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Adolf Hitler's Third Reich promised a thousand-year empire but collapsed in a mere twelve, leaving Europe in ruins. This show traces Nazi Germany from the ashes of the Weimar Republic...
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Adolf Hitler's Third Reich promised a thousand-year empire but collapsed in a mere twelve, leaving Europe in ruins. This show traces Nazi Germany from the ashes of the Weimar Republic to the bunker in Berlin, covering the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act, the Night of the Long Knives, Kristallnacht, the Blitzkrieg campaigns, the Holocaust, and the final Battle of Berlin. Hosts Lucas and Luna dissect key figures like Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Speer, and the resistance circles around Stauffenberg. They examine the Nazi economy, propaganda machinery, racial laws, and the complicity of ordinary Germans. The series also explores the war's Eastern Front, the turning point at Stalingrad, the opening of the second front on D-Day, and the post-war Nuremberg Trials. Why does the Third Reich still haunt our political imagination? Because its fusion of technology, terror, and charismatic leadership remains a stark warning about the fragility of democracy.
#ThirdReich #NaziGermany #AdolfHitler #Holocaust #WorldWarII #Blitzkrieg #Stalingrad #NurembergTrials #WeimarRepublic #Kristallnacht #MeinKampf #Gestapo #SS #ReichstagFire #JulyPlot #EuropeanHistory #FexingoHistory #History
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#ThirdReich #NaziGermany #AdolfHitler #Holocaust #WorldWarII #Blitzkrieg #Stalingrad #NurembergTrials #WeimarRepublic #Kristallnacht #MeinKampf #Gestapo #SS #ReichstagFire #JulyPlot #EuropeanHistory #FexingoHistory #History
Hitler's Third Reich: The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany — Fexingo History
Hitler's Third Reich: The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany — Fexingo History
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Episodes & Posts
Episodes
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13 MAY 2026 · This episode dives into the story of the T-34 tank, the Soviet armored juggernaut that turned the tide on the Eastern Front. Lucas and Luna explore how Mikhail Koshkin's innovative design—with sloped armor and a powerful V-2 diesel engine—outclassed early German panzers. They discuss the evacuation of Soviet tank factories to the Urals, the mass production that churned out over 57,000 T-34s, and how it matched up against Panthers and Tigers at Kursk. The episode also touches on the human cost: the poorly trained crews, the early mechanical failures, and the tank's enduring legacy as a symbol of Soviet resilience. No rehashing of Blitzkrieg or Barbarossa—just the machine that helped win the war.
#T34 #MikhailKoshkin #KharkivLocomotiveFactory #EasternFront #Stalin #TankWarfare #OperationBarbarossa #BattleOfKursk #Prokhorovka #PantherTank #TigerTank #UralMountains #NizhnyTagil #V2Diesel #SlopedArmor #History #FexingoHistory #WWII #ThirdReich #NaziGermany Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
12 MAY 2026 · In March 1933, just weeks after the Reichstag fire, Adolf Hitler pushed through a piece of legislation that would legally dismantle German democracy: the Enabling Act (Ermächtigungsgesetz). This episode unpacks the political maneuvering, the intimidation of the Reichstag deputies, the crucial role of the Catholic Centre Party, and the fateful vote that handed Hitler absolute power. We explore the setting at the Kroll Opera House, the absence of Communist deputies, the promises Hitler made to the Centre Party, and how the act was renewed in 1937 and 1939. We also look at the sole voice of opposition, Social Democrat Otto Wels, whose courageous speech condemned the act. Learn how a constitutional procedure turned the Weimar Republic into the Third Reich.
#EnablingAct #ErmChtigungsgesetz #AdolfHitler #WeimarRepublic #ReichstagFire #KrollOperaHouse #OttoWels #SocialDemocrats #CentreParty #LudwigKaas #NaziDictatorship #ReichstagDeputies #Article48 #March1933 #GermanHistory #ThirdReich #History #FexingoHistory #NaziGermany #Holocaust Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
Transcribed
12 MAY 2026 · In this episode of Hitler's Third Reich: The Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany, Lucas and Luna explore the concept of Volksgemeinschaft — the Nazi vision of a racially pure 'people's community.' They discuss how the regime used propaganda, welfare programs, and exclusionary laws to bind 'Aryan' Germans together while systematically isolating Jews, Slavs, Roma, and other 'outsiders.' The conversation covers key initiatives like the Winterhilfswerk (Winter Relief), the Eintopfsonntag (One-Pot Sunday) campaigns, and the role of organizations such as the Deutsche Arbeitsfront and Kraft durch Freude. Lucas explains how everyday life was politicized through rituals, badges, and neighborhood surveillance by Blockwarte (block wardens). The episode also examines the contradictions: how 'Volksgenossen' (national comrades) were rewarded with holidays and consumer goods, while dissidents faced Gestapo terror. Luna asks about the long-term impact, and Lucas reflects on how the Volksgemeinschaft ideal persisted in postwar memory as a utopia that never was. A nuanced look at social engineering under dictatorship, drawing on recent scholarship by historians like Richard J. Evans and Götz Aly.
