German occupation of Austria prior to World War II (Anschluss). German soldiers march in formation on the streets of Berlin, Germany. Buildings along the sides. German citizens cheer. Soldiers march. German flags on buildings. A band marches. People wave German flags. People look at the soldiers from the balconies and the windows of buildings. Soldiers march in formation near the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column. Scene shifts showing German troops marching out from entrance of Hauptbahnhof Berlin (Central railroad station).
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 I 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. 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.
Activities of United States Army Air Force 354th Figher Group at an airfield in Ansbach Germany after Victory in Europe during World War 2. United States airmen stand around a damaged German FW-190 aircraft at airfield in Ansbach Germany. The aircraft has just been belly landed without landing gear by U.S. Lt. Bruce Carr who had taken it from a German airfield near Linz, Austria. American pilot Bruce Carr is seen beside the damaged aircraft talking with fellow airmen who have gathered. He is seen shrugging his shoulders. View shifts to another FW-190 taxiing. In the cockpit is 1st Lt. Fred Fehsenfeld of the 353rd FS. He taxis on the airstrip and parks the aircraft. U.S. airmen crowd around the airplane as Fehsenfeld climbs out of the cockpit, onto the wing. American airmen examine several German FW-190 fighter airplanes, reviewing the aircraft in detail. They are seen looking in cockpits, examining pitot tube, looking at damaged tail wheel, and trying to turn the propeller of one. A U.S. P-47 fighter airplane lands at the airfield. Mountains seen in the background.