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00:01Previously, on the last days of World War II, in the Pacific, after prolonged and fierce fighting,
00:08American forces on Okinawa cracked the enemy's last defensive line.
00:13In Washington, military staff discussed plans for the invasion of mainland Japan.
00:18In Europe, ethnic Germans were brutally forced from their homes in Czechoslovakia.
00:23This week, in the Pacific, the Japanese commander on Okinawa, General Ushijima, makes his last stand.
00:36But the elation of victory for US troops is eclipsed by the sudden loss of General Simon Buckner.
00:43And in the United States, an American hero comes home in triumph.
00:53June 17th, over mainland Japan.
01:16More than 100 B-29s sweep towards Kagoshima.
01:20From an altitude of 7,000 feet, they drop 800 tons of incendiaries on the port city.
01:29The city on southern Kyushu is considered the southern gateway to Japan.
01:33It contains a Japanese naval yard and the renowned Satsuma porcelain production factory.
01:40It is also home to hundreds of thousands of civilians.
01:43Japan, in the spring into the summer of 1945, was in very bad shape.
01:49The bombing of the home islands had begun in the fall of 1944.
01:54At first, the bombing was directed toward industrial sites, military facilities.
02:00But from the early part of 1945, the bombing of civilian populations and cities begins.
02:07As we went to Japan flying missions, we would broadcast to them, especially later in the war, we would broadcast to them which cities we were coming to.
02:19And we would maybe say, these five cities we're going to bomb tonight, we would only bomb maybe three of them.
02:26Each bomber's 14,000-pound payload is designed to raise an inferno in the city below.
02:38They were napalm bombs, but 100-pounders, and just dropped them in clusters.
02:46And when you saw the bomb bay open and those things go out, they just went out like a pshhh.
02:52Fires spread from the docks to the west side of Kagoshima.
02:56Two square miles, 40% of the city, are engulfed in flames.
03:01Only one B-29 is lost, crashing without obvious cause into the sea off the south coast of Japan.
03:12Over the next 24 hours, incendiary bombs would rain down on the cities of Omuta, Hamamatsu, and Yokaichi.
03:22The relentless, merciless bombing campaign is intended to force a Japanese capitulation.
03:28Japan's infrastructure and economy are in ruins.
03:32Businesses can no longer function, and essential services are on the verge of collapse.
03:39The cities, particularly the large cities like Tokyo, were gradually in the state of collapsing.
03:45The trains were disrupted, the streetcars were disrupted, people couldn't get to work.
03:50By the summer of 1945, probably there was a 40% absentee rate at most factories and offices.
03:58Food supply was beginning to seriously decline.
04:03Simply keeping yourself together, simply keep finding food, living through the day,
04:10for people in the cities, was an extraordinarily hard thing to do.
04:13Hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians have been killed by the American bombing raids.
04:21Many survivors are left homeless, on the brink of starvation.
04:26Japanese attempts to fend off the bombers are hopeless.
04:30Anti-aircraft defences are woefully inadequate to tackle raids on this scale.
04:34But among the Japanese Supreme War Council, there is still no open consideration of surrender.
04:44The reason why Japan then continued the war, is that for the previous half century,
04:50through the first Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War, up to World War I,
04:55the Japanese had never lost the war.
04:58Japan had always won.
04:59Thus, both the government and the military people, didn't know how to deal with losing a war.
05:05They didn't have any experience of defeat, and they didn't know how to end it.
05:13Japanese commanders believe their dwindling defences may outlive the American will to fight,
05:19enabling them to negotiate a more favourable outcome than total surrender.
05:23They thought the Americans were materialistic, they were individualistic,
05:26they didn't work well as a group, so that they would soon collapse, psychologically.
05:33It was fairly clear, I think, to everyone, that this was not going to be a war that the Japanese could win.
05:41But the military felt that they could still create a situation where the United States would want to negotiate.
05:51The devastating aerial bombardment of Japan will continue.
05:54You knew that you were burning out their city.
06:00You were taking out square miles at a time.
06:04And the firestorms were horrible.
06:09You know, you pity the people, but at that time you're only thinking about, you're doing your mission, you're dropping your bombs, you're on target, and not being shot down.
