Aerial view of the U.S. Navy Minesweeper, USS Falcon (AM-28) dispatched from New London, Connecticut, to rescue crew members from the sunken submarine USS Squalus. Closeup from beside the Falcon as crew members open a diving bell that was sent down 240 feet to the ocean floor for the rescue. Several rescued crew members from the submarine are helped out of the diving bell and climb aboard the Falcon. (A total of 33 crew were saved in four descents of the diving bell). Next, survivors reach a dock. A woman speaks with one of the rescued men as he steps into a car. Views of the Falcon and several support vessels. Scene shifts to 13 July 1939, when the first attempt is made to raise the Squalus. An officer officer manipulates valves to send compressed air down into the hull of the Squalus. Next, foam is generated in the water as the bow of the Squalus emerges clearly showing its number, 192. The submarine remains in that condition, with bow elevated and then sinks again. (Note: several more attempts were made in subsequent months to raise the Squalus, until, finally, on 13 September 1939, the boat was successfully raised and towed to the Portsmouth Navy Yard for repairs. The submarine was renamed USS Sailfish and recommissioned in May 1940.)
Film opens with a glimpse of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in a forum. Next, Big Ben and the British Parliament building are seen in the background as soldiers (and some civlilans) gather around a British 3-inch antiaircraft gun. British civilians assembling sections of a Anderson Shelter (a prefabricated shelter made of corrugated metal.) View of a crowded railroad platform where hundreds of British children board a train to evacuate them from London to safety in the countryside, as part of Operation Piper. Parents and loved ones stand back on the platform to see them off. Closeup of children, each tagged with their personal information, climbing aboard the train. Next, after they have boarded the train, parents and others move close to the train windows to wave goodbye to the children. Parents, at a different railroad station, waving goodbye to children on a train carrying them to safety. complete change of scene shows the U.S. freighter ship, SS City of Flint, with hundreds of passengers onboard, who were rescued from the liner SS Athenia, sunk in the first hours of World War II, by the German submarine, U-30, on September 3, 1940. (The City of Flint landed its passengers in Halifax, Nova scotia, and New York City.) A formation of British soldiers is seen marching through a village in the United Kingdom. Glimpse of an underground control room of a German Fort in the Siegfried line. German troops entering the fort, Werkgruppe Scharnhorst Panzerwerk 1238, to take up defensive positions there. Heavy guns firing from underground.
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black seen before cameras. Views from outside house at 3122 Tennyson Street NW, Washington DC where he addresses the nation to admit his membership in the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). He addresses the nation through radio and admits his membership before joining the Supreme Court for its new session. Views of people gathered outside the house (and ambient sound there is heard). View of many different men, women, and families as they listen to radio broadcast in their homes. People gathered close to radios for the address. Brief few words of the Black's address are heard near the end of the clip.
German attacks on other nations during World War 2. A sign reads 'Belgique' near a building. Germans in Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland and France. German soldiers on tanks and other military vehicles as they advance in blitzkrieg (lightning war). They advance through the Dutch farmlands. German Ju-52 aircraft fly in formation and drop paratroopers. The destruction of Rotterdam by heavy German bombardment. People in Netherlands bury their dead at cemetery. French refugees leave their cities. Adolf Hitler looks at the Eiffel tower in Paris, with other German officials, during occupation of France. Aerial view of the city. German bombers attack London, England during the blitz. Shattered equipment on the ground and destroyed buildings in London, England. Hitler observes the German Atlantic Wall defenses. The battle and Allied evacuation of Dunkirk. White cliffs of Dover Sea shore in view. Map depicts German positions. The Battle of Britain. British spitfire planes attack German bombers. Children being evacuated from London and Paris. Fires and aerial bombardment at night by German aircraft during blitzkrieg. Rubble being cleared by British following bombing by German aircraft. British men and women war production workers in munitions and aircraft factories. Hitler and Goering with others in the railroad carriage where French authorities surrender at Compiegne in June, 1940. German forces attacking the Soviet Union, with tanks, infantry and aircraft during Operation Barbarossa, on June 22, 1941.The mobilization of Soviet defense forces depicted with scenes of Soviet citizens listening to radio updates and reading newspapers about invasion. Soviet men mobilizing for military training. New recruits in Russia prepare for military action.
The major political events in North America. The inauguration of Harry Truman as President of the U.S. People gather in a large number to watch the new President. Scenes from the inauguration dinner, as President Truman makes fun of and mocks the radio commentator H.V. Kaltenborn who forecast that Dewey would defeat Truman. In humor, President Truman imitates Mr. Kaltenborn and the gathered crowd laughs and claps. View of Canada's Louis Saint Laurent as he succeeds MacKenzie King as Prime Minister in Canada. Buildings in the area. People gather in a hall and applaud.
Berlin airlift during Cold War in Germany. German people gather on the street. The Berlin airlift, 'Operation Vittles' lifts food and supplies to overcome the blockade by Russia, Soviet Union. A Berlin Airlift airplane in flight. Vehicles on the street. Men near a sign board. Scene changes to early meeting of the West German government in Bonn with Conrad Adenauer and Theodor Heuss speaking and taking oaths. Next scene shows newspaper articles about Communist expansion. View of Cardinal József Mindszenty of Hungary who narrator says became a martyr for his faith. People in Rome praying for the exiled Cardinal at a service conducted by Pope Piux XII. Next scene shows closeup of Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia with other military leaders, and flags of Yugoslavia and Soviet Union flying together side-by-side. Military buildup in Yugoslavia during strain with Soviet Union under Tito. Military Trucks fill a bridge. Next scene shows a victory parade in Shanghai China by Communist soldiers loyal to Mao Zedong. View of the Chairman of the Nationalist Government of China, Chiang Kai Shek, exiled to Taiwan. A flag of Communist China flying over docks at a port. Scene changes to view of the Foley Square Federal Courthouse in New York, where 11 members of the Communist Party of the United States (CPUSA) were on trial for conspiracy to overthrown the government by violent means (violating the Smith Act). The defendants are shown standing together (Stachel, Potash, Winter, Davis, Gates, Green, Thompson, Winston, Dennis, Hall, Williamson, and Foster). Close-up view of Judge Harold Medina. After conviction the group of men is shown climbing into a U.S. Marshal paddy wagon for transport to prison.
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