Excerpts of testimony by United States Under Secretary of State, George S. Messersmith, to the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) in Washington DC. Ambassador Messersmith raises his hand and is sworn in, and then seated beside his legal counsel, Norman M. Littell. Ambassador Messersmith gives testimony about Hans Eisler and Dorothy Thompson related to his own time in Berlin Germany in the 1930s on behalf of the U.S. State Department. He references his work with U.S. diplomat Sumner Welles. He says that he read the Eisler file to refresh his memory. He says that although they were not involved in the war at the time the responsibility on the State Department had increased. He talks about a case related to columnist Miss Thompson. He looks into his papers He talks about the time when he was posted in Berlin and Austria and she made a number of visits. He laughs. He tells about officers who showed prejudice in examining visa papers.
German officials surrender at the end of World War II. American and Russian troops meet near the river Elbe in Torgau Germany. United States General Reinhardt meets Soviet Army General Rusakov. Representatives of the German Army, wearing civilian clothing, sign a surrender document at Allied Mediterranean Headquarters in Italy, yielding Italy and Austria. W.D. Morgan signs for the Allies, on behalf of Supreme Mediterranean Commander Alexander. Massive American Flag raised to cover the giant swastika symbol at outdoor stadium in Nuremberg. Then in a later shot, the Nazi Swastika symbol is destroyed (blown-up) by American troops at the Nuremberg Stadium (Zeppelinfeld) in Germany.
Headlines in various New York and Belgian newspapers report the entry of Austria, Germany, Russia and Great Britain into the World War 1. A poster part of the recruitment campaign by Lord Kitchener, British Secretary of State for War. British troops in the streets of England, mobilize for the war. King George V, his son and uncle, inspect British troops. Turkey: The Sultan of Turkey and other military officials emerge from a building. The Sultan takes his seat in horse carriage and is driven away. Turkish troops at a port and soldiers seated in a ship. Belgium: Bombarded buildings and ruins in Louvain. People and soldiers on the street. People in carts on a road in search of new homes. Military officers study a map. Belgrade: Serbians bomb Belgrade. Soldiers fire artillery guns. Bomb explosions on a hill. British soldiers camp with French soldiers across the channel. Australian soldiers march ahead to join the war. Germany: Retired General Paul Von Hindenburg, commander of the Germans, and other military officers pose outside a building. The German emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II ascends from the sand dunes of Belgium to inspect his troops in a field. France: French soldiers on alert in trenches and bunkers, defend the borders of Paris. General Gallieni and his troops leave Paris for the front in taxicabs.
In a speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations, U.S. Secretary of State, George Marshall, refers to repeated vetoes by a permanent member of the Security Council. He discusses the post-war state of the world and the many matters yet to be resolved, including the independence of Austria, the Palestine issue, the matter of Korea, still divided along the 38th parallel, and status of nations in Eastern Europe, etc.
Mankind's earliest attempts at achieving heavier-than-air flight, and footage of early and historic flight and aircraft. Animated film clip showing imaginary rocket in flight. View from an airplane taking off with other aircraft and terminal buildings seen outside. A caption reading "We can fly." Views from airplane windows of scenes below, including a town, bodies of water, Alpine lodges, and snow-covered mountains. (Views are from a Ju52 passenger plane, the corrugated wings, of which are seen.) Some views are out of the small round port window of the airplane. Sequence shifts to film reenactment of Otto Lilienthal setting up one of his early ornithopter-like gliders (looks like early hang glider), and running downhill to launch it (circa 1895). A still photo of Lilienthal aloft in one of his gliders. View of German Karl Jatho's airplane, circa 1903. The American Wright brothers airplane being started and taking off. The Wright Flyer airplane in flight. The Voisin-Farman I airplane in flight. it was built by Frenchman Gabriel Voisin and flown by aviator Henri Farman in 1907. Danish inventor-engineer,Jacob Christian Hansen-Ellehammer, in his airplane, 1906. Louis Bleriot inspects his airplane, circa 1909. A pilot (not Bleriot) sits cockpit of a Bleriot airplane with engine running. He taxis and takes off.A biplane built by Gabriel Voisin in flight, circa 1909. A light monoplane built by German aviator,Hans Grade,takes off, flies a while, and lands again,at an air show in 1909. The pilot crawls out of the airplane.Photograph of The Etrich Taube (AKA Rumpler Taube) monoplane,in flight. It was designed in 1909 by Igo Etrich of Austria-Hungary, and first flown in 1910.
Chart shows USIA information endeavors to send information behind the "Iron Curtain," including libraries, films, newspapers, and broadcasts involved in anti-Communist propaganda during the Cold War. Other charts cite cooperation with private enterprise, including 750 groups, such as businesses, schools, etc. Illustration shows letters written by Americans to family and friends abroad that can inform them of the truth. Town and city affiliation program is shown, with the example of Montclair, New Jersey, in the United States, and its relationship with Graz, Austria. The Mayor of Graz is seen being honored at a dinner in Montclair. Chart illustrates program of salvaging and sending American magazines abroad.