Die Deutsche Wochenschau – Newsreel No. 657, 7 April 1943

1. Germany.

 

A short newsreel entitled ‘The Reichsmarschall’s Division’.

 

– Soldiers from the division march through the gates of the barracks in the Reinickedorf district of Berlin.

 

– The gate bears the inscription: ‘General Hermann Göring’s Division’.

 

– Soldiers and officers.

 

– A view of the barracks and officers’ quarters.

 

– A close-up of an armband bearing the division’s name.

 

– Hermann Göring inspects the division, walking past the ranks of soldiers.

 

– Soldiers standing by self-propelled guns and armoured vehicles.

 

– Artillerymen demonstrate the operation of an anti-tank gun.

 

– Boarding the vehicles.

 

– Division manoeuvres at the training ground.

 

– Soldiers board half-track vehicles equipped with light anti-aircraft guns.

 

– Motorcyclists and self-propelled guns travel along the road.

 

– Soldiers cross the river in a boat.

 

– They fire machine guns, mortars and flamethrowers.

 

– Tanks are firing.

 

– Explosions in the countryside.

 

– A tank crewman in a tank.

 

– A tank crewman addresses German youths on screen, urging them to enlist in their division.

2. General Government, Breslau.

 

The funeral in his homeland of Hans Adolf von Moltke, a prominent figure in foreign policy and German Ambassador to Madrid.

 

– The coffin, draped with a flag bearing the swastika.

 

– A wreath from the Spanish Ambassador and from Caudillo Franco.

 

– German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop at the funeral; in the background, the Gauleiter of Lower Silesia, Karl Hanke.

 

– Laying of a wreath on behalf of the Führer.

 

3. Germany.

 

Berlin.

 

A memorial service for one of the leading figures in the German sports movement, the first Reich Sports Führer Hans von Tschammer und Osten (25 March 1943), in the Mosaic Hall of the Reich Chancellery.

 

– Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels delivers a speech.

 

– A wreath is laid on behalf of the Ministry of Propaganda.

 

– The coffin with wreaths, including one from the Finnish Olympic Committee, representatives from Hungary and Denmark, and one from Göring.

 

– In the hall, amongst the public, are Reichsleiter Wilhelm Frick and Reichsleiter Alfred Rosenberg.

 

– A funeral procession through the streets of Berlin.

 

– The coffin on a gun carriage at the Brandenburg Gate.

 

4. France.

 

The arrival of the German submarine U-177 at its home port after completing a combat mission.

 

– Sailors on the shore watch the approaching submarine.

 

– The submarine’s commander, recipient of the Knight’s Cross, Lieutenant Commander Gerhard Bilig.

 

– Fellow submariners greet their comrades-in-arms.

 

– Loading torpedoes, ammunition and provisions onto the submarine; refuelling.

 

– A submarine on a new patrol in the Atlantic.

 

– An observer.

 

– A newsreader reporting on the successes of the German submarine fleet.

 

5. Germany.

 

Adolf Hitler’s residence.

 

– The Führer receives Italian General Italo Gariboldi, commander of the Italian forces on the Eastern Front.

 

– The General is presented with a German decoration – the Knight’s Cross.

 

6. The Eastern Front.

 

The Lake Ladoga area.

 

– German soldiers travelling on a cart.

 

– In the forest.

 

– German Lieutenant-General Johann Zinnhuber, commander of the 28th Jäger Division, inspects an artillery position.

 

– Lieutenant-General Johann Zinnhuber talks to soldiers and officers.

 

– Wire entanglements being erected on the banks of the Neva.

 

– The shelling of Soviet positions begins.

 

– A firefight between Soviet artillery and German tanks.

 

– Soldiers run for cover.

 

– A fire is being extinguished in a German dugout.

 

– Soviet attempts to break through the German line between Lake Ladoga and Lake Ilmen are repelled.

 

– German artillery, a machine gun and light guns are firing.

 

– Soldiers are being awarded the Iron Cross.

 

– Grenadiers turn their camouflage jackets inside out, from the light side to the dark side.

 

– Tanks and infantry advance to the front-line positions.

 

– German infantrymen follow a tank.

 

– A tank fires on a Soviet bunker.

 

– The Germans are on the attack.

 

– A wounded man is being carried away.

 

– A tank and infantrymen advance.

 

– A destroyed Soviet bunker, the bodies of Soviet soldiers, and destroyed military equipment.

 

– A Soviet soldier is spotted in cover.

 

– Prisoners of war.

 

– A moment of calm.

 

– German soldiers are eating and smoking.

 

– The infantry continue their advance.

 

– A firefight in the woods.

 

– A Soviet soldier surrenders.

 

– A German fires a machine gun from cover.

 

– Soldiers with submachine guns.

 

– German artillery shells Soviet positions.

 

– A Soviet air raid on a German battery; bombs exploding.

 

– German anti-aircraft gunners fire at Soviet aircraft.

 

– A burning Soviet aircraft crashes to the ground.

