Scenes from German invasion of Poland. In the nighttime, Polish soldiers are seen marching out of their fortifications. (Narrator states that 130 thousand have fallen.) German soldiers search the Polish troops. A Polish soldier plays an accordian while another plays the saxaphone. Germans allow Polish railroad workers and firemen to proceed to their jobs. German soldiers escort Polish workers to begin salvage and repairs of bomb damage. Views of utter devastation, with nothing but skeletons of structures remaining and rubble everywhere. Huge numbers of Polish people assembled in an open city square, obtaining rations of food from the German Army.
Polish officers leave and German officers enter the Polish military headquarters in Warsaw, Poland. German soldiers take up guard positions, following the invasion of Poland and surrender of Warsaw in World War 2. German officers look over surrendering Polish officers. German troops formally parading into and occupying Warsaw, led by German officers on horseback, followed by mounted troops pulling field artillery pieces. They pass the equestrian statue of Prince Józef standing before the Polish General Staff building (the Saxon Palace). Large numbers of Polish troops and wagons assembled under German guard, in an open field. An Honor Guard of three goose-stepping German soldiers leads a parade of goose-stepping German troops into the city. Adolf Hitler reviews the troops as they march. Major general (generalleutnant) Kurt von Briesen, Commander of the German 30th Infantry Division, is seen briefly with Hitler. The parade continues with German artillery and tanks. Luftwaffe bombers fly in formation overhead.
Chief of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), Hermann Goering, extols the capabilities and contributions of the Luftwaffe to German conquests, mentioning Poland, and France. As he speaks, a German Henschel Hs 126 observation plane is shown, followed by shots of a Messerschmitt Me-109 and formations of them flying amongst clouds, A German antiaircraft emplacement on a parapet high above a river. A lone German sentry patroling a beach and a flight of Me-109s flying low over his head. View from nose of a German bomber flying low over water. German Dornier Do-17 bombers penetrating a coastline. Pilots and gunner in bombers. Formation of Heinkel He-111 bombers in flight. Animation shows British mainland from perspective of a dive bomber heading toward the ground. Sequence finishes with explosion. Throughout the last half of the clip, a male chorus is heard singing the Luftwaffe's unofficial anthem, "Bomben auf Engelland," (Bombs on England) by Norbert Schultze (Norbert Arnold Wilhelm Richard Schultze).
World War 2. Britain (United Kingdom) and France declare war on Germany. German infantry carrying Panzerschreck antitank weapons. British troops mobilizing for war. Sign reads "A Call to Arms." Groups of new recruit British soldiers marching in large columns, including soldiers from Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. British Queen Elizabeth class battleship with other warships. Animated map showing units of British fleet blockading Germany at Suez, Malta, Gibralter, the English Channel,and the North Sea. Adolf Hitler and German General staff make war plans. Animated map shows European countries around Germany. Ice skaters near Windmills in Holland. Farmers harvest grain. Bicyclists in Netherlands. Radio towers broadcast Nazi propaganda. Joseph Goebbels. Hitler denying intent to harm other countries. German military planners identify Norway as a target. Map shows German U-boats using Norwegian fjords. Map shows British fleet at Scapa Flow, and blockading ships in range from Norway. April 9, 1940, German army enters Copenhagen as Danes watch. German freighters in Norwegian ports smuggle troops and war materiel. German warships proceeding up Norwegian fjords, carrying troops and equipment. German Ju-87 and Ju-88 bombers and Me 109 aircraft in flight. Ju-88 over treetops. Junkers Ju-52 trimotor aircraft carrying German soldiers. Quislings seize power in Norway. View of Vidkun Quisling. Nazi posting up rules for citizen residents of Oslo Norway.
Crowd outside Madison Square Garden in New York City. Police on horseback controlling crowd of 50,000 Communist Party rally attendees protesting unemployment during the Great Depression. Earl Browder on speakers platform. View of large crowd marching ahead and policemen trying to break demonstrations. One sign in crowd shows caricature of Hitler (in early days of World War 2).
Group of Sharecropper farmers enters church in a rural town. View of church bell beside a simple, small wooden church building. Scenes of the church parisioners entering and leaving the church. Interiors of the church. Men and women seated. Preacher reads and speaks to congregation. Men and women listen to preacher and stand.
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