06:20Because, you know, I saw a point I can get shot down.
06:25And the guys bail out over the target and go down into all that fire.
06:32And decided we never wanted to do that.
06:37Because we knew what they did to our prisoners.
06:40Japanese military officers, powerless to defend their country against these attacks, take their own brutal form of retribution.
06:51The torture and execution of Allied POWs.
06:53The Japanese were quite notorious for their treatment, or rather their mistreatment of POWs.
07:02For example, just the numbers alone tell quite a story.
07:06In Europe, 2% of American POWs captured by Germans died.
07:10For the Asian front, 37% of Americans captured by the Japanese died.
07:18They were beaten, they were tortured, they were treated quite badly by the Japanese throughout their stay.
07:25But when the war turned against the Japanese, they seemed to have taken out their frustration against the American POWs, and many were simply slaughtered.
07:34June 20th. Following two days of heavy US bombing raids on the city of Fukuoka, Kyushu's largest city, Japanese military officials order the execution of eight US airmen in their custody.
07:48The Americans, being held captive at the POW detention center at Western Army headquarters in Fukuoka, are taken to the Municipal Girls High School.
07:57Hands tied and blindfolded, the men are brought out into the school yard.
08:04All eight of the American POWs are beheaded.
08:11The beheadings are not isolated incidents.
08:15This photo shows an Australian prisoner suffering the same fate on New Guinea in 1943.
08:20The execution of prisoners would continue, particularly as a form of reprisal against American bomber crews downed over Japan.
08:31As the Japanese mainland is ravaged by incendiary bombs, organized resistance in the Philippines is unravelling.
08:41June 18th. Luzon.
08:42The US 37th Division advances in the Cagayan Valley and captures the Ilagan airfield.
08:49Three days later, US forces capture Apare, the island's last defended seaport.
08:56To the south, on Mindanao, Japanese defenses have collapsed.
09:01As Japan loses its grip on the Philippines, Emperor Hirohito agonizes over the future of his people and his country.
09:07Hirohito, unlike his military commanders, believes the war should be ended by diplomatic means as soon as possible.
09:22June 18th. Tokyo.
09:25Hirohito instructs Japanese Prime Minister Suzuki to relay his intentions to the government ministers.
09:30But his pleas for a peaceful resolution are rejected. Unconditional surrender remains unthinkable.
09:41Halfway around the world in Washington, US military commanders anxiously await news of victory on Okinawa.
09:48The island is now expected to fall in just a matter of days.
09:51Coming up, fighting on Okinawa reaches a savage conclusion on the island's southern tip.
10:00Fanatical Japanese defenders try to make victory as costly as possible for the US.
10:08There is no surrender on our part or the Japanese part.
10:13You fought your way out of it or you died.
10:14June 17th. Okinawa.
10:19US troops have been battling Japanese defenders on the island for 78 days.
10:24Operation Iceberg. The invasion of Okinawa has been one of the largest amphibious undertakings by the United States in the war.
10:39Two corps of the 10th Army under the command of General Simon Buckner landed on the southwest of the island more than two months ago.
10:49US Task Force 51 provided over a thousand transports and landing craft to land 200,000 men of the US 10th Army.
10:56They were met by about 80,000 Japanese troops entrenched in caves and elaborate tunnel systems, supported by 20,000 members of the Okinawan Home Guard.
11:10The Okinawa campaign was a long, hard trudge. It started on April 1st, 1945, which was Easter Sunday and a lot of troops noted it was April Fool's Day, which they took as a bad omen.
11:21And it goes on until the latter part of June.
11:26Despite several weeks of intense and brutal combat, the determination of the Japanese defenders remains unwavering.
11:33There is no surrender on our part or the Japanese part.
11:38If you're in a near hopeless situation, you fought your way out of it or you died.
11:45The Japanese will defend the Pacific Island, just 70 miles long and 10 miles wide, to the bitter end.
11:52Whatever orders were given to them, they were made to understand this was given in the name of the Emperor and they were to carry out the orders no matter what.
12:05Each Japanese soldier was prepared to die and that would be part of his glory.
