything will be played. We are September 12, 1919 in Munich. In a brasserie in the city center, Hitler is seated at a table, But he is not a client like the others. The military intelligence services instructed him, To spy on a far-right group, Who established his HQ here. This is the DAP, The German Workers' Party, An ultra-radical small group of about fifty members. Adolf Hitler's Mission, Demands to remain incognito, But nothing will go as planned. And it's a sentence that

will make him come out of his hinges. As party members debate. One of them, advocates the idea of an independent Bavaria, Who would secede from Germany. Unthinkable for Hitler. Stung to the quick. He can't help but get up. He climbs on the table, He speaks, And there, He makes an absolutely fanatical speech, To denounce Bavarian separatism. Hitler defends greater Germany, What he fought for. And he shows such fervor, With such conviction, That the whole audience is captivated. He realizes he has something, A talent he had never realized before. When I speak, people listen to me.

And suddenly, it's like heaven for him. He's surrounded by people who think he's great, Who accepts it and who listens to it. This evening of September 12, 1919 marks a turning point, In the life of Adolf Hitler. It's actually the precise second, Where Hitler's Political Career Started. Adolf Hitler has found his way. He will be a politician. He adheres to the DAP, Of which he becomes the fifty-fifth member. And the young activist does not intend to stop there. His ambition now, It is to rise to the top. Two years later, One evening in February 1921,

In Munich. The Circus Krone, One of the largest performance halls in the city, Is full to bursting. 6000 people are there. They came to listen to Adolf Hitler. In a few months, The small brewery stirrer, Became the party's star spokesperson. He fills the halls on his simple name. Activists and the curious come running. Seduced by his radical speech and his talents as an orator. It expresses the suffering of the German people. He expresses rage and expresses anger, He expresses pain, And that too, It is something that speaks to the public of the time. Then he

manages to create authentic collective enthusiasm, Including with people who had come with the idea of heckling him. It must be said that the speeches of Adolf Hitler, This is unheard of for the time. In the 20's, This is how the politicians addressed their audience. Your haunting, Academic, Quavering voice. And now here is a speech by Adolf Hitler. It's new for the time. We have never seen people before, In the Germany of that time, Speak this way. Hitler speaks in a choppy, broken way. short sentences, But full of hate Full of aggression. Which shocks us and

seems ridiculous to us. That chief warrant officer tone, Has meaning and has value at the time. Hitler realized that he can become much more, That the speaker of a Bavarian small group. He is able to stir up crowds. It can play a leading political role. Become essential within the DAP, He takes the head of the small party. But now he has a huge ambition. Become a national leader one day. Why not even the leader of all Germany. To rise to the top of power in the 1920s, Hitler will implement an ultramodern communication strategy. Beyond his

talents as a speaker and the extremism of his ideas, He will play on an element that few politicians of his time use, The strength of the image. And it starts with his own appearance. Look, When the war ended in 1918, He sported beautiful bacantes, As we took away in the 19th century. A few months later, he changed his look, And has his mustache trimmed into a small brush. It's quite modern for its time. There is also, I think, His desire to cut with the 19th century. He is very young and therefore there are fashion effects,

In the Munich youth of his time. There is the slicked back hairstyle at the start on the portraits, Then he will work the wick, But in a second time. And so that no one forgets his face, To strike the spirits, In the 20's, Hitler will work with a specialist. His name is Heinrich Hoffmann, He is a professional photographer, And he's also a convinced Nazi. One of the very first adherents of Hitler's small party. He offers her to become his official photographer. And Hitler agrees. He lets himself be convinced that there is something to be done,

And that his character can be stylized. It is in Munich, in the studio of Heinrich Hoffmann, At 50 rue Schelling, That Hitler will learn to use photography, As a communication tool. In front of the lens, He will work on his gestures and his attitude, To better capture the attention, to better convince. He develops dramatic gestures, To hammer out his ideas, Theatrical attitudes, Which give it an instantly recognizable style, That of a man inhabited by his convictions. For the time, it was revolutionary. And to the public, The effect will be immediate. What characterizes him It is

the very strong faith he has in his political destiny. You could be sure that when he spoke, It would make sparks. Hitler understood the logic of the media very well. You have to talk about yourself. If there is violence, it doesn't matter. Suddenly, Hitler bursts in, Assisted by its SA, Hitler fires a revolver shot at the ceiling, And he announces that the national revolution has begun. It's in Munich, In Heinrich Hoffmann's studio, At 50 rue Schelling, That Hitler will learn to use photography, As a communication tool. In front of the lens, He will work on

