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Protest in Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp over return of "Exodus 1947" passengers
FilmIn July 1947, 4,500 Jewish refugees left displaced persons camps in Germany and boarded the "Exodus 1947" in France. They attempted to sail to Palestine without, however, having British permission to land. The British intercepted the ship and forcibly returned the refugees to Germany. This footage shows a protest in the Bergen-Belsen displaced persons camp in the British occupation zone of Germany. The protesters denounced British treatment of the "Exodus 1947" passengers. The plight of the "Exodus"…
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German military court trial of French resistance members
FilmFrance signed an armistice with Germany on June 22, 1940, recognizing the right of German authorities to oversee the French administration. Further, German military authorities held jurisdiction over matters of internal security. In this footage, a German military court in Paris tries French citizens charged with resisting measures of the military occupation. Despite harsh military justice, the Germans could not quell opposition in France, and resistance activities would reach a peak during the Allied…
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Destruction of Lidice
FilmCzech resistance fighters attacked Reinhard Heydrich, acting governor of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, in an ambush near Prague in May 1942. Heydrich died of his wounds on June 4, 1942. In retaliation for the attack, the Germans destroyed the village of Lidice on June 10, 1942. The Germans shot all the men in the village and deported most of the women and children to camps in Germany. This footage shows destroyed homes and German officials inspecting the remains of the village.
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Yugoslav partisans prepare to fight
FilmAt his hidden headquarters in the mountains of Yugoslavia, Marshal Tito (Josip Broz), head of the Yugoslav Communist partisan movement, prepares his forces for battle. Women gather silk parachutes, used to drop supplies by Allied forces, for use as bandages. Partisans train, preparing to fight the Germans. At the height of the partisan war in Yugoslavia in 1943, Tito's partisans engaged some 35 Axis divisions, which otherwise might have been in service on the Italian or eastern fronts.
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Fall of Rotterdam
FilmGermany invaded the Netherlands on May 10, 1940. Four days later, German planes bombed Rotterdam. The Germans tried to halt the raid on the city because Dutch authorities had agreed to negotiate the surrender of their country. However, a communications failure delayed the order halting the attack. The bombing destroyed much of the city center, leaving almost 80,000 people homeless. The Netherlands surrendered just a few hours later. On May 15, in retaliation for the bombing of Rotterdam, the British air…
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Air war in Flanders: Western Campaign
FilmThe Junkers (Ju) 87, known as the "Stuka," spearheaded the Blitzkrieg ("lightning war") attacks that were decisive in the western campaign in 1940. Stuka dive-bombers closely supported German forces on the ground. They destroyed enemy strong points, aircraft, and airfields, and spread panic in rear areas. Although slow and easily shot down by Allied fighters, the Stukas proved devastatingly effective in the German invasions of Poland and western Europe, where Germany enjoyed air superiority. Stuka…
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Battle for Danzig
FilmThe Treaty of Versailles, imposed on defeated Germany following World War I, declared Danzig to be a free city jointly administered by Poland and the League of Nations. Germany bitterly resented the loss of this largely German city, which was also an important port on the Baltic Sea. The return of Danzig became a central feature of Adolf Hitler's foreign policy. This footage shows pro-German forces besieging a Polish garrison in Danzig's main post office. Germany annexed Danzig after the defeat of Poland…
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Annexation of Austria
FilmGerman troops entered Austria on March 12, 1938. The annexation of Austria to Germany was proclaimed on March 13, 1938. In this German newsreel footage, Austrians express overwhelming enthusiasm for the Nazi takeover of their country.
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Agreement Reached at Munich Conference
Film[This video is silent] An agreement signed at the Munich conference of September 1938 ceded the German-speaking Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia to Germany. The agreement was reached between Germany, Italy, Britain, and France. Czechoslovakia was not permitted to attend the conference. In March 1939, six months after signing the Munich agreement, Hitler violated the agreement and destroyed the Czech state.
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Annexation of Austria: The Anschluss
FilmIn an attempt to prevent the German annexation of Austria, Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg called a plebiscite (referendum) on Austrian independence. On March 11, 1938, the Germans pressured Schuschnigg to cancel the plebiscite and resign. This German newsreel footage from March and April 1938 served as propaganda for the Nazi annexation of Austria. It begins with images of pro-Nazi residents in Graz expressing their opposition to Schuschnigg's plebiscite. It also includes footage after…
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Liberation of Ebensee camp
FilmUS forces under the command of General Omar Bradley reached the Ebensee forced-labor camp in Austria in early May 1945. The Germans had built Ebensee at the foot of the Austrian Alps as part of the Mauthausen system of camps. The Nazis employed Ebensee prisoners as forced laborers during the construction of an underground rocket factory. Thousands died from the harsh conditions and back-breaking labor.
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Liberation of Mauthausen
FilmThe Mauthausen concentration camp was established shortly after the German annexation of Austria (1938). Prisoners in the camp were forced to perform crushing labor in a nearby stone quarry and, later, to construct subterranean tunnels for rocket assembly factories. US forces liberated the camp in May 1945. In this footage, starving survivors of the Mauthausen concentration camp eat soup and scramble for potatoes.
