Political scenario in Europe prior to World War I. Kaiser Wilhelm II reviews troops in Germany. The Kaiser on horseback followed by officers also on horseback. Emperor Franz Joseph in Austria. He is accompanied by a royal party. A dignitary in a horse driven carriage. German General Von Hindenberg reviews a parade in Berlin. Soldiers march. Cavalry units move in review.
Outbreak of World War I as a consequence of Archduke of Austria-Este Francis Ferdinand's assassination in Sarajevo. Troops gather in Germany on the bidding of Kaiser Wilhelm II. Soldiers leave Berlin. Soldiers of the Alexandria Regiment march. Family members bid farewell as new recruit soldiers board a railroad train and leave for a war front. Smiling soldiers. A huge crowd at a platform to bid farewell to the soldiers. The train carrying the soldiers pulls away.
(Audio only). Reporter John Charles Daly reports on US, British and German advance in Europe during World War II. News about Allied forces advancing to Berlin, Russian troops in Austria and war in Pacific. U.S. troops advance on Western Front, French troops in France and Allied Armies in Germany. Correspondent Burnett Winston reports from Supreme Allied Headquarters in Paris. British troops advance across Rhine, U.S. troops under command of General Bernard Montgomery advance. British troops enter into Holland.
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. Police monitor communist protestors in Italy, and then disperse a crowd of communists. 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 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.
Audio only. Nazi war leaders on trial in Nuremberg Germany. Coverage on how the charges will be grouped. The speaker focuses on three major issues: international situations and aspirations for expansion of Germany between 1943-1945; conquering of Austria and Czechoslovakia, and improvement of military and political positions.
Illuminated masses of Nazi swastika flags. Hitler speaking at outdoor event. Hitler evoking laughter in the Reichstag (Kroll Opera House), on April 28, 1939, as he reads aloud a long list of countries from Franklin Roosevelt's letter which Roosevelt asks Germany not to invade. Scene changes to a welcome parade on March 16, 1938 in Berlin after Hitler's return from Austria at the time of the Anschluss. Hitler and Hermann Goering walking along street in Berlin, reviewing German troops. Huge crowd of cheering German citizens packed tightly in the Wilhelmplatz to hear Hitler speak. Hitler and Goering on a balcony overlooking the crowd.