Eagle's Nest

NARRATOR: REMOTE AND IMPREGNABLE, THESE MOUNTAINS HOLD A SPECIAL POWER.

A PLACE OF AWE-INSPIRING BEAUTY, WHERE THE UGLIEST PLANS ARE BORN.

YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO RETREAT.

NARRATOR: AN ALPINE FORTRESS FOR THE NAZI WAR MACHINE.

MAN: IF YOU WERE AN ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNNER HERE, AND YOUR MISSION IS TO PROTECT HITLER, WELL, THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE.

NARRATOR: A MEGASTRUCTURE OF MANIACAL PROPORTIONS PUSHES ENGINEERING TO BREAKING POINT.

I PROMISED THIS PERSONALLY, PERSONALLY TO THE FUHRER.

NARRATOR: WITH THE HIGHEST ROAD IN GERMANY BLASTED OUT OF A CLIFF FACE AND A LABYRINTH OF TUNNELS CUT DEEP INTO A MOUNTAIN.

MAN: THIS WASN'T BUILT JUST TO IMPRESS HITLER.

THIS WAS BUILT TO IMPRESS THE WORLD.

NARRATOR: THIS IS THE STORY OF HITLER'S INFAMOUS MOUNTAIN LAIR AND THE POWERBASE WHICH LAY BENEATH IT.

THE EAGLE'S NEST.

THE BIGGEST CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS OF WORLD WAR II, ORDERED BY HITLER TO SECURE WORLD DOMINATION.

[SPEAKING GERMAN] NARRATOR: NOW THEY SURVIVE AS DARK REMINDERS OF THE FUHRER'S FANATICAL MILITARY AMBITION.

THESE ARE THE SECRETS OF THE NAZI MEGA WEAPONS.

NARRATOR: APRIL 25, 1945.

OBERSALZBERG, BAVARIA.

HITLER'S MOUNTAIN HEADQUARTERS IS UNDER ATTACK.

BUT HITLER IS NOT THERE.

NEWS FROM OBERSALZBERG, MY FUHRER.

NARRATOR: BACK IN BAVARIA, ENGINEER HEINZ NORIS TAKES COVER.

[EXPLOSION] NORIS: KEEP DOWN.

[EXPLOSION] MAN AS NORIS: THE SITE MANAGER'S OFFICE WAS LIFTED TWO STORIES HIGH INTO THE AIR, AND COLLAPSED IN A CLOUD OF DUST.

ALL WILL BE SAFE IN OBERSALZBERG.

THE BUNKERS WILL HOLD.

[PLANES FLYING OVERHEAD] NARRATOR: NORIS HEADS FOR SHELTER.

TO THE BUNKERS!

NARRATOR: HIS LIFE WILL DEPEND ON ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS MEGASTRUCTURES IN NAZI GERMANY.

TODAY, LITTLE REMAINS OF HITLER'S MOUNTAIN LAIR, BUT WHAT IS LEFT PROVIDES VITAL EVIDENCE OF THIS BASTION OF NAZI POWER AND SUPREMACY.

I'M GONNA HAVE A GO AND TRY AND GET IN.

NARRATOR: MILITARY HISTORIAN JAMES HOLLAND IS A SPECIALIST IN THIS DARK CHAPTER OF HISTORY.

I'VE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT DOWN HERE.

HERE'S ANOTHER CORNER AND ANOTHER ONE... AND WE'RE STILL GOING DOWN.

IT'S HORRIBLY CLAUSTROPHOBIC, BUT I GUESS AT LEAST YOU'D BE SAFE FROM THE BOMBS.

NARRATOR: THE STORY OF THIS NAZI MEGASTRUCTURE BEGINS IN 1923.

300 MILES SOUTH OF BERLIN IN THE TINY BAVARIAN DISTRICT OF OBERSALZBERG.

IT'S A SMALL, RURAL AREA ON THE TREE-LINED SLOPES BENEATH THE KEHLSTEIN MOUNTAIN.

WHEN HITLER FIRST COMES HERE AS LEADER OF THE NAZI PARTY, HE STAYS IN A NEARBY CHALET.

LATER HE RENTS A HOUSE.

AND WHEN HE BECOMES CHANCELLOR IN 1933 AND THEN SEIZES POWER, HE BUYS IT WITH ROYALTIES FROM THE SALE OF HIS BOOK "MEIN KAMPF."

SOON HE STARTS TO REDEVELOP THE HOUSE AND CALLS IT THE BERGHOF.

OVER 80 YEARS LATER, FRAGMENTS OF THIS HOUSE CAN STILL BE FOUND...

IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK.

DESPITE THE TREES, IT IS QUITE EASY TO START TO PIECE TOGETHER WHERE THIS HOUSE WAS AND WHAT BIT WENT WHERE.

ONCE YOU START LOOKING, THERE'S ACTUALLY QUITE A LOT OF CLUES HERE.

LOOK AT THAT.

THERE'S A BIT OF GRANITE.

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ON THE FRONT OF THE BERGHOF.

LOOK AT THIS.

THIS SORT OF ASPHALT HERE, I CAN ONLY GUESS IT WAS THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY AND YOU CAN IMAGINE, I SUPPOSE, THE CARS PULLING UP... OR GOING OUT AND UP INTO THE HOUSE, WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN PERCHED SORT OF RIGHT IN FRONT OF US HERE.

THE ONE SUBSTANTIAL FEATURE THAT STILL REMAINS IS THE RETAINING WALL AND, OF COURSE, YOU NEEDED THAT BECAUSE THIS HOUSE WAS DUG INTO THE SIDE OF THE HILL.

BUT YOU REALLY START TO GET A SENSE OF THE SCALE OF THIS PLACE AND YOU CAN SEE HERE, THIS BIT OF BRICK HERE, THIS IS PROBABLY THE KIND OF END OF THE HOUSE.

THEN YOU'VE GOT A LITTLE BIT OF A GAP, THEN THE RETAINING WALL UP HERE, AND SUDDENLY YOU CAN SEE THAT, ACTUALLY, THIS IS A PRETTY BIG EDIFICE.

IT'S A PRETTY LARGE HOUSE; THERE'S SOME 30 ROOMS IN ALL.

NARRATOR: THE BERGHOF WILL BECOME A MASSIVE MANSION WITH VAULTED CEILINGS AND WIDE STAIRCASES, A DINING ROOM, A LIBRARY, A GREAT HALL, AND A RAISED TERRACE.

THE TERRACE WAS ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS OR INFAMOUS PARTS OF THE WHOLE BERGHOF.

THAT WAS WHERE HITLER DID A LOT OF HIS ENTERTAINING.

IT'S WHERE EVA BRAUN WOULD HAVE TAKEN HER GUESTS.

AND THIS IS WHERE IT WAS.

NARRATOR: FORMER SHOP ASSISTANT AND MODEL EVA BRAUN IS HITLER'S LONG-TERM MISTRESS.

23 YEARS HIS JUNIOR, SHE'S AN ASPIRING FILMMAKER.

HER HOME MOVIES PROVIDE A UNIQUE INSIGHT INTO LIFE AT THE BERGHOF.

