U.S. infantry engaged in urban street fighting in World War 2. Allied troops fighting with German troops during Liberation of Paris. U.S. Army soldiers talk into radio before advancing. Soldiers with rifles crouch. Troops fire machine guns from windows of captured buildings. Tanks advance on street. French FFI citizen soldiers fire from upper stories of the building on enemy German trucks. French man throws a grenade from a window down to a truck with German troops in it. Truck explodes and Germany troops emerge from it, some on fire. Tanks advance under Eiffel Tower. Allied troops join French Forces of Interior. Scene changes to Aachen, Germany. Allied troops advance into Aachen. Soldier moves ahead. Sign reads 'Aachen'. Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany, Joseph Goebbels speaks at microphone. Wrecked buildings of Aachen as U.S. Army soldiers move through the city during a nine day period of urban combat. Smoke arises from streets. U.S. Army tanks advance on street. Soldiers fire from behind brick wall. Soldiers moves by a wrecked building. Soldiers firing mortars.
Italian leader Benito Mussolini leaves Rome by train to meet Adolf Hitler in Munich, Germany. As he passes Italian honor guard to board the train, the troops shout "Duce" repeatedly, in unison. He arrives at the railway station in Germany. A large banner conveys Germany's welcome to the "Duce." A line of military men hold shovels. Women and children wave Italian flags. A German military band plays. Mussolini waves from his rail car window. People cheer. People wave to him. Rows of children at the railway station. People chant "Duce."
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.
German invasion of Eastern European countries during World War II. Maps of Manchuria and Ethiopia. Newspaper headlines. Maps of various European countries conquered by Nazi Germany including Poland. Newspaper printing press running. Newspaper headlines declaring war against Germany. Herald newspaper headline reads, WAR. Animated map of Germany shows the Nazi symbol spreading across Europe with fire. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and officers at a map as they confer. Maps of Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. Hungarian pheasant farmers gather grain in Hungary. Ore car heaped with bauxite in Hungary. Aluminum sheet rolling down conveyor belt. German aircraft parked in line with propellers spinning. Hungarian soldiers marching in parade with crowd giving Nazi salute. Grain pouring into holding bin. Oil derricks in Romania. Romanian soldiers marching in parade. Animated map depicts the importance of cities of Varna and Burgas in Bulgaria for their submarine bases in the Black Sea. Admiral Miklos von Nagybanya Horthy of Hungary, Prime Minister of Romania General Ion Antonescu, King Michael of Romania and King Boris of Bulgaria. Newspaper headlines include 'Bulgarian King Joins Axis', "Bulgarian Revolts Bring 1200 Arrests', 'Riots Sweep Romania', and 'Hungarian Revolt Brewing' German motorcycles with sidecars driving into Hungary. German artillery being towed into Hungary. German soldiers driving halftracks drive into Romania and Bulgaria. Animated map depicts the plan for invasion of Greece.
Reconstruction of Cologne, Germany. Aerial views of Cologne, Germany in 1930, before its destruction in World War II. Shows pre-war Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollerm Bridge on the Rhine river. Various buildings in Cologne including train station. Scene change to Fuhrer Adolf Hitler speaking. Aerial and street views of damaged bridges and buildings in Cologne after World War II. Destroyed sewer pipes, piles of rubble in Cologne. American Military Government men, also known as "MG" lined up in streets, in uniform, wearing soldier helmets. They salute. The U.S. flag is raised. Signs behind men read, ""Militarregierungsamt" and "military government" Close up faces of MG soldiers. Large groups of civilians crossing the newly named McNair bridge. Sign reads, "Lt. Gen. Lesley J. McNair Bridge Designed by 1067 Eng. Const. Gp". A U.S. military government officer wearing a lip microphone addresses a crowd of civilians. Close-up views of German civilians as they listen. Truck equipped with horn-loaded PA speakers amplifies speech. German men, women, and children are deloused using DDT, which is sprayed in power form into their clothing. A German man with a SS blood type tattoo under his left arms is examined. The tattoo identifies him as a former Nazi German SS soldier. Germans in line to be interviewed for new military government positions. A man stopping and examining papers of a German citizen. Germans civilians at interview table being questioned. They sign the interview papers using a fingerprint. The first German police force of Cologne, Germany following World War II. They are given arm bands reading, "MG-Police." The former head of the Prussian Senate on camera, identified as one who fought the Nazis.
Ruins along Unter den Linden boulevard in Berlin after World War II. A reflection of bomb damage in water. View of the Unter den Linden Avenue and heavily damaged Neue Wache (Unter den Linden 4, 10117 Berlin, Germany). Russian signs in front of the Neue Wache. German civilians pull a wooden cart along Unter den Linden. A statue which has been protected by bricks. Bomb damaged Humboldt University of Berlin nearby. People and soldiers walk past the Berlin State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 8, Berlin, Germany). View of the Victory Column. A British flag near the Siegessäule or Victory Column (Großer Stern, 10557 Berlin, Germany).
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