Overview: Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich chancellor on 30 January 1933. Once they had seized power in Germany, the Nazis did not relinquish it until their demise on 8 May 1945. The Third Reich lasted for 12 years, 3 months and 9 days. It began with high hopes and jubilation and ended after a world war in which more than 50 million people died. Germany was destroyed and the European Jews murdered. We take a unique journey through the bleakest chapter of German history. Michael Kloft traces the story of the Third Reich, examining the Nazi dictatorship behind the propaganda, uncovering previously unpublished footage. He looks at the politics, day-to-day life, the war years and the crimes of the Nazi state, aided by three esteemed historians.