Hitler's War on Oil

1939, WWII: After just six weeks of fighting, German fuel reserves are deeply sapped. Hitler is well aware of Germany’s weakness in this area: he does not possess the necessary oil resource. To win the war, he needs to find oil quickly and focuses his attention on one specific country: the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan, part of the Soviet Union.

Its capital city, Baku, is the world’s No. 1 oil producer and becomes a prey that Hitler needs to capture as quickly as possible, in order to establish his Reich. But the Soviets and the Allies are dead set on stopping him, even if this means wiping the city off the map. It is clear that whoever controls its production will be in pole position to win the war.

With recolorized archive footage, this film tells the story of the Second World War, as it was experienced by the inhabitants of Baku. Threatened with destruction on four different occasions, ultimately Baku never met with the tragic fate that befell Stalingrad. But its entire population suffered heavily during the conflict, and with its full involvement, contributed to the Allies’ victory over Nazi Germany.