#Volksgemeinschaft #NaziGermany #ThirdReich #Propaganda #SocialEngineering #Winterhilfswerk #KraftDurchFreude #DeutscheArbeitsfront #Blockwart #Gestapo #Eintopfsonntag #VolksempfNger #AdolfHitler #RacialPolicy #Exclusion #Welfare #History #FexingoHistory #Holocaust #WorldWarII Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
Transcribed
11 MAY 2026 · In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the surprising origins of the Volkswagen Beetle, tracing its development from a pet project of Adolf Hitler to the most popular car in history. They discuss the role of Ferdinand Porsche, the creation of the KdF-Wagen (Strength Through Joy Car), the massive yet ultimately empty factory at Fallersleben (now Wolfsburg), and how the car survived the war to become an icon of postwar prosperity. Along the way, they touch on Nazi labor camps, British occupation reforms, and the Beetle's improbable second life in America.
#Volkswagen #Beetle #KdFWagen #FerdinandPorsche #Fallersleben #Wolfsburg #StrengthThroughJoy #NaziGermany #ThirdReich #GermanIndustry #AutoHistory #HeinrichNordhoff #BritishZone #PostwarRecovery #VolksempfNger #PeopleSRadio #History #FexingoHistory #AdolfHitler #Holocaust Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
Transcribed
11 MAY 2026 · In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Operation Fall Weiss—Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939—a campaign often overshadowed by later Blitzkrieg victories. They discuss the strategic planning under General Franz Halder, the role of armored and air forces, and the fierce Polish resistance at Westerplatte and the Bzura River. The conversation also covers the Soviet invasion from the east under the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact's secret protocol, the siege of Warsaw, and the brutal occupation policies that followed. They touch on lesser-known figures like General Tadeusz Kutrzeba and the myth of Polish cavalry charging tanks. The episode examines how the campaign set the template for Nazi conquest and exposed the grim realities of total war.
#FallWeiss #InvasionOfPoland #CaseWhite #FranzHalder #Westerplatte #Bzura #TadeuszKutrzeba #MolotovRibbentropPact #SovietInvasion #WarsawSiege #Blitzkrieg #Wehrmacht #Luftwaffe #Panzer #September1939 #WorldWarII #History #FexingoHistory #ThirdReich #NaziGermany Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
Transcribed
10 MAY 2026 · Beyond the tanks and terror, the Nazi regime weaponized spectacle. In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore Albert Speer's architectural and theatrical genius — from the Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg to the Cathedral of Light formed by 130 searchlights. They discuss how Speer's "Ruinenwerttheorie" (theory of ruin value) was meant to create a thousand-year legacy, and how Leni Riefenstahl's camera turned rallies into propaganda films. The conversation also touches on the tension between Speer the cultured architect and Speer the war criminal who used slave labor. Was he a technocratic visionary or a moral failure? And how did the Nazis manage to turn aesthetics into a weapon of mass manipulation? Tune in for a look at the dark side of beauty.
#AlbertSpeer #CathedralOfLight #Zeppelinfeld #LeniRiefenstahl #NurembergRallies #NaziArchitecture #Propaganda #Ruinenwerttheorie #Germania #Volksgemeinschaft #ThirdReich #Aesthetics #FexingoHistory #History #WorldWarII #NaziGermany #Speer #Totalitarianism #AdolfHitler #Holocaust Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
Transcribed
10 MAY 2026 · In December 1944, as the Allies closed in on Germany, Hitler launched a desperate surprise offensive through the densely forested Ardennes region of Belgium and Luxembourg. This episode dives into the planning, execution, and brutal winter combat of the Battle of the Bulge—Hitler's last major gamble on the Western Front. We follow the key commanders, including Generalfeldmarschall Gerd von Rundstedt and General der Waffen-SS Sepp Dietrich, the elite SS Panzer divisions that led the assault, and the American defenders—from the 101st Airborne at Bastogne to the 99th Infantry Division at Elsenborn Ridge. We explore the role of the 'Werwolf' Nazi partisan fighters, the controversial Malmedy massacre, and the strategic failures that doomed the offensive. The episode also touches on the wider context: the Ardennes as a repeat of 1940, Hitler's declining health, and the myth of the 'bulge' itself. Tune in for a vivid, human account of one of World War II's most iconic battles, where weather, terrain, and sheer grit turned the tide.
#BattleOfTheBulge #ArdennesOffensive #WachtAmRhein #WorldWarII #NaziGermany #AdolfHitler #SSPanzer #101stAirborne #Bastogne #MalmedyMassacre #SeppDietrich #GerdVonRundstedt #Wehrmacht #AlliedForces #WinterWarfare #History #FexingoHistory #EuropeanTheater #ThirdReich #Holocaust Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
Transcribed
9 MAY 2026 · Before they became soldiers, they were children. In this episode of Hitler's Third Reich, Lucas and Luna explore the Hitler Youth (Hitlerjugend), the Nazi organization that reshaped German childhood into an engine of war. From its early days as a small paramilitary club to its status as a compulsory state apparatus, we trace how the regime used uniforms, camps, and ideology to sever family bonds and create loyal Nazis. Meet Baldur von Schirach, the ambitious youth leader who turned a movement into a machine, and Artur Axmann, his successor who sent boys to the Eastern Front. We discuss the 1936 law that made membership mandatory, the role of the BDM (Bund Deutscher Mädel) in training future mothers, and the heartbreaking story of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend—teenagers who fought and died in Normandy. We also look at resistance, like the Edelweiss Pirates and the Swing Kids, and the post-war reckoning. This is not a story of monsters, but of how ordinary childhoods were stolen by totalitarianism.
