The risky part was over, and the Normandy landings were generally successful.

But the long, hard slog had just begun.

Welcome to the history of the 20th century.

Music 20th century. Episode 435, D plus one.

On the evening of June 5, 1944, Adolf Hitler had watched a movie at the Berghoff,

along with a circle of intimates, including, of course, Ava Brown.

After the film ended, Hitler and his guests talked about the war and the state of the

world until the early morning hours. Hitler did not go to sleep until 3 a.m., by which time

allied paratroopers were already seizing bridges and other key positions in Normandy in

preparation for the invasion fleet

that was drawing near. Hitler's staff well knew that he did not like to be awakened before he was

ready, so when the first reports from Normandy started coming in, they took no action. Besides, it seemed likely this was just another

quick raid or some form of misdirection, at least at first. At 10 a.m., Albert Schpayer came to

the Berkhov for a meeting and asked that Hitler be awakened. It wasn't until the daily noon briefing with

Vermecht to chief of staff Alfred Yodel that Hitler got the full picture of the situation at Normandy.

So it has started, he said, as he poured over the maps. His attitude struck everyone else at the meeting as

cheerful. It was a sign of how

unconcerned Hitler was about the Allied landings that in the afternoon he left for Klesheim Castle

for a previously scheduled meeting with the new Hungarian Prime Minister Sote de Dome, the Premier Horty, had appointed to

appease Hitler in the aftermath of the German occupation of Hungary. The main topic of the

discussion was the unfolding genocide of Jewish Hungarians, which I described in episode 419.

Hitler assured Sotye that after the cleansing, Hungary would be all the better for it.

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