his gestures and his attitude, To better capture attention, To better convince. He develops dramatic gestures, To hammer out his ideas. Theatrical attitudes that give it an instantly recognizable style, That of a man inhabited by his convictions. He is not only a politician, He is an actor who lives his role intensely. His trick is to transfer the theatre. He was never trained as an actor, But he spent whole evenings at the theater or at the opera, To transfer that into politics. Hitler plays boxer when he wants to be combative, He brandishes his fist to threaten his

enemies. He tried everything, in fact, But the photo before, he did it in front of the mirrors. There, the photo, He realizes better. He perfects his acting. And the stage play, All this gesture, It's part of his influence. Its objective is also to differentiate itself, politicians of his time. This is how one of the presidents of the German Republic, Marshal Hindenburg, Intervened in public. He reads his speech without taking his eyes off his text, Without making any gestures, Without the slightest emotion. Hitler, he Does just the opposite. Fists clenched to express anger. The vengeful finger

to designate the enemy to be killed. He supports each idea with outrageous gestures, As if he was possessed by his speech. So much so that Hoffman, Will later transform some work shots, In equally expressive propaganda posters. Gait, diction, posture, Hitler leaves nothing to chance. And this work that we would call today, political marketing, He will also apply it to his party. Hitler finds the DAP logo very bland, Compared to those of its competitors. Because the great parties of the time possessed, Slamming logos, Three arrows for the socialists, The colors black, white, red, From the German

flag for the national right. The hammer and sickle of the Communists. Hitler also wants a symbol that strikes the spirits, And he wants to do better than his competitors. So he's going to get to work. One evening in 1920, In the brewery which serves as his headquarters, It brings together the management of the DAP. Everyone must give their ideas for the future logo of the party, And several symbols are studied. An 8-pointed star, Another with 6 branches, A kind of rounded cross and several others. Ideas are flowing and the meeting is important. Moreover, at the

bottom of the document, A handwritten sentence says, "The sacred design of the Germans. One of these drawings will have to lift us." It is signed Adolf Hitler. And among the various sketches. Hitler will set his sights on this one. That is called a swastika. To understand why, You have to dive into the mental universe of the German far right, Who marked him so much. A universe steeped in Germanic mythology, Dantesque fights for the survival of a race, The Aryan Race, Which would be threatened by other civilizations. A whole ultranationalist literature, Assign an emblem to this

people, A swastika, Symbol of an alleged superiority of the Nordic white race. It's about going back to the origins of Germany, The origins of Nordic civilization. This sign, It is for Hitler the symbol of the superiority of the Germans, On all other peoples and especially on the Jews. “The Cross represents the Aryan spirit and not the Jewish spirit. It is the sign of our fight against this global plague." This emblem, Hitler wants to give him as much strength as possible, To attract members of other parties. He first targets the communists, Very popular with workers. He

will therefore borrow the red color of their flag. But he is also eyeing his competitors on the far right. So he will appropriate the white, Of the German Imperial Banner. Thus born, The hallmark of the Hitler Party. In the same vein, Hitler renames his small group, To try to cast a wider net. The discreet German Workers' Party becomes, The National Socialist Party, Abbreviated to the Nazi Party. Hitler does all he can to persuade his supporters, That German Workers' Party, It wasn't working. Something was missing. But what people like According to him, It is to associate

nationalism and socialism. Just a year after entering politics, Hitler has created an image recognizable among all. And his party, with its swastikas, Is now easily identifiable. It now remains to make themselves known to all Germans. And that's why, Hitler will demonstrate a certain sense of staging. He creates his personal militia, Strong arms who will be responsible for making his party clearly visible, On the political scene and to impress the crowds. And he equips them with a uniform, Brown shirts. In reality, He's just copying another politician, Who did all this before him. Italian fascist leader Mussolini,

Who seized power in Rome with his black shirt troops. And even the name of his militia, should not leave indifferent. He baptizes them SA, Like Sexion d'Assaut. Thanks to the SAs, Hitler's meetings turn into demonstrations of force. His supporters, He parades them in quick time with discipline, Who marks the spirits. The staging is such, That he, leader of a small party, Passes for a prominent politician. He will even manage to make the headlines of German newspapers, Using a simple method, Which will work almost every time. Violence. One day in September 1921, When night has already

fallen, Hitler and his militia invest in force, A brasserie in the center of Munich. That evening, a rival far-right party held a meeting there. The objective of the Nazis, It's to kill two birds with one stone, Prevent the meeting and get the press talking about them. You know, they have these big mugs of beer in Germany. And then they hit people. And it quickly becomes a huge fight. And that's when someone cut the light, This only increased the atmosphere of violence. And when the light came back, the fight continued. The public meeting turns into chaos.