ONE OF HITLER'S FAVORITE FEATURES IS THE PANORAMIC WINDOW LOOKING OUT TOWARDS THE UNTERSBERG MOUNTAIN AND HIS HOMELAND OF AUSTRIA.

THE SCENERY'S MAJESTIC POWER FUELS HITLER'S DARKEST PLANS.

MAN AS HITLER: I'M NOT DRAWN THERE MERELY BY THE BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE.

I FEEL MYSELF FAR FROM PETTY THINGS AND MY IMAGINATION IS STIMULATED.

IT'S THE PLACE WHERE, PSYCHOLOGICALLY, I THINK, HE FEELS SAFE AND IT'S SOMEWHERE ALSO WHERE HE'S GOT SPACE TO THINK, WHERE HE CAN SHUT HIMSELF OFF FROM THE DAY-TO-DAY MINUTIAE OF BEING A HEAD OF STATE.

OTHER PEOPLE CAN DEAL WITH THAT.

LET ME THINK MY BIG, LOFTY THOUGHTS AND LOOK INTO THE FUTURE.

HITLER IS THE MOUNTAIN KING AND EVERYONE LIVES IN FEAR OF HIM.

NARRATOR: AS HITLER'S POWER ESCALATES, HIS POPULARITY INCREASES.

VISITORS FLOCK TO OBERSALZBERG.

IN THOSE EARLY YEARS, THRONGS OF PEOPLE WOULD COME UP TO VISIT HIM AND HE WOULD STAND JUST HERE, ON THE END OF HIS DRIVEWAY, AND GREET THEM ALL.

ON OCCASION, THERE'D BE AS MANY AS 5,000 WOULD COME UP TO HAVE A GLIMPSE OF THEIR NEW FUHRER.

NARRATOR: WITH HITLER SETTLED HERE, MANY OF THE NAZI ELITE FOLLOW.

THE DISTRICT OF OBERSALZBERG NEEDS TO CHANGE.

THE MAN WHO WILL TRANSFORM IT IS MARTIN BORMANN, A RUTHLESS AND AMBITIOUS NAZI PARTY OFFICIAL.

REICHSLEITER BORMANN.

IT'S ABOUT THE EVICTION OF RESIDENTS ON THE OBERSALZBERG.

THE QUESTION IS HAVE THE REMAINING 10 FAMILIES MOVED OUT YET?

IF THEY ARE NOT OUT WITHIN A WEEK, THEN WE'LL KICK THEM OUT.

BORMANN IS A SORT OF ANGRY YOUNG MAN, A THUG.

HE'S NOT VERY WELL EDUCATED.

HE'S NOT VERY SOPHISTICATED.

BUT HE IMMEDIATELY COMES UNDER THE SPELL OF HITLER AND SLOWLY, BUT SURELY, STARTS TO CLIMB THE GREASY POLE OF NAZI HIERARCHY.

NARRATOR: IN 1933, HITLER APPOINTS BORMANN AS REICHSLEITER, ONE OF THE HIGHEST RANKS IN THE NAZI PARTY.

AND FROM THERE HE CAN REALLY START TO, KIND OF, GET MORE AND MORE INFLUENCE, AND HE DOES SO BY WATCHING, OBSERVING, LISTENING, AND MAKING HIMSELF INDISPENSABLE.

NARRATOR: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE BERGHOF IS OVERSEEN BY BORMANN.

AND HERE, MY FUHRER, THIS MUST BE A METAL BEAM TO SUPPORT THE WALL ABOVE.

OH, YES, THAT... THEN THAT MAKES SENSE.

NARRATOR: THE HOUSE WAS DESIGNED BY HITLER HIMSELF.

THOSE CLOSE TO THE FUHRER WERE SURPRISED TO SEE HOW MUCH TIME HE DEVOTED TO THE PROJECT.

AT TIMES, HITLER'S OFFICE LOOKED MORE LIKE AN ARCHITECT'S THAN THE CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY'S.

NATURALLY, THIS WOULD BE FULLY INSULATED.

YES, OF COURSE.

OF COURSE.

MAN: BORMANN WAS SOMETIMES REFERRED TO AS THE "GREY EMINENCE" BECAUSE HE WAS BACK IN THE SHADOWS.

BUT REALLY, HE WAS THE POWER RIGHT BEHIND HITLER IN THIS AREA.

HE WAS ALSO CALLED THE LORD OF THE OBERSALZBERG BECAUSE WHATEVER BORMANN WANTED HERE, IN THIS AREA, THAT WAS MADE TO HAPPEN.

NARRATOR: KNOWING HITLER'S LOVE OF ARCHITECTURE, BORMANN DEVISES NEW BUILDING PROJECTS TO GAIN FAVOR WITH HIS FUHRER AND STRENGTHEN HIS OWN POSITION.

HE NOW PLANS TO CONSTRUCT AN ENTIRE MOUNTAIN FORTRESS ACROSS THE WHOLE OF OBERSALZBERG.

ENGINEER HEINZ NORIS IS THE DEPUTY SITE MANAGER.

BORMANN'S COMING.

WATCH YOURSELF, HUH?

NARRATOR: HE EXPERIENCES FIRST HAND BORMANN'S MANIACAL TEMPERAMENT.

BORMANN: STOP, STOP.

THIS IS WRONG.

3 METERS, 3 METERS.

MAN AS NORIS: BORMANN APPEARED TO BE AN UNFLAGGING RESTLESS BUNDLE OF ENERGY, EQUIPPED WITH INCREDIBLE DRIVE; ON HIS FEET DAY AND NIGHT MAKING MONSTROUS DEMANDS ON HIS STAFF, ASKING FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE.

NOT THERE.

NARRATOR: BORMANN WILL BRUTALLY TURN THE QUIET ALPINE NEIGHBORHOOD INTO A NAZI ENCLAVE.

HERE HITLER WILL PLAN SOME OF THE MOST HORRIFIC ACTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY.

BY 1936, HITLER HOLDS TOTAL POWER ACROSS GERMANY.

BUT HE DOES HAVE ENEMIES.

HE'S ALREADY SURVIVED SEVERAL ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS.

AS HITLER PLANS TO SPEND MORE TIME AT OBERSALZBERG, BORMANN KNOWS HE NEEDS PROTECTION.

HE MUST CONTROL EVERYTHING THAT MOVES IN AND OUT OF THE AREA.

BORMANN CREATES A HIGH-LEVEL SECURITY SYSTEM.

AN SS CHECKPOINT IS PLACED DOWN IN THE VALLEY IN THE NEARBY TOWN OF BERCHTESGADEN.

FORMER BRITISH ARMY CAPTAIN AND MILITARY HISTORIAN PATRICK BURY IS EXPLORING THIS RING OF STEEL.

LOOK AT THIS.

WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE IS A DOOR, BASICALLY, ORIGINALLY AS IT WAS BACK IN 1937 WHEN IT WAS BUILT.

AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THE SS LOGO THAT'S BEEN CHIPPED OFF BY THE LOCALS SINCE THEN.

AND THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ENTRANCE INTO THE SS GUARDHOUSE.

HERE YOU COULD HAVE HAD AN AREA WHERE THE NCOs INSIDE WOULD CHECK THE PASSES AND THEN PROBABLY ANOTHER AREA INSIDE THERE TO STORE WEAPONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO, THIS SS GUARDHOUSE MARKS THE OUTER CORDON OF THE SECURITY ZONE FOR THE OBERSALZBERG.