12:12June 17th, Okinawa. What's left of General Mitsuru Ushijima's 32nd Army has been pushed back beyond Yaiju Daki, the last Japanese stronghold on the southern tip of the island.
12:27Tanks are used to ferry reinforcements forward over the exposed approaches to Kunishi Ridge.
12:35They also evacuate hundreds of American casualties.
12:43U.S. 10th Army troops now hold the high ground.
12:47American troops are able to look south over the last eight square miles held by the enemy.
12:52cornered in the far south, the Japanese have no means of escape.
13:00Ushijima and his chief of staff, General Cho, have no intention of surrendering.
13:06They plan to fight on from the many caves formed by coral outcrops in this part of the island.
13:11June 18th. Ushijima's situation is dire. About 1,000 of his men are being killed each day.
13:26Soon the Japanese casualty rate would skyrocket.
13:30Those who survive are running out of food and ammunition.
13:34They are hunted by U.S. tank infantry teams, methodically working through the area.
13:38Ushijima orders his troops to disperse and continue the fight in a guerrilla war.
13:53His men are ordered to sneak through the lines over several days,
13:57escaping in small groups of four or five men.
13:59As Ushijima's troops disperse, thousands of leaflets urging surrender are dropped by U.S. aircraft.
14:09Using loudspeakers, interpreters also appeal to the Japanese to surrender.
14:15Some Japanese now want to surrender.
14:18Many have never been frontline soldiers, and there are no supplies or weapons.
14:22The Americans are going to have Japanese Americans in their units, and they're going to be going out with loudspeakers mounted on tanks and trucks, etc., broadcasting not only to the Japanese troops, but also to the civilians.
14:38Come in, we won't hurt you, we'll feed you, we'll protect you, etc.
14:42A lot of civilians will heed those overtures, but many won't.
14:47There are isolated pockets of resistance from die-hard Japanese soldiers, but they are gradually identified and wiped out.
14:58Some attempt to escape to the north, hiding themselves amongst the civilian population.
15:04Heavily armed U.S. forces move forward, supported by armoured vehicles like the M16 half-track.
15:17Dubbed the meat chopper, the M16 half-track was one of the most effective vehicles used by U.S. forces on Okinawa.
15:24The half-track design was originally conceived by the Russians during the First World War.
15:29Its use was an armoured infantry transport vehicle.
15:33With a top speed cross-country of around 35 miles an hour, the M16 half-track could off-road with the tanks.
15:40The M16 was based on the standard M3 half-track, supplied to U.S. armed forces by the White, Autocar and Diamond T organisations since May 1941.
15:54The M16 variant, introduced in 1943, offered anti-aircraft defence and fire support.
16:02The vehicle has four 50-caliber machine guns on it.
16:10It has an auxiliary power unit that supplies power to that turret.
16:15These four guns would be turned onto personnel targets or area targets in the direct-fire mode.
16:28And it became a very, very effective weapon system.
16:32In fact, it was sometimes called the Hoover because it could vacuum a whole area of the enemy.
16:38And suppress the fire so that the infantry could get up close to do the normal tactics of blinding them, burning them and blasting them.
16:54More than 3,000 M16s were used by American armed forces in World War II.
16:59June the 18th, Okinawa.
17:07U.S. forces have made significant progress in the south against remnants of the Japanese 24th Division.
17:15As the news reaches General Buckner, he leaves his headquarters in the north to inspect the ridgeline.
17:20When Buckner arrives at the front, his men are engaged in a vicious battle.
17:26Buckner moves into a forward observation post to get a closer look at the fighting.
17:37Colonel Harold Roberts, commanding officer of the 22nd Marine Regiment, voices concern.
17:42But Buckner disregards Roberts' warning.
17:45Moments later, a torrent of fire erupts.
17:53A Japanese shell explodes over the observation post, breaking off shards of coral which are hurled through the air.
18:01Buckner is struck in the chest by one fragment.
18:04Frantic efforts are made to save his life, but within 10 minutes, General Buckner is dead.
18:09Colonel Roberts, who had tried to warn him of the danger, is killed hours later by a Japanese sniper.
18:18Buckner's body is immediately flown out of the combat zone.
18:22He is the highest ranking U.S. officer to be killed in World War II.
