This programme deals with the technology of Nazi Germany. We reveal the horrific human cost behind the scientific and technological advancements which occurred after Hitler became Reich Chancellor in 1933. While some inventions that would change the scientific world were ignored by the regime, Hitler and his henchmen would ruthlessly exploit other research opportunities and discoveries for their own ideological and military ends.

Firstly, we reveal the surprising fact that the direct link between smoking and cancer was first established in the scientific laboratories of the Third Reich. However, we also recall the fundamentally important fact that the majority of the Third Reich’s scientific ‘experimentation’ was performed upon terrified and unwilling subjects. Furthermore, the sadistic exploits of the likes of Auschwitz’s Dr. Josef Mengele were of little scientific value.

Next, we delve into the murky world of National Socialist propaganda. We examine the role played by technology in Joseph Goebbels’ overarching indoctrination scheme. We explain how the ‘Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda’ exploited the discovery of Hi-Fi recording equipment to boost Nazi propaganda broadcasts. The regime was also quick to make use of celluloid technology. Films such as Leni Riefenstahl’s ‘Triumph of the Will’ and Fritz Hippler’s ‘The Eternal Jew’ served as powerful vehicles for the dissemination of Hitler’s poisonous ideas.

We then turn our attentions to the German air force. From 1935, when Hitler defied the Versailles Treaty by ordering Hermann Goering to reinstate the Luftwaffe, air technology developed rapidly in Germany. The first jet fighter flew in Germany and was eventually commissioned by Hitler, as was the first pilot ejection seat. From 1936, devastatingly powerful bombers and fighters such as the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka and the Messerschmitt Bf 109 would find their testing ground in civil war-torn Spain. As the Condor Legion decimated unfortified Spanish cities, terrified Spanish civilians learnt the gruesome cost of these advances in aviation technology. As Europe teetered of the brink of general war, the horrors of ‘strategic bombing’ would soon become even clearer.

Finally, we look at the story behind the invention of the electron microscope. In 1931, German engineers Ernst Ruska and Max Knoll devised the first prototype of this incredible machine. Based on the ideas and discoveries of French physicist Louis de Broglie, the instrument was capable of magnifying objects by four hundred times. However, the potential of this incredible discovery was resolutely ignored by a disinterested Nazi leadership.

This documentary provides us with a truly compelling portrait of the gruesome scientific feats, and epic technological failures, of the Nazi regime.