Hitler's Reich – Diaries of Nazi supporters, opponents and victims (1/4) | DW Documentary
On 8 May 2025, the world marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Allied victory brought an end to Adolf Hitler’s 12-year rule. Journal entries from Hitler’s supporters and opponents offer insight into life in Nazi Germany.
This four-part documentary series centers on eight individuals and their families. Each kept a diary recording their daily lives, experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Illustrations accompany the entries to bring them to life, giving these sequences the look of a graphic novel.
The eight diarists lived scattered across Germany. They came from different socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, and political factions. Some become fervent supporters of the Nazi regime, others opposed it, and some were marginalized or persecuted. Several of the journal span the entire 12 years of Hitler’s rule. But some fall silent after a given time. “Hitler’s Reich – A German Journal” features no expert testimonies; instead, the diaries stand alone, as personal records of the time in which they were written.
In the entries, we find descriptions of moments of happiness, youth, dance lessons, longing and love; but also of the first – still hesitant – Nazi salute, Gestapo surveillance, “Aryan certificates,” hunger, and the threat of deportation. They capture a time when many looked the other way, remained silent, or became complicit. They speak of what it felt like when the war “came home,” the fear of nights spent in bunkers, and the hope of survival. The diarists wrote with the urgency of the present, not knowing what tomorrow would bring. Their stories reflect the rise, reign, and eventual downfall of the Nazi regime.
[Parts 1-4 will be published weekly.]
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Video “Hitler's Reich – Diaries of Nazi supporters, opponents and victims (1/4) | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 05/07/2025 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.