18:27His death, at the moment of victory, is a demoralizing blow to U.S. troops.
18:37He is one of over 7,000 deaths in combat sustained by the 10th Army on Okinawa.
18:42June 19th, Admiral Chester Nimitz orders General Geiger of the 3rd Amphibious Corps to assume temporary command of Buckner's men on Okinawa.
18:54It is the first time a U.S. Marine is placed in charge of an army in the field.
18:58After joining the U.S. Marine Corps in 1907, Geiger became only the Marine Corps' fifth aviator in June 1917 at the age of 32.
19:15He commanded a squadron of the Marine Aviation Force in France during the First World War.
19:20Geiger went on to command U.S. Marine Air Squadrons in some of the most brutal battles of the Pacific War.
19:34Geiger commanded the First Marine Aircraft Wing during the decisive battle at Guadalcanal in 1942.
19:41There, his leadership contributed to the destruction of 268 Japanese planes and the sinking of six Japanese naval vessels.
19:51In 1944, Geiger led the 3rd Amphibious Corps in the invasion and capture of Guam and the southern Palau Islands.
19:58For this, he was awarded two gold stars to his Distinguished Service Medal.
20:07General Geiger then brought his Marine Corps to serve in the 10th Army at Okinawa,
20:12fighting alongside U.S. Army divisions under the command of General Simon Buckner.
20:20June 20th.
20:25From his underground headquarters, General Ushijima sends a message to his remaining troops.
20:30We face the end as it has become extremely difficult to concentrate our efforts.
20:37Each of you should follow the orders of whoever is highest in rank in your group and continue to resist at the very end.
20:45Then live in the eternity of our noble cause.
20:48June 21st. Okinawa.
20:56With his stronghold known as Hill 89 now under siege, Ushijima knows the end has arrived.
21:02He sends a final report to Imperial headquarters in Tokyo.
21:09The report reads,
21:10Our strategy, tactics and equipment were used to the utmost and we fought valiantly.
21:16But it was nothing before the material might of the enemy.
21:20General Mitsuru Ushijima considers that he has done everything possible to delay the inevitable American victory.
21:27Since August 1944, General Ushijima had commanded the Japanese 32nd Army on Okinawa.
21:38Ushijima served in China during the First World War, where he displayed great aptitude for infantry tactics.
21:44Later, he commanded a battalion and then regiment in Manchuria.
21:51In 1942, after playing a pivotal role in the conquest of Burma,
21:56Ushijima was appointed commandant of the prestigious military academy in Tokyo.
22:01Two years later, in anticipation of a US invasion, he was given the task of defending Okinawa.
22:08General Ushijima was a soft-spoken man, but he radiated a quiet competence.
22:13That inspired the devotion and loyalty of his subordinates.
22:18He's also a smart tactician.
22:20He realizes that he's got an island 60 miles long to defend with about 100,000 troops.
22:26He can't defend all of it.
22:28Ushijima knew the enemy's strength and suspected that he and his men would eventually be overwhelmed on Okinawa.
22:35Ushijima's ability to hold out against US military might for nearly three months
22:40was a testament to his abilities as a general.
22:44And, as he had intended, the Allies were forced to pay a high price for the capture of the island.
22:55June 21st, Okinawa.
22:57That night, in the cave that serves as army headquarters, generals Ushijima and Cho toast the bravery of their troops with whiskey.
23:08In their dress uniforms, the generals proceed to a nearby cliff top and commit seppuku.
23:15They will kneel, they will bare their abdomens, they will apply the ritual knife to start disemboweling themselves.
23:25And as they bend down, feeling the agony of that, there's an adjutant standing by with a sword and he will behead each man.
23:33They'll do it one at a time. First, General Ushijima and then his chief of staff, General Cho.
23:40So they will be faithful to their code to the last. They will defend Okinawa as long as they can and then rather than fall into enemy hands, rather than be dishonored with surrender, they will both take their own lives.
23:50A few hours later, General Geiger raises the American flag at 10th Army Headquarters near Kadena Airfield.
24:00The bodies of two of Japan's most notable generals are later discovered by soldiers of the US 7th Division in shallow graves.
24:09The 82 day long battle for Okinawa is finally over.
