Industrial scenes in America with a factory with smoke from chimneys, a steel factory in operation, views of the tops of railroad train coal cars filled with coal. Secretary of State George Marshall speaks about providing European countries with material and money (Marshall Plan). He is seen speaking to legislators in Washington DC on November 10, 1947, asking for funds for Austria, Italy, and France "to provide the supplies necessary to permit the people of these countries to continue to eat, to work, and to survive the winter." Truman signs an interim aid bill, S 1774 on December 17, 1947. View of Eiffel Tower in Paris and communists marching and demonstrating in France. Communist demonstrations across Europe. French police monitor communist protestors in France and then disperse a crowd of communists. Narrator notes of similar communist demonstrations in Italy. Winston Churchill arrives for peace conference meeting of the Big Four foreign ministers in London in December 1947. Vyascheslav Molotov attends the conference. George Marshall talks with Molotov. View of the Friendship Train railroad train in the United States approaching on railway tracks during its tour. Also a view of the 1947 special exhibit Freedom Train traveling. Citizens board the Freedom Train at one of its train station stops, to view artifacts and exhibits about American democracy, including a 1823 facsimile of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Exterior view of U.S. Supreme Court building. Statues at the Supreme Court building. The base is inscribed 'The Heritage of the Past is the Seed that Brings Forth the Harvest of the Future'. A group of American boys and girls are seen reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. A larger group of children reciting the pledge of Allegiance (from before the 1950s when "under God" was added) and viewing an American flag fluttering in the wind. View of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and then another view from the top of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building looking outward.
Alternating World War 2 footage and dramatized scenes with actors. German Luftwaffe bombers destroying French cities. Invasion of France by Germany. Burning buildings and debris in French cities during 1940 invasion. Hitler viewing Eiffel Tower while visiting Paris in June 1940 after occupation. German flag atop Eiffel Tower. Allied fighter aircraft shot down, pilot ejects and parachutes to ground as aircraft crashes with explosion. Pilot landing in parachute, gathering and hiding parachute. Actors conversation segment. Footage of sad looking and defeated French soldiers marching in streets of France under occupying German guard, as depressed French citizens look on. French General Philippe Petain at desk delivering speech that calls for collaboration with Germans. Close ups of sad and crying French men, women, and children in streets of France suffering war and occupation. Petain salutes soldiers during a parade after he abolishes representative government. Petain speaks from podium to gathered soldiers. View of French General Charles De Gaulle, in Britain, calling for continued French resistance and speaking to French officers on a warship. Actor dialog segment. Footage of Petain visiting Hitler. They shake hands while photographers record the meeting. Actor segments. Footage of Free French forces training and marching in various cities. Free French soldier receives machine gun training. French officer training in Russia at a Soviet recognition ceremony. French soldiers carry railroad ties and discuss over a map. RAF spitfires in flight. Sign at training camp "French Air Force Squadron. Flexible Gunnery School." Allied naval ships at sea; close views of ship guns. Smoke rises from French ship fleet scuttled at Toulon November 27, 1942. Mobilized French citizens receiving rifle training. Free French Army encampment with French flag raising ceremony. French citizens gather to read posted German notices. Parade celebrating liberation of Paris in World War II. Happy French citizens smile and cheer French, American, and Soviet allies marching in Paris.
Two nurses wearing fatigue uniforms talking beside a Free France Army ambulance in Lessay, France during World War 2. In a bivouac shelter area, a nurse shows a paper to another nurse who is combing her hair. The nurse with paper is also smoking a cigarette. Symbols on the ambulance include the French tricolor flag, the Free France symbol, the Red Cross and the Caduceus symbol (a short staff entwined by two serpents surmounted by wings). The nurse with cigarette helps fix the other nurse’s hair. Nurse combing her hair beside the ambulance. A nurse eating from a bowl under a tree. A nurse laughs while having lunch from a mess gear and sitting on the grass. Two nurses carry a stretcher from a bivouac area to an ambulance.
French civilians gather to watch a parade celebrating the awarding of the Cross of Liberation (Croix de la Libération) to Paris after liberation of France from Nazi Germany during World War II. French women clapping. United States soldiers marching out of the Place de la Concorde (Place de la Concorde 75008 Paris, France) into Rue Royale. A French civilian holding a camera as spectators cheer. Women's Army Corps (WAC) officers marching toward the L'église de la Madeleine (Place de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris, France). French troops marching toward the L'église de la Madeleine. French children clapping as they watch the military parade. Three women watching and clapping among the crowd. French troops march and carry the French tricolor in Rue Royale. A marching band playing. A goat mascot accompanies marching troops.
United States troops and tanks enter the town of Notre-Dame-de-Cenilly during World War 2. Soldiers walk alongside M4 Sherman tanks upon entering Notre-Dame de Cenilly. Road sign reads “D. 38 Notre-Dame de Cenilly Manche”. Soldiers talking in front of an amphibious Jeep parked on Rue des Tilleuls. A smiling priest stands by a gate. A soldier salutes to troops entering Notre-Dame de Cenilly. A captured German prisoner with hands up is frisked by Allied troops near the damaged Café Breton Epicerie (2 Rue des Tilleuls, 50210 Notre-Dame-de-Cenilly, France). Army Jeeps pass by destroyed buildings. United States soldiers gaze at dead German soldiers among ruins. Bodies of dead German soldiers and equipment debris on the street. United States armored vehicles driving through the destroyed town of Periers. A tank passes by a man planting the French tricolor flag on a statue. An M3 half-track in Periers. Behind the half-track is the ruins of Église Saint-Pierre (Place du Général de Gaulle, 50190 Périers, France). The tricolor flag of France waves in hands of statue in Periers.
A large crowd gathered near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris during the Allied liberation of the city in World War 2. Throngs of Parisians in a crowd. French men and women standing in front of the Arc de Triomphe (Place Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France). Over the French civilians, inscription of the Arc de Triomphe reads “Engen Moeskirch Hochstett” (after French victories during the Napoleonic era). Men and women started running, some with bicycles, on the sidewalk of Rue de Rivoli. French and British flags adorn the storefront of Bally (Swiss fashion luxury house). French 2nd Armored Division troops and some French resistance fighters fire machine guns (Browning M1919) at German snipers across the Hôtel De Nice (42 Bis Rue de Rivoli, 75004 Paris, France), near the Hôtel de Ville (Place de l'Hôtel de Ville, 75004 Paris, France). French soldier with cigarette on his mouth with Browning M1919 machine gun. Browning M1919 machine gun moves its aim and shoots. American flag hangs on window of a building.
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