NARRATOR: ANY VISITOR ALLOWED PAST THIS CHECKPOINT WOULD BE GREETED WITH A SECOND ONE FURTHER UP THE HILL AND THEN A THIRD JUST BELOW HITLER'S BERGHOF.

AND THIS IS INTERESTING, BECAUSE WHAT WE'VE GOT HERE IS THE STONE FOUNDATIONS OF WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST ELABORATE AND MOST IMPORTANT CHECKPOINT ON THE OBERSALZBERG.

THIS PART HERE WAS ACTUALLY BUILT OUT OF WOOD AND IT WOULD HAVE GONE ACROSS THE ROAD AND THEN LINKED UP ON THE OTHER SIDE AND THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A GATE HERE TO STOP ANYONE COMING THROUGH.

AND THE BERGHOF, WHERE HITLER LIVED, WAS LITERALLY JUST THERE, OVERLOOKING THE SITE.

NARRATOR: HITLER IS NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO NEEDS PROTECTING.

HIS INNER CIRCLE OFTEN STAY HERE, TOO.

THERE'S HEINRICH HIMMLER, CHIEF OF ALL SECURITY FORCES; JOSEPH GOEBBELS, HITLER'S PROPAGANDA MINISTER; AND HERMANN GOERING, THE SECOND-MOST-POWERFUL MAN IN GERMANY, WHO HELPED HITLER TO THE TOP.

[SPEAKING GERMAN] THE BEST WAY TO THINK OF THE THIRD REICH IS NOT AS A SMOOTH OPERATING MACHINE LIKE A PYRAMID WITH HITLER AT THE TOP, BUT AS DIFFERENT COMPETING POWER BASES, ONE OF WHOM IS HERMANN GOERING, WHO HAS A VILLA AT OBERSALZBERG.

NARRATOR: AMONGST SUCH HEAVYWEIGHTS, BORMANN HAS TO WORK HARD TO KEEP AHEAD.

BY MANIPULATING THE LAYOUT OF OBERSALZBERG, HE CAN KEEP THE COMPETITION AT BAY.

SO, THERE'S THE OBERSALZBERG SPREAD BEFORE US, AND YOU CAN JUST SEE THAT ROOFTOP PEEPING THROUGH THE TREES.

TO THE RIGHT OF THAT, THAT'S THE BERGHOF, HITLER'S HOUSE, FOR ALL THE WORLD TO SEE.

AND THEN IF YOU SEE THE TOP OF THE HILL, THAT OPEN SPACE, THAT'S WHERE GOERING'S PUT HIMSELF.

IN BETWEEN THE TWO, DRIVING A WEDGE, THAT'S MARTIN BORMANN, WHERE HE CAN KEEP A GOOD EYE ON HIS FUHRER.

NARRATOR: IN JUNE 1936, THE NEARBY PLATTERHOF HOTEL IS BOUGHT UP AND REMODELED EXCLUSIVELY FOR NAZI PARTY OFFICIALS.

BORMANN INCREASES SECURITY.

BEHIND THE BERGHOF, HE COMMANDEERS THE TURKEN HOTEL FOR THE NAZI SECURITY SERVICE.

HERE, 250 OF HITLER'S PERSONAL BODYGUARDS AND THE SS GUARD FORCE ARE HOUSED.

BORMANN MUST KEEP VIGILANT-- ANOTHER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IS MADE ON HITLER AT THE NUREMBERG RALLY IN 1936.

SIEG HEIL!

NARRATOR: BORMANN TIGHTENS OBERSALZBERG'S SECURITY FURTHER.

HE BUILDS BARRACKS SQUARE TO HOUSE AND TRAIN 2,000 SS TROOPS.

IN JUST A FEW YEARS FROM 1935, OBERSALZBERG SWELLS FROM 50 SCATTERED FARMS AND COTTAGES TO A VAST NAZI COMPLEX.

ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU'RE BUILDING A MINI CITY FOR THIS GLITTERATI OF THE THIRD REICH, WHO SOMEHOW SHOEHORN THEMSELVES INTO THE WHOLE AREA OF OBERSALZBERG AND WE GET A COMMUNITY THAT AT SOME STAGES IS 10,000 PEOPLE STRONG.

NARRATOR: TO KEEP THIS NAZI COMPLEX RUNNING NEEDS A VAST INFRASTRUCTURE.

ONE MASSIVE BUILDING SHOWS CLEARLY THE SHEER SCALE OF THE TASK.

HOLLAND: THIS PLACE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, IS A COAL STORE.

3,500 TONS THIS THING COULD TAKE.

THERE'S A RUMOR THAT WHEN BORMANN FIRST SAW IT, HE DIDN'T LIKE THE WAY THEY'D ARRANGED ALL THE FACING OF THE GRANITE STONES, AND SO, HE GOT THEM TO TAKE THEM ALL OFF AGAIN AND PUT IT BACK ON.

WHAT AN EXTRAORDINARY MAN.

NARRATOR: IN 1936, HITLER DECIDES HE WANTS ANOTHER REICHS CHANCELLERY-- A SECOND SEAT OF GOVERNMENT.

IT'S BUILT A FEW MILES AWAY IN THE VILLAGE OF BISCHOFSWIESEN.

HERE HE CAN RUN THE COUNTRY WITHOUT HAVING TO TREK BACK TO BERLIN.

WELL, I'VE CERTAINLY FOUND THE REICHS CHANCELLERY.

I WASN'T REALLY KNOWING WHAT TO EXPECT BUT YOU SEE THAT AND THERE, ON THE TOP OF THAT ARCH, FOR ALL TO SEE, IS THE EAGLE AND CLEARLY WHAT WOULD HAVE HAD THE SWASTIKA IN IT.

I MEAN, IT'S SO BRAZEN.

IT'S SO BLATANT AND, TO THINK, BACK IN THE WAR, ALL THESE LEADING NAZIS HAD ALL BEEN HERE.

GOSH, THIS IS SO MUCH MORE SOLID AND FORBIDDING THAN ONE MIGHT THINK FROM THE OUTSIDE.

YOU LOOK AT THE VAULTED ROOFS AND IT'S JUST SO SORT OF FAUX-MEDIEVAL.

THAT'S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

YOU KNOW, WHEN I'M THINKING OF A NAZI MEETING ROOM, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M THINKING OF.

AMAZING.

HERE WE'VE GOT A GERMAN RADIO AND IT'S GOT THE SWASTIKAS...

IT'S JUST INCREDIBLE.

NARRATOR: NOW HITLER HAS ALL HE NEEDS TO RUN GERMANY FROM OBERSALZBERG.

KNOWING HITLER IS INSPIRED BY THE LANDSCAPE SURROUNDING OBERSALZBERG, IN THE AUTUMN OF 1936, BORMANN EMBARKS ON HIS MOST AMBITIOUS PROJECT YET.

HE HATCHES A PLAN TO BUILD THE HIGHEST AND MOST SPECTACULAR ROAD IN THE WHOLE OF GERMANY, UP THE KEHLSTEIN MOUNTAIN.

