
No sooner the first aircraft rose into the sky, the military took hold of the new invention. As far back as World War 1 daredevil pilots engaged into the fighting and aces like Manfred von Richtofen or Ernst Udet became admired heroes. Practically disbanded due to the Versailles Treaty, the German Air Force developed in hiding. After having been "service-tested" in the Spanish Civil War, Hitler built her up with vigor to a powerful military machine, which made possible the "blitz" victories ine the first year of the war. To counter the rising allied airpower, german engineers took the first jet aircraft and rockets. Revolutionary innovations as they were, too late to hinder the military collapse. In depth and by partly never before seen takings in colour as well as black and white, this film shows the development of the german Air Force in the years 1914 until 1945.
Status
Released
Original Language
DE

Set both in Latin America and the United States, the film explores the historic and current relationship of Washington with countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger says that the film "...tells a universal story... analysing and revealing, through vivid testimony, the story of great power behind its venerable myths. It allows us to understand the true nature of the so-called "war on terror". According to Pilger, the film’s message is that the greed and power of empire is not invincible and that people power is always the "seed beneath the snow".

Former United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.