Secrets of the Third Reich

Erwin Rommel was Hitlers favorite general, a military marvel and the German Army's idol. He was also a morally conflicted high-ranking member of the Nazi Party, often refusing to carry out extreme orders and ultimately aiding an assassination plot against the Führer. What happened? The truth about the Desert Fox reveals one of the most complex and intriguing figures of World War II. Join us as we trace his rise and fall through rare archival footage and interviews with Rommel biographers, historians, and the generals own family.

Was Hitlers personal physician, Theodor Morell, actually a double agent assigned to kill his boss or was he simply a quack? And did his dubious medical treatments contribute to the mad dictators extreme behavior? Join us as we investigate recently discovered medical records that reveal evidence about Hitler's drug abuse, mental illness and the controversial doctor he entrusted with his life. Interviews with medical experts and historians shed light on the Führer's health and what bearing it had on his military and political decisions.

The pride of the wolfpacks, German sub U-513, became a tomb for all but seven of her crew after being bombed by a U.S. patrol plane in 1943. The U-boat then vanished off the South American coast, where it was lost for more than 68 years. Now, witness the ghost ship's story through rare archival footage and interviews with U-boat vets, and follow the Brazilian entrepreneur who set out to uncover her buried secrets.

Not all of wars battles take place on the front lines. Many are fought in the shadows, carried out by special force operatives. Witness four infamous secret missions, executed by both sides during the Second World War. We investigate the haphazard rescue of Mussolini, revisit a notorious Nazi's assassination, and recount an audacious kidnapping with a surprise ending.

The mountains of southern Germany hold one of the 'Secrets of the Third Reich,' and perhaps millions in lost Nazi treasure. It was here, at the tail end of World War II, that Heinrich Himmler planned an Alpine Fortress for a hardcore group of Hitlers elite army. The plan never happened, but what about the hundreds of millions of dollars in government and private funds that made their way to the Alps from Berlin? We examine the myth of "Alpenfestung," which has fascinated historians and treasure hunters alike for many decades.

Mystery and intrigue continue to swirl around Hitlers right-hand man, Rudolf Hess, more than a quarter of a century after his death. Why did he abandon the Reich at the height of its power? How immersed was he into alternative medicine and was his death truly a suicide? We reexamine the life of the Deputy Führer and follow his delusional and dangerous "mission of humanity" that helped turn the tide of World War II.