24:14The sacrifice of Okinawa was something that was understood at the highest levels of the government.
24:20For the Japanese public, for the average citizen, the loss of Okinawa was read about in the newspapers as another example of sacrifice on the part of civilians and on the part of soldiers for the greater good of the nation.
24:32For the Supreme War Council, the Okinawa campaign was a success in that it accomplishes at least some of the goals that they had set out which were to make the campaign so costly for the Americans.
24:44That it would give them pause in thinking about whether or not to invade the main islands.
24:54Coming up, in the wake of the brutal battle for Okinawa, US troops move in to assess the damage.
25:00Many civilians on the island, terrified of the Americans, resort to suicide.
25:07By the end of the campaign, a third of the Okinawan civilian population is dead.
25:11And within days, the island, now under US control, is transformed into a forward base for the invasion of Japan.
25:19We were told we were going to get new weapons and train for the final offensive against Japan.
25:28June 22nd, Okinawa.
25:34US troops move in to assess the damage and assist the local population.
25:38As the men patrol the region, the scale of suffering becomes apparent.
25:42It is estimated that more than 100,000 Okinawan civilians have perished during the campaign.
25:57Many commit suicide rather than face US troops.
26:00The US death toll on Okinawa rivals that of the six preceding Pacific campaigns combined.
26:13More than 12,000 Americans were killed.
26:16The losses include nearly 5,000 sailors, almost 8,000 Marines and Army infantry.
26:23And 30 civilians, including Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle.
26:29Another 32,000 are wounded.
26:32Thirty-six US ships have been sunk.
26:37Another 368 damaged.
26:40The US Navy, Marines and Army Air Force have lost 763 aircraft.
26:47These grim statistics foreshadow what is to come.
26:52In many of the earlier assaults in the Pacific, it had been very much in favor of the Americans.
26:56But the Okinawa campaign comes close to approximating a one-to-one ratio.
27:01This is important for understanding how the Americans begin to think about what the invasion would be like
27:07of the main islands of Japan and how costly that might be.
27:10War planners now estimate that a full-scale invasion of mainland Japan
27:15could result in as many as one million American casualties.
27:18Roughly 900 miles from Tokyo, Okinawa is now the forward base for US ground and air forces.
27:35Previous airstrikes against Japan had been launched from the Mariana Islands,
27:39a distance of about 1,300 miles.
27:41Now, B-29s can be launched from Okinawa carrying less fuel and more bombs.
27:48Okinawa has turned into a massive airfield quickly.
27:56And we were told we were going to get new weapons, rest up and train for the final offensive against Japan.
28:06As US forces on Okinawa make preparations for continued air strikes and the planned invasion of mainland Japan,
28:14many troops pause to pay tribute to their fallen leader.
28:19June 23, Okinawa.
28:25The American flag flies at half-mast.
28:27General Simon Buckner is laid to rest in the 7th Division Cemetery on the island.
28:37The same day, General Joseph Stilwell arrives on the island.
28:42Stilwell relieves General Roy Geiger and assumes command of the US 10th Army.
28:47Stilwell was very famous for being a prickly figure. His nickname was Vinegar Joe.
28:57He ended up disagreeing with almost all of his commanders, in fact, as well as the people he worked with.
29:03Born in 1883, General Stilwell was appointed as US military attache to Peking in the mid-1930s.
29:10Fluent in Chinese, Stilwell attracted the attention of the US High Command following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
29:20He was given command of US troops in China, Burma and India.
29:24He was also charged with training the forces of General Chiang Kai-shek.
29:32Stilwell had little respect for Chiang and did little to hide his disdain.
29:38He believed the Chinese general preferred fighting communists to the Japanese.
29:43Stilwell was also highly critical of the corruption and incompetence he encountered within Chiang's regime.
29:48Stilwell, from the beginning, didn't get along with Chiang and vice versa.
29:54His favourite nickname for Chiang Kai-shek was Peanut Head, referring to his shaved head.
29:59And he saw Chiang as being kind of a sham, a person without the political skills and the military knowledge to be an effective leader.
30:09As the Japanese advanced through Burma in October 1943, Stilwell was appointed Deputy Supreme Allied Commander for Southeast Asia, under Lord Manbatten.
