Reminders of World War 2, in France, 1945. A high bridge of about eight masonry arches with two bombed out, in mountainous region of France. Camera pans right, showing a number of substantial homes scattered across the valley, with tall mountains behind. Scene shifts to a different, flatter landscape, where about a dozen U.S. Waco CG-4A gliders are seen abandoned in a field, in various states of disrepair. Writing in chalk on the side of one glider reads, "Whispering Yoddles, Fort Worth Texas, Little One Alice". There are no D-day stripes on these gliders, indicating they were probably used subsequent to the Normandy invasion, in other operations such as "Bluebird & Dove" in the South of France, in August, 1944.
Hard times in the Great Depression led to formation of The Bonus Army. American veterans of World War 1 march on streets of Washington DC, carrying a large poster demanding immediate cash redemption their "bonus" service certificates awarded by Congress in 1924 (but not lawfully payable until 1945). Army Chief of Staff, General Douglas MacArthur, ordered by President Hoover, to clear the Bonus Army encampments, is seen standing in a street surrounded by several U.S. Army troops. People watch from sidewalks as a contingent of U.S. Army cavalry rides down the street. U.S. Army M-1917 tanks roll down Pennsylvania Avenue in July 1932. Bonus marchers and others watch from Lafayette Park in background. Scene shifts to the 1932 Democratic Party Convention in Chicago Stadium, Chicago, where delegates cheer after nominating Franklin D. Roosevelt as their Presidential candidate. Roosevelt seen waving from the podium. Migrant farm workers seen at temporary, dilapidated dwellings in close quarters, and sitting at a campfire, some with sad and desperate faces. Migrant farm workers' cars on the road, piled high with family belongings during westward migration. Migrants riding atop an open railroad freight car. Two men share a copy of the "Epic News" newspaper (published by supporters of Upton Sinclair and the End Poverty Movement in Los Angeles and central California). Narrator describes programs of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Construction workers ignite demolition charges during construction of Boulder Dam (aka Hoover Dam and officially so-named in 1947). Glimpse of President Roosevelt at the site in an open car, for its dedication on September 30, 1935. Construction workers engaged in building the dam. Another shot of President Roosevelt in his open car. Towers being erected to carry electric power from the dam's hydroelectric generators. President Franklin D. Roosevelt smiling broadly at the formal dedication ceremony, September 30, 1935. Controlled discharges of water through the dam. Views of the Boulder Dam hydroelectric generating station. Oil well rigs or oil derricks at work during construction at night. People at work in fabric mills or textile mills, and in a print shop
Opening illustrated slate shows reduction of Amercan Armed forces personnel from more than 12 million in 1945 to only a little over 1 and a half million in 1947. U.S. Navy submarines are seen docked in storage. Men work spraying protective coatings over guns on Navy ships as they are placed in storage in the "Mothball Fleet." A lone sailor is seen on the deck of a ship with vast number of mothballed Navy destroyers in the background. A B-24 Liberator bomber being dismantled and a B-17 parked with engines removed, seen through stack of propellers in foreground. Airman sets a demolition charge. Views of several bomber aircraft being blown up as junk. Stacks of junked and scrapped American war materiel rusting. View inside a mill where molten metal is being processed (ostensibly recycled from junked war materiel). Narrator speaks of beating guns into plow shares. Several views of molten metal being poured into and from ladles. Views inside post-war factories returning to peace-time production, where industrial heavy equipment, railroad wheels, kitchen appliances, home appliances, rubber tires, and new 1946 Ford automobiles are assembled (looking exactly like the 1942 models).
