Scenes from the Berlin Crisis in 1961. Scene of a street in East Berlin, Germany. A man stands on the West side of Berlin, taking a photograph of East Berlin. A policeman disturbs and blocks him with a mirror. People of East Berlin go with their few possessions escaping to West Berlin. Military trucks parked on East Berlin side. People wave goodbye with their handkerchiefs. A young man loads his luggage in a truck. People on the East Berlin side with their possessions. An East German policeman reflects with a mirror to prevent cameras from recording the escape attempts. People on the West Berlin side watch a water hose sprayed at them to deter onlookers. A man sits on a truck and clicks photos as water is sprayed on him and the truck is forced to move on. Smoke or tear gas bomb comes from East Berlin side and men throw them back. Smoke seen everywhere. Crowds in Ruppiner Strasse. The escape of Frieda Schulz is seen from her apartment building at the border, on Bernauer Strasse. She is seen hanging from a window, still held on her arm from above by an East German official, until the receiving West German crowd from below pulls on her leg hard enough to free her, and she falls into a waiting net. Another woman is seen preparing to leap from a fifth-floor window. She leaps (not seen) and is caught by firemen with a waiting net. Next, her husband is seen pushing some baggage through the window with valuables, and then he is seen leaping from the window into a waiting net held by firemen on the West Berlin side. Work goes on for building the Berlin Wall. Giant bulldozer drops dirt on ground as it razes home along the border of the Berlin Wall, and as a wide ditch is built to prevent escape by vehicle. People cut hole in barbed wire and are seen escaping to the West German side. Policemen and others help them as they get through. East Berlin police arrive and stop more people from escaping. A man and two young women are seen after they successfully escape through the barbed wire to West Berlin side.
Two German men at a cafe reminisce about former times. Views of those prewar days (before World War I) in Germany. German Workers pack goods at a factory. Elevated view of German people walking at platforms of a busy railway station and people sit in train. Woman stands and approaches lake beach water, she removes her robe to swim; children play and swim at a beach. Many families cooking on portable stoves near the beach shore. Two women cook and taste food. Boy eats food and view of his family enjoying a meal together. People sit on a wagon. Brief return to restaurant scene with the two men. Then scene of female performer as she blindfolds a male trapeze artists who then performs in a German circus, leaping from a platform in a trapeze act, releasing from the trapeze while blindfolded, and successfully catching the hands of another trapeze artist. Scene switches to postwar era (after World War 1), where the emphasis is on Girls! Numerous scenes of various female dancer groups performing on stage, with high kicks and precision dancing in Follies-type productions. In next scene, outdoors, German soldiers are seen on parade through the Brandenburg Gate. Numerous outdoor scenes of Germans enjoying themselves in Berlin. Many Berlin landmarks and statues shown in the time before World War 2. Scenes include: the Berlin Cathedral; The Poseidon Statue next to Alexander Platz; Brandenburg Gate; Unter den Linden; Lustgarten; a tour bus flying an American flag; and the winged Berlin Victory column rising up, as seen from a moving vehicle.
Rally of communists and youth in East Berlin. Small socialist flag on table. A boy reads during a rally. Historical view of parade by German soldiers in 1930's Berlin Germany. Russian tanks repel people on streets during anti-Communist protest of 1953. Aerial view of Brandenburg Gate area and refugees fleeing in thousands from East Berlin to West Berlin. Revitalized West Berlin, with new construction. A building in construction and another new building seen. Modern stores with show windows displaying abundant goods including cameras and foods. People at a a busy food or deli counter and in sidewalk cafes and restaurants. Busy streets of West Berlin with early 1960s automobiles. Enduring flame monument in West Berlin Inscription on the pedestal reads 'Freiheit Recht Freide' meaning Freedom, Rights, Peace. At a conference with allies including Britain in 1960 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev walks down steps and gets into car. British Prime Minister Harold MacMillan with others walks down steps. Animated Khrushchev addresses gathering in Russian, forcefully and defiantly. MacMillan responds encouraging peaceful negotiations and no force. Newly elected Mayor Willy Brandt of West Berlin addresses people. United States President John F Kennedy with Premier Khrushchev, Secretary of State Dean Rusk and others at meeting in Vienna Austria. British flag at Headquarters of Berlin British Sector. Military police jeep stops near a sign. Soldier looks through binoculars at East West border of Berlin before Berlin Wall was substantial. During free elections in West Berlin people put their vote in ballot box. Box opened and counting of votes progresses. People see results on board. Nearly empty streets of East Berlin. Destroyed buildings of East Berlin still not repaired after World War II. The Spittelmarkt area, formerly a busy shopping market, now deserted and desolate. Mayor Brandt meets refugees and speaks over the microphone.
Korean dubbed documentary about Russian attack on Berlin, Germany near end of World War 2. Exterior and interior views of ruins of Hitler's Reich Chancellery building in Berlin following attack by Soviet forces in Battle of Berlin. Bomb damage seen on exterior of Chancellery, view of sign at entrance. Damage and destruction inside the Reich Chancellery building. An animated map showing Hitler's plan of conquest. Quotes from Fuhrer Hitler are printed below each arrow. At 3:38 there is a catapult takeoff and brief flight view of a German Luftwaffe Blohm & Voss BV 138 Seedrache flying boat (Sea Dragon, also known as Der Fliegende Holzschuh or "flying clog" based on the side-view shape of its fuselage) used for maritime reconnaissance. View of German parachutists jumping from a plane and landing on snow covered terrain.
Summary of events after World War II. Statistics shows reduction in armed forces after WWII. Reduction in arms shows submarines, ships and other arms. Bombers are destroyed. Blasting planes on airfield. Junk piles and wreckage of equipment. Factories are converted to peacetime production. Workers operating various machinery in factories. Delegates seated in the UN assembly. Andrei Gromyko walks out of a debate on the Iranian question. The U.S. proclaims the Marshall Plan. Various delegates at Paris meet including Winston Churchill. Animated map of Europe demonstrates the expansion of communism and the iron curtain post WW2. Supplies for Europe are loaded on ships at docks as part of Marshall Plan. Reconstruction work progresses in Europe. Farmer rides new American tractor (Massey Harris tractor) away from ship docks and back to his farm. Communists demonstrate and blockade Berlin. Russians reinforce blockade. U.S. planes flying supplies to blockaded city in Berlin Airlift operation. U.S. military planes landing on airfield of Germany. Berlin Blockade is lifted by Russians.
Opening scene shows Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, accompanied by many German military officers, as he mingles with German citizens in Berlin. Admiring female workers speak to Goebbels. Goebbels boosts the German workers’ morale during the Allied bombings of Berlin in World War II. Camera focuses on the Quadriga statue atop the Brandenburg Gate (Brandenburger Tor, Pariser Platz, 10117 Berlin, Germany). A military brass band leads troops marching through the Brandenburg Gate, along the Unter den Linden boulevard. View of the parade further along the Unter den Linden, with spectators watching from the sidewalks.
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.