The police must intervene. The leader of the Nazi party is arrested, but it doesn't matter. What he hopes above all, It's because the newspapers are talking about him. The next day, September 15, 1921, In The Munich News, At the top of the page, An article reports on the political meeting the day before. But instead of headlining on the meeting of the competing party, The newspaper retained only one piece of information, A National Socialist raid. The Nazi party stole the limelight from its rival. "The meeting was disrupted by a well-planned National Socialist raid." The newspaper even

quotes the name of the ringleader, Adolf Hitler. "The National Socialists have silenced the speaker, To give Hitler a voice." In total, Hitler's name is repeated 4 times. This first stroke of brilliance has achieved its goal, Make people talk about him, whatever the cost. Hitler understood the logic of the media very well. You have to talk about yourself. So if there is violence, It doesn't matter that the police intervene, May he possibly be interrogated for a few hours, Or go to a police station, Or even be put in prison for 1 or 2 days. We need

to talk about him. Since the punch of the brewery assured them a new notoriety. Hitler will push the SA, To continue on the same path. He orders them to provoke as many fights as possible. All excuses are good. And the more spectacular the scuffles, The more the press talks about the Nazis. The German Day of Nuremberg. For example on the day of German nationalists in Nuremberg, This daily reports that swastika wearers, Attacked 3 Jewish people in a car. Again, The press worries about the terror of the swastika, When in Munich, 17 young people are expelled

from a café, And are beaten with truncheons and sticks. The S.A. go so far as to commit attacks, Like this grenade tossed on the Mannheim Stock Exchange, A small town in Bavaria. Publicity was Hitler's oxygen. You can be sure that as soon as Hitler spoke, It would make sparks. In his speech, But also in the room with fights. And so the press was talking about it. More than a week passes, Without the Nazis talking about them. And Hitler's ultranationalist speech, Can now be heard throughout Germany. In 1923, it multiplied the number of its adherents by

10. His party has 55,000 members. Hitler feels stronger than ever. So he decides to rely on his 800 S.A. To organize a putsch and march on the capital, Berlin. On November 8 around 7 p.m., And with several hundred armed men, He takes part of the government hostage, Who was in a meeting in a large room in Munich. The power, He wants to take it by force. And suddenly, Hitler bursts in, Assisted by its S.A., And Hitler fires a revolver shot at the ceiling. Hitler propels himself to the rostrum and he announces there, That the national

revolution has begun. Hitler demands of the ministers present, Let them join him, To establish a dictatorship and march on Berlin. But Hitler's putschists overestimated their strength, Facing them, The army and the police are better armed, better organized. For 2 days, Clashes rage in the streets. The Nazis don't measure up. The putsch attempt is crushed. Hitler is arrested, Tried and sentenced for high treason. His ascent seems to come crashing down, But this is only an apprearance. Because it is certain, soon, He will lead Germany. He already has a new strategy in mind. What characterizes him It

is indeed the very strong faith that he has in his political destiny. Beyond anything imaginable. In Landsberg prison, In this month of April 1924, The crackle of a typewriter is heard, From a cell upstairs. Adolf Hitler has dozens of pages typed, By a companion in captivity. He has embarked on a project that gives him new energy. Write a book to explain his political thought. He will call it Mein Kampf, my fight. Mein Kampf is the matrix of a political program. Hitler wants to be the spokesperson for all veterans, Besides, the title says it, My battle.

So he could have called it Our fight, but he wants to show, That he's the one who's ready to go all the way, To draw all the consequences of the need to fight for Germany. Behind bars, Hitler did not renounce the conquest of power. He just changed strategy. Because the failure of his coup attempt, Made him think. He now wants to reach the top of the state legally. Through the ballot box. He wants to win the election. Hitler's goal, with Mein Kampf, It is to be recognized as the undisputed leader, From the nationalist right. A

big book A political essay of more than 600 pages, But a monstrous attempt. Where he develops his ultra-nationalist ideology, And the racist theses he has been building since the 1920s. He insists in particular on the alleged, Superiority of the Aryans over the Jews, Judging the latter responsible for all the misfortunes of Germany. He compares the Jewish religion to a venereal disease, Syphilis. The effect produced by its presence is that of parasitic plants. where he settles, The people who welcome it die out after a longer or shorter time. Hitler is explicit in Mein Kampf about his