From a film about U.S. troops including African American soldiers who battled courageously during World War II. U.S. troops and WACs (Women's Army Corps) including African American soldiers parade along a street. An African American pilot. U.S. Army Major-General Clarence H Kells decorates Sergeant Joe Louis (famous boxer) with the Legion of Merit medal at Fort Hamilton, New York, in 1945. U.S. soldiers perform different tasks. Closing slates include a slate saying the film is not to be shown to the general public, and a second slate stating "Seized Enemy Material...under License Number LM-185"
Representatives of three nations, seated around table at Potsdam Conference held at Cecilienhof in Potsdam, Germany. British prime minister, Clement Attlee; President of United States, Harry Truman; and representative of Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin at the Potsdam Conference, July 1945. They deliver an ultimatum of unconditional surrender to Japan. Swarms of B-29 bombers and Aircraft Carrier Task Forces destroy Japanese homeland. Planes on carrier decks.Navy Grumman carrier-based TBF aircraft dropping bombs.. Destruction of ships at sea. Mushroom cloud due to atomic bombing. Chart depicts the power of one atomic bomb. Britain's 'grand slam' bomb, most destructive conventional bomb ever produced. Doctor Ernest Orlando Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron (atom smashing machine). A man works at the Cyclotron at the University of California, Berkeley. General Leslie Groves, head of the project speaks. He is seated with Dr Vannevar Bush, government director of science and research, and Dr Richard Tolman, technical expert. Quantities of uranium shipped from Alberta, Canada are used in bombs. The atomic bomb process (Manhattan Project) is developed in widely separated areas; scenes from Hanford Project plant in Richmond, Washington. Project personnel exit cars and enter into the search area before starting their work day. Lieutenant colonel Franklin T Matthias with the army corps of engineers, appointed to the Hanford Project. Sign of 'Oak Ridge' in Tennessee. Largest of the three atomic bomb plants located near the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) dam. Employed personnel in atomic bomb plants are seen going to work. Man and woman employees at the plan read and smile at a Knoxville Journal newspaper in August 1945 with news headline "Power of Oak Ridge Atomic Bomb hits Japs" after the atomic bomb was dropped in Hiroshima. View of dense prefabricated home communities to house large number of Oak Ridge plant workers. View of families setting up their houses in trailer towns after the prefabricated homes were full. People come out from the Henebry's Jewelers and supermarket, among stores setup to meet the needs of the quickly built city. Scenes changes to show view of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at conference. Russian artillery and troops in a parade at Red Square in Moscow, Russia (these parade scenes are from the May 1, 1945 May Day parade, just days before Germany's surrender). President Harry Truman reports on the latest developments regarding the war with Japan. He states that the United States is prepared to destroy every productive enterprise in Japan and the U.S. shall completely destroy its power to make war. He warns of an attack by the U.S. due to the rejection of the July 26th ultimatum at Potsdam. He warns that Japan "should expect a rain of ruin from the air; the like of which has never been seen on this earth." Truman notes that it will be followed by an unprecedented sea and land invasion of Japan.
Question marks on screen. Reconstruction of the buildings and denazification in Berlin, Germany after World War II. A factory in Germany. A farmer leads a horse to plow a field. Men at a farm cultivate crops. The wreckage of the IG Farben plant. Men speaking to Hermann Göring. The trial of Norwegian leader and Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling. The rail goes on for the criminal. People burn Nazi books and pamphlets in a bonfire. A man burns a pamphlet with a photo of Adolf Hitler. The people stand around the burning books. German civilians read a poster on a wall. General Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States, Marshal Georgy Zhukov of the Soviet Union, and Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery of the United Kingdom sign a joint agreement. The three of them stand together. The United States Capitol building. Chongqing National Government building in No. 232 Renmin Road, Chongqing (Chungking), China. The Big Ben in London, United Kingdom. Aerial view of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France. General Francisco Franco saluting to marching soldiers in Spain. The delegates including United States President Harry S. Truman, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin, and UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill seated around a table during the Potsdam Conference in 1945. They discuss the problems. A close up view of Truman looking into some documents. Stalin smokes a cigarette. The delegates discuss problems. The funeral ceremony of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The soldiers fire guns. President Harry S. Truman attends the ceremony. Churchill salutes from a moving vehicle. Women voting in the United States. Truman gets off an aircraft. Delegates in the Potsdam conference. Newspaper headlines read Russian declares war on the Empire of Japan in 1945. The first atomic bomb explosion over Hiroshima, Japan. The newspaper headlines about the war. Truman, Stalin and delegates at the Potsdam Conference. Soldiers advancing in the battlefield. A flag of the United States and people celebrate the victory. Newspaper headlines feature the surrender of Japan.