It's 1945 when Berlin lies in ruins as the Red Army ravages its way across Eastern Europe, and the Allies close like pincers on the German capital. But this story begins in a very different Berlin; footage reveals Europe's most dynamic and liberal city in full swing even as the Great Depression sweeps the globe in the early 1930s. Newsreels, propaganda films, and rarely seen private films relate the story of Hitler's rise and his brilliantly aggressive bluffing game with French, British, and Soviet leaders, who were fatally reluctant to confront a newly radicalized Germany.