PN1501

Rare audio recordings offer a different perspective on some of the most notorious figures of Nazi Germany. Instead of the shouted rhetoric of mass rallies, these clips capture Adolf Hitler and members of his inner circle speaking in calm, ordinary, even conversational voices. The recordings follow a method used in an earlier project devoted to … Read more

In December 1944, General George S. Patton Jr. was everywhere along the front, riding in his Jeep through the frozen mud of Luxembourg and France as the Third Army ground forward. One cold morning near Nancy, a scene unfolded that had nothing to do with the Germans. A white first lieutenant stood face to face … Read more

Heinrich Severloh has long been one of the most controversial figures of D-Day. The German soldier, remembered as the "Butcher of Omaha Beach," claimed he personally killed or wounded thousands of American troops on June 6, 1944. Modern research, detailed mapping, and a careful reading of his own memoir tell a far more complicated story. … Read more

In December 1944, the Ardennes Forest in Belgium had become a frozen nightmare. The Battle of the Bulge had just begun, Hitler's last desperate offensive, and German forces had smashed through Allied lines. The weather was the worst Europe had seen in decades, with snow, ice, and wind that cut through every layer of clothing. … Read more

Normandy, June 6, 1944. As the Western Allies began their amphibious landings along a 45-mile stretch of coastline, thousands more men were already engaged in life-or-death battles inland to keep those coming ashore safe from enemy gunfire. Of all the many actions that day, one immortalized on screen in the series Band of Brothers has … Read more