AN EXTREME BUILDING PROJECT ALL TO PLEASE ONE MAN--ADOLF HITLER.

THROUGHOUT ITS CONSTRUCTION, AS MANY AS 3,500 EXPERIENCED BUILDERS AND ENGINEERS ARE BROUGHT IN FROM GERMANY, AUSTRIA, AND ITALY.

IT WILL COST MILLIONS OF REICHSMARK-- OVER $161 MILLION TODAY-- ALL TAKEN FROM PARTY FUNDS.

THIS IS THE SHOWCASE FOR THE MODERN GERMANY, SO, IT WILL COST WHAT IT COSTS AND BORMANN IS THE ONE WHO'S DRIVING THIS--NOT HITLER.

WELL, THE WORKERS AREN'T A PROBLEM.

NARRATOR: THE MAN WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ATTEMPTING THIS SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE PROJECT IS CHIEF ENGINEER HANS HAUPNER.

AND IT MUST HAPPEN NEXT WEEK.

NEXT WEEK?

THE PLANS MUST BE ON MY DESK NEXT WEEK.

NARRATOR: HAUPNER IS SOON TO EXPERIENCE BORMANN'S RUTHLESS DETERMINATION WHICH THREATENS TO JEOPARDIZE EVERYTHING.

I PROMISED THIS PERSONALLY, PERSONALLY TO THE FUHRER.

NARRATOR: HANS HAUPNER AND HIS ROAD BUILDING TEAM SOON SEE THE DAUNTING CHALLENGES AWAITING THEM HIGH UP ON THE KEHLSTEIN MOUNTAIN.

WHEN THEY BEGAN WORK ON THIS ROAD IN THE SPRING OF 1937, THERE WAS STILL SNOW ON THE GROUND AND, AS THERE IS HERE NOW, AND YOU CAN SEE THIS ROCK HERE, YOU CAN SEE JUST...

IT'S SO STEEP AND THIS IS WHAT THEY'RE HAVING TO CONTEND WITH.

THEY'RE HAVING TO BLAST THE ROAD OUT OF THIS ALMOST SHEER ROCK FACE.

IT'S A FORMIDABLE UNDERTAKING.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR] COME IN.

NARRATOR: BUT HELL-BENT ON PLEASING THE FUHRER, BORMANN, AFTER SEVERAL MONTHS OF GROUND WORK ON THE NORTH FACE, SUDDENLY MAKES THE JOB EVEN TOUGHER.

GENTLEMEN, I WANT ALL CONSTRUCTION TO STOP.

THE ROAD WOULD BE BETTER IF IT RAN UP THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

BUT HERR REICHSLEITER, THE MEN HAVE MADE GOOD PROGRESS AND...

THE SOUTH SIDE WILL PROVIDE THE FUHRER WITH A MORE PLEASING VISTA.

OF COURSE.

SEE THAT IT'S DONE.

NARRATOR: IT'S A RADICAL CHANGE.

IT MEANS STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN, UP THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN.

AND THERE'S A BIGGER PROBLEM.

IN ONE PLACE, THE PLANNED ROUTE CROSSES WEAK BANDS OF ROCK, TOO UNSTABLE TO SUPPORT A ROAD.

THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO BLAST INTO THE MOUNTAINSIDE AND CUT A LONG TUNNEL.

NOTHING CAN STAND IN BORMANN'S WAY.

THE ROAD HAS TO BE PERFECT.

THE WHOLE POINT ABOUT THIS ROAD IS THAT IT'S STUNNING.

THAT AT EVERY TURN IT FULFILLS A SORT OF ROMANTIC IDEAL.

NARRATOR: THE ROAD IS 4 MILES LONG AND YET, PUSHED TO THE LIMIT, THE ENGINEERS COMPLETE IT WITHIN ONLY 13 MONTHS.

HOLLAND: IT'S JUST ANOTHER CHALLENGE THAT SHOWS THAT THE GERMANS AND THE NAZIS CAN DO ANYTHING THEY WANT.

NARRATOR: BUT BORMANN WANTS TO TOP EVEN THIS EXTRAORDINARY ACHIEVEMENT.

AS THE CROWNING GLORY TO THE OBERSALZBERG COMPLEX, HE NOW DEMANDS THAT A MOUNTAIN RETREAT BE BUILT ON THE SUMMIT.

IT WILL BECOME KNOWN AS THE EAGLE'S NEST.

IT'S MARTIN BORMANN'S CONCEPT OF A GIFT FROM THE GERMAN PEOPLE TO ADOLF HITLER FOR HIS 50TH BIRTHDAY, WHICH IS GOING TO BE THE 20TH OF APRIL, 1939.

AND HE SEES A WAY OF MAKING HIMSELF INDISPENSABLE TO THE FUHRER ALL THE TIME, AND SO BORMANN SAYS, I WILL MAKE THIS WONDERFUL PALACE FOR YOU, MY FUHRER.

BECAUSE I KNOW YOU SO WELL, BECAUSE I'M WITH YOU EVERY DAY, I CAN INTERPRET YOUR DREAMS AND WISHES.

NARRATOR: HERE HITLER WILL BE ABLE TO IMPRESS WORLD LEADERS WITH BREATHTAKING VISTAS MADE ACCESSIBLE BY NAZI ENGINEERING.

BUT HAUPNER AND HIS TEAM BELIEVE SUCH A STRUCTURE IS IMPOSSIBLE.

THE MOUNTAIN PEAK ISN'T BIG ENOUGH FOR BOTH A ROAD AND A BUILDING.

THEIR SOLUTION IS RADICAL.

END THE ROAD SHORT OF THE SUMMIT, BORE A TUNNEL INTO THE MOUNTAIN, AND WITH AN ELEVATOR CLIMB THE LAST 400 FEET TO THE BUILDING ON THE TOP.

THIS IDEA IS PREPOSTEROUS.

I WANT THE ROAD TO CONTINUE TO THE SUMMIT.

STOP WASTING MY TIME.

HERR REICHSLEITER, WE HAVE CONDUCTED A THOROUGH SURVEY.

PART OF THE SUMMIT WILL HAVE TO BE DESTROYED TO ACCOMMODATE A ROAD.

THE TERRAIN WILL BE BUMPY.

IT WILL BE AN UNCOMFORTABLE JOURNEY.

ALL RIGHT.

BUILD YOUR ELEVATOR.

NARRATOR: JUST FOR ONCE, HAUPNER WINS.

800 NEW WORKERS ARE DRAFTED IN TO WORK HIGH ABOVE THE SNOWLINE AT 5,300 FEET UP.

BUT JUST 6 MONTHS INTO THE BUILD, HANS HAUPNER GETS A NASTY SURPRISE.

HITLER DEMANDS TO SEE IT.

BORMANN: TELL ME, HAUPNER, WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO BE?

THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE!

NARRATOR: ONE MAN REMEMBERS BORMANN'S BEHAVIOR ONLY TOO WELL.

[SPEAKING GERMAN] NARRATOR: ENGINEER HEIZ NORIS OFTEN WITNESSED BORMANN'S TYRANNICAL NATURE.

MAN AS NORIS: HE WAS EXTREMELY PRONE TO FITS OF ANGER AND RAGE.