 

– German aircraft at the airfield. ‘Junkers’ take to the air.

 

– A scene from an aerial battle.

 

– German artillery fires on Soviet positions.

Die Deutsche Wochenschau – Newsreel No. 655, 24 March 1943

1. Germany.

 

A day of mourning in Berlin, dedicated to the memory of soldiers who fell on the Eastern Front.

 

– The Führer arrives at the Arsenal building, where he is met by Göring.

 

– Adolf Hitler steps out of the car and greets Field Marshal Keitel, Rear Admiral Dönitz, Reichsführer-SS Himmler, Field Marshal von Bock and Field Marshal Milch.

 

– A solemn gathering.

 

– Adolf Hitler, Göring, Keitel and others are seated.

 

– A symphony orchestra performs Beethoven’s 7th Symphony.

 

– Adolf Hitler’s speech (narrated by the commentator) on the treacherous plans of Bolshevism and the merits of German soldiers.

 

– The Führer leaves the Arsenal building; on the steps, the Commandant of Berlin, Lieutenant General Paul von Hase, approaches him with a report.

 

– On the right flank, a guard of honour with 30 banners of the old army and navy and 30 new Wehrmacht banners.

 

– A military parade, with the Führer inspecting the ranks of soldiers and sailors.

 

– Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring.

 

– Adolf Hitler visits the pantheon tomb of the fallen heroes.

 

– Four recipients of the Knight’s Cross lay a wreath on behalf of the Führer in the pantheon.

 

– Bowed banners.

 

– Berliners with their arms outstretched in the German salute.

 

– The Führer greets the wounded and disabled veterans of the First and Second World Wars, shaking hands and speaking with them.

 

– Disabled veterans in wheelchairs.

 

– The ceremonial march of the honour guard company.

 

– Standard-bearers.

 

– Weapons of the Wehrmacht and sailors marching past.

 

– Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring reviewing the parade.

 

2. The Atlantic.

 

A German submarine in the northern part of the ocean during a storm.

 

– This submarine belongs to a flotilla deployed against a large British transport convoy.

 

– The crew on deck in waterproof overalls.

 

– Huge waves.

 

– The lookout.

 

– Alarm on the submarine.

 

– The crew take up their positions according to the battle station order.

 

– The crew’s actions.

 

– Diving.

 

– The commander observes through the periscope.

 

– The periscope is retracted.

 

– The submarine evades the enemy destroyer.

 

– A depth charge explosion.

 

– Damage to the electrical wiring.

 

– Assessing the damage.

 

– Restoring the electrical system.

 

– The commander at the periscope.

 

– The submarine fires a torpedo.

 

– The submarine surfaces.

 

– The sinking of an enemy vessel.

 

– A German submarine.

 

– The sinking of an enemy vessel.

 

3. Greece.

 

The deployment of additional Wehrmacht units to Greece.

 

– German tanks on the streets of Athens.

 

– Tanks.

 

– Artillery.

 

– Tanks and other military equipment being loaded for dispatch to the islands.

 

– A naval transport ship sets sail for the island of Crete.

 

– Escort destroyers.

 

– A German convoy at sea.

 

4. Crete.

 

A view of the island.

 

– Construction of coastal defences.

 

– A German artillery battery.

 

– An airfield.

 

– Pilots boarding an aeroplane.

 

– Aeroplanes taking off.

 

5. The USSR. The Battle of Kharkiv.

 

Tanks and motorised units of the Waffen-SS advance through the snow towards Kharkiv, where the Bolsheviks have taken up defensive positions.

 

– Tanks and motorised infantry launch an attack on one of the settlements near Kharkiv.

 

– A firefight ensues with Soviet troops.

 

– Tanks advance.

 

– Infantrymen carrying the German flag.

 

– A motorcyclist rides up to a tank and receives a parcel.

 

– Following a sudden thaw, the roads have turned into quagmires.

 

– Motorcycles ride along a waterlogged road.

 

– Anti-aircraft batteries are clearing the approaches to the city.

 

– German infantrymen on the attack.

 

– German troops storm the city from the north and east.

 

– Germans in the suburbs of Kharkiv.

 

– Scenes of street fighting.

 

– German machine-gunners and artillery are firing.

 

– Wounded Soviet soldiers in a barracks, abandoned by retreating Soviet units.

 

– The Germans in the city; soldiers resting after the battle, eating.

 

– Fritz Witt, recipient of the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and commander of a motorised regiment, talks to a scout in camouflage uniform whilst looking at a map.

 

– German tanks and infantry on the streets of Kharkiv.

 

– Soldiers march past the park’s fence.

 

– Street fighting continues throughout the day.

 

– Almost every house has to be stormed following artillery preparation.

 

– Burning buildings.

 

– Soldiers carry a wounded man on a stretcher; the wounded are taken to the medical unit through courtyards and over fences.

 

– The red flag is taken down from the sentry box.

 

– A gun fires. On 14 March, Kharkiv was recaptured.