idea, That the territory which will be dominated by Germany, Shall be a territory without Jews. Hitler also promises a dominating Germany. His model, It is the great Germanic empire, The one who, Before the First World War, Covered much of Europe. "Our goal : Assure the German people of their rightful territory in this world." And this territory, He is gigantic. Because Hitler covets all countries, Where are populations of German origin. Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland. And in the name of the superiority of the Aryan race, He even aims as far as Russia. It's about making it clear

why he's fighting, And the book leads to the vision of a new war, On the conquest of vital space. And from this point of view, It's about making people understand that the fight of the present, Is only the preparation for the coming war. His political thought is ready. His book will serve as his basis, For future election campaigns. As soon as he's free Hitler is going to attack Germany again, And this time, Nothing will stop him. We are December 20, 1924, Hitler is released from prison. To win power through the ballot box, He thinks big.

He wants to campaign all over the country, Convince every voter to vote for him. But for that, he needs a lot of money. And his party is broke. They were very poor. He's one of his lieutenants, Who had said very often, When we were going to announce a speech intended to transform the world, We didn't have enough money to pay for the glue for the posters. So Hitler absolutely must find the money, A lot of money. For this, there is only one way. He needed the support of the great German fortunes. And at the dawn

of the thirties, There are some very rich big bosses in Germany. These are in particular the magnates of the iron and steel industry, The owners of the coal factories, And Ruhr steel. The trouble is that in the eyes of these big bosses, Hitler remains a political extremist, A man not really reassuring for the business. Hitler already Has a very ambiguous political program. Already the name of his Party, National Socialist. So national, of course, The traditional elites are rather nationalistic. But there is still the word socialist also in his party, And with a rather vague economic

program, Very contradictory. Ultimately, we don't really know, What will be the fate of the market economy, Private companies. If the Nazi leader does not find funds to get his party off the ground again, He can say goodbye to his ambitions for power. So, to seduce the bosses, Hitler will trick. He's not going to approach them himself. He will find a more reassuring intermediary, A man who will win their trust and their bank accounts. We are November 2, 1927, In Munich's Thierschstrasse, Hitler lives here, At number 41. And that day, He made an appointment with a

faithful of the first hour. His name Hermann Goering. Goering is a star of the Great War, A German flying ace, Decorated with decorations, A very popular fighter pilot in Germany and also a convinced Nazi. But above all, Goering has a well-filled address book. His notoriety allowed him, after the war, To convert to business. He closely associates with the big German bosses. It is therefore to him that Hitler Entrust the mission to seduce them. So the, Goering is actually in charge of procuring money for the parties, So to approach the manufacturers. And that's where it starts.

Goering quickly understood that the bosses had to be reassured. Unlike Hitler, He knows how to go about inspiring them with confidence. Like a good actor, He will take care of his staging and will amaze them. He finds another old friend who was called, Who was a little mischievous gentleman, But who had made a fine inheritance, And who had the means. But above all, he had a beautiful Mercedes. And that, for business, was wonderful. Because he disguises his boyfriend as a driver, And he goes to customers with his beautiful Mercedes. And the chauffeur in livery, Who

was the owner of the Mercedes. They didn't have to know. And it impresses. And to make the bosses spit at the bassinet, Goering prepared his arguments. He promises miraculous contracts with the future Hitlerian state, Millions of marks, Who will run their factories and fill the order books. It is also based on Mein Kampf, Hitler's book. Isn't it written black on white, That to build the great Germany, The Nazi state's priority will be to rearm the country. "We want to find weapons!" he wrote. And Goering knows how to be insistent. The first who will join our

party, We will not forget them when we are in power, And that we will have very large contracts to offer at that time. Because Germany is going to rearm, etc. Hurry up, there won't be enough for everyone. Tempted by the prospect of big contracts. Some big bosses let themselves be convinced. And not just any. For example, Fritz Thyssen, The steel magnate. He falls in love with Goering, Whereas so far, He had always refused Hitler. Thyssen bets on Goering, Saying good to his party, Everyone distrusted their party, But if Goering is in it and interested in

it, We can bet on it. And Thyssen will play a decisive role, In the rise of the Nazi Party. He opens his checkbook wide, At a time when Hitler really needs it. We found a document that proves it. In September 1945, During an interrogation conducted by the Americans, Thyssen admits having financially supported the Nazis, By contributing in 1927, With the purchase of the party headquarters, The Brown House. No more brewery back rooms. Hitler finally has a building that imposes, A private, opulent mansion, With large bright rooms. And upstairs, His personal office, Thissen was really generous.