OUTRAGEOUS!

MAN AS NORIS: AND IN THAT STATE HE WAS IMPERVIOUS TO ALL REASONING.

THE FUHRER WILL BE HERE IN 3 WEEKS.

I CAN'T SHOW HIM THIS.

NARRATOR: DESPITE THE EXTREME CONDITIONS, IN SEPTEMBER 1938, THE ENGINEERS COMPLETE THE EXTERIOR OF THE EAGLE'S NEST.

A SPECTACULAR CLIMB OF 5,600 FEET UP THE MOUNTAIN ROAD LEADS TO AN IMPRESSIVE TUNNEL ENTRANCE.

HOLLAND: THIS TUNNEL IS OVER 100 YARDS IN LENGTH.

IT'S LINED WITH GRANITE FLOOR AND MARBLE ALL AROUND AND IT'S PRETTY COLD AND DANK NOW BUT, BACK IN THE DAY, WARM AIR WOULD HAVE BEEN PUMPED THROUGH TO KEEP IT AT A MORE PLEASANT TEMPERATURE AND NO ONE WOULD HAVE BEEN WALKING.

YOU'D DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO THE VERY END IN YOUR OPEN-TOP MERCEDES.

NARRATOR: THE TUNNEL ENDS RIGHT INSIDE THE MOUNTAIN, BENEATH 400 FEET OF ROCK.

AND FROM THE TUNNEL, YOU STEP INTO THE VESTIBULE OF A DOME LINED WITH POLISHED MARBLE.

AND NOW INTO THE ELEVATOR, WHICH IS MADE OF SOLID BRASS AND LINED WITH LEATHER BANQUETTES.

THIS IS A PLACE WHERE NO EXPENSE HAS BEEN SPARED, NO SMALL DETAIL OVERLOOKED.

NARRATOR: THE ELEVATOR IS DESIGNED TO CARRY 15 PEOPLE.

IT CLIMBS THE LAST 400 FEET TO THE SUMMIT, 6,000 FEET UP.

THIS PLACE MAY HAVE BEEN BORN OUT OF MEGALOMANIA AND IT MIGHT ULTIMATELY BE LITTLE MORE THAN A FOLLY BUT, FROM AN ENGINEERING POINT OF VIEW, IT'S AN ASTONISHING ACHIEVEMENT AND NO DIGNITARY VISITING THIS COULD FAIL TO BE IMPRESSED.

NARRATOR: TODAY, THE EAGLE'S NEST IS A TEAHOUSE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC...

BUT THERE'S STILL EVIDENCE OF ITS DARK NAZI PAST.

HOLLAND: WELL, THIS IS THE GREAT HALL AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S GOT MASSIVE STONE SLABS ON THE FLOOR, GREAT BIG BLOCKS ON THE WALL, HUGE TIMBERS ACROSS.

IT'S ALL VERY MUCH IN KEEPING WITH WHAT YOU'D EXPECT FROM NAZI ARCHITECTURE AT THIS TIME.

IT'S TO HITLER'S TASTE.

IT'S BARONIAL, IT'S SLIGHTLY RUSTIC, BUT THIS IS THE ROOM WHERE THEY'D HAVE HELD THEIR BIG MEETINGS.

IT'S WHERE DIGNITARIES CAME.

IT'S EVEN WHERE ONCE THEY HELD AN SS WEDDING, TOO.

NARRATOR: EVA BRAUN'S SISTER GRETL HELD HER RECEPTION HERE.

BUT NOW BORMANN IS EAGER TO FIND OUT IF IT WILL MEASURE UP TO HITLER'S EXPECTATIONS.

ON SEPTEMBER 16, 1938, HITLER VISITS THE EAGLE'S NEST FOR THE FIRST TIME.

BORMANN IS ANXIOUS TO PLEASE HIM.

PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT YOU ARE SEEING THIS 7 MONTHS EARLY.

IT'S NOT COMPLETELY DECORATED YET.

I FEEL THAT I WILL ONLY BE VISITING HERE OCCASIONALLY.

THE AIR IS THIN.

I'M NOT SURE THAT THE ELEVATOR IS ALTOGETHER SAFE.

I CAN IMAGINE IT WILL BE PRONE TO LIGHTNING STRIKES.

NARRATOR: TRUE TO HIS WORD, HITLER RARELY VISITS THE EAGLE'S NEST.

IN CONTRAST, EVA BRAUN USES EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO DRIVE UP HERE-- RECORDING HER TRIPS WITH HER HOME MOVIE CAMERA.

HITLER EXCLUDES HER FROM MOST OF THE OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS AT THE BERGHOF, SO, SHE ENJOYS ESCAPING TO THE MOUNTAINTOP WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY.

BUT EVA DESCRIBES HER LIFESTYLE AS BEING "A PRISONER IN A GOLDEN CAGE."

AND FOR BORMANN, HIS PLAN TO PLEASE HITLER HAS FAILED.

NOW HIS POSITION LOOKS THREATENED.

CADDICK-ADAMS: THERE'S A MOMENT, I THINK, WHEN HITLER FIRST SEES THE EAGLE'S NEST, WHEN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE FUHRER AND MARTIN BORMANN IS AT RISK AND THE RELATIONSHIP COULD HAVE GONE TWO WAYS.

HITLER COULD HAVE FOUND MARTIN BORMANN AN IRRITANT AND SOMEONE WHO FALLS OUT OF FAVOR.

BUT, IN FACT, IT GOES THE OTHER WAY, BECAUSE MARTIN BORMANN BECOMES THE GATEKEEPER TO OBERSALZBERG.

HITLER RELIES ON HIM MORE AND MORE AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE THERE THAT HE CAN TURN TO OTHER THAN MARTIN BORMANN.

[KNOCKING ON DOOR] NARRATOR: DESPITE THIS ONE ERROR OF JUDGMENT, BORMANN HAS SO CLEVERLY OUTMANEUVERED ALL HIS RIVALS, HE IS NOW INDISPENSABLE TO HITLER.

AH, THE MOLE WHO MOVES MOUNTAINS OVERNIGHT.

NARRATOR: AND SINCE 1935, BORMANN HAS CREATED FOR HITLER THE PERFECT NAZI STRONGHOLD.

I'LL TAKE CARE OF IT.

NARRATOR: WHILE BORMANN HAS BEEN BUILDING, HITLER HAS BEEN HELL-BENT ON EXPANDING THE FATHERLAND.

AT THE BERGHOF IN FEBRUARY 1938, HE MAKES THE DECISION TO DEMAND A UNION WITH AUSTRIA... [CROWD CHEERING] WHICH HE SUCCESSFULLY ANNEXES THE NEXT MONTH WITHOUT CONFLICT.

IN THE FOLLOWING SPRING, GERMANY INVADES CZECHOSLOVAKIA, AGAIN MEETING NO RESISTANCE.

THEN, ONCE MORE AT THE BERGHOF, HE SETS HIS SIGHTS ON POLAND.

ON AUGUST 24, 1939, AT 3 IN THE MORNING, HITLER STANDS ON THE TERRACE WITH HIS VALET AND A HOUSE GUEST.

HOLLAND: THEY LOOKED OUT OVER UNTERSBERG AND THEY SAW A STRANGE PHENOMENON.

