History Channel - Dead Men's Secrets: Set 2 (2002)

Dead men don't tell tales - or do they? Are there forensic clues left in the sands of time? Are there traces of archive film which even today are waiting to unveil their grisly secret? Not all the captivating and fascinating stories of military escapades in the 20th Century have been fully examined and many fascinating insights are still to be revealed and told.
These have been known until now as DEADMEN'S SECRETS. Who really was 'The Man Who Never Was'? This and many other fascinating questions are answered in this pivotal series entitled DEADMEN'S SECRETS.

Part 1: Disaster at Sea: HMS Dasher - Who Was 'The Man who Never Was'?
Operation Mincemeat: a corpse floated off the coast of Spain carrying battle plans in a briefcase chained to his wrist. But the corpse was a plant, the plans were fake, and the Germans were totally fooled. What was the true identity of the mysterious body, and how could it be linked to the mysterious sinking of the aircraft carrier HMS Dasher off the coast of Scotland - and the loss of nearly 500 sailors lives?
It came without any warning. On Saturday, March 27th, 1943, the HMS Dasher, a British aircraft carrier, has completed two days of take off and landing exercises and was steaming to port just an hour and a half away. Suddenly, there was a terrific explosion, shaking the ship and propelling the two-ton landing crane 60 feet into the air. Within minutes, the Dasher was sinking rapidly at the stern and the crew of 528 men were struggling to survive.
The fate of the carrier has been shrouded in secrecy for over half a century and, even today, many of the families of the 379 men who perished do not know what happened. What is clear is that the survivors, floating in the cold water awaiting rescue from the many ships steaming toward them, were engulfed in flames as the sea, coated in diesel and aviation fuel, caught fire, killing most men and complicating the rescue.
Drawing on the memories of survivors and evidence from the wreck, DISASTER AT SEA challenges the official reports and exposes schemes of secrecy.

Part 2: Secrets of the Sea Wolves
Admiral Karl Doenitz led the U-boat packs as they roamed the Atlantic hunting down their prey. They came close to starving Britain into surrender, and in their 'Happy Time' laid waste to the Allied fleet. What were the U-boats' secrets, how could they be so effective and how were they finally, and utterly defeated.
WWII's longest, most crucial battle was waged at sea where German U-boat packs roamed the Atlantic hunting their prey. In a campaign to cut off vital supplies from the U.S. to Great Britain, they came close to starving England into surrender. If they succeeded, the Allies would almost certainly lose the war. Using archival footage of U-boats at work, we see that the Germans were at the forefront of technology, and how the Allies fought back to force the U-boat menace into submission. Beneth the surging seas of the North Atlantic lay one of World War II's most important battlegrounds. It was in these vast waters that hundreds of Nazi submarines lay in wait for the convoys of Liberty Ships bringing vital supplies to the European front. For years, Admiral Karl Doenitz's "Wolfpacks" had the upper hand in this critical theatre of operations, but a major coup turned the tide on the U-boats and by the end of the war the once-proud fleet was a scared shadow of its former self. Filled with gripping footage shot by both the Allies and the Axis and riveting accounts from veterans, SECRETS OF THE SEA WOLVES relives this epic struggle. Examine the techniques and technology that gave Germany domination of the seas from beneath the surface and learn the details of the discovery that changed the course of the war.

Part 3: Tracking Nazi Gold
In the chaos that surrounded the fall of Berlin, millions of dollars of gold went missing from the Reichsbank, taken by the Nazis and hidden deep in the German countryside. The Nazis also stole from their victims, thieving from the very corpses of the Jews they murdered in the concentration camps.
As Hitler advanced across Europe, gold from defeated countries was shipped to Germany to fund the war machine. Hitler found other sources of income–Jewish prisoners lost everything–jewelry, savings, even their gold fillings. And Jews who stored money in "neutral" Swiss banks would never see that money again - their children and grandchildren could not gain access to it because of stringent Swiss 'privacy' laws.
Among the many casualties of World War II was a significant portion of Europe's gold reserves. In the early days of the war Hitler systematically plundered the treasuries and banks of the nations he conquered. The utter destruction of Germany made tracking this vast wealth seem an impossible task.
From the drained wealth of nations to family heirlooms and gold fillings taken from the victims of the Holocaust, DEAD MEN'S SECRETS traces sixty years of efforts to reclaim the lost riches of a continent. Experts like Irwin Cotler, who chaired an enquiry into the topic, shed light on the convoluted path taken by the many missing fortunes, while former soldiers, bank guards and survivors put a human face on this fascinating tale.

