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.
The Grave of Soviet World War II hero, Major-General Ivan Vasilevich Panfilov. People gather around to honor him. A snow covered area. Civilians pay tribute at his grave. A statue to Major-General Ivan Vasilevich Panfilov, Hero of the Soviet Union, who died in the battle of Moscow, being unveiled at a ceremony. The inscription reads, among other things, (in Russian): Panfilov 1893-1941. Soldiers march past the statue.
Allied campaigns against Imperial Japan during World War II. Animated map depicts Allied victories in various Pacific islands like Guadalcanal, Palau, and the Mariana Islands. A map of the Philippines. United States troops invade the Philippines. Naval guns fire at a shore and flak bursts are seen. Dramatic shot of a Japanese Zero aircraft approaching United States Navy ships that are firing guns. The Japanese aircraft is hit at close range to the ship, a wing ruptures, it is consumed in fire and crashes with explosion in the sea beside the ship. Many landing craft with U.S. Army forces landing at beach on Leyte. Soldiers land and advance inland. United States Army General Douglas MacArthur and President Sergio Osmeña of the Philippines wade ashore. Filipino women and children on the island are assisted by U.S. forces and provided with food and protection. Following are meetings of wartime Allied leaders, shown briefly in the ending of the film: Prime Minister Winston Churchill meeting President Franklin D. Roosevelt on the battleship, USS Augusta, at Newfoundland, during the Atlantic Conference, 1941. Roosevelt stands at the railing, assisted by his son, Army Captain Elliot Roosevelt. Roosevelt and Churchill meeting with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek, at the Cairo conference, in 1943. Joseph Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill pose outside the Livadia Palace (Baturyna St, 44-а, Livadiya, 98655) during the Yalta conference in 1945. Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov, American Ambassador Harriman, British Foreign Minister, Anthony Eden, and Churchill's daughter, Sarah, in uniform, are among those standing behind the seated Big Three. Delegates from 51 Nations gathered for the first meeting of the UN General Assembly, in Westminster Central Hall, London, England, in 1946.
A film about uses and importance of weapons since old times in the United States. Rifles being manufactured at the Springfield Armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. Men work on machines at the armory. A man operates a barrel straightener machine. Parts of rifles being assembled. A man inspects the receiver of a rifle. A rifle being test fired at the armory. German aircraft in flight as they drop bombs over cities in Europe during World War II. Civilians run for cover during an air raid by the Germans. United States Congress ion session. The Japanese attack the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii in December, 1941. Explosions occur during the Japanese air attack.
A film about uses and importance of weapons since old times in the United States. Past events depict smoke rising from Pearl Harbor in Hawaii after Japanese attack of December 7, 1941 during World War II. American soldiers fire machine guns during the war, from a jungle area in the Pacific. The soldiers run through muddy waters. Sky filled with parachutes, as seen from the ground, as U.S. Army paratroopers descend and land for an airborne invasion. American Army Infantrymen on a snow-covered landscape in Europe fire M-1 rifles at enemy German positions during World War 2.
Many Polish refugees are seen in the final phase of their monumental trek of three years and three thousand miles from Poland, during World War 2. Scene shifts to Poland in 1939, where polish refugees crowd roads carrying their belongings in wooden carts and other conveyances. They are seen at a rest stop where they obtain food. Animated map shows path of refugees fleeing East into the Soviet Union, following the German invasion in August, 1939. The path continues Southeast in 1941, as they flee from the German campaign, Operation Barbarossa, into the Soviet Union. Their journey continues along the west coast of the Caspian Sea, through the Caucasus, to Persia (Iran). Views of refugees arriving at the Persian border, where they are seen near many tents, and being provided with articles of clothing from British and American Red Cross Stations. Refugees donning new shoes and other items. Young girls having their hair styled. Refugees sit at long tables where they receive hot meals. A teacher conducts an outdoor class for Polish refugee children. Closeup of children at their desks. Refugee women are seen tilling soil to plant crops, while fathers and grown sons and daughters leave to join the new armies of the Polish Government in Exile. Views of Polish women, in uniforms marching and of uniformed armed Polish soldiers, as well becoming part of the Allied war against the Axis powers. Polish refugees at an outdoor shrine, offering prayers for the safety of their members in the military. New polish refugee arrivals at the Persian border being greeted by others, many of whom are family members.