THE AURORA BOREALIS WAS SHIMMERING IN THE SKY AND COVERING THE UNTERSBERG AND THE VALLEY BELOW A SORT OF STRANGE RED COLOR THAT CREPT UP UPON THEM AND OVER THEIR HANDS AND FACES.

NARRATOR: HITLER TAKES IT AS A SIGN.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS.

IT LOOKS LIKE A SEA OF BLOOD.

THIS TIME WE WON'T BRING IT ABOUT WITHOUT VIOLENCE.

NARRATOR: WITHIN ONE WEEK, HITLER INVADES POLAND.

ON SEPTEMBER 1, 1939, THE SECOND WORLD WAR BEGINS.

OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS, HIS TROOPS SWEEP ACROSS WESTERN EUROPE.

HE THEN SETS HIS SIGHTS ON THE SOVIET UNION.

THROUGHOUT THIS TIME, HITLER SEEKS SOLACE AT THE BERGHOF, IN THE PEACE AND QUIET OF OBERSALZBERG.

CADDICK-ADAMS: OVER THE WAR YEARS, HITLER ONLY COMES TO ACCEPT GOOD NEWS.

HE ONLY LIKES PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO BE CHEERFUL AND BUOYANT AROUND HIM.

SO, HE SOON ONLY SEES THE GLASS AS HALF-FULL RATHER THAN HALF-EMPTY AND HE DOESN'T WANT ANYTHING TO TAINT THIS SORT OF MOUNTAIN PARADISE AND, THEREFORE, HE GETS CAST MORE AND MORE INTO A WORLD OF UNREALITY.

NARRATOR: HITLER IS BLIND TO THIS.

HE TRUSTS IN HIS OWN INVINCIBILITY AND THE BERGHOF REINFORCES HIS SELF-BELIEF.

MAN AS HITLER: ALL MY GREAT DECISIONS WERE TAKEN AT OBERSALZBERG.

SO MANY THINGS WERE BORN THERE AND BROUGHT TO FRUITION THERE.

NARRATOR: BUT ISOLATED IN HIS MOUNTAIN PARADISE, HITLER BEGINS TO MAKE DISASTROUS DECISIONS.

WHEN HIS TROOPS ARE FACING DESPERATE ODDS IN STALINGRAD IN THE WINTER OF 1942, HIS GENERALS BEG HIM TO ALLOW THEM TO WITHDRAW.

I WON'T LEAVE THE VOLGA.

I WON'T GO BACK FROM THE VOLGA.

YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO RETREAT.

YOU MUST HOLD YOUR POSITION.

NARRATOR: IT'S A CATASTROPHIC DECISION.

HITLER'S FORCES ARE SLAUGHTERED.

850,000 KILLED, WOUNDED, OR CAPTURED.

AS THE WAR TURNS AGAINST NAZI GERMANY, HITLER'S MOODS BECOME DARKER.

STAFF ARE OFTEN TOO SCARED TO APPROACH HIM.

IT ALL COMES TO A HEAD AT THE BERGHOF ON D-DAY.

UP THERE ON THE FIRST FLOOR ABOVE THE LIVING ROOM WAS HIS BEDROOM, AND IT WAS HERE ON THE MORNING OF THE SIXTH OF JUNE, 1944 THAT HE WAS FINALLY TOLD ABOUT THE ALLIED INVASION IN NORMANDY.

IT WAS A LITTLE BIT LATE IN THE DAY.

TO BE HONEST, IT WAS ABOUT 10 IN THE MORNING, BECAUSE HITLER WAS A NOTORIOUS LATE SLEEPER AND NO ONE DARED WAKE HIM UP.

NARRATOR: WITH NO DIRECT ORDER FROM HITLER UNTIL LATE IN THE DAY, THE ALLIES GAIN A MASSIVE MILITARY ADVANTAGE.

AND VERY SOON, THEY WILL THREATEN HITLER'S MOUNTAIN FORTRESS.

FOR MOST OF THE WAR, THE OBERSALZBERG REGION, HIDDEN AWAY IN THE SOUTHEASTERN CORNER OF GERMANY, HAS REMAINED VIRTUALLY UNTOUCHABLE.

BUT WHEN THE ALLIES DEVELOP LONG-RANGE BOMBERS AND THEIR RAIDS BECOME MORE DARING, HITLER'S MOUNTAIN STRONGHOLD BEGINS TO LOOK VULNERABLE.

BORMANN COMES UP WITH A DEFENSE PLAN.

HE WANTS FIREPOWER HIGH UP IN THE MOUNTAINS.

HE INSTALLS ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS ALONG THE MOUNTAIN RIDGE OVERLOOKING THE OBERSALZBERG COMPLEX, AS MILITARY EXPERT PATRICK BURY EXPLAINS.

BACK IN THE DAY, YOU WOULD HAVE HAD PROBABLY 6 ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS OF VARYING CALIBER SPREAD OUT IN THIS AREA.

NOW, THERE'S A REASON THEY WERE SITED IN THIS LOCATION AND IT IS PRECISELY BECAUSE OF THIS.

IT LOOKS OVER PERFECTLY OVER THE BERGHOF, WHICH IS BASICALLY STRAIGHT THROUGH THERE.

AND IF YOU'RE AN ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNNER HERE AND YOUR MISSION IS TO PROTECT HITLER, WELL, THIS IS THE PLACE TO BE.

NARRATOR: BORMANN ALSO PLANS TO CREATE A SYSTEM OF UNDERGROUND BUNKERS.

HE CALLS FOR OVER 3 MILES OF INTERLINKING TUNNELS TO BE BUILT AND A SECRET HEADQUARTERS FOR THE FUHRER RIGHT BEHIND THE BERGHOF.

WITH THE ALLIED THREAT INCREASING, BORMANN HIRES EVERY AVAILABLE ENGINEER AND 110 MILITARY GEOLOGISTS.

ENGINEER HEINZ NORIS OVERSEES THE BUILDING OF THE BERGHOF BUNKER.

THIS IS GOING TO TAKE MONTHS.

MAN AS NORIS: WE FINISHED THE FIRST SECTION IN RECORD TIME.

THEN WE WERE SUDDENLY TOLD WE HAD TO HAVE THE WHOLE THING FINISHED BY CHRISTMAS 1943.

THAT WAS COMPLETELY INSANE.

NARRATOR: EVEN AS BORMANN PREPARES OBERSALZBERG AGAINST AN ALLIED ATTACK, HE IS JUST AS CONCERNED ABOUT HIS OWN POSITION WITHIN HITLER'S INNER CIRCLE.

BORMANN HAD HIS OWN TUNNEL SYSTEM WHICH HAD TO BE CONNECTED TO HITLER'S TUNNEL SYSTEM SO THAT BORMANN COULD REACH HITLER UNDERGROUND IF EVER HE NEEDED TO DO SO.

NARRATOR: GOERING DEMANDED HIS TUNNEL ALSO BE CONNECTED TO THE FUHRER'S.

BORMANN WOULDN'T ALLOW THAT, SO, TODAY, THERE'S ABOUT 10 FEET OF ROCK BETWEEN GOERING'S TUNNEL AND BORMANN'S TUNNEL SO GOERING COULD NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE OTHER TUNNELS.

