The opening scene depicts Heldengedenktag (Heroes' memorial day) in Berlin, March 13,1938. It shows the spartan interior of the Neue Wache (New Guard) World War One memorial on Unter den Linden. A cross stands above masses of flowers and a flame burns next to it. A sentry stands outside the building. View of the equestrian statue of Frederick the Great, nearby in the center of Unter den Linden. Camera pans back across the front of the New Guard building showing soldiers in formation on either side. Accompanied by two officers, Hermann Goering in uniform, including steel helmet, walks behind soldiers as they carry a large floral wreath across the square and into the New Guard building. View from inside as they enter and place the wreath. Closeup of the wreath shows a ribbon with words: "Adolf Hitler." The two officers render a Nazi salute and Goering salutes with his Luftwaffe Field Marshal's baton. Throughout the sequence,the war song, "Ich hatt' einen Kameraden," is softly played as a slow dirge in the background. Scene shifts completely to a hall at night, in Vienna, Austria, as Goering gives a speech referring to Adolf Hitler. View of St. Stephen's cathedral and scenes from several days prior, as crowd of German people cheer in Heldenplatz about the Anschluss (annexation of Austria by Germany). Animated map showing the territorial annexation. Slate displaying the slogan: "Ein Volk; Ein Reich; Ein Fuhrer" (One people; one nation; one leader.) (Note: Regarding the New Guard, in Berlin: Since 1993, it has been the Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany for the victims of war and tyranny. The eternal flame was replaced by a Four- times-enlarged copy of the bronze sculpture, "Mother with Dead Son,"by Kaethe Kollwitz, on a slab of black granite in the center of the room underneath the oculus. Her original small bronze made in 1937, resides in the Kaethe Kollwitz Museum in Charlottenburg.)
Interior of Rhein-Main air base in Frankfurt, Germany. Several C-54s parked at the base. Views of air planes from a building near-by. C-54 Skymaster, a USAF (United States Air Force) transport aircraft in flight. Truck getting unloaded near planes for Berlin Airlift operations during Berlin Blockade.
United States President Richard Nixon departs from West Berlin, Germany, during his official visit to Europe. People wave at President Nixon from apartment windows. President Nixon's motorcade drives on crowded roads in West Berlin and reaches the Charlottenburg Palace (Spandauer Damm 10-22, 14059 Berlin, Germany). Gate of the Charlottenburg palace. Equestrian statue of Frederick Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg, on the grounds of the Charlottenburg Palace. Civilians gathered greet him and raise banner to welcome President Nixon. Sign read as “Richard Nixon Ein wirklich Berliner” (“Richard Nixon a real Berliner” in English). View of the Siemens factory in West Berlin.
German President Friedrich Ebert speaking in front of the Reichstag in Berlin, Germany, during a memorial ceremony honoring German war dead. Crowds surround the Victory Column or the Siegessäule (Großer Stern 1 10557 Berlin) and the Bismark memorial in front of the Reichstag.
German war ensign flying over the Zeughaus (military museum) on Unter den Linden, in Berlin, Germany on Heldengedenktag (Day of Commemoration of Heroes) in World War 2. A military band outside plays the National Anthem, as Adolf Hitler walks out of the building, accompanied by General Paul von Hase, Commandant of Berlin. An honor guard of soldiers presents arms in salute. Hitler and Marshal Hermann Goering (Göring) lead members of the German High Command, including Marshal Wilhelm Keitel; Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz; SS leader Heinrich Himmler; Marshal Fedor von Bock; and Marshal Erhard Milch, as they walk along the street, reviewing troops in formation. Flag bearers dip 30 colors of the old German Kriegsmarine and 30 of the new German army, in salute, as the reviewers pass. Soldiers stand holding a large memorial wreath. Hitler and his entourage turn and walk towards the Neue Wache (New Guard) National War Memorial building. Scene shift to inside the memorial, as the wreath bearers enter, followed by Hitler and the Marshals. The strains of "ich hatt einen kameraden" war song are heard played as a dirge. Soldiers place the wreath, and all present salute. Many more flowers are seen on the memorial floor. View of the memorial black granite block topped by an oak wreath (designed by the sculptor Ludwig Gies) situated under an oculus. It is flanked by two guards. Flowers cover the entire floor in front of it. Meanwhile, outside, on Unter den Linden, all persons simultaneously salute, including military and civilians. As Hitler leaves the memorial building, accompanied by the Marshals, he stops to shake hands and converse with wounded German officers and soldiers in wheel chairs. He greets older veterans of earlier wars. A crowd including many young people hold up placards on poles.
Illuminated masses of Nazi swastika flags. Hitler speaking at outdoor event. Hitler evoking laughter in the Reichstag (Kroll Opera House), on April 28, 1939, as he reads aloud a long list of countries from Franklin Roosevelt's letter which Roosevelt asks Germany not to invade. Scene changes to a welcome parade on March 16, 1938 in Berlin after Hitler's return from Austria at the time of the Anschluss. Hitler and Hermann Goering walking along street in Berlin, reviewing German troops. Huge crowd of cheering German citizens packed tightly in the Wilhelmplatz to hear Hitler speak. Hitler and Goering on a balcony overlooking the crowd.
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