I had to pay, he will say, Out of my own money, between 200 and 280,000 marks. And Thyssen didn't stop there. He admits having paid to the Nazis, For their current expenses, 20000 marks every year, From 1932. "I gave to the party, he said, A nice little sum of 20,000 marks, Which subsequently became a contribution, To be paid annually." Thanks to Goring, Adolf Hitler now has a comfortable budget. It can finance election campaigns, The most megalomaniacs ever seen in Germany. He organizes huge gatherings in the small town of Nuremberg. He also offers himself a tour

throughout Germany, And only travels by plane. A key asset that allows it to hold up to 3 meetings in the same day, Where its competitors are satisfied with only one. He is the first politician to use this, Which, moreover, gives his personality a kind of aura, of ubiquity. It seems a bit magical like that, To be able to be present everywhere in Germany, At the same time. The Nazi leader even draws propaganda posters from it, With bombastic slogans. "Hitler dominates Germany." Its meetings have more and more impact. The crowd throngs there more numerous from month

to month. The rise of the Nazi Party, Now seems irresistible. Why do we believe him? Because we no longer believe in others. Some companies will go so far as to participate, To the crime of murdering the Jews of Europe. Prisoners who are no longer fit for work are transported, To the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, Where are the gassing installations to be exterminated there. I swear to get out of this hell, To put aside even mourning, And to hold on no matter what. Thanks to Goring, Adolf Hitler now has a comfortable budget, And can finance election campaigns, The

most megalomaniacs ever seen in Germany. He organizes huge rallies in the small town of Nuremberg. He also offers himself a tour throughout Germany, And only travels by plane. A key asset that allows him to hold up to 3 meetings during the day. Where its competitors settle for just one. He is the first politician to use this, Which, moreover, gives his personality a kind of aura, of ubiquity. It seems a little magical like that to be able, Being present everywhere in Germany at the same time. The Nazi leader even draws propaganda posters from it, With grandiloquent

slogans, "Hitler dominates Germany." Its meetings have more and more impact. The crowd throngs there more numerous from month to month. The rise of the Nazi Party seems irresistible. It must be said that the circumstances are more and more favorable to him. Because in 1929, the Great Depression hit Germany. An unprecedented economic crisis. Unemployment hits record highs Inflation is exploding The country is on the edge of the abyss. So for more and more Germans, Hitler now appears as a hope, An alternative to the old traditional parties, Who have not been able to straighten the country. Why

do we believe him? Why does he appear as a traditional politician? Because we no longer believe in others, Because he was in jail. He is different, It was rejected. And then, because he seems sincere, authentic, To speak truth. At the center of its meetings, A slogan that will touch the hearts of German voters is, "Germany, wake up!" There is a whole staging of the resurrection of Germany. That's what it should symbolize. Each time, moreover, it is one of the campaign slogans, From the early 1930s, This is Germany, wake up! This strategy which allows the Nazi

party to see its scores soar, Election after election. While peaking at 3% of the vote in the late 1920s. In a few years, it goes to 18%, Then more than 33% of the vote. It becomes the first party in Germany. And on January 30, 1933, Adolf Hitler achieved his goal. He is appointed head of government. Bavaria's Little Agitator, Has become in 10 years, Germany's most powerful man. As soon as he comes to power, Adolf Hitler has only one obsession, Make Germany the greatest power on the continent. And for that, he will take a radical decision.

Transforming his country into a huge building site. From now on, from one end of the Reich to the other, This is what we see. Buildings as far as the eye can see, Hundreds of kilometers of highways, Railway lines. And especially weapons. Ultramodern tanks, Last generation guns, Powerful bombers. The factories of the Third Reich are running at full speed. Make Germany a very great power, And the largest on the European continent. It means a lot to him. Without a policy of major works, there can be no greater Germany. Hitler can thus display his power. But these

pharaonic works, Do not serve the Führer's interests alone. Because these huge construction sites also do business, large German companies. They are called Siemens, Krupp, Thyssen, Or I.G. Farben. large groups, Who brought Hitler to power. Large groups that can now hope, Amass considerable fortunes. This major works policy represents huge markets, And thus generates colossal profits. So companies are extremely interested, We can even say are bought by the plan. Thus for more than 10 years, From 1933, The big companies of the country will experience a considerable boom. It must be said that for her, from now on,

