View from the waterfront pier, of the German Battleship, SMS Schleswig Holstein, firing its 150mm and 290mm guns point blank at the Polish Westerplatte defenses, on September 1, 1939, as Germany precipitated World War 2 and invasion of Poland. Views from the Schleswig Holstein, where her Captain, Gustav Kleikamp, is seen observing the effects through binoculars,at timecode 00:20. Following these bombardment scenes, film shifts to Polish tanks (Vickers?) moving out of woods. Sequence shifts again to amphibious tanks moving through water and climbing onto shore.
Film opens with a glimpse of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in a forum. Next, Big Ben and the British Parliament building are seen in the background as soldiers (and some civlilans) gather around a British 3-inch antiaircraft gun. British civilians assembling sections of a Anderson Shelter (a prefabricated shelter made of corrugated metal.) View of a crowded railroad platform where hundreds of British children board a train to evacuate them from London to safety in the countryside, as part of Operation Piper. Parents and loved ones stand back on the platform to see them off. Closeup of children, each tagged with their personal information, climbing aboard the train. Next, after they have boarded the train, parents and others move close to the train windows to wave goodbye to the children. Parents, at a different railroad station, waving goodbye to children on a train carrying them to safety. complete change of scene shows the U.S. freighter ship, SS City of Flint, with hundreds of passengers onboard, who were rescued from the liner SS Athenia, sunk in the first hours of World War II, by the German submarine, U-30, on September 3, 1940. (The City of Flint landed its passengers in Halifax, Nova scotia, and New York City.) A formation of British soldiers is seen marching through a village in the United Kingdom. Glimpse of an underground control room of a German Fort in the Siegfried line. German troops entering the fort, Werkgruppe Scharnhorst Panzerwerk 1238, to take up defensive positions there. Heavy guns firing from underground.
Opening slate reads: "U.S. Seeks Neutrality."Glimpse of the U.S. Capitol building. Speaker of the House of Representatives, William Bankhead, gavels the assembly to order. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his office signs the Neutrality Act, or Senate Joint Resolution No. 173, on August 31, 1935. Afterwards he chats with Senators who attended his signing. Among those seen in closeup are James F Byrnes, John Nance Garner, and John H. Bankhead II. The Senators shake hands with the President as they leave. Scene changes to German aircraft in flight including Messersmitt Bf 109s and Dornier 17 bombers. A crowd, including civilians and military personnel, stand about the site of a crashed airplane, in Europe. View shifts to U.S. Navy warships at sea. View from one of the Aircraft Carrier, USS Lexington (CV-2) where a Boeing F2B bi-wing fighter airplane is landing on her deck. Closeup of the plane landing on Lexington's flight deck and sailors rushing to arrest and control it. Somewhat fuzzy view of a ship sinking in rough waters. Clear view of an injured sailor in a ship's infirmary. Rescued sailors eating on deck of the rescue ship. One of the sinking victims covered by an American flag, is buried at sea. View of a burning ship.
Finland attacked by the Soviets during the "Winter War" or Russo-Finnish War of 1939-1940, coinciding with World War 2. Vyacheslav Molotov addresses Soviet men in a hall. View of Stalin seated near a wall. Soviet Men applaud. Soviet planes in flight. Soviet Paratroopers jump from the plane and descend with the help of parachutes towards Finland. Soviet army soldiers place and fire a line of artillery on the battlefield. Soviet airplanes in flight over Helsinki. The city of Helsinki being bombed by Soviet aircraft. People flee from the area. Damage in the area due to the bombardment. Destroyed houses, buildings and rubble on the ground in Finland from aerial bombing. A wrecked airplane on the street.
The New York world's fair of 1939-1940. View of Manhattan, George Washington bridge. Aerial views of buildings and other skyscrapers of New York City. People gather on the fairgrounds. People outside various buildings. Exhibitions, bands, dances, statues and flags at the fair grounds. Statue of George Washington. The United States Government building and different state buildings in view. Woman and two girls seated on a bench as they eat ice-cream cones.
The New York world's fair of 1939 - 1940. People gather on the fairgrounds. Streamline train on display. People watching the railroad train. AT&T building, United States Steel building, Westinghouse, Goodrich, Chrysler, General Motors and Ford buildings in view. Entrance to Ford building. Statue of Mercury. Interiors of the entrance hall. People watch various displays. A couple looks at Ford, Lincoln, and Lincoln Zephyr cars outside the building. They look at Henry Ford's first gasoline-powered engine on display. Crowd look at a huge mobile mural by Henry Billings. They move through hall as they look at exhibits. They watch the main exhibit-'Ford Cycle of Production'. The steps involved in the production process of Ford being displayed at the fair
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