 

– Luftwaffe bomber squadrons bombing the retreating Bolsheviks east of Kharkiv

Die Deutsche Wochenschau – Newsreel No. 654, 17 March 1943

1. Germany.

 

Construction of military factories and workshops.

 

– Huge production and assembly halls are being built using the latest construction technology. A view of the workshops under construction.

 

– Construction work.

 

– Women on their way to the factory.

 

– Women in the design office.

 

– Women working on the manufacture of precision radio equipment.

 

– Women at the machine tools.

 

– In the workshops of the locomotive factory.

 

2. The Atlantic.

 

France, Atlantic coast.

 

– Soldiers from the RAD (Imperial Labour Service) and the Todt Organisation erecting fortifications along the Atlantic Wall.

 

– Soldiers are erecting barbed-wire barriers, driving wooden piles into the ground, and digging trenches reinforced with sandbags.

 

– Construction of bunkers.

 

– Anti-tank ditches and barriers on the road.

 

– German coastal artillery, guns in their emplacements.

 

– A gun on a railway platform.

 

– A sentry on duty.

 

German patrol boats and a destroyer on duty at sea.

 

– The destroyer’s guns firing at British floating mines.

 

– Various vessels at sea.

 

– An observer.

 

– The appearance of British bombers.

 

– Alarm on board the ship.

 

A German ‘Messerschmitt 109’ fighter in low-level flight.

 

– An aerial battle, resulting in the burning wreckage of a British aircraft falling into the sea.

 

3. The central sector of the Eastern Front.

 

On the Smolensk–Orel–Kursk line.

 

– A view of snow-covered terrain; a German airfield.

 

– Repair work is underway there, including the replacement of engines, landing gear and other components.

 

– A ‘Focke-Wulf 189’ reconnaissance aircraft returns from a mission.

 

– A container of film delivered by the aircraft is being examined at headquarters.

 

– Staff officers are analysing aerial photographs.

 

Police battalions and the Waffen-SS are sent on a combat mission to capture partisans who are attacking railway lines and destroying bridges.

 

– They are in a village, talking to a local woman.

 

– Soldiers on horse-drawn sleighs.

 

– A light German tank is driving past.

 

– The partisan camp is surrounded.

 

– Captured partisans.

 

– One of them is providing information.

 

– A destroyed partisan camp.

 

– The destruction of partisan weapons and ammunition.

 

– Killed partisans.

 

– A ‘Storch’ light aircraft lands; valuable captured documents are being sent to the German command on board.

 

Military operations in the area of Lake Ilmen and Lake Ladoga.

 

– Roads are being cleared of snow; a snowplough is at work.

 

– Soldiers with shovels are clearing snow.

 

– Signalmen, under enemy fire, are laying communication lines from a remote observation post.

 

– Observer.

 

– Shelling of Soviet positions.

 

– German anti-aircraft guns are firing.

 

– A downed Soviet aircraft crashes to the ground.

 

– German soldiers in a trench.

 

– Scenes of a firefight.

 

– Alarm.

 

– Preparations to repel a Soviet attack.

 

– A German anti-tank gun is firing.

 

– The gun crew at their post.

 

German ‘Junkers’ in the air.

 

– German aircraft attacking Soviet tanks.

 

A company of infantrymen preparing for an attack.

 

– First aid being administered to a wounded soldier.

 

– German soldiers firing.

 

– Killed Soviet soldiers.

 

– A Soviet soldier emerges from a bunker.

 

– Destroyed Soviet tanks.

 

Lieutenant General of Artillery Johann Zinnhuber, commander of the 28th Infantry Division, awards soldiers the Iron Cross.

 

Gerardus Mooyman – gun commander of the 14th Company of the SS ‘Nordland’ Volunteer Legion – the first Dutch volunteer to be awarded the Knight’s Cross; the general congratulates the 19-year-old hero.

 

– He destroyed 13 enemy tanks in a single day.

 

4. The southern sector of the Eastern Front.

 

Fighting between the Dnieper and the Donets.

 

– German troops, tanks and vehicles are advancing eastwards.

 

– Tanks are moving along the motorway.

 

– A tank crewman stands on the hatch cover, scanning the surroundings through binoculars.

 

– A soldier fires a machine gun.

 

– Close-up of Max Wünsche, commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Tank Regiment of the SS Division ‘Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler’, recipient of the Knight’s Cross and SS Sturmbannführer.

 

– Tank attack.

 

– A destroyed Soviet tank.

 

– Soviet soldiers surrender.

 

– A burning windmill collapses to the ground as it burns out.

 

– Fighting for the settlement.

 

– Destroyed Soviet tanks in the streets of the village, wrecked Soviet military vehicles, ruins, and the remains of motor vehicles.

 

– Sepp Dietrich, commander of the ‘Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler’ Division, awards Iron Crosses to distinguished soldiers.

 

A military airfield.

 

– Bombs being loaded onto aircraft.

 

– German aircraft, together with Hungarian and Slovak forces, bomb Soviet positions.

 

– Footage shot from an aircraft.