Crowds fill streets celebrating Armistice ending World War 1. Street cars move through the crowds. Many people wave American flags. Mounted police maintain order. Crowd filling space in front of S.S. Kresge Company 5&10 cents Store. Large American flags hang from front of the Central Savings Bank, at 14th Street and 4th Avenue (Union Square). People gather around a large monument displaying many figures. A group of people realize they are being photographed and face the camera smiling. One man lifts up a small boy dressed in soldier uniform, holding a flag and saluting. Several men carry a wood slab with effigy of defeated Hun on it. Scene shifts to large open area, where crowd is gathered around a multistory copy of the Statue of Liberty. A group of women in white dresses (possibly nurses) stand in front of a seated Army brass band. Scene shifts back to Union Square, again with crowd around the large monument and American flags draped over windows of the Central Savings Bank. Trick photography creates ethereal image of statue of liberty in the scene. Next, lines of people with banners and flags move near area of trolley cars. Another group gathers near camera, as mounted policeman moves behind them. Trinity Church steeple can be seen in far background. Several men in blackface makeup carry a coffin containing detritus of war. View from building overlooking avenue filled with people. American flags fly from building window sills. A flag displaying "104" (104th Regiment?) and numerous stars, hangs from one window. (World War I; World War 1; WWI; WW1)
View of picture of 1908 McLauglin-Buick and 1915 sedan auto. Map of Europe with German Iron Cross superimposed. Newspapers running off presses. Headline on paper reading, 'Arch Duke Assassinated.' Headline reading, 'Germany Declares War; All Europe is in Arms.' Headline reading, 'Germany Invades France', superimposed over German troops marching in background. Headline, 'French Resist at Marne.' Headline, 'Lusitania Sunk' with picture of the ship. Newspaper presses running. Printer reading paper with headlines 'U.S. Declares War.' Paper reading, 'U.S. At War.' Headline, 'U.S. Troops Land in France.' Billboard sign, 'Beat Back the Hun With Liberty Bonds' superimposed over picture of troops marching in background. Ships under construction. Destroyer underway.
Chairman of the committee receives Blue Riband Trophy from representative of Italian line and member of the committee. Chairman of the committee presents the Blue Riband Trophy to Captain Rene Pugnet as the trophy is won by SS Normandie for French Line. Dignitaries surround the trophy. Captain Rene Pugnet gives a short thanksgiving address.
Film starts showing Chief of Staff Paul Von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff surrounded by German military officers. German diplomats in formal attire including top hats standing outside a building. The German tricolor flag is raised over a building. Glimpse of the German Bundestag meeting in the Reichstag building. Political leaders seated around a table, include Gustav Noske and Philipp Scheidemann in the forefront. More politicians of the era seated at a table. Members of the German Communist Party (KPD – Kommunistische Partei Deutschlands) march slowly along a street carrying flags. Weimar Republic leaders dressed formally with top hats, stand together at an outdoor event. Gustav Noske and Philipp Scheidemann are in the center of the group. More political leaders gathered around a table. A professor speaking in a classroom with blackboard behind him and globe of world nearby. View from front of classroom showing it filled with attentive young men students. A gathering of Prussian soldiers in uniform including Pickelhaube helmets. They walk together. View of the Quadriga statue atop the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Well dressed men walking in an alley way between two buildings. Closeup of men gathered to read the latest news posted on a bulletin board. An animated map showing German, France, Belgium, and Holland. A line of demarcation is drawn between Belgium and France. Berlin citizens cheer German soldiers on parade past the monument to king Frederick the Great at the east end of Unter den Linden. Germans in 18th Century military uniforms slow step in a parade watched by spectators also dressed in civilian clothing of the early period. More views of the German soldiers parading on Unter den Linden. Businessmen sit together and converse. They read newspapers.
German Mobilization showing advance of soldiers through streets of Germany, preparing to head to the war front. German officers and Chief of Staff Paul Von Hindenburg and Erich Ludendorff in Germany. Group of men listening to a person speaking. Dignitaries in a conference. Crowd move on streets.
Opening scene shows international diplomats gathered at the 1919 Peace Conference in the Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors) at the Palace of Versailles, France. Next is an exterior view of the U.S. Capitol Building and then of the Congress in session inside. U.S. Army troops, with full field packs including bedrolls, are seen embarking on a troop ship bound for France. Others with full field gear are seen boarding a troop railroad train. A train filled with soldiers who wave to friends and family as they depart a railroad station. U.S. troops march along dirt road after arriving in France. French soldiers stand amidst piles of coal being shoveled into rail cars. French troops seen from the rear, advancing along a road, in large numbers. Next, they are seen from the fromt and them from the side. French artillerymen riding in horse-drawn wagons, pulling 75mm field pieces ("French 75s"). German Field Marshal August von Mackensen and aides walk casually past a relaxing group of German soldiers sitting on the ground during World War 1. Suddenly, a motorized column of German World War II armor is seen moving along a dirt road. Closeup of a German Panzer II tank (German Pz.Kpfw.II Ausf.F) is seen, passing the camera. A momentary glimpse of several German Messerschmitt Bf 109s in formation.
CRITICALPAST.COM: About Us | Contact Us | FAQs - How to Order | License Agreement | My Account | My Lightboxes | Shopping Cart | Advanced Search | Featured Collections | Website Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy ©2026 CriticalPast LLC.
License Agreement |
Terms & Conditions |
Privacy Policy
©2026 CriticalPast LLC.