German officials surrender at the end of World War II. American and Russian troops meet near the river Elbe in Torgau Germany. United States General Reinhardt meets Soviet Army General Rusakov. Representatives of the German Army, wearing civilian clothing, sign a surrender document at Allied Mediterranean Headquarters in Italy, yielding Italy and Austria. W.D. Morgan signs for the Allies, on behalf of Supreme Mediterranean Commander Alexander. Massive American Flag raised to cover the giant swastika symbol at outdoor stadium in Nuremberg. Then in a later shot, explosion is seen as the Nazi Swastika symbol is destroyed (blown-up) by American troops at the Zeppelinfeld stadium in Nuremberg, Germany.
Scenes at liberated concentration camps near end of World War 2 in Europe. A man opens crematory ovens at Buchenwald concentration camp. Heaps of bones and ashes. Sign of oven manufacturer: J A Topf and Sons, Erfurt, Germany. Men empty an oven of burned bones. View of instruments of torture in prison at Lublin, Poland (possibly part of Majdanek Concentration Camp in Lubin?) Victims of torture by Nazi German captors. Dead bodies of victims killed near fence at "schlachthaus" (slaughter house) in Leipzig Germany. Women look through fence at the dead. Bodies of victims who died attempting to flee burning barn. Local German citizens walk amongst the dead lying in concentration buildings and yards. German citizens are pressed into service loading the bodies of the dead on litters and into trucks. Concentration camp survivors are seen being given food and assistance. Two emaciated young victim survivors (they appear to be teenage boys) share a bowl of soup. German soldiers held as prisoners of war. German tribunal considers charges against Nazis. German citizens removing Nazi victims from mass grave. Bodies of the dead laid out on hillside. German citizens visit Buchenwald and see display of Nazi art and keepsakes created from human skin and bodies of victims.
German soldiers return to Germany following the end of World War 2 in Europe, and German civilians are expelled from Czechoslovakia. German soldiers are seen withdrawing from the area of the Czech-German border in the vicinity of Oelsnitz, Czechoslovakia and Pilsen, Germany. German soldiers, many of whom are very young, march down street. Soldiers move on bicycles, horse drawn carts and trucks on village street. Buildings in the background with advertisement in German.. Men ride in an automobile. View of German civilian women and children during forced expulsion of German civilians from the area. The German cilvians rest temporarily in a field. A German soldier shaves in the field. German civilians get into an army truck. Trees in the background. German truck convoy passes through town. Civilians on either side of street wave. They rest temporarily in a field. A soldier shaves in the field. Civilians get into an army truck. Trees in the background. German truck convoy passes through town. Civilians on either side of street wave.
Various views of Lieutenant colonel Creighton Abrams' 4th Armored Division M4A3E8 Sherman medium tank, "Thunderbolt VII," in Germany, near the end of World War 2, in Europe. Head-on view of the tank from roadbed, as it proceeds over the camera position. Several other views of the tank on dirt roads in Germany. An M5A1 light tank leads Abrams' tank in the last scene.
During mounting Berlin Crisis, view of map of Germany with separated East and West Germany. East Berlin refugees gathered and on streets with their luggage at Marienfeld Refugee Reception Center in West Berlin. They are among the last to escape East Berlin before the Soviets close the border. Refugees in queue to be processed entering West Berlin. Old woman refugee smiles as she helps a young boy drink from a cup. Refugees at airport with their children to be flown to other cities in West Germany. They board plane and it takes off. People at railway station to see off their relatives as they flee East Germany. East German soldiers digging emplacements in roadway near Brandenburg Gate to erect blockade (the beginning of what became the Berlin Wall). They unload a truck filled with poles. Soldiers wire the border. People watch soldiers running barbed wire enclosing East Berlin territory; the beginning of the Berlin Wall. Willy Brandt, mayor of West Berlin, with others on street. Communist soldiers on the closed border. A Russian soldier on the East side of the road divided with barbed wire fence. Tanks and people on road.
Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini visits Munich, Germany. Flags of Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy hang in the streets of Munich. Nazi flags hung from buildings. A Bundesadler eagle metal plate adorns a wall. Cars move along the roads. Italian leader Benito Mussolini arrives at Munich Central Station (München Hauptbahnhof, Bayerstraße 10A, 80335 München, Germany). He shakes hands with Adolf Hitler. Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler walk on the railway platform, the officers follow them. Military troops in formation on the platform. The two Axis leaders review formations of soldiers and sailors as military brass band plays the German and Italian national anthems (“Marcia Reale Italiana” and “Deutschlandlied”). Spectators line the streets. Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler enter open cars. Nazi banners and decorations adorn the Munich New Torn Hall and Marienplatz (Marienplatz 8, 80331 München, Germany). Hitler and Mussolini in Marienplatz. Crowds cheer and wave, as their cars drive down the streets of Munich, which are festooned with Nazi and Italian banners.
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