Part 4: Secrets of Hitler's Wonder Weapons
In the last years of World War II Hitler's war machine turned in desperation to some of the strangest weapons ever devised in warfare. Advanced technological weapons so secret that even today their true use remains a mystery.
The Allied forces were aware of the Messerschmitt Me-262 - the world's first jet fighter…the V-1 flying bomb, the ancestor of today's cruise missile…and the V-2 - the world's first ballistic missile. But there were more surprises to come.
Hitler's regime was notorious for its many experiments and its various secret ploys, weapons, and technological developments. But typically, the term "secret German weapons" only turns up images of the V-1 and V-2 missiles that played a part in bombing London in 1944. But truth be told, there were many more unheard of weapons behind the Third Reich. Many of these weapons have been unknown to the general public.
SECRET'S OF HITLER'S WONDER WEAPONS draws comparisons between similar Allied projects and narrates the deeper purpose behind many of these projects. Many of these developments were not completed before the end of the war, but have created a solid foundation for many of today's great military developments.

Part 5: MI9: Escape and Evasion in Europe
During WWII, Allied soldiers were being captured by the Nazis on an almost daily basis. And throughout the course of the conflict, the sole mission of one group of men was to find a way to free them.
MI9 was one of the most secretive agencies of the war. It existed to assist Allied troops caught behind enemy lines - spies, downed airmen and escaped prisoners. Before they faced the enemy, soldiers were trained how to avoid capture on enemy territory, what to do if they were caught, and how to escape. With the help of Resistance teams, who risked their lives in Occupied Europe, many valuable men were brought home to fight another day. Drawing on captivating interviews with some of the men involved and examining documents only recently made available to the public, DEAD MEN'S SECRETS goes inside MI9 to uncover the selfless courage and secret sacrifices that helped save thousands of lives.
From an inside perspective on the storied Cockleshell raid to such journeys as the one taken by Airey Neave, MI9: ESCAPE AND EVASION IN EUROPE is a riveting look at one of the most unusual operations of WWII.

Part 6: America's Secret War
American Intelligence is now the most powerful in the world, but at the start of WWII, it was almost non-existent.
America employed spies dating back to the American War of Independence. George Washington understood the need for intelligence and had spy networks. Unfortunately, many of these spies were brave amateurs who were caught. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States had a handful of departments within the Navy, the Army, and the State Department that gathered intelligence but there was no coordination among these departments. By the start of World War II, President Roosevelt realized the need for some sort of coordination for the gathering of intelligence. He chose General William "Wild Bill" Donovan to be the leader of the Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI) established on July 11, 1941.
This programme shows how US Intelligence was born, in the 1920s, developed during World War II through the Office of Strategic Services…the Allied Intelligence Bureau…the breaking of the Japanese naval codes by US Navy Intelligence… and the brilliant advances made in aerial reconnaissance.

Part 7: Whatever Happened to Raoul Wallenberg?
When the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Europe were revealed, countless millions stood aside and let the machinery of death grind forward. Raoul Wallenberg did not. Swedish diplomat Wallenberg worked in Budapest at the height of Hitler's "Final Solution", and saw Jews being loaded onto trains destined for Nazi concentration camps. But he, unlike many others, refused to sit by idly, but rather, saved many earmarked for death by issuing Swedish immunity passes he was not authorised to grant. Wallenberg used his personal, political and business connections to leverage the rescue of thousands of families. From under the noses of the Nazis, he is thought to have rescued 100,000 people. But suddenly in 1945, he disappeared after being taken into custody by Soviet military police, and was never seen again.
Was he killed by the Nazis he thwarted so long? Did he escape death but feel compelled to hide from the evil he had defied? WHATEVER HAPPENED TO RAOUL WALLENBERG? follows the trails uncovered by his family, researchers, and even governments, in their hunt for the truth.