NARRATOR: UNDERGROUND BUNKERS ARE EVEN BUILT BEYOND OBERSALZBERG.

THE REICHS CHANCELLERY, IN THE NEARBY VILLAGE OF BISCHOFSWIESEN, IS EQUIPPED TO OPERATE EVEN UNDER SIEGE.

THESE STEPS LEAD TO TUNNELS THAT GO RIGHT UNDERNEATH THE CHANCELLERY.

I REALLY HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT TO EXPECT DOWN HERE.

I CAN FEEL WE'RE GOING DOWN.

IT FEELS VERY SORT OF ENCLOSED AND TIGHT.

HERE'S ANOTHER CORNER AND ANOTHER ONE.

AND ANOTHER CORNER.

AND WE'RE STILL GOING DOWN.

I THINK ONE THING'S FOR CERTAIN, YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE HIT BY A BOMB THIS DEEP DOWN.

OH, THIS IS UNMISTAKABLY THE POWER ROOM.

THIS IS WHERE THE GENERATORS WOULD HAVE BEEN.

SO, THIS IS THE COMMUNICATIONS ROOM.

"ABORTE."

WELL, THAT MEANS ABLUTIONS, AND ACTUALLY NOW I'M LOOKING INSIDE, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE URINALS WOULD HAVE BEEN.

WHAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IS THAT THIS WAS DESIGNED AND BUILT FOR PEOPLE TO LIVE DOWN HERE.

TO EAT, DRINK, SLEEP, AND WORK FOR AS LONG AS IT TOOK, I SUPPOSE.

I'VE GOT TO SAY, I DON'T FANCY IT.

NARRATOR: WITH SLEEPING QUARTERS, ITS OWN POWER SUPPLY, AND COMMUNICATIONS, THE MECHANICS OF GOVERNMENT CAN RUN SMOOTHLY DOWN HERE, EVEN UNDER ATTACK.

BUT THE TUNNELS LEAD FURTHER.

HOLLAND: WELL, HERE'S A CORNER, AND ANOTHER ONE HERE AS WELL, AND THESE ARE ANTI-BLAST KINKS.

SO, THAT SUGGESTED THAT WE'RE FINALLY GETTING TO THE END OF THIS MAMMOTH TUNNEL.

I MEAN, WE MUST HAVE WALKED NEARLY, I DON'T KNOW, HALF A MILE OR SOMETHING.

I CAN JUST SEE A GLINT OF DAYLIGHT HERE.

OH, MY GOODNESS!

NARRATOR: THE TUNNEL COMES OUT LOWER DOWN IN THE VALLEY.

THAT'S EXTRAORDINARY.

IT'S JUST COMING OUT IN THE ABSOLUTE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AND HERE'S THE RAILWAY LINE.

WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IS THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A SEPARATE LINE AND A TRAIN COULD HAVE COME UP HERE AND PEOPLE COULD HAVE COME IN AND GONE OUT WITHOUT ANYONE KNOWING.

THIS IS A PLACE TO GET IN SECRETLY AND A PLACE TO ESCAPE SECRETLY, TOO.

HOW ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE.

NARRATOR: BENEATH OBERSALZBERG, THERE IS ONE EXTRAORDINARY UNDERPASS BURROWED OUT THROUGH THE ROCK.

IT IS UNUSUALLY WIDE AND KNOWN AS THE OBERTAL TUNNEL.

ITS ENTRANCE LIES IN A REMOTE CORNER OF THE FOREST.

IT'S ONE OF THE LAST THE NAZIS EVER BUILT IN THE OBERSALZBERG, AND IT'S ALSO ONE OF THE BEST-KEPT SECRETS IN THE AREA.

SO, LET'S TAKE A LOOK.

SO, WHAT YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE HERE IS THE OUTLINE OF WHERE THE SLEEPERS WERE FOR THE SMALL RAILWAY THAT WAS USED TO HELP EXCAVATE THE TUNNEL AND YOU CAN JUST SEE, LITERALLY, THE DIVOTS IN BETWEEN THE SLEEPERS WHERE THE LOAD PUSHED DOWN.

YOU CAN SEE HERE THESE BORE HOLES WOULD HAVE BEEN DONE WITH A DRILL AND THEN MARKED WITH A WOODEN MARKER.

BASICALLY, IT'S BEEN DONE SO THAT THEY CAN STUFF MORE EXPLOSIVES INTO THERE.

[DRILLING] AND IT INDICATES THAT ALTHOUGH THIS IS ACTUALLY QUITE WIDE AT THE MOMENT-- YOU CAN FIT ONE VEHICLE HERE-- THE ACTUAL PLAN WAS TO FIT TWO.

[RUMBLING] SO, HERE YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S REALLY WIDENED OUT INTO ALMOST TWO LANES OF TRAFFIC.

YOU COULD FIT STORES DOWN HERE.

YOU CAN MOVE MILITARY VEHICLES UP AND DOWN.

YEAH, IT COULD BE AN EGRESS ROUTE FOR THE INNER CIRCLE OF THE NAZI PARTY AND IT WAS ESSENTIALLY A BACKUP PLAN FOR THE NAZIS.

IT'S NARROWING DOWN NOW AS WE GET FURTHER INTO THE MOUNTAINSIDE.

I'LL TELL YOU WHAT-- THIS WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE OUT AT THE END OF THE WORLD.

AND SO, WE'VE REACHED ESSENTIALLY THE END OF THE LINE.

THIS IS WHERE IT ALL, IT ALL ENDS.

ABOUT 450 FEET ABOVE US IS THE CENTER OF THE NAZIS' POSITION ON THE OBERSALZBERG-- BUT NEVER COMPLETED.

NARRATOR: BORMANN CONTINUES TO BURROW UNDERGROUND, CREATING AN ENORMOUS LABYRINTH BENEATH OBERSALZBERG.

AN ELABORATE NETWORK OF TUNNELS AND BUNKERS.

NOT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THE NECESSITY FOR SO MANY OF THEM.

HOW'S IT GOING?

GOOD.

BUT WE NEED MORE MEN.

NARRATOR: CHIEF ENGINEER HEINZ NORIS ONLY SEES THE BUNKERS AS AN ENDLESS WASTE OF RESOURCES.

BUNKERS WHICH MAY NEVER BE USED.

MAN AS NORIS: WHAT IS ALL THIS FOR?

WILL WE HAVE TO LIVE FOR WEEKS ON END UNDERGROUND?

AND WHEN WILL WE HAVE TO DO SO?

WHAT ON EARTH IS THE POINT OF THESE PRECAUTIONS?

FOR THIS, I WILL NEED EVERY MAN I HAVE.

NARRATOR: BUT FOR BORMANN, HIS TUNNELS ARE PART OF A BIGGER PLAN.

IF THE CAPITAL SHOULD FALL, HE BELIEVES THAT HIS MOUNTAIN FORTRESS OF OBERSALZBERG IS THE ONE PLACE WHERE HE CAN KEEP HIS FUHRER SAFE.

AS GERMANY COLLAPSES, HITLER IS IN BERLIN.

ON APRIL 20, 1945, THE RUSSIAN ARMY IS CLOSING IN.