State orders represent a lot. So some will stop at nothing, To earn even more money. Even if it means taking part in Adolf Hitler's most appalling projects, The extermination of the Jews of Europe. Some German companies, In the name of profit, patriotism, put their finger in a gear, Which will lead some to very direct participation, To the **** of the Jews. It may sound completely crazy today, 70 years after the fact. And yet, It is well in this insane spiral, That some companies will start. Among them, one of the largest in the world. Its headquarters,

ultramodern at the time, Located in Frankfurt. Her name, I.G. Farben. A giant of chemistry, Who will find himself trapped by his absolute quest for profits. I.G.Farben was involved and complicit in the final solution, From the moment it was implemented. I.G.Farben did not practice extermination itself, But the I.G. Farben functioned thanks to this extermination. It can therefore be estimated that these officials, Are indisputably guilty, And maybe, As guilty as the Nazi officials. A crazy and spine-chilling story. A story that begins in 1933. At that time, Adolf Hitler has just come to power, And he already dreams

of expanding Germany's living space. A conquest that will necessarily go through war. But to wage this war, The Führer already knows this, He will have to face a major problem. Hitler has World War I experience, Where Germany found itself confronted with the British blockade, And to the fact that they had a number of shortages, Raw materials and energy sources. So Hitler really wants to ensure his independence. Because for Hitler, there is no doubt. A new embargo is to be expected. As soon as he goes to war, His country will again run out of essential raw

materials, For his army. He will then no longer be able to count on the rubber, That he buys from Indochina, To manufacture the tires of its planes. Nor will it be able to import oil, To fuel his tanks and bombers. He obviously needed it for his blitzkrieg. If you want to quickly mobilize your forces to attack a country, You must have trucks that use gasoline, Tanks that also use gasoline. But these vehicles move thanks to wheels produced in rubber, All these products are therefore militarily indispensable. Without gasoline and without rubber, Nothing is therefore possible for

Hitler. He can say goodbye to his dream of a greater Germany. He urgently needs a solution. However, this solution It will be brought to him from scratch by a company. A company that is none other than the giant I.G.Farben. I.G.Farben was specialized in the manufacture of chemical products, Which previously were made from natural raw materials. It was the biggest company in the world, Chemicals. And among the company's latest discoveries, There are just two that can turn out to be, Extremely valuable to the Führer. The chemists at I.G.Farben, Have succeeded in developing synthetic gasoline, In these

laboratories, By completely dispensing with natural petroleum. And that's not all. Another major invention was born here, That of rubber, Completely artificial, Rubber, again, synthetic. I.G. Farben, Is on this synthetic rubber production, The only company that owns in Germany, And even in the world, the process. And so there, indeed, If it doesn't go through I.G. Farben, It cannot be done. So Hitler is going to make a golden offer to I.G. Farben, about these findings. A proposal that can Overnight, Ensure the fortune of the company. So they signed 2 huge deals, One on oil from 1933, And

one on rubber 2 years later. I.G.Farben then built huge industrial sites, To be able to supply the necessary oil and rubber. And in 1939, Hitler is finally ready to go to war. On September 1 he invaded Poland. Then he multiplies the victories. Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Then France conquered. The I.G. Farben factories were then running at full speed. But the problem, It's because they're going to turn out to be insufficient, To meet all military needs. For Hitler's ambition is not limited to Western Europe, He wants to conquer the whole continent, And lay hands on, nothing

less, Than the Soviet Union. East represents living space, That he always wished to conquer, Since the mid-1920s, Also represents the hotbed of communism, Which he sees as the major global danger. With the plan to invade Russia, Hitler is about to unleash, One of the greatest military operations in history. He plans to send 4 million troops, And no less than 600,000 vehicles. That is to say 600,000 tanks or trucks, For which oil and also rubber will be needed. The problem, It is that the quantities of rubber, Supplied by I.G.Farben factories will not suffice. But Hitler's men,

Have a solution for the business. The German military authorities, Began to pressure I.G.Farben, For her to build another factory, Somewhere to the east. A factory somewhere in the east, Close to the future Russian front, As the Germans demand. But where exactly? That's the whole question. And it rests on the shoulders of a man. This is one of the highest I.G.Farben executives, Her name, Otto Ambros, a 40-year-old engineer for whom the success of this factory, Is a major stake for his career. He is very ambitious. It's his chance to make his mark, To show what he

can do in the company. It's his tech baby. And so it is to him that we will entrust the mission of finding a site, For the factory. On December 18, 1940, Otto Ambros leaves for Poland. Direction Silesia, A region that he will survey from one end to the other, Looking for the best location. And the land is far from easy to find, Because it must meet very specific criteria, Like for example being close to a railway line, For transporting materials. And that's not all. It must be a large flat area. Or else a terrain that

