Secrets of the Dead: Bugging Hitler's Soldiers

Gr 10 Up—A fascinating and forgotten chapter in World War II history is illuminated in this episode of the series. Captured German officers were taken to British country mansions where they were lured into a sense of comfort so they would speak freely. British agents had thoroughly bugged the homes and grounds to record conversations, which were translated in many cases by Jewish refugees from Germany who had joined the British army. The tens of thousands of pages of transcripts, recently rediscovered, helped save British lives by providing vital intelligence about blitzkrieg raiding patterns and the development of the V-2 rocket. They also showed differences of opinions in the officers' ranks about the worth of Hitler and his Nazi party and offered the first reports of the Nazi atrocities. This program combines archival footage from the war, translated dialogue, interviews, and superbly acted and emotionally charged reenactments. The descriptions of war crimes and images of concentration camp violence make this program appropriate for mature viewers, who likely will be enthralled by the content.—Ryan Henry, Daviess County Public Library, Owensboro, KY