Paris, France. The entrance of the Jewish hostel located at 16 Rue Lamarck, Montmartre. People enter the hostel. Several men lie in cots in the men's quarters and a few walk around the room. View of a plaque on the end of one bed that reads (in French) "In memory of Colonel Alfred Dreyfus 1859-1935." A man at a blackboard teaches French and several men listen, write and learn French in the classroom. People enter the building and stand in line near the Director's office. Woman with a child along with others enters a room for registration. Director Beilin checks records and papers from the people and consults index cards. Two Jewish men cook using large pots on a stove. One chef samples the food from a small bowl.
Views of Paris in the late 1930s, prior to World War II. The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (Arch of Triumph). The Tuileries gardens (Jardins des Tuileries) with bed of tulips in full bloom in foreground. The Eiffel Tower (la tour Eiffel). The fountain of River Commerce and Navigation at the Place de la Concord, Paris, with the Madeleine church (L'église de la Madeleine) directly behind, the Hotel de Crillon,barely seen at left, and its twin building, the French Naval Ministry, opposite, on the Rue Royale. People strolling and shopping on the Boulevard Haussmann. Awning of Les Deux Magots café and patrons seated at tables outside, in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés area of Paris. People relaxing in the Tuileries gardens, with Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and Musée du Louvre in background. An artist at work, seated at a bench in the foreground. The west facade of Notre Dame Cathedral. Parisians looking at posters, reading in parks, visiting bookstores. Sign directing visitors to the Congres des Ecrivains (Congress of Writers) held at Maison de la Mutualité conference center at 24 Rue Saint-Victor, 5th arrondissement of Paris, France.in June, 1935. Several writers seated at a table with others standing around. Closeup of three. Closeup of British writer, Aldous Huxley, wearing eyeglasses. Two writers conversing. Scene shifts to Paris at night. Car traffic on streets of Paris at night. Illuminated sign at Moulin Rouge cinema theatre, topped with illuminated arms of a windmill. Lighted sign of nightclub, Le Rat Mort, in Place Pigalle. Interior of a Paris nightclub with sophisticated clientele. French entertainer musician playing a guitar. An official posting an announcement called "Counseil de Revision," calling for conscription (military draft recruitment) of citizens for military service. Parisians preparing defenses in the city, in front of the Eiffel Tower. Man deep in a trench preparing a shelter. Men carrying sandbags up a ladder to protect a national monument. Copy of the New York Times newspaper annnouncing the German attack on Poland. Copy of New York Daily News announcing fall of Holland. The New York World-Telegram paper announcing capitulation of France. German Panzer II tanks and motorcycle troops entering Paris. German infantry marching through the Arch of Triumph, on the Champs-Élysées. A Frenchman wiping his eyes as he watches the occupying troops. Hermann Goering with other officers riding in an open car along a Paris street. Closeup of Arch of Triumph. Adolf Hitler, accopanied by staff, looking at the Eiffel Tower. Nazi flag flying from the tower. Closeup of Hitler looking around. The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, DC. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in Academic garb, at the University of Virginia commencement ceremony, in Memorial Gymnasium, on June 10, 1940. (FDR's son Franklin Jr. was among the graduates assembled, from the UVA Law School). Roosevelt expresses American sympathy and support for nations invaded by the Nazis. American street scene. Women preparing gifts intended for France. A poster showing a French soldier, entitled: "Le Paquet Au Front." American draftees in training at an army post in the U.S. Smoke billowing from American industrial facilities. Workers at an American shipyard. View of warships under construction at the yard. A Huge gun barrel being moved on special rail dollies, in a U.S. arms factory. U.S. Navy F4U Corsair Production Line during World War II. M3 Lee medium tanks being manufactured in U.S. factory. Closeup of finished one being transported via transverse crane. M4 Sherman tanks moving on flat rail cars. A speeding steam locomotive pulling freight cars. Martin PBM-5 Mariner in flight over an Atlantic convoy carrying war materiel to the United Kingdom. Sailor wearing headset, standing near depth charges at stern of a ship. British Naval Ensign flying from mast of a ship.
Several people seated in a nightclub in Paris France. Bottles of alcoholic beverages are kept on the tables. American fan dancer, Joan Warner, appears to run from the room, naked. Joan Warner, sitting in her dressing room, receives a summons from French authorities. She sorts through a number of newspaper clippings about herself. She comes down the steps of Court Building accompanied by her lawyer and reporters. Judges of French 10th Correctional Chamber. Joan Warner emerges from offices of the Commissariat de Police, holding a slip of paper. Joan Warner and another woman enter a taxicab at a French train station, and drive away.
Between World War 1 and World War 2, training for French citizens for possible air raids in Paris, France. Members of a volunteer group supported by the government are trained for action against an air raid menace. The volunteers wear gas masks and gas-impregnated clothing and come out of air raid shelters. They get in a jeep and ride through the city streets. They escort civilians into gas-proof shelters. Dramatize film showswhat destruction might look like during an air raid. Dramatization: Aircraft shell the city. Bombs explode, fire in the city and buildings get damaged. Actual footage of practice drills in Paris where 'Victims' of the air raid are removed from the streets and are carried to the shelters.
X rays being taken in Paris, France. A man stands behind an X ray machine and a young woman or possibly a nurse operates a movie camera focused at the machine. X-ray films of different body parts. The man stands behind the machine as the girl uses the camera to take X rays. The man drinks from a cup and the moving Xray shows the passage of liquid into the man's body.
French midget aircraft takes off from Orly Airport in Paris, France. The pilot pushes out French midget aircraft from hangar at Orly Airport. The pilot starts engine on the midget aircraft. The aircraft takes off from the field. Other French aircraft models in the background. The aircraft in flight over grasslands. The aircraft lands. The hangar in the background.