30:24By 1944, US officials urged Chiang to make Stilwell commander of all the Chinese armies.
30:31But Chiang, knowing what Stilwell thought of him, insisted the American general return to the United States.
30:36Roosevelt reluctantly agreed.
30:40Roosevelt felt that it was time for him to leave because the friction between him and Chiang was increasingly creating problems for effectively leading the fight against Japan.
30:54In January 1945, Stilwell was appointed Head of Army Ground Forces, equipping and training combat troops.
31:01It was not until June 1945, following the death of General Buckner on Okinawa, that Stilwell would gain another active command.
31:11The battle for Okinawa has come to an end.
31:17The island is now under US control, and the ground invasion of mainland Japan appears inevitable.
31:22But the Japanese Supreme War Council still refuses to surrender.
31:31One of the things that's most puzzling, most striking about this, the history of the last few weeks or months of the war, is the persistence of the Japanese leadership insisting on continuing the war.
31:40When all the indicators were that Japan had lost.
31:43They're defining their mission as somehow preserving a legacy for the next generation that will paint a glorious picture of Japan better to go down fighting than to surrender.
31:53In Washington, the War Department is convinced that only an unconditional surrender can guarantee American security in the Pacific.
32:00June 18th, Washington. President Truman calls a meeting to review the feasibility of an invasion of the Japanese mainland.
32:10Among those present are General George C. Marshall and War Secretary Henry Stimson.
32:15They're talking amongst themselves throughout the spring and summer of 1945 about what this campaign might look like, when it might be undertaken,
32:22and what sort of opposition they're likely to encounter when they do launch the assaults.
32:28The date for the invasion has already been set for November the 1st, codenamed Downfall.
32:34The amphibious assault will be split into two major landings, Operation Olympic, followed by Operation Coronet.
32:41Operation Olympic is the plan to invade Kyushu, and Operation Coronet would have involved a land campaign assault against the Kanto Plain, which is where Tokyo is.
32:50Air bombardment and sea blockades are thought to have already laid much of the groundwork for a successful invasion.
33:00General Marshall, US Chief of Staff and America's principal strategist, believes the initial landing on Kyushu would be hard fought,
33:08similar to the D-Day landings in Normandy.
33:10But Marshall agrees that a mainland invasion is the only way to defeat the Japanese once and for all.
33:19Truman is warned that any delay would give the enemy more time to prepare, and thrust American forces into a winter battle which could prolong the war by six months.
33:28Coming up, after suffering horrific losses under the Nazis, Poland is admitted to the United Nations.
33:39But the country now faces a new threat, Joseph Stalin.
33:42There is no country in Eastern Europe to which Stalin behaved with more ruthless brutality than Poland.
33:53Allied occupation troops in Europe uncover a stash of Nazi loot buried in a salt mine.
33:59It includes thousands of priceless works of art.
34:06June 18th, Washington.
34:09General Dwight D. Eisenhower is back on US soil after a gruelling but victorious campaign in Europe.
34:16He is met with accolades and praise in Washington, and delivers a homecoming address before a joint session of Congress.
34:23The soldier knows how grim and black was the outlook for the Allies in 1941 and 1942.
34:31He is fully aware of the magnificent way the United Nations responded to the threat.
34:36To his mind, the problems of peace can be no more difficult than the one you had to solve more than three years ago,
34:43and which in one battle area has been brought to a glorious conclusion.
34:46He knows that in war the threat of separate annihilation tends to hold allies together.
34:53He hopes we can find in peace a nobler incentive to produce the same unity.
35:02June 19th.
35:04The next day, an estimated four million grateful Americans take to the streets of New York City
35:10to see Eisenhower's triumphant homecoming.
35:12The 35-mile route through the city is lined by cheering crowds.
35:19Many hang from their windows above the teeming streets to catch a glimpse of a national hero.
35:28New York's mayor, Fiorello Lagardia, makes a commemorative presentation to Eisenhower as the parade closes.
35:34On the other coast of the United States, discord permeates the newly formed United Nations.
35:45June 19th.
35:48The UN announces in San Francisco that Spain will be denied membership.