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Estonian policemen stand trial for war crimes
FilmEstonian auxiliary forces assisted the German Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing units) in the mass killing of Jews and others during World War II. Ralf Gerrets and Jaan Viik were both members of the Estonian security police during the German occupation. This footage shows them during their trial, on charges of war crimes, in the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic. The Estonian Supreme Court found both guilty and sentenced them to death in 1961.
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Deportation of Jews from Bulgarian-occupied Thrace
FilmJews were deported from Kavala, Seres, and Drama in Bulgarian-occupied Thrace. Some 3,000 Jews were taken to Drama and herded onto trains without food or water for transport to a camp in Gorna Dzumaya. The Jews were probably then taken to the Bulgarian port of Lom on the Danube River, where they boarded ships for Vienna. From there, the Nazis deported them to the Treblinka killing center.
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Hitler tours Paris
FilmOne day after France signed an armistice with Germany in June 1940, Adolf Hitler celebrated the German victory over France with a tour of Paris. Here, Hitler's train arrives in Paris. Hitler's tour included the Paris opera, the Champs-Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. After visiting Napoleon's tomb and the Sacre Coeur, Hitler left Paris. In all, Hitler spent about three hours in the city. In July, Hitler returned in triumph to Berlin, Germany.
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French Liberation
FilmJubilation over the liberation of Paris: US troops parade along the Champs-Elysees and French civilians celebrate. General Charles de Gaulle and General Omar Bradley review the troops.
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Victory in Europe!
FilmGermany's formal surrender on May 7 and VE-Day (Victory in Europe Day) on May 8, 1945, were marked by joyous celebrations all over Europe. This footage shows streets in Paris and London filled with people celebrating the unconditional Allied victory over Nazi Germany and the winning of the war in Europe.
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Benito Mussolini
FilmBenito Mussolini, leader of the Italian Fascist movement, was prime minister of Italy from 1922 until he was dismissed in July 1943. After the Italian armistice with the Allies in September 1943, German forces occupied northern Italy and installed Mussolini as head of a new pro-German government. In April 1945, as Allied forces advanced into northern Italy, Mussolini attempted to escape to neutral Switzerland. However, Italian partisans caught and executed him before he could reach the border. This footage…
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Liberation of Rome
FilmAfter Italy's armistice with the Allies in September 1943, the Italian army disintegrated. The country was divided between German forces holding the northern and central regions (including Rome) and Allied forces in the south. After nine months of bitter combat, Allied forces—specifically the US Fifth Army—liberated Rome in June 1944. This footage shows scenes of celebration as troops move through Rome. It ends with a prayer by Pius XII (pope, 1939–1958).
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German forces in Italy surrender to the Allies
FilmAllied forces occupied most of Germany by the end of April 1945. German forces fighting in Italy were the first to surrender unconditionally to the Allies. Representatives of the German command in Italy signed the surrender on April 29, and it became effective on May 2, 1945. Five days later, on May 7, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the western Allies, ending the war in Europe.
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Jews at forced labor in Belgrade
FilmShortly after the German occupation of Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in April 1941, the Germans forced Jews to clear the rubble caused by the heavy bombardment of the city. This German newsreel footage shows Jews clearing some of the rubble. Most of the city's Jews were later arrested and interned in camps. The German army later shot the Jewish men in retaliation for Serb resistance; the Germans killed the Jewish women and children in gas vans. Only about 2,200 Jews of Belgrade returned to the city after the war.
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Ustasa forces round up villagers
FilmThe Ustase were pro-German Croatian fascists. After the Axis invasion and partition of Yugoslavia in April 1941, the Germans established a dependent Croatian state. Led by Ante Pavelic, the Croatian regime began a genocidal campaign against minority groups and killed hundreds of thousands of Serbs and tens of thousands of Jews in Croatia. This possibly staged Ustase footage shows Ustase paramilitary forces rounding up villagers in rural Croatia. In May 1945, Yugoslav partisans under Marshal Tito--with…
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Jewish refugees arrive in Haifa and are interned
FilmThe ship "Henrietta Szold," carrying more than 500 Jewish "illegal" immigrants from Greece to Palestine, arrived in Haifa on August 14, 1946. British authorities immediately interned the immigrants and deported them to British internment camps on the island of Cyprus.
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German invasion of Norway and the naval war
FilmGermany invaded Norway on April 9, 1940, simultaneously attacking Norway's coastal cities from Narvik in the far north to Oslo in the south. Despite Allied naval superiority, German naval forces played an important role in the campaign. This footage shows German naval units sailing towards Norway in rough seas. German victory in Norway secured access to the North Atlantic for the German navy, especially the submarine fleet, and safeguarded transports of Swedish iron ore for Germany's war industry.
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German invasion of Norway: Narvik
FilmGermany invaded Norway on April 9, 1940, simultaneously attacking Norway's coastal cities from Narvik in the far north to Oslo in the south. Narvik was the scene of fierce battles between German forces and the Allies, who landed troops by sea in support of the Norwegians. Narvik changed hands several times. However, British, French, and Polish forces were finally withdrawn in June 1940 due to the success of the German campaign in western Europe. German victory in Norway secured access to the North Atlantic…