HITLER HOLES UP IN THE FUHRER BUNKER.

HE'S FAR FROM THE SAFETY OF OBERSALZBERG.

MY FUHRER, WE MUST MOVE OUR HEADQUARTERS TO OBERSALZBERG.

I'VE MADE ALL THE ARRANGEMENTS.

YOUR ALPINE REDOUBT AWAITS YOUR ARRIVAL.

I WILL NOT BE A DISHONORED RUNAWAY.

I AM THE FUHRER AS LONG AS I CAN LEAD.

I CANNOT LEAD BY SITTING ON A MOUNTAIN.

I DID NOT COME INTO THE WORLD SOLELY IN ORDER TO DEFEND THE BERGHOF.

I WILL FIGHT AND WIN THE BATTLE OF BERLIN...OR PERISH.

NARRATOR: DESPITE HITLER'S LONG ATTACHMENT TO OBERSALZBERG, HE ABANDONS ANY CHANCE OF RETURNING.

HOLLAND: IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE THE 1,000-YEAR REICH OR IT'S GONNA BE ARMAGEDDON, AND IT'S CLEARLY GOING TO BE ARMAGEDDON.

NARRATOR: ON THE MORNING OF APRIL 25, 1945, THE PEACE IN OBERSALZBERG IS SHATTERED.

TWO WAVES OF RAF LANCASTER BOMBERS ARE CLOSING IN.

AFTER YEARS OF INTELLIGENCE GATHERING, THE ALLIES ARE AWARE OF OBERSALZBERG AND ITS DEFENSES.

THEY'RE AIMING TO DESTROY ANY LAST CHANCE OF A NAZI COUNTERATTACK.

BUT BORMANN'S ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUNS HIGH ABOVE THE BERGHOF ARE WAITING FOR THEM.

NOW, THERE'S ONE SLIGHT PROBLEM WITH THE POSITION AND THAT'S BECAUSE, ALTHOUGH IT'S HIDDEN FROM VIEW BY THIS RIDGE LINE, IT CAN'T DEFEND ANYTHING COMING FROM THAT DIRECTION AND, OF COURSE, ON THE MORNING OF THE 25TH OF APRIL, WHEN THE BERGHOF IS BOMBED, WHICH WAY DO THE BOMBERS COME FROM?

NARRATOR: EVERYONE ON THE OBERSALZBERG SCRAMBLES TO THE BUNKERS.

AFTER YEARS OF BUILDING DEFENSES, HEINZ NORIS'S LIFE NOW DEPENDS ON THEM.

TO THE BUNKERS.

IT WAS IN A BUNKER LIKE THIS THAT HEINZ NORIS TOOK PROTECTION DURING THE ALLIED BOMBING RAID ON THE OBERSALZBERG.

THIS BUNKER WOULDN'T HAVE SURVIVED A DIRECT HIT FROM AN ALLIED BOMB, BUT CRUCIALLY IT GAVE YOU MORE PROTECTION THAN BEING OUT ON THE EXPOSED SLOPES AND IN THE WOODS.

THIS MUST BE THE BUNKER EXIT I'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR FROM BORMANN'S HOUSE.

NARRATOR: THIS BUNKER IS THE ONLY CHANCE THAT BORMANN'S FAMILY HAVE TO STAY ALIVE.

I'M GONNA TRY AND GET IN.

I'M NOT THE MOST SUPPLE IN THE WORLD, BUT LET'S HAVE A GO.

WHEN BORMANN WAS WITH HITLER IN THE FUHRER BUNKER IN BERLIN, HIS FAMILY WERE STILL HERE.

HE HAD 10 CHILDREN AND WHEN THE AIR RAID SIREN WENT OFF, THEY WOULD HAVE ENTERED THE TUNNEL COMPLEX FROM AN ENTRANCE WITHIN THE HOUSE, GONE DOWN THE STEPS INTO PRE-PREPARED ROOMS, AND HERE THEY WOULD HAVE SHELTERED WHILE THE BOMBS FELL.

NARRATOR: THE ANTI-AIRCRAFT DEFENSES PROVE INEFFECTUAL.

ONLY ONE PLANE IS SHOT DOWN.

THE RAF DROPS OVER 1,200 TONS OF BOMBS ON OBERSALZBERG IN A RAID THAT LASTS FOR TWO HOURS.

BURY: THE BUNKER SAVED HEINZ NORIS'S LIFE AND HE ACTUALLY SURVIVED THAT BOMBING AND LIVED TO TELL THE TALE.

NARRATOR: BORMANN'S FAMILY, HIDDEN DEEP BELOW GROUND, ALSO ESCAPE UNSCATHED.

AND ONCE THE BOMBERS HAD PASSED, THEY WOULD HAVE EMERGED VERY POSSIBLY FROM THIS VERY ENTRANCE AND SEEN NOTHING LEFT OF THEIR HOUSE, JUST DEBRIS STREWN OVER THE MOUNTAINSIDE AND THE ONCE-BEAUTIFUL OBERSALZBERG THEY'D KNOWN SO WELL WOULD HAVE BEEN A SMOKING RUIN.

NARRATOR: 5 DAYS LATER, WITH THE RED ARMY IN BERLIN, HITLER TAKES HIS OWN LIFE.

WALDEN: THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT FOR BORMANN.

HE LIVED TO SERVE HITLER.

WHEN HITLER WAS GONE, HE HAD NO POWER, HE HAD NO UNDERLINGS THAT HE COULD ORDER AROUND, AND THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT FOR HIM TO DO.

NARRATOR: BORMANN TRIES TO ESCAPE BERLIN.

HIS BODY IS FOUND NEAR THE RAILWAY STATION.

WHEN HIS SKELETON WAS FINALLY DISCOVERED MANY YEARS LATER, AND SUBSEQUENT DNA PROVED THAT IT WAS ABSOLUTELY BEYOND ANY DOUBT THAT THAT WAS HIS BODY, THEY REALIZED THAT THERE WERE GLASS FRAGMENTS BETWEEN HIS TEETH AND IT LOOKS LIKE HE BIT ON A CYANIDE PILL.

NARRATOR: OBERSALZBERG: 10 YEARS TO BUILD, TWO HOURS TO DESTROY.

IF HITLER AND BORMANN HAD MADE IT TO THE SAFETY OF THEIR UNDERGROUND BUNKERS, THEY WOULD HAVE SURVIVED THE AIR RAID.

BUT EVEN HERE, FOR HITLER, THE END WOULD HAVE BEEN INEVITABLE.

HE WOULD HAVE JUST BEEN A RAT IN A TRAP.

THERE WAS NO WAY HE COULD HAVE DEFENDED THIS AREA.

NARRATOR: HITLER WOULD HAVE HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO ABANDON OBERSALZBERG.

THE PLACE WHICH HAD BEEN HIS SPIRITUAL HOME AND SANCTUARY.

THE PLACE HE BELIEVED MADE HIM INVINCIBLE LAY IN RUINS.

BUT ONE BUILDING REMAINS: THE EAGLE'S NEST.

THE MOST SUPERFLUOUS BUILDING OF ALL.

IT STANDS TODAY AS A MONUMENT TO THE DELUSION, GREED, AND EXCESS OF HITLER'S NAZI REGIME.