Part 8: Technological Time Bomb: The Oslo Report
In 1939 a mysterious package finds its way into the hands of British scientists. It is unsigned, and written in German. It reveals the stage of technological advancement that has been reached by Hitler's scientists.
The "Oslo Report" was perhaps the most serious breach of German security in the Second World War. In 1939, eight weeks after Nazi Germany invaded Poland, two letters arrived at the British embassy in Oslo. Penned by an anonymous sender, the letters described new German weapons systems and outlined the aims of the Wehrmacht's military research programmes. It is beyond the realms of belief and the British secret service feared targeted deception, but gradually, events reveal it to be accurate. A young secret service officer recognised the value of information and realised it could be used to the advantage of the allies, and it becomes a vital tool in combating the Nazi advances.
But who wrote the "Oslo Report", and was the anonymous author of one of the most important scientific reports of World War II, and why did he send such precious information to England?

Part 9: Hunting Nazi Fugitives
For many years the Odessa was thought to be a fictional organisation - a group who helped Nazi war criminals, especially members of the SS, escape Allied justice. But the truth was that many of the most brutal murderers lived to see the old age that they had denied their victims.
At the end of the Second World War, an estimated 30,000 Nazi war criminals fled from justice, including some of the highest ranking members of the Nazi Party. Many of them have names that resonate deeply in twentieth-century history – Eichmann, Mengele, Martin Bormann, and Klaus Barbie – not just for the monstrosity of their crimes, but also because of the shadowy nature of their post-war existence, always one step ahead of their pursuers and aided by prominent people throughout Europe, even members of Western intelligence services.
Known killers were secreted down 'ratlines' through Europe, until they reached comparative safety in South America, where they could use their deadly training to support the militaristic regimes. But could it be possible that the authorities knew of their escape from justice - and even helped them evade capture?

Part 10: Stalin's Spy Ring: Red Spies Against the Axis
The story of the Red Orchestra, a secret Soviet intelligence organization which has one aim - to bring down Hitler. This programme reveals the most effective espionage operations of the war, detailing their successes.
A steady drip of crucial information made its way out of Germany and over to Russia during the course of WWII. Despite the Nazi's best efforts, they could not stop this stream of vital secrets. The source was an affiliation of spies and agents known as the "Red Orchestra" and the score they composed struck directly at the heart of Hitler's Reich. The Red Orchestra was a group of people from nations worldwide, united by their faith in Communism. These spies risked their lives to procure intelligence from the heart of Germany, and many paid the price. See how the Gestapo captured, tortured and killed many operatives and why this had little overall effect.
As they were captured and tortured by the Gestapo, the spy rings fell apart, but they had provided information with such startling accuracy, that today many people believe there must have been a Communist spy in the highest echelons of Nazi government. Who could it have been? We follow the stories of Red Orchestra members and attempt to track their superspy.

Part 11: Secrets of the Desert War
The fighting in North Africa was some of the most ferocious in World War II. In those inhospitable conditions, ideas of warfare could be pushed to their limits. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel earned his laurels first by deceiving the British with his Victory at Gazala, becoming the 'Desert Fox'.
Deceiving your enemy is a useful tool in the "theater of war." In WWII, Operation Bertram - an Allied victory over Rommel's Axis forces in the desert of Egypt - imported elements from the stage, theater and film to deceive, surprise, and defeat the enemy. To win, the Allies relied on the research and materials produced by the Camouflage, Development and Training Centre (CDTC) - The War Illusionists. Tricks included blinding and disorienting Luftwaffe pilots with spinning high-intensity searchlights. Also active in North Africa during 1942-1943 were The Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) and the Special Air Service (SAS) roaring around the desert in American Jeeps armed with Browning .50 calibre machine guns, destroying larger and better armed Afrika Korps convoys.
This programme explores the ingenuity behind the desert war, which included using magic to hide the entire Suez Canal, and camouflage to fool the enemy into believing in the presence of whole fake armies. Misinformation and subterfuge defeated the Germans as much as guns and tanks.