Opening slate reads April 17, 1945, Wiesbaden, Germany. A brick building in Wiesbaden with large arrow pointing downstairs, labeled "LSR", meaning Luftschutzraum (Air-raid room). Signpost in front of a building with damaged roof reads, "Radfahr-weg" (bicycle path). Below it an American army sign reads "WP-Water Point." U.S. soldier directs military vehicles, carrying surrendered German soldiers, as they cross the Rhein (Rhine) river, from Wiesbaden to Mainz on a pontoon bridge. The dome of Christuskirche (Christ Church) across the river, dominates the skyline
German civilian Matthias Gierens, a 37 year old railroad worker, is hanged in Rheinbach Germany for the August 15, 1944 murder of a downed American flyer, who was later identified as U.S. Army Air Forces 2nd Lieutenant Lester E. Reuss, from Forsythe, Montana. Reuss was the navigator on U.S. Army B-17 bomber #42-31183 which was downed by German aircraft after it attacked the Airdrome at Wiesbaden, Germany. Gierens and three other German civilian men, Peter Kohn, Peter Back, and Matthias Krein, were convicted on June 2, 1945 in Ahrweiler, Germany, for the murder of the American airman after his parachute landing near Priest, Germany. The trial was the first Allied trial in Germany of civilians charged with a war crime. Military police are seen escorting Gierens toward the gallows in a prison yard in Rheinbach. A German Catholic priest performs the rites. U.S military officer reads charges as Gierens is readied for execution (the officer is possibly Lt. Col J.V. Roddy, of San Francisco, who was in charge of the hanging). Trap door opens and Gierens is hung. The U.S. Army executioners were Master Sgt. John C. Woods, a former Texas State executioner, and Staff Sgt. Thomas Robinson, of Bronx, New York. Witnesses present included seven U.S. Lieutenant Colonels and one British officer, a number of Military Police, news correspondents, and photographers.
Bomb damage in Wiesbaden, Germany during World War II. Aerial views from a U.S. Army Air Force aircraft making a low pass show bomb damaged military installations and marshaling yards. Aerial views of bomb-damage in a concentration camp. A large town square is seen from the air, with numerous refugees moving about . Bomb-damaged buildings in the town. A U.S. Army L5 Stinson aircraft parked on an airfield.
Bomb damage in Wiesbaden, Germany during World War II. Aerial views from rear of a U.S. Army Air Force aircraft making a low pass show bomb damaged marshaling yards. Shadow of the aircraft on ground reveals that it is a J-3 Piper Cub. Aerial views of bombed out bridge towers and bridges over rivers. Large town square with many people gathered there. A bomb-damaged train and buildings along a track. Bomb-damaged residential apartment buildings. The shells of former homes.
Soldiers of 56th Armored Infantry Battalion in a ground in Wiesbaden, Germany. Some soldiers sitting, some marching, army band playing instruments. Field Marshal Montgomery and General Omar N Bradly troop the line of soldiers and presents awards. Motion picture photographers taking pictures. (World War II period).
Allies take over Wiesbaden, Germany during World War II. Aerial view of German prisoners marching along a road in the country side. Lush green fields. A rail road bridge over a dried up river. German prisoners gathered in an area.