#HitlerYouth #Hitlerjugend #BaldurvonSchirach #ArturAxmann #BDM #NaziIndoctrination #12thSSPanzerDivision #EdelweissPirates #SwingKids #NurembergTrials #ThirdReich #NaziGermany #WWII #GermanHistory #Propaganda #Totalitarianism #History #FexingoHistory #AdolfHitler #Holocaust Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
Transcribed
9 MAY 2026 · This episode explores the surprisingly early origins of the Volkswagen Beetle, from Ferdinand Porsche's pre-Nazi design work to Hitler's 1933 promise of a 'people's car' (KdF-Wagen). We trace the political and propaganda uses of the car, the forced labor at the Fallersleben plant, and the bitter irony that no German civilian ever received one during the Nazi era. The story also follows Porsche's postwar revival of the Beetle and the dark legacy of the Stadt des KdF-Wagens (now Wolfsburg). A tale of technology, tyranny, and tangled history.
#Volkswagen #Beetle #PeopleSCar #FerdinandPorsche #KdF #Fallersleben #Wolfsburg #NaziPropaganda #ForcedLabor #Autobahn #DeutscheArbeitsfront #RobertLey #ThirdReich #AutomotiveHistory #WorldWarII #History #FexingoHistory #Germany #NaziGermany #AdolfHitler Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
Transcribed
8 MAY 2026 · On July 20, 1944, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg planted a bomb in Hitler's Wolf's Lair. This episode takes you inside Operation Valkyrie — the most famous attempt to kill Hitler — from the conspiracy's origins in the Wehrmacht officer corps to Stauffenberg's desperate race back to Berlin. We explore the tensions between the military and SS, the moral conflicts of men who once served Hitler, and why the bomb failed despite being placed just feet from the Führer. Key figures include General Friedrich Olbricht, Major General Henning von Tresckow, and Field Marshal Erwin von Witzleben. We also examine the hasty executions at the Bendlerblock and the brutal revenge that followed at Plotzensee prison, where Roland Freisler's People's Court handed out show trials. No mythologizing: we look at the conspiracy's flaws, Stauffenberg's own early support for Nazi expansion, and the tangled legacy of the resistance.
#Stauffenberg #OperationValkyrie #ValkyriePlot #July20Plot #ClausVonStauffenberg #Wolfsschanze #GermanResistance #Wehrmacht #Bendlerblock #Plotzensee #RolandFreisler #HenningVonTresckow #FriedrichOlbricht #ErwinVonWitzleben #NaziGermany #WorldWarII #History #FexingoHistory #ThirdReich #AdolfHitler Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/hitler-s-third-reich-the-rise-and-fall-of-nazi-germany-fexingo-history--6985334/support.
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Adolf Hitler's Third Reich promised a thousand-year empire but collapsed in a mere twelve, leaving Europe in ruins. This show traces Nazi Germany from the ashes of the Weimar Republic...
show more
Adolf Hitler's Third Reich promised a thousand-year empire but collapsed in a mere twelve, leaving Europe in ruins. This show traces Nazi Germany from the ashes of the Weimar Republic to the bunker in Berlin, covering the Reichstag Fire, the Enabling Act, the Night of the Long Knives, Kristallnacht, the Blitzkrieg campaigns, the Holocaust, and the final Battle of Berlin. Hosts Lucas and Luna dissect key figures like Hitler, Himmler, Goebbels, Speer, and the resistance circles around Stauffenberg. They examine the Nazi economy, propaganda machinery, racial laws, and the complicity of ordinary Germans. The series also explores the war's Eastern Front, the turning point at Stalingrad, the opening of the second front on D-Day, and the post-war Nuremberg Trials. Why does the Third Reich still haunt our political imagination? Because its fusion of technology, terror, and charismatic leadership remains a stark warning about the fragility of democracy.
#ThirdReich #NaziGermany #AdolfHitler #Holocaust #WorldWarII #Blitzkrieg #Stalingrad #NurembergTrials #WeimarRepublic #Kristallnacht #MeinKampf #Gestapo #SS #ReichstagFire #JulyPlot #EuropeanHistory #FexingoHistory #History
show less
#ThirdReich #NaziGermany #AdolfHitler #Holocaust #WorldWarII #Blitzkrieg #Stalingrad #NurembergTrials #WeimarRepublic #Kristallnacht #MeinKampf #Gestapo #SS #ReichstagFire #JulyPlot #EuropeanHistory #FexingoHistory #History
Information
| Author | Fexingo |
| Organization | Fexingo |
| Categories | History , Society & Culture , Education |
| Website | www.fexingo.com |
| podcasts@fexingo.com |
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