35:53The country will be excluded so long as its fascist dictator, General Franco, is in power.
36:00Under the leadership of Roosevelt and Churchill, the first reference to the United Nations was made in 1942,
36:10when 26 allied nations pledged to fight the Axis powers.
36:14Representatives from 50 countries had been meeting in San Francisco since April 25th
36:19to draw up a charter for the international body.
36:29Spain's dictator, Franco, managed to stay out of the war by refusing to let Hitler's armies cross the Pyrenees.
36:35However, he did allow the Nazis to use Spain as a base for submarine maintenance and intelligence operations.
36:40Franco is now viewed as the last surviving fascist dictator of a country prepared to provide asylum to thousands of Nazis fleeing justice.
36:50As one country perceived as a threat is excluded from the UN, another, seen as a victim, struggles for membership.
36:59June 23rd, San Francisco. The political future of Poland is still uncertain.
37:10Beginning with the Nazi invasion in September 1939, to the Warsaw ghetto and the horrors of the concentration and extermination camps,
37:19Poland suffered horrific losses throughout the war.
37:21Now, the country faces the new threat of a communist dictatorship.
37:29Poland is a centrally important country for the Soviets, after all it was from Poland that the Germans invaded.
37:36And the Soviets are very worried that Poland will become, as it had been between the wars, a hostile anti-Soviet state.
37:44President Truman's special emissary to Moscow, Harry Hopkins, devised a plan to establish a post-war coalition government for Poland.
37:55With power shared between communists and capitalists, the plan temporarily alleviated British and American concern over Stalin's imperialism.
38:05Now, three exiled Polish politicians return to join the new coalition government.
38:13One is former Prime Minister of the London government in exile, Stanislaw Mikołajczyk.
38:19But Stalin has little intention of letting the Poles run their own affairs.
38:24There is no country in Eastern Europe to which Stalin behaved with more ruthless brutality than Poland.
38:32As the Allies struggle to restore order and democracy to post-war Europe,
38:38many of the troops who fought their way across the continent begin the long-awaited journey home.
38:43June the 21st, the Queen Mary sails into New York Harbour.
38:51On board, 14,000 American veterans.
38:54Many have not been on American soil since 1942.
38:57Crowds of spectators come out to welcome the soldiers home.
39:03British forces are also preparing for the much-anticipated trip home.
39:09Demobilisation has already begun, at a rate of 30,000 troops a week.
39:14As many Allied troops return home from Europe, those working to rebuild the shattered continent discover more evidence of Nazi crimes.
39:22June the 17th, Austria.
39:27The Allies begin to remove a massive collection of priceless artwork, gold and jewels, found in an abandoned salt mine in the Austrian Alps.
39:38There are 5,000 pieces of art stolen by Nazi officials from galleries and museums across Europe.
39:49The collection includes masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Rubens and Michelangelo.
39:56The massive collection was moved to the salt mine during the winter of 1944, as Allied air raids intensified.
40:06A small group of Austrian anti-Nazis, known as the Bonzos, were parachuted into Austria by the British.
40:16With the help of the Austrian resistance, they secured the mine.
40:19US troops begin transporting the artworks back to Munich, from where they will be returned to their rightful owners.
40:29The daring Bonzos, however, would remain unsung heroes.
40:33Next, on the last days of World War II, the Soviet Union celebrates victory over Germany with a grand parade in Moscow.
40:46But Stalin will keep a white-knuckled grip on Berlin, denying the Western Allies full access to the German capital.
40:53The Soviets made absolutely plain that they didn't want any Western soldiers of any kind anywhere near their people.
41:01And President Truman will officially approve a plan to invade mainland Japan.
41:07We did find out that we were actually scheduled to be part of the invasion force somewhere near Tokyo.
41:13The Soviet Union is not required to be part of the invasion force.
41:20The Soviet Union is now meeting the Chinese troops from the Union, as it is in the conflict of nations in the book.
41:31The Soviet Union is not required to invoke the invasion force.
41:35The Soviet Union is not required to the Union force, but it is not required to stop people.
41:38But there is not required to land at the time where the Republic of Korea from the United States is not required to be part of the Union, nor the President, nor the United States.
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