Empire with Michael Portillo

Monty travels to Rossano in Northern Italy, a gathering point for escaped POWs after the Italian armistice and the start of the Operation Galia exfiltration. His journey takes him over precipitous ridges of the Marble Mountains and through the formidable Gothic Line, following the route the SAS took after their successful mission.

Monty treks one of the toughest and most famous trails out of Nazi occupied France, taking him through the valleys and passes of the Pyrenees mountain range and into Spain. His route was part of an escape network that began in Paris and would have been fraught with danger - from German soldiers, the Vichy police, local informers, and the mountains themselves. We also meet Bob Frost, who, aged just 19, made the treacherous crossing, and hear remarkable stories of bravery and defiance from the local people, who used their knowledge of the mountains to lead thousands like Bob to safety.

This episode takes us into the corridors of power where Germany's top political mastermind sees an opportunity to use the sudden popularity of the Nazis for his own ends. This sets off a chain of miscalculations, backroom deals and power grabs that will propel Hitler from the fringes of political activism into the heart of government.