The Reich Underground | Part 2: Fortresses & the Führer's Bunker | Free Documentary History

The Reich Underground - Part 2: Fortresses & the Führer's Bunker | History Documentary Watch 'The Reich Underground - Part 1' here: https://youtu.be/8OXuPV85qVc In this episode: Bob Knight of the 617th Squadron of the Royal Air Force, the notorious "Dambusters," recalls June 24, 1944, when he destroyed the secret bunker facilities of Wizernes in northern France with a 12,000-pound Tallboy bomb. On Winston Churchill’s orders, all sites threatening England were to be eliminated, as the Allies feared new German "wonder weapons." On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide in his final underground Führer headquarters in Berlin. Only then were the massive underground construction projects across the collapsing Third Reich abandoned. Some unfinished tunnels still contain explosives and drilling equipment. Tens of thousands of slave laborers were liberated, while Allied experts examined the Nazis’ secret facilities. For the second part of this report, we followed journalist Michael Kloft as he explored the underground Führer headquarters "Riese" in former Lower Silesia and investigated the myth of the "Alpine Fortress." At Obersalzberg in Berchtesgaden, he was granted special permission to study the Nazi leadership’s bunker systems with a team of experts. It was one of the most massive construction projects ever attempted by humankind. Late in World War II, the Nazis launched a bold plan to shelter armaments factories from the constant hail of allied bombs. All important manufacturing facilities would be re-located in underground labyrinths of protective caves. Today, many of the half-built facilities have been long-forgotten. A small fortune was spent to seal them up, making them inaccessible to trespassers and intruders. With previously unreleased film material and exclusive interviews, the fascinating and dramatic story of the Underground Reich is reconstructed when the Nazis leaders still hoped that the miracle weapons they produced would bring Germany final victory. After securing special permission, a team of highly qualified experts explore the sprawling tunnel systems, finding their way into manmade caverns unseen for decades. The film also documents the horrors faced by forced laborers, compelled to construct the tunnel system under the most inhuman conditions. Ten’s of thousands gave their lives to realize the Nazi’s crazed project. Sixty years later, the two-part series provides a fascinating glimpse into awesome worlds beneath the earth that still exist in Germany, France, Poland and Norway. ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Subscribe Free Documentary - History Channel for free: https://bit.ly/2FjRPgV Facebook: https://bit.ly/2QfRxbG Twitter: https://bit.ly/2QlwRiI ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ #FreeDocumentary #Documentary #History ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ Free Documentary - History is dedicated to bringing high-class documentaries to you on YouTube for free. You will see fascinating animations showing the past from a new perspective and explanations by renowned historians that make history come alive. Enjoy stories about people and events that formed the world we live in.