Activities of German soldiers at a battlefield in Finland during World War II. A map of Finland shows places. German soldiers advance towards the battlefield. Ice and snow being removed from roads. German ski troops advance.
View of Red Army parading in Moscow, Russia. General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Joseph Stalin waves at the marching troops. Map of Finland. Finland during the early days of the Winter War of 1939-40. President Kyösti Kallio of Finland seated at table during a conference. He bangs a gavel. View of Helsinki Central Station (Helsingin päärautatieasema, Kaivokatu 1, 00100 Helsinki, Finland). Traffic moves through the streets of Helsinki. Finnish civilians fleeing Helsinki at Helsinki Central Station. Finnish civilian men mobilizing. Aircraft in flight. Paratroopers descend and advance on ground. Tanks move on a field. Soldiers riding horse carts beside a railroad track. They fire artillery. Soldiers advance through snow covered terrain in Finland wearing skis.
An exhibit of war art at the Kunstlerhaus in Vienna during World War II. A poster titled 'War and Art' advertising the exhibition in German. Exterior of the exhibition building with Axis flags. Sculptors of soldiers and Nazi Swastika banners at the entrance. Officers view the exhibition. Exhibits include paintings, pictures, sculptures and armors. Exhibits from countries like Slovakia, Romania, Spain and Finland. Japanese Samurai armor in case. Sculpture of a Samurai on a horse. Paintings depict war scenes, soldiers on horses and in boats. A painting of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. Civilians view the exhibits.
Film opens with a map of Europe showing black-shaded region of the Soviet Union, and pointing out Germany and Finland. Next, are shown moving images of rural buildings on fire in Finland, late in 1939, during the Russo-Finish war (or "Winter War"). (The Narrator comments that Finland's population was only 4 million while that of the soviets was 180 million.) Soviet bombers are seen high in the sky. A lone woman hurries along a street in Helsinki, Finland, past rubble of a bombed building. Smoke rises in the background. Finnish fire fighters man a hose to fight numerous huge fires in Helsinki.Various views of fires blazing in the capital.
World High Ski Jump Championship in Lahti, Finland. Finland's jumper jumps and slips while landing. A German jumper comes at the fourth position. Another German jumper Helmut Recknagel occupies the third position. Juhani Karkinen of Finland jumps for the first position. An advertisement about the telecast of the Academy Awards.
Gernan involvement in Russo-Finnish war ("Winter War") overlapping with World War II. Opening scene shows map with arrows indicating movement of German forces from Norway, into Finland to help them defend against the Soviets. A sign wreathed in greenery, at the border, reads "Finnland" (in German) and "Suomi" (in Finnish). (Narrator says Finland is no more alone.) Next, a German soldier moves a barrier at the border and German troops on motorcycles, led by a staff car, begin crossing into Finland. They cross a bridge over water. A long line of German trucks, cars and motorcycles moves along a country road. One motorcycle, with sidecar, stops and the two German soldier occupants examine a sign marking the Arctic Circle. A steam locomotive pulling a train leaves a Finnish railroad station. Views from aboard the train as local Finns wave at German soldiers who look out the train windows. Change of scene shows German infantry wading through some snow, (Other places are dry.) They are moving forward and taking up firing positions. Closeup of a German soldier firing his rifle. German gun crew firing a a 7.92mm MG37(t) machine gun. Closeup of the gun firing. German soldiers firing a mortar and the shell exploding in the distance. Closeup of another German gun crew firing an MG37 machine gun. (They are probably from the 6th SS Mountain Division Nord.) Shells exploding as German infantry run forward through light brush. Another 3-man German machine gun crew viewed from behind as they fire their weapon at Soviet positions.