can be flattened easily. And then, It must also be close to the essential raw materials, like coal, Who is really the basis, And the water. After a month of research, Otto Ambros and his men, Are going to find a place that fills marvelously, All these conditions. A flat and immense land, Land near a river, And a railway line. Now that they have the site, The whole question is how they are going to build the factory. However, the site they have planned is gigantic. Here are the plans of the time, Developed by the I.G.Farben teams. A

dozen buildings that extend over more than 20 square kilometers. To build such a site, It requires a considerable workforce. 30,000 workers, Are necessary. A priori, impossible to find so many. Except I.G. Farben's land isn't just anywhere, Poland. He's right next to a place, Where there is ready-made manpower. A labor force to thank you. In Auschwitz, The Auschwitz concentration camp. In this concentration camp, At the beginning of 41, Political opponents are deported, resistance fighters, intellectuals, And Jews. Their conditions of detention are inhuman. The prisoners are starving, They are beaten to death or tortured. A system of

terror, Where detainees are subjected to forced labor, And reduced to slavery. And it is precisely this workforce, That I.G.Farben will use to build its factory. Here is the report of the contract, That the company spent with the SS. A document dated March 27, 41. It is stipulated that each deportee will be invoiced, Between 3 and 4 marks a day at I.G.Farben. In exchange, This workforce can be exploited without limit. This is even recommended, Very precisely, Nazi officials to those of the company. They tell I.G. Farben, Go for it, Use this workforce as you see fit,

Without worrying about working conditions. You are exempt from any limitation, Like for example on the number of working hours per day. They say you should never slow down the construction site, Under the pretext that this would have an impact on the well-being of the workers. It is a remarkable document. You can make them work as long as you want. So they knew at that time that they had carte blanche. Thus, from spring 41, Several thousand deportees from Auschwitz are requisitioned, To participate in the construction of the factory, Which is 5km from the concentration camp. To

supervise them, There are of course the SS, But also executives of I.G.Farben, Who attend without moving, The terrifying conditions to which prisoners are subjected. The SS exercised great violence against the prisoners. I.G. Farben executives saw it perfectly well. Especially when the workers were performing, Round trips to the construction site. They were regularly beaten by the SS. They can't say they didn't know. They are subject to extremely rigorous discipline, On the construction site and therefore a prisoner can be beaten, Including to death on the construction site, Mostly by the Kapos. For almost a year, The executives

of I.G.Farben will thus push to the limit, Prisoners working at the factory site. But by exploiting this workforce of deportees, They will be dragged much further, Than they imagined. Because by pacting with the Nazi regime, The company will be engulfed in an infernal spiral, That of Adolf Hitler's craziest project. The final solution, The extermination of the Jews. This morning of October 10, 1943, A train enters Auschwitz station. Inside, 1000 prisoners, Piled up for 3 days in cattle cars. Among them, a young man of 21 years. His name is Charles Parent. He was arrested in France

with his mother and sister. Today, Charles is 92 years old, And the memory of his arrival at Auschwitz, Always remain present. barking, Screams. They tear us from the wagons, We are going down, We are forced to line up in groups of five. We feel like we've arrived in hell somewhere. On the dock, Charles and the other deportees are separated into two groups, By the SS. Charles is sent to a rank, His mother and sister to another. With them there are many other women, Children and the elderly. They are then directed to an unknown location. Charles

would later ask other inmates, Where could his loved ones have gone? There is this moment, almost unspeakable, Where we question the elders. Can we know, Where have the others gone? Those who are not with us. And for all answer, they raise their index finger to the sky. We find it difficult to understand. What does it mean ? Charles discovers the horror. Auschwitz is no longer just a concentration camp, It is a ruthless machine, To kill. The Nazis expanded the site. In addition to the initial camp, There is now that of Birkenau. Auschwitz Birkenau, a place

of extermination. Where death is industrialized. The most fragile deportees, Women, children, the elderly, Are systematically sent to rooms like these. The SS make them believe that these are showers. They are in fact gas chambers. Zyklon B granules, A deadly pesticide, Are then thrown through trapdoors from the ceiling. The **** occurs in a few minutes. The truth is embedded in us. Is it possible, That those people we left on the quay, ours! Either already gassed. And their bodies burning. What do we have to do ? How to receive this information? How to react ? For some,

it's collapse. For others, I have to say, It's the oath to get out of this hell, To put aside even mourning. And to hold on no matter what. Charles is one of the most robust deportees. So he was selected to be used as labor, For I.G. Farben. It will be sent to a third site, Buna Monowitz, Which is close to the factory. A concentration camp specially built for I.G.Farben, Few months ago. Upon his arrival, the young man and the other deportees, Are gathered in the camp for a welcome speech. An SS man speaks. What he

