22 June 1941. Nazi Germany launches Operation Barbarossa, unleashing a war of annihilation against the Soviet Union. Within weeks, millions of Soviet soldiers are encircled, captured, or killed.
Among them is Yakov Dzhugashvili — the eldest son of Joseph Stalin.
Raised without his father’s care and later subjected to his cruelty, Yakov enters the war as a Red Army lieutenant. Captured during the Battle of Smolensk, he becomes a valuable prisoner for Nazi propaganda. While Germany attempts to exploit him, Stalin refuses any compromise — even when offered a direct exchange for a German field marshal.
Imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Yakov’s fate becomes a tragic reflection of both Nazi brutality and Stalin’s uncompromising rule.
This is the story of a son caught between two of the most ruthless regimes in history.
Up Next in Season 1
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Lev Shvartzman: Brutal Soviet Secret ...
In the Soviet Union of the 1930s, fear and violence became instruments of power.
Under Joseph Stalin, the wave of repression known as Stalin’s Terror engulfed the country. Through the machinery of the NKVD—the Soviet secret police—millions were arrested, tortured, and forced to confess to fabric...
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Grigory Shtern: Soviet War Hero Execu...
The 1930s, the Soviet Union. As Joseph Stalin tightens his grip on power, paranoia spreads through the ranks of the Communist Party and the Red Army. Suspected enemies are arrested, tortured, and executed in what becomes known as the Great Purge.
At the center of this campaign is the NKVD, the S...
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Rise and Fall of Viktor Abakumov: Sta...
22 June 1941. As Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union, fear spreads not only across the front, but behind it. Soviet soldiers who survive battle often face interrogation, suspicion, and the threat of imprisonment in the Gulag system.
At the centre of this system stands Viktor Abakumov, one of J...
