Scenes of pre-World-War-1 Berlin, Germany. Brief film opens showing a German man singing onstage. The background is a painted depiction of an artistic interior in a home. Next, two Vaudevillians (Varietemitglied) are seen onstage, exchanging quips. The backdrop is a painted cityscape. Next, a small boy and small girl are seen on a city street, near an organ grinder. They dance to his music. View of the ancient Jungfernbruecke bascule bridge (drawbridge) in Mitte district, Berlin. This is a manually operated drawbridge, It spans the Spreekanal and connects the streets Friedrichsgracht and Oberwasserstraße. It was built during the time of Frederick I , of the Hohenzollern dynasty. A man walking across the bridge, and views of buildings and several local residents, in the vicinity.of the bridge. Glimpse of a woman and man conversing in a cafe.
Russian cavalry demonstrating a charge during their advance on Prezemysl, Galicia, Austria, (present-day Poland) during World War I. The officers wield sabers and a number of the cavalry carry lances.
Mobilization and deployment of the German Army from Berlin, Germany for World War I. The Bismarck Memorial in front of the Reichstag building. Cheering crowd in front of the building. Officers unload supplies from a cart. German officers hand over the supply packs to newly recruited soldiers. A band plays. Mobilized soldiers stand in formation. The soldiers march. Officers on horses review the troops.
The mobilization and deployment of the German Army early in World War I. German soldiers stand with baggage and supplies. Horse drawn carts loaded with supplies. Garlanded trucks leave Berlin carrying newly recruited soldiers. Officers on horses and horse drawn carts ride past a cheering crowd. The soldiers on a railroad station before leaving for war. The cavalry march. German soldiers wave to their relatives from a train before departing for war front. People on platform and the band playing. Verdun : Supplies on rail road cars. Soldiers near a train.
Miss Helen Keller's development of the sense of touch to understand what is being said to her. Helen Adams Keller (first deaf blind person to graduate from college) feels the lips of Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan. Miss Keller's teacher Miss Anne Sullivan Macy in the background.
French generals converse over plans during World War I. French soldiers march during a parade. WWI propaganda shows a forlorn woman holding a sign saying “France”. In front of flames, a caricatured, fat German general sneers at Marianne, the personification of France. Marianne showing her wrists with chained handcuffs. French soldiers marching triumphantly upon their departure to defend Belgium upon German invasion. French infantry marching, ride in horse carts to the battlefields. French soldiers, animals, supplies, and artillery cross a floating pontoon bridge. Teams of white oxen pull French artillery into Belgium. French soldiers fire artillery cannon. Explosion from artillery fire in the field, with cavalry charging.