says is chilling. Charles remembered every word he said. You are here in this camp, of which I am the leader. You shouldn't come out alive. If you disobey, It's death ! If you don't keep yourself clean, It's here ****. If you pilfer, It's here ****. And a completely unexpected order comes, Undress ! On October 10, 1943, Deep in Silesia, I'm cold. We shave our heads, Under the arms, between the legs. We change nature. The number becomes our name. We no longer even have the right to pronounce our name. From now on, Charles' daily life will

be to work on the construction, From the future rubber factory. The construction site is titanic. Charles and a hundred deportees, Have to dig the foundations of a huge building. exhausting work, That they perform nearly 12 hours a day, Without the slightest break and almost nothing to eat. Each prisoner receives, in the best of cases, A ration between 800 and 1500 calories per day, Which essentially corresponds to a soup. This means a weight loss of 2 to 4 kg per week on average. In these conditions, Even a healthy man cannot hope to survive, More than 3

months in the camp. Charles sees his companions crumble, One after another. Of the 260 men in his group, Who like him Had been selected to go to Buna Monowitz. Only 75 survived. The others died of exhaustion, Less than 2 months only after their arrival. The collapse of the deportees, Don't do I.G. Farben's business, Because the site is not progressing at the desired pace. So the company no longer wants to have, What valiant prisoners. From now on, Within the camp itself, The Nazis set up selections among the prisoners. The weakest are discarded, Which means death. Prisoners

who are no longer fit for work, And who are therefore selected, Leave the camp of Buna Monowitz, and are transported to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, Where are the gassing installations to be exterminated there. Charles will also be confronted with the selection process. He has been working in the camp for months. He lost more than 20 kg. So he was nominated for removal. 2 SS arrives, The dean of the infirmary, And we're all made to undress, And we have to parade in front of the SS, Who retain their quota. The quota of people who will die. And

they hold 36 detainees out of the 200 and so, That we are in the block. And among the 36, there is me. How to save your skin? The man who notes the list of condemned to ****, Not unknown to him. Charles met him a few weeks ago. He even told her a joke that made her laugh. But will he recognize it? Mr. Dean looks up at me, Looks at me and asks me in German, If I know a lot of jokes. I look him in the eyes and I tell him, I can tell you about

it until the end of the war. And we stay 2 seconds eyes in the eyes. And suddenly he said to me, Exit through the other door. And I once again saved my life. The 35 comrades, obviously left, We never saw them again. Charles escaped the ****, But 25,000 deportees died on this site. Sacrificed for the construction of a factory, which never saw the light of day. Only the liberation of the camp by Soviet troops, On January 27, 1945, Will put an end to the horror of Auschwitz and the headlong rush, From I.G. Farben. No rubber

will ever be produced, No synthetic fuel will ever be produced. And when the Russians arrive in January 1945, I.G will have suffered huge losses. After the German surrender in 1945, International justice seeks to condemn those responsible, Of the extermination of the Jews. An international court in Nuremberg is set up. For the first time, we are talking about crimes against humanity. Adolf Hitler will never give an account. He **** on April 30, 45. In Nuremberg, 24 senior Nazi officials are tried. Half will be sentenced to death by hanging. As for the leaders of I.G.Farben, about twenty,

Finds himself in the dock, Of which the first of them, Otto Ambros. He pleads that he was unaware of the spell, Which was reserved for deportees who worked on its site. But for historians. His version is unbelievable. It is impossible to imagine, That the representatives of I.G.Farben on site, And even the company's top executives, Did not know what was happening on this camp located near theirs. Although the **** process was relatively discreet, It is not credible that the leaders on the spot, From I.G.Farben I could ignore it. Maybe they closed their eyes Didn't they really

want to know the details, But they must have heard of it. The smell, they know, They can smell burning bodies. They live in an environment that they know is a center of ****. The charge of crimes against humanity is not retained. Otto Ambris is sentenced for enslavement, 8 years in prison. Released in 1952, He will continue his career as a chemist in the United States, Before returning to Germany, Where he will die at the age of 89. The company, it Has been dismantled into several companies which are still in operation, Like Agfa, BASF, Or the

pharmaceutical giant Bayer. Today, IG Farben no longer exists. Ask me what IG Farben left in my memory, She didn't just leave a past. She left a present, And she left a present of vigilance, Of fight, of militancy, So that never these forces there, Do not find the power, Which they thought they had acquired for a millennium. I am a survivor From that time. I am a winner and not a loser. A winner.