Special report about State of Union Message by U.S. President Richard M Nixon to the Congress in Washington DC. President Nixon addresses the congress from the podium. Vice President Spiro Agnew and the Congress Speaker sit on seats behind podium President Nixon speaks about the Korean and Vietnam Wars and America's foreign policies. Congressmen including former Vice President Hubert Humphrey applaud. He stresses need for peaceful US-Soviet relations and relations with the People's Republic of China.
United States and Soviet Union soldiers celebrate their victory as world War 2 comes to an end in Germany. "Elbe Day": Soviet and American soldiers meet at the River Elbe on 25-26 April, 1945. View of Nazi swastika being blown up at Zeppelinfeld in Nuremberg Germany in 1945. Scenes of celebration in the streets of Paris with French civilians cheering American and French soldiers and celebrating the end of World War 2. French women kiss soldiers. Crowd gathered in Times Square in New York celebrating VE-Day (Victory in Europe Day). Foreign Ministers of fifty nations arrive at San Francisco to sign the United Nations Charter. United States President Harry S. Truman addresses the delegates at the closing ceremony of the conference on June 26, 1946. Ships bring American soldiers back home, including some wounded, after World War 2. Women and families on dock at harbor wave and smile at arriving troop ship with American soldiers returning home. Also seen are soldiers of other countries including Soviet Russian soldiers returning to their families at a train station, with smiling and tearful family reunions. Cemeteries with headstones honoring soldiers who died in the war. Military hardware being scrapped to make peacetime goods. Views of explosive charges being set and military aircraft being blown up for scrap. Piles of scrapped military vehicles. A woman in a factory organizes newly manufactured clothes irons. Workers in a factory perform final assembly on newly manufactured ovens and stoves for homes.
Soviet tanks and other military weapons being displayed at a parade in Moscow. Flags of Soviet Union, United States, and United Kingdom fly outside the site of the Potsdam conference. President Harry S. Truman of United States greeted by Andrei Vishinsky, along with British Prime Minister Clement Attlee. Charles Bohlen is seen. Truman shakes hands with Stalin. Attlee, Truman, and Stalin pose for picture. View of Soviet newsstand showing "New Times" publication in various languages, including English. Poster of Stalin at the newsstand.
Film opens with a map of Europe showing black-shaded region of the Soviet Union, and pointing out Germany and Finland. Next, are shown moving images of rural buildings on fire in Finland, late in 1939, during the Russo-Finish war (or "Winter War"). (The Narrator comments that Finland's population was only 4 million while that of the soviets was 180 million.) Soviet bombers are seen high in the sky. A lone woman hurries along a street in Helsinki, Finland, past rubble of a bombed building. Smoke rises in the background. Finnish fire fighters man a hose to fight numerous huge fires in Helsinki.Various views of fires blazing in the capital.
Events surrounding the surrender of Japan during World War II. Scene from the Potsdam Conference meeting. Group of dignitaries together including Clement Attlee, Harry Truman, and Joseph Stalin. U.S. President Harry S. Truman and the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, in discussion. A parade in Moscow showing Soviet military might (these scenes are from the May 1, 1945 May Day parade just before Germany's surrender). Scene changes to Japanese Emperor Hirohito riding on a white horse in a procession. Next scene shows dignitaries arriving for meeting at the White House in Washington D.C. U.S. Secretary of War Henry Stimson, Secretary of State James Byrnes and Secretary of Navy James Forrestal meet at the White House. Close up view of Secretary Forrestal. View of President Truman with his cabinet in a meeting. Scenes from prior months showing dignitaries involved in the war: Close up of the late President Franklin Roosevelt. A scene of President Roosevelt shaking hands with several Soviet military officers. General Douglas MacArthur seated and talking to President Roosevelt. Close up view of Chairman of Nationalist Government of China, Chiang Kai Shek. View of U.S. Navy Admiral Chester Nimitz shaking hands with a sailor. Views of President Truman meeting in emergency session with his cabinet, and his announcement of the Japanese surrender. View of former Secretary Hull at that meeting. President Truman standing as he reads from a bulletin confirming the Japanese acceptance of the terms of the Potsdam Agreement and their agreement to unconditional surrender. View of media, press, and newsmen running from the White House to file the happy news story. New Yorkers rejoice at the end of war. Daytime scenes of happy, jubilant celebrations on Victory over Japan day, or V-J Day, in the Times Square area of New York City. Crowds cheering, people dancing, soldiers, sailors, and citizens waving hands and American flags. A neon sign with message "Japs Surrender". View of night time celebrations at Times Square as the crowd continues to celebrate VJ Day.
Opening scenes show people of East Germany escaping from the Soviet-controlled zone, to the West, through forests. Whole families are seen carrying whatever they could in back packs and suitcases. Early in Korean War period: An animated map is inserted showing a map centered on Korea, with the 38th Parallel dividing Communist North Korea from South Korea. View of a line scratched in a dirt road, designating the 38th Parallel, leading to a temporary border with guard post, established for administrative purposes. View of Ducksoo Palace, in Seoul, Korea, headquarters of the United Nations (UN) Commission on Korea. Diplomats inside its chambers, trying (in vain) to negotiate the withdrawal of Soviet forces from North Korea. United States troops are seen evacuating from South Korea, after the establishment of the Republic of Korea. Carrying duffel bags and all their gear, they board trains to evacuation ports. General scenes of landscape and South Korean people going about their normal activities, under the new government. Smoke rising from surprise attacks by North Korea against the South. Republic of Korea (ROK) troops march to defend against the North's aggression. ROK troops in trucks and trenches fire small arms against the invaders. Huge numbers of refugees are shown fleeing the North. Soldiers raise international flags at the headquarters of the United Nations, in Lake Success, Long Island, New York. Inside, diplomats meet to deal with the crisis. View of empty place at the table labeled "Union of Soviet Socialist Republics." Warren Robinson Austin, U.S. Ambassador to the UN is seen as well as other UN representatives. (Narrator states that after its cease fire order had been ignored by the Communists, the Security Council voted for united military action against the aggressor, and provided for a unified command of United Nations forces.) View of the delegates voting with raised hands. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur is seen receiving the first UN battle flag. Aerial views of the Port of Pusan, Korea. The U.S. Navy transport ship, USS Pickaway (APA-222) is seen being moved by tug boats in the port. View of the troop ship loaded with American troops headed to the port of Pusan, Korea. Color guards waving flags of the UN, the U.S. and the Republic of Korea, as they lead a military brass band marching along the pier. Change of scene to American troops marching along opposite sides of a road in Korea, as jeeps drive in the middle. Troops, including ROK soldiers, engage North Koreans with small arms, mortars, machine guns and artillery field pieces. Back in America, troops parade along Constitution Avenue in Washington DC, with capitol building seen in background. American soldiers boarding a train. Camera focuses on shoulder emblem of a Canadian officer boarding a train and then shows Canadians marching to a port of embarkation. Turkish troops pass in review on their way to Korea. Troops of the Netherlands on the march. Australian troops assembled before sailing to Korea. Swedish doctors and nurses boarding a ship to Korea, where they will set up hospitals to treat the wounded. British sailors boarding ships for action in Korean waters. Glimpse of a British Colossus class aircraft carrier, underway in Korean waters. Views of other UN forces headed to Korea. The UN General Assembly building in Lake Success, Long Island, New York. View of delegates inside the building. Film ends showing a rotating globe of the world, with flags of Nations participating in UN actions in Korea, being shown as the globe passes their respective countries.
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