The Curse of The Swastika

The Curse of The Swastika, a classic British Pathe documentary from1940, illustrates the insidious rise of the Nazi Party from its post World War One origins through Adolf Hitlers conniving to become the leader of the party and eventual dictator of his self-styled Third Reich. The twisted logic of the scapegoating of the Jews, the development of the dreaded Nazi concentration camps, the construction of the Siegfried Line and the dynamic tensions and botched compromises of all European inter-war politics that led to the annexation of Austria and the Sudetenland before the eventual declaration of war with the invasion of Poland are all explored. The Battle of the River Plate in December 1939, the preparedness of French troops for the Battle For France and the sinking of the Graf Spee by Admiral Harwood and the British Navy feature heavily in this call to arms giving us a unique slant on the reasons for the start of the Second World War and The Curse of The Swastika. This historic documentary is accompanied by no less than eight complementary bonus features. Run Adolf Run is a cartoon poking fun at Adolf Hitler and this is followed by in-depth looks at the subsequent Nazi annexations and invasions of Germanys neighbouring countries. Finally, as the war turned against the Nazi War Machine in 1944, there is an in-depth look at the plot to assassinate Hitler by a group of his own officers.