Olympic flag hoisted during the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway. German bobsled team wins. Ski jump competition during the events. Scene changes to Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. A car in front of the Soviet Russian athlete housing in the Olympic village. Soviet athletes near the car. Emil Zatopek running during a track event. People hold him after he wins the event. Lindy Remigino of New York wins the 100 meter dash. Sprint competition winners on podium. Flags of various countries. Olympic torch in background.
View of Red Army parading in Moscow, Russia. General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin waves at the marching troops. Map of Finland. Finland during the early days of the Winter War of 1939-40. President Kyösti Kallio of Finland seated at table during a conference. He bangs a gavel. View of Helsinki Central Station (Helsingin päärautatieasema, Kaivokatu 1, 00100 Helsinki, Finland). Traffic moves through the streets of Helsinki. Finnish civilians fleeing Helsinki at Helsinki Central Station. Finnish civilian men mobilizing. Aircraft in flight. Paratroopers descend and advance on ground. Tanks move on a field. Soldiers riding horse carts beside a railroad track. They fire artillery. Soldiers advance through snow covered terrain in Finland wearing skis.
The Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. Flags of different countries displayed in a stadium during the Helsinki Olympics. Men taking part in a marathon start the event. A huge crowd gathered in the stands cheer for the men. Officials seated in the stands applaud. A man holds a board which reads '25 km'. Czechoslovakia's Emil Zatopek leads the event. People on the sides of the road cheer. The Czechoslovakian running on tracks in the stadium. Emil Zatopek finishes the 26-mile run creating a new record. Photographers take pictures. The crowd in the stands. Women's 400 meter relay event begins. United States team wins creating a new record with a score of 45.9 seconds. The relay team of four girls dances with glee. Men's 1500 meter track event begins. The crowd in the stands is applauding. Luxembourg's Joseph Barthel overcomes American Macmillan winning the country's first gold medal. Joseph Barthel cries standing on the winner's stand.
Early civilian air travel in Northern Europe. Aerial view of a strait and island (probably Suomenlinna) near Helsingfors or Helsingford (present-day Helsinki), Finland. Boats docked in Helsingin satama (Port of Helsinki) with Uspenski Cathedral (Kanavakatu 1, 00160 Helsinki, Finland) in background. View of Market Square (Eteläranta, 00170 Helsinki, Finland) with Uspenski Cathedral and Tsarina's Stone in background.
Film opens with a map of Europe showing black-shaded region of the Soviet Union, and pointing out Germany and Finland. Next, are shown moving images of rural buildings on fire in Finland, late in 1939, during the Russo-Finish war (or "Winter War"). (The Narrator comments that Finland's population was only 4 million while that of the soviets was 180 million.) Soviet bombers are seen high in the sky. A lone woman hurries along a street in Helsinki, Finland, past rubble of a bombed building. Smoke rises in the background. Finnish fire fighters man a hose to fight numerous huge fires in Helsinki.Various views of fires blazing in the capital.
Finland attacked by the Soviets during the "Winter War" or Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940, coinciding with World War 2. Vyacheslav Molotov addresses Soviet men in a hall. View of Stalin seated near a wall. Soviet Men applaud. Soviet planes in flight. Soviet Paratroopers jump from the plane and descend with the help of parachutes towards Finland. Soviet army soldiers place and fire a line of artillery on the battlefield. Soviet airplanes in flight over Helsinki. The city of Helsinki being bombed by Soviet aircraft. People flee from the area. Damage in the area due to the bombardment. Destroyed houses, buildings and rubble on the ground in Finland from aerial bombing. A wrecked airplane on the street.