Events leading to start of World War 2. Contingents of German army troops and black uniformed SS (Schutzstaffel) troops parading past Hitler on reviewing stand in German city. Hitler youth at a rally in a stadium. Hitler addressing an open air assembly, shaking his fist, yelling about the might of Germany in an animated fashion. Women holding signs reading: "Down with War and Fascism," and "Aid the Allies." 1939 edition of the New York Times carries headline about Nazi pact with Soviets and of Estonia giving Moscow air and sea bases. Views of Soviet leaders, Joseph Stalin, Vyacheslav Molotov, and General Boris Mikhailovitch Shaposhnikov, preparing to meet with German foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop for signing of Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression between Germany and the Soviet Union. Von Ribbentrop descending from his airplane for the meeting. Scenes of German attack and invasion of Poland, September 1, 1939. Vehicles carrying German troops on the move. German Stuka, Ju87 dive bombers peeling off in dives and dropping bombs. German He-111 bomber in flight. Many explosions and collapsing buildings and destruction depicted. Soviet T-26 Twin-Turret Cavalry Tank seen moving through snow as it crosses Polish frontier, on September, 17, 1939. Soviet troops charging into Poland in the snow. The two forces meet in central Poland. Newspaper cartoon of the time shows Hitler and Stalin politely addressing each other in deprecating terms. Soviet icebreaker opening the way for German warships. German submarine making way on the surface, ostensibly from a base in Murmansk, and firing at a surface ship with its 88mm deck gun. A French fighter plane spinning towards earth and pilot parachuting. Narrator speaks of French Communists sabotaging electrical systems on the aircraft. The plane burning on the ground. German troops marching along the Champs Elysees, with the Arc de Triomphe in background. German troops firing artillery at Soviet forces after Germany turns on the Soviet Union and commences Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Wooden buildings burning. Russian soldier with hands up approaches German soldier to surrender. German soldier motions him behind battle line.
Images taken by military and news cameramen during World War II. The North African Campaign, 1940: Convoy of British tanks, trucks, and infantry advance over the Libyan Desert. British soldiers fire artillery. Masses of Italian prisoners marched by British soldiers. Next shown is campaign on the Eastern Front, 1941, as Germany attacks Russia: Nazi tanks advance under Luftwaffe air cover into the Soviet Union. Aerial view of German Junker Ju 87 aircraft in flight. German tanks and armored vehicles rolling. Wide view of many German tanks rolling east. German soldiers leaping down from a hill with smoke all around as they battle in a Russian town. Russian Pe-2 bomber aircraft in flight. Interior view of pilot and crew in Soviet Pe-2 bomber while in flight. Soviet soldiers on tanks during a battle. Burning tanks. Soviet soldiers run toward battle front and pass a dead German soldier on the battlefield.
Opening of film shows image of famous statue being projected on a screen. The statue depicts a Soviet worker and a collective farm woman, respectively, raising a hammer and sickle high above their heads. The statue is a stainless steel art work created by Vera Mukhinafor the 1937 World's Fair in Paris, France. (It was later moved to Moscow, Russia.) Next a field and forest is shown on the Western front of the Soviet Union (Eastern Front of World War 2, in Europe). Soviet soldiers are preparing for combat during a temporary lull in their defense against German forces in their Operation Barbarossa offensive ,begun in June, 1941. Soviet soldiers place branches and foliage upon a BT tank as camouflage. Others assemble loose ammunition rounds into machine gun belts. Soldiers camouflaging an artillery field piece with foliage. Soviet soldiers refueling a tank. Soldiers moving through wooded area past another camouflaged gun. Several Soviet soldiers at a shelter in the woods, placing ammunition rounds in a clip. A printer producing a daily newspaper for soldiers. A soviet soldier picks one up to read. Closeup of the newspaper. Soviet munitions handlers inserting fuses into noses of artillery shells. A T-34 tank sitting in foliage. Soldiers looking at charts as they sit in the woods. A Soviet soldier running (possibly to deliver a dispatch).
President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressing Congress on January 6, 1941, asking for authority to supply war materiel to Britain and allies. Animated map showing streams of war materiel going to china and to European allies. Views of transport ships, Douglas A-20 Havoc aircraft with British roundel on them. A U.S. light tank M2; a large artillery barrel; and sacks of goods, being loaded on a ship. View of U.S. Capitol. Lend Lease Act passed. Animated map shows German forces overrunning Yugoslavia and Greece, and attacking Soviet Union. German troops in small boats crossing river to invade. German tanks and artillery operating on the Eastern front. Civilian men and women digging fortifications. Lend lease war materiel being unloaded in Britain, and at Red Sea port for British in Africa.Trucks carrying supplies over the Burma road to China. Lend lease supplies piled up in Murmansk, Russia, and Iran. "Hammer and Sickle 'em" chalked on a shipment.Stevedores rolling large tires.Hitler speaking. Head of Statue of Liberty. Animated illustrations about effects of Axis victory. U.S. Forces entering Greenland and Iceland, with consent of their governments.
German attacks on other nations during World War 2. A sign reads 'Belgique' near a building. Germans in Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland and France. German soldiers on tanks and other military vehicles as they advance in blitzkrieg (lightning war). They advance through the Dutch farmlands. German Ju-52 aircraft fly in formation and drop paratroopers. The destruction of Rotterdam by heavy German bombardment. People in Netherlands bury their dead at cemetery. French refugees leave their cities. Adolf Hitler looks at the Eiffel tower in Paris, with other German officials, during occupation of France. Aerial view of the city. German bombers attack London, England during the blitz. Shattered equipment on the ground and destroyed buildings in London, England. Hitler observes the German Atlantic Wall defenses. The battle and Allied evacuation of Dunkirk. White cliffs of Dover Sea shore in view. Map depicts German positions. The Battle of Britain. British spitfire planes attack German bombers. Children being evacuated from London and Paris. Fires and aerial bombardment at night by German aircraft during blitzkrieg. Rubble being cleared by British following bombing by German aircraft. British men and women war production workers in munitions and aircraft factories. Hitler and Goering with others in the railroad carriage where French authorities surrender at Compiegne in June, 1940. German forces attacking the Soviet Union, with tanks, infantry and aircraft during Operation Barbarossa, on June 22, 1941.The mobilization of Soviet defense forces depicted with scenes of Soviet citizens listening to radio updates and reading newspapers about invasion. Soviet men mobilizing for military training. New recruits in Russia prepare for military action.
A map of Russia. German infantry troops advance along Eastern Front in Soviet Union during World War 2. They are wearing winter coats (likely late 1941). Troops walk on roads. Horse driven carriages, locomotive, trucks and cars in view. German engineers blast factories and other installations to clear a way for advancing troops. Several soldiers carry bicycles. Tanks on unpaved roads. German tanks cross water. Men observe with binoculars. Firing and explosion as Gerrman forces attack Soviet positions.