Bookburning
Creator(s)
- James B. Donovan (Compiler)
- E. R. Kellogg (Director)
- United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Motion Picture Reference
Biographical History
United States Navy Lieutenant E. R. Kellogg certifies motion pictures of Nazi concentration camps in an affidavit presented in the "Nazi Concentration Camps" film by the Americans as evidence during the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Kellogg had expertise in motion picture and photographic techniques through his employment with Twentieth Century Fox Studios in California from 1929 to 1941. He attests that he has thoroughly examined the concentration camp liberation films of the Army Signal Corps and found them to be unaltered, genuine, and true copies of the originals in the U.S. Army Signal Corps vaults.
James B. Donovan. United States Navy Commander. Associate Prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials, where he coordinated and presented all Nazi films at the trials. General Counsel to OSS. Negotiated the exchange of Bay of Pigs prisoners with Fidel Castro as an independent lawyer under backdrop of the missile crisis, securing the freedom of nearly 10,000 people. Portrayed by Tom Hanks in "Bridge of Spies".
Scope and Content
"May 10, 1933, The Burning of Books." Several angles of the big bonfire in front of the university in Berlin, at Opernplatz, into which books are tossed by students, SA men, others. Nighttime. Narration in German says that "un-German and immoral (undeutsch und unsittlich) books are being gathered by students and publically burned." Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, addresses the crowd; speech re. ending Jewish domination of German intellectual life. After the speech, the gathered crowd, including SA men and others in uniform, sing; natural sound (tune of "Deutsch ist die Saar").
Note(s)
See also Story 32, Film ID 5, Story 2445, Film ID 63, and Story 3720, Film ID 2576 for duplicate footage. This footage corresponds to Reel 3.
"The Nazi Plan" was shown as evidence at the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg on December 11, 1945. It was compiled by Budd Schulberg and other military personnel, under the supervision of Navy Commander James Donovan. The compilers took pains to use only German source material, including official newsreels and other German films (1919-45). It was put together for the US Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality and the US Office of the Chief Counsel for War Crimes. The film was received in evidence as IMT exhibit USA-167. Summary from NARA story card (archive source number 238.1): "On the activities and policies of the National Socialist Party in Germany, 1921-1944, particularly as reflected in the speeches of Adolf Hitler. Shows much of the pagentry associated with the speeches. Consists of four parts: Part I: The rise of the NSDAP, 1921-1933 (reels 1-2); Part II: Acquiring totalitarian control of Germany, 1933-1935 (reels 3-8); Part III: Preparation for wars of aggression, 1935-1939 (reels 9-16); and Part IV: Wars of aggression, 1939-1944 (reels 17-22)."
Subjects
- UNIVERSITIES
- ANTISEMITISM
- GOEBBELS, JOSEPH
- SA (STURMABTEILUNG)
- BOOKS
- SPEECHES
- BANNERS
- NAZI OFFICIALS
- FIRES
- BOOK BURNINGS
- CROWDS
- PROPAGANDA (NAZI)
- UNIFORMS
- PROPAGANDA (