This series paints an incredibly vivid portrait of Hermann Goering, the man who would become ‘Reichsmarschall’ and Hitler’s second-in-command. Even after he was captured by American forces, Hitler’s most brutal deputy never acknowledged his own responsibility for Nazi atrocities, chillingly surmising that: "I have no conscience…my conscience is Adolf Hitler. "

This documentary makes use of the most important recent single film find from the Nazi era, including never-before-seen material. Goering left behind no diaries and few personal documents. However, films from his private collection, which lay hidden for six decades, now reveal how this barbaric henchman viewed himself, and the world around him.

This episode concentrates on the end of the Second World War, and the demise of Hitler’s second in command. We look at Goering’s attempts to flee Berlin as he realised that his Luftwaffe was fighting a losing battle. Pitted against the might of the Allied armed forces, it lacked planes, pilots, and fuel.

In April 1945, as news of Hitler’s nervous breakdown reached Goering, the deputy decided to flee the endangered capital. We outline how Goering’s loot from twelve years of art robbery was hastily removed from Luftwaffe headquarters near Potsdam, in order to prevent the approaching Red Army from seizing it. We describe Goering’s retreat to Obersalzberg, and his fierce determination to survive.

We describe Goering’s desperate attempt to seize control of the reins of power in the war’s chaotic final days. As his plan became apparent, he was arrested and relieved of all duties on the orders of Hitler. We also examine Goering’s erroneous belief that he would be able to negotiate with the approaching Allied armies, looking at his abortive attempts to reach an agreement with General Eisenhower.

We then scrutinise the process by which the highest ranking Nazi left alive was bought to Nuremberg and put on trial. Goering feigned ignorance regarding the genocide of the Jews, portraying himself as a wronged recipient of ‘victor’s justice'. Nonetheless, the ‘media spectacle’ of the Nuremberg trial ended in a death sentence for Hitler’s ‘iron man.’

Finally, we address Goering’s suicide, explaining how this unscrupulous and amoral man managed to evade justice.