Marshal Joffre presides at a celebration in honor of Mr Edward Shearson, American philanthropist and Chairman of the American Committee of the Fatherless Children of France. Marshal Joffre is seen at a party held by the committee of Fraternite Franco-Americaine, where he was present to thank the children of America for aiding orphan children of France in World War I. Joffre stands with William Graves Sharp, American Ambassador to France, who holds a glass in hand. Joffre talks to the people in the party. Also present at the party: Captain Charles Carroll of Carrollton Maryland, from the American Red Cross; Admiral Fournier, Andre Tardieu, French High Commissioner to the United States; Louis LaFerre, French Minister of Public Instruction.
Aerials of Paris, France shortly after end of World War I. President Wilson and other American VIPs arrive at Place de la Concorde. Crowd cheering. Behind the crowd is the Rue Royale and the Church of the Madeleine (Pl. de la Madeleine, 75008 Paris, France). On the left is the Hotel de Crillon (10 Pl. de la Concorde, 75008 Paris, France). A large crowd at Concorde square. View of Obelisk and fountain. A procession of horse-drawn carriages, cars, and troops on horseback pass through road and crowd lined up on sidewalks.
A contingent of German army troops marches loosely along road at Champ de Mars, during World War 2, as music of a fife and drum corps plays in the background. The Eiffel Tower looms in the mist. Some soldiers on bicycles bring up the rear. View shifts to the Champs Elysees, with Arc de Triomphe (Pl. Charles de Gaulle, 75008 Paris, France) dominating the empty street. German military cars move along one edge of the road. Camera moves closer to the Arch. Suddenly there is a flashback to the 1939 Bastille Day parade, in Paris, showing British Grenadier Guards in dress uniforms with bearskin hats, parading on the Champs Elysees, along with French colonial Tirailleurs Sénégalais (Senegalese Riflemen), French Sailors, and French infantry. Then, from a high point overlooking the parade, vehicles are seen pulling artillery along the Champs Elysees. Back at street level, French Renault UE Chenillette tankettes drive in the parade, followed by a formation of Panhard AMD armored cars. Film cuts back again to a year later (1940) with German occupation troops marching past the Arc de Triomphe. As the German troops pass, camera focuses briefly on German Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) Fedor von Bock, Commander of Army Group B, reviewing the troops from the sidelines with another German general. View from Eiffel Tower of spectators and column of German troops below. Closeup of German officer on horseback, leading contingent of troops. Marshal von Bock, saluting. Closeups of parading troops. Aerial view looking down on the city of Paris, with Arc de Triomphe near center of the view. German artillerymen towing guns and caissons by means of horses. Ground views of the Arc de Triomphe, and Eiffel Tower. German troops riding on horse-drawn wagons, towing field artillery at the Place de la Concorde. The French Naval Ministry building (Hôtel de la Marine, 2 Pl. de la Concorde, 75008 Paris, France) seen behind them. More horses with troops, and artillery. Grim-faced Parisians watching from sidewalks. German sentries standing guard at the Hôtel des Invalides (Hôtel de la Marine, 2 Pl. de la Concorde, 75008 Paris, France), where the narrator notes, Napoleon is buried. French policemen talking with a German soldier, as they consult a map. German troops proceeding down the side of a commercial district street. Two French women smiling as they realize the camera is focused on them. Cheerful German soldiers marching informally, along a French countryside road, with a German marching chorus song heard singing in the background.
Industrial scenes in America with a factory with smoke from chimneys, a steel factory in operation, views of the tops of railroad train coal cars filled with coal. Secretary of State George Marshall speaks about providing European countries with material and money (Marshall Plan). He is seen speaking to legislators in Washington DC on November 10, 1947, asking for funds for Austria, Italy, and France "to provide the supplies necessary to permit the people of these countries to continue to eat, to work, and to survive the winter." Truman signs an interim aid bill, S 1774 on December 17, 1947. View of Eiffel Tower in Paris and communists marching and demonstrating in France. Communist demonstrations across Europe. French police monitor communist protestors in France and then disperse a crowd of communists. Narrator notes of similar communist demonstrations in Italy. Winston Churchill arrives for peace conference meeting of the Big Four foreign ministers in London in December 1947. Vyascheslav Molotov attends the conference. George Marshall talks with Molotov. View of the Friendship Train railroad train in the United States approaching on railway tracks during its tour. Also a view of the 1947 special exhibit Freedom Train traveling. Citizens board the Freedom Train at one of its train station stops, to view artifacts and exhibits about American democracy, including a 1823 facsimile of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. Exterior view of U.S. Supreme Court building. Statues at the Supreme Court building. The base is inscribed 'The Heritage of the Past is the Seed that Brings Forth the Harvest of the Future'. A group of American boys and girls are seen reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. A larger group of children reciting the pledge of Allegiance (from before the 1950s when "under God" was added) and viewing an American flag fluttering in the wind. View of Mount Rushmore National Memorial, and then another view from the top of the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court building looking outward.
Alternating World War 2 footage and dramatized scenes with actors. German Luftwaffe bombers destroying French cities. Invasion of France by Germany. Burning buildings and debris in French cities during 1940 invasion. Hitler viewing Eiffel Tower while visiting Paris in June 1940 after occupation. German flag atop Eiffel Tower. Allied fighter aircraft shot down, pilot ejects and parachutes to ground as aircraft crashes with explosion. Pilot landing in parachute, gathering and hiding parachute. Actors conversation segment. Footage of sad looking and defeated French soldiers marching in streets of France under occupying German guard, as depressed French citizens look on. French General Philippe Petain at desk delivering speech that calls for collaboration with Germans. Close ups of sad and crying French men, women, and children in streets of France suffering war and occupation. Petain salutes soldiers during a parade after he abolishes representative government. Petain speaks from podium to gathered soldiers. View of French General Charles De Gaulle, in Britain, calling for continued French resistance and speaking to French officers on a warship. Actor dialog segment. Footage of Petain visiting Hitler. They shake hands while photographers record the meeting. Actor segments. Footage of Free French forces training and marching in various cities. Free French soldier receives machine gun training. French officer training in Russia at a Soviet recognition ceremony. French soldiers carry railroad ties and discuss over a map. RAF spitfires in flight. Sign at training camp "French Air Force Squadron. Flexible Gunnery School." Allied naval ships at sea; close views of ship guns. Smoke rises from French ship fleet scuttled at Toulon November 27, 1942. Mobilized French citizens receiving rifle training. Free French Army encampment with French flag raising ceremony. French citizens gather to read posted German notices. Parade celebrating liberation of Paris in World War II. Happy French citizens smile and cheer French, American, and Soviet allies marching in Paris.
Parisians react to the assassination of French Socialist leader and outspoken war critic Jean Jaurès by Raoul Villain in France at the onset of World War 1. Throngs of people grab newspapers from vendors in Paris. The Le Petit Parisien front page announcing the declaration of war by Germany against France and the French decree to mobilize troops, with the headline, "La France décrète la mobilisation...." Crowds in Paris reacting to news. Reservists in civilian clothing, one with a child on his back, and uniformed soldiers, holding Lebel Model 1886 rifles with small French flags sticking out of their muzzles, marching in Paris. Aerial view of crowds of military-age men march to the Bureau Militaire to report for mobilization. French Bureau Militaire signs directing inductees. French reservists depart Paris by train, possibly from Gare du Nord train station. Enlisted Frenchmen waving good-bye from a moving train.
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