German civilians clean debris from streets, left over by the retreating German Army in Ludwigslust, during World War II. United States soldiers stack up wooden boxes of land mines. Two soldiers examine them. Civilians clean street of rifles, helmets, gas masks, crates and boxes. Pile of debris seen on both sides of the road.
German civilians clean streets from debris left over by retreating German Army in Ludwigslust, during World War II. Men and women sweep roads with brooms, women check pile of wooden boxes. Buildings and houses damaged on both sides of the roads. Debris scattered on both side of road. A man looks at stack of rifles of German soldiers.
United States officers inspect currency, gold coins, jewelry and other items from a cave at Buchenwald concentration camp. United States officers recover things of value from a cave. Officers inspect them. More material drawn from the cave.
Opening slate mentions speed and pressures generated in the test launch of A4 V2 rocket. The rocket launches and appears to be successful, moving up and out of sight. However, some white smoke descends and lingers in the atmosphere afterwards. The next slate states that the causes of the malfunctions have been identified and corrected. It is followed by a slate showing date of 3 October, 1942, and another about last instructions before the 3rd launch. German rocket scientist, Konrad Dannenberg, is seen discussing matters with several German officers at the test site. (Dannenberg is in the center of the group. Second from left is possibly Wernher von Braun. Second from right is possibly General Walter Dornberger.) The next slate reads: 1558 hours (3:58 PM) followed by one reading: Fire free. A German officer is seen speaking those words into a microphone. Camera shows a technicians hand as he sets firing switches on a control panel. ;Closeup of V2 rocket engine firing up. The rocket ascends successfully and disappears from sight. (Note: The footage at the end of clip showing the successful Oct 3 flight of A-4 V2 rocket was reportedly part of a film shown to Hitler at his Wolfe's Lair in 1943.) (World War II period).
Technicians at the Technical University at Aachen fit the tail and other body parts of the A-5 missile. (The A-5 configuration would later be scaled up to the larger A-4 missile.) The missile is fixed on a horizontal rod and rotated by hand. After that missile is suspended from above with the help of a rod and a technician rotates it. View of test firing of missile. (Narrated by Otto Kraehe.)
Teacher and school children playing amid rubble in Berlin, in the aftermath of World War II. Children receiving food outdoors. Children in a school classroom being given cups of soup by their teacher. In March, 1948, a Soviet soldier is seen lowering their flag from one of four flag poles displaying it, along with flags of the British, American, and French flags. (They no longer wished to share occupation of Berlin with the other Allied powers.) View of Western representatives preparing to issue a new stable currency. Next, the Soviets block all access to West Berlin (the "Berlin Blockade.") Open rail cars filled with coal are brought to a halt in their tracks. Trucks servicing West Berlin are stopped from moving over a highway. West Berlin citizens stand at a fence watching a U.S. Army Air Forces C-47 transport plane flying supplies to them. View from below of a C-54 transport plane descending to land, with supplies, at Templehof airfield in West Berlin. A C-54 taking off to make another supply run. A pallet of coal being offloaded from a C-54. A tram running on restricted schedule. A Berliner planting food in a deserted lot near a demolished building. People assembled in front of the severely damaged Bundestag and in other places surrounded by war torn buildings. Berlin Mayor Ernst Reuter, speaks of seeking assistance from America, England, France, and Italy, to help his city. Closeups of some of the Berliners applauding him. An airlift airplane labeled "Operation Santa Claus" with a soldier dressed like Santa, dispensing wrapped gifts or candy to German children near the plane's doorway. German children can be seen and heard singing "deck the Halls" in English. A soldier dressed as St. Nicholas stands next to one dressed as a Native American Indian. Children sing Martin Luther's hymn, "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"). A British Sunderland flying boat, takes off on the Havel River, in Berlin, after delivering supplies to the city. Grateful Berliners surrounding American pilots. Children run in a street carrying a large model of an airplane to simulate the Berlin airlift. Children playing "airlift" on a sidewalk. An airlift plane crashed and burning in a residential section of Berlin. German fire fighters battle the flames with hoses. A C-54 airlift plane descending to land with its gear extended. Scene at midnight, May 2, 1949, as the barriers isolating Berlin are raised, as the Soviets promised free and improved access to Berlin. People waving flowers as trucks once again move into the city. But Communists are seen violently storming the Greater Berlin City Hall in the Eastern Sector of the city. Non-Communist deputies in the Eastern Sector are forced to meet in West Berlin, where they meet without being molested. View of the Berlin Logo (Bear). Free election vote being deposited in a ballot box. Animated map shows how Berlin was cut in two, separating East Berlin from West Berlin.
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