Hitler and Hermann Goering with representatives of France, Britain and Italy, on September 29, 1938. Hitler and Goering in meeting with Benito Mussolini on occasion of Munich Conference. Hitler and Mussolini converse. Civilians gather on the street outside the Metropol Hotel in Munich. Benito Mussolini, of Italy, seen signing the pact, along with Édouard Daladier of France. Hitler shakes hands with Daladier after the signing. The group around Hitler includes Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini, and Mussolini's son-in-law, Galeazzo Ciano.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon of England at a train station in Paris. French officials shake hands with the British King and the Queen. A railroad train at the train station. English and French troops at the Arc de Triomphe (Pl. Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France) in a parade along the Avenue des Champs-Elysees with the British Royalty and French dignitaries. Parade includes forces from colonies of France and England. Aerial view of parade and ground level views. The King and the Queen in carriages. English troops and French troops march during a parade. In next scene, two years later in 1940, German troops moving in columns under Arc de Triomphe in occupation of Paris. A German officer salutes. View of German soldiers holding guns moving along the Champs-Elysees. Aerial view of the troops moving along the city. Aerial view of buildings. French citizens standing on the sides of a road watch the German troops. Horsemen and troops on carriages moving under the Arc de Triomphe. A German sentry standing in front of the dome of Napoleon at Les Invalides. The Eiffel Tower with camera panning from ground level upward. View of German soldiers at top of Eiffel Tower. The soldiers are seen raising the Nazi German flag atop the Eiffel tower. A German soldier smiling.
Japanese troops parade for Emperor Hirohito, mounted upon a white horse. Italian troops goosestep and German troops goosestep on parade. View of an Austrian town with snow-covered Alps mountains in background as German troops enter Austria on March 13, 1938 during the Anschluss. Local citizens welcome them, displaying swastika flags and giving Nazi straight arm salutes. Troops, military vehicles, tanks, motorcycles, and horse-drawn artillery comprise the German invading force. Shifts to Spain, where war torn buildings reflect effects of German and Italian intervention during the Spanish Civil War. A donkey standing near field artillery piece. Artillery being fired from an urban park in Spain. Artilleryman using a range finder. German gun crew with heavy artillery piece. Soldiers wearing Adrian steel helmets, firing a two-wheeled water-cooled machine gun. Spanish carrying wounded on stretcher. Spanish civilians inadvertently slain during civil war conflict. Starving dog walking in street. Huge poster of Francisco Franco and view of him on reviewing stand saluting marching Nationalist troops. Repeat of Hirohito reviewing troops and Italian and German troops goosestep. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini stand together in open car heading to Fuhrerbau in Munich, Germany, for signing of Agreement between Germany, Italy, Britain, and France in 1938. Neville Chamberlain, and Edouard Daladier riding in car to Fuhrerbau. Views of the principals signing the accords. First is Adolf Hitler, followed by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, Benito Mussolini, and Edouard Daladier. After the signing, the principals, plus Hermann Goering, mingle and converse. Change of scene to nighttime in Rome, Italy, where Benito Mussolini addresses a huge throng gathered near the Victor Emmanuel Memorial to cheer him after his return from Munich. Next, German troops are seen entering Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia) greeted by joyous ethnic German inhabitants. Banners are stretched across a street. One gives thanks to the Fuhrer. Several scenes of cheering population. A woman strews flowers in a roadway. Hitler arrives, standing in an open car, and is met with cheers of adulation. A military brass band plays from the open beds of two moving army trucks. Signpost points to Prag (Prague), Eger (Cheb), Joachimstal (Jáchymov), and Komotau (Chomutov) after German annexation. Scene shifts to Prague, where German troops are seen occupying the city. High ranking German officers in a car are seen coming through the gateway from the Court d´honneur of the Prague Castle into the Hradčany Square. The next sequence shows an Italian Freccia-Class destroyer in the Albanian Port of Durrës. An Italian L3/35 Tankette is driven off a large cargo ship. Italian troops on bicycles ride in a city street. A German 88mm antiaircraft (flak) gun is shown, mounted at a fort overlooking a river and city. Final scene shows Adolf Hitler addressing a meeting of the Bundestag in the Kroll Opera House (alternate meeting place after burning of the Reichstag). He reads, contemptuously from an April 14, 1939 letter sent to him by U.S. President Roosevelt, asking him to give "assurance that your armed forces will not attack or invade the territory or possessions of the following independent nations: Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain and Ireland, France, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Iraq, the Arabias, Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Iran." As Hitler reads through the litany of nations, the Bundestag erupts in laughter.
Animated map shows sailing vessel leaving Coast of United States heading to the British Isles. Next, the Cunard-White Star ocean liner, S.S. Aquitania, is shown underway in the Atlantic, with note that the ship crossing only takes four days. Animated map shows America and Europe "moving closer together" as a result. Noting that an airplane flew from New York to Paris in 16 hours and 38 minutes, Howard Hughes' Lockheed 14 Super Electra Special aircraft, heavily loaded with fuel, is seen making a difficult takeoff from the short (3500 foot) runway at Floyd Bennett Field, Long Island, on July 10th, 1938, headed to Paris, France on first leg of its round-the-world flight. Glimpse of the aircraft overhead as it sets course for Newfoundland on a Great Circle route to Paris.
Documentary tilted 'History of Aviation' depicts benefits to mankind brought by discovery of aviation. A group of travelers on horses and bullock carts, in hot and dusty deserts travels from California to New York. A railroad train runs on railroad between California and New York. Howard Hughes' Lockheed 14 Super Electra Special, Model 14-N2 ( NX18973) seen in aerial views over Manhattan Island, New York City, with New York City skyline and skyscrapers visible. (scene filmed on July 14, 1938). Animated map shows ship sail towards Europe. Brief, distant view of a tall mast traditional sailing ship at sea with full sails deployed. A more modern passenger cruise ship or ocean liner with four large stacks underway in the ocean towards Europe. Howard Hughes airplane takes off in New York, bound for Paris, France.
The signing of the Munich Pact in Germany on 29th September, 1938. The Führerbau where the agreement is to be signed. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and other German officials look at the agreement on a table. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Arthur Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of France Édouard Daladier, the Prime Minister of Italy Benito Mussolini and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Galeazzo Ciano enter a hall. All the dignitaries and Hitler stand together before signing the Munich Agreement. They sign the agreement.