A prelude to the entry of United States in World War II, from the "Why We Fight" series. U.S. Army band marching along with the troops. The bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese during World War II. Night view of air raids in London and anti-aircraft fire amid British building silhouettes. British buildings collapsing and burning during blitz in Battle of Britain. Cavalry and tank battles in Russia against Nazi German forces. Montage of quick shots of German Panzer tank and German Luftwaffe aircraft operations in Western Europe. German troops marching through Paris at Arc de Triomphe. German heavy rail guns firing. Dead bodies of Japanese bombing victims lying on the street in China. German navy ships underway at sea. German army forces advancing in invasion of Czechoslovakia. Very low flying German trimotor bomber aircraft passing overhead over treeline. German invasion of Poland. German heavy artillery guns and railway guns firing. Fighter aircraft plunging toward ground and crashing. German paratroopers being dropped over Holland, Netherlands in invasion of Netherlands. Aerial views of German aircraft passing by Parthenon and ancient Greek monuments in Greece. More heavy rail gun shots. Germans invading Belgium, Albania, Yugoslavia.
A film on the reconstruction of Europe after World War II. Empty fields marking the site of Lidice, Czechoslovakia. Women survivors of the Lidice who had been sent to concentration camps. They place wreaths on the common grave of the people who were killed at Lidice. View of a lineup of captured Nazi SS soldiers and officers involved in the destruction of Lidice. Packed courtrooms at Nuremberg, Germany with German Nazi leadership present at Nuremberg Trial. Rubble and destroyed bombed-out Reichstag building in Berlin. Debris on the street. Past events show German Chancellor Adolf Hitler addresses people and talks about the destruction of other cities. Ruins of buildings from war. A wrecked bridge and burned out fields of a farm from World War 2.
Officials sign the Munich Pact in Munich, Germany, permitting Nazi German annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland. British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in Munich along with German officers. French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier speaks to a German officer. German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini enter a building. The officials sign the Munich Agreement.
Leaders of different nation meet U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House in Washington DC, United States. An honor guard at the White House. President of Czechoslovakia Edvard Beneš arrives. U.S. Secretary of State Cordell Hull greets him. Beneš greets President Roosevelt and his daughter in the White House. Beneš talks to Roosevelt. Cars pull up at the White House. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Roosevelt seated in a car as they confer about World War II.
The Olympic Games in Helsinki, Finland. Flags of different countries displayed in a stadium during the Helsinki Olympics. Men taking part in a marathon start the event. A huge crowd gathered in the stands cheer for the men. Officials seated in the stands applaud. A man holds a board which reads '25 km'. Czechoslovakia's Emil Zatopek leads the event. People on the sides of the road cheer. The Czechoslovakian running on tracks in the stadium. Emil Zatopek finishes the 26-mile run creating a new record. Photographers take pictures. The crowd in the stands. Women's 400 meter relay event begins. United States team wins creating a new record with a score of 45.9 seconds. The relay team of four girls dances with glee. Men's 1500 meter track event begins. The crowd in the stands is applauding. Luxembourg's Joseph Barthel overcomes American Macmillan winning the country's first gold medal. Joseph Barthel cries standing on the winner's stand.
An Allied propaganda film to solidify Anglo-American solidarity within the ranks as well as to counter Nazi propaganda aimed at weakening the alliance shows British soldiers in Great Britain during World War 2. 1938: in the United States New York Yankees win the pennant in baseball; scene of Yankees team members shaking hands. View of aviator Douglas Corrigan nicknamed Wrong Way Corrigan after his accidental flight from New York to Ireland instead of California as planned. View of trains on the 6th Avenue Elevated (or Sixth Avenue El) before that service was halted in Manhattan New York City. British citizens go about their daily life. Derby horse race in a stadium. A British boy and his father shovel dirt for a backyard garden. Players play a football (soccer) game at Wembley Stadium in England as spectators cheer the 1938 FA Cup Final with Preston North End taking the Cup versus Huddersfield Town as George Mutch scores the winning goal. Scenes in Germany: People cheer for German Chancellor Adolf Hitler and give Nazi salute. Newspaper headlines about Czech occupation. Graves in a cemetery. British Prime Minister Arthur Neville Chamberlain, Adolf Hitler Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini sign the Munich Agreement. Despite a peace agreement Hitler invades Czechoslovakia. People read 'Military Training Act, 1939'. British soldiers march along a road. View of Adolf Hitler smiling and laughing. Artillery is fired. A poster reads 'Britain Declares War on Germany'. Airplanes in flight and drop leaflets over Germany. German airplanes in flight. Parachutists jump from the airplanes. Hitler talks to officers and considers the war to be over. Radio news broadcast of the British declaration of war on Germany by Neville Chamberlain. Many different British citizens and families shown in living rooms and work places gathered around radios to listen to the so called "We shall fight on the beaches" speech of Winston Churchill on June 4, 1940. Clip includes scenes from 1938 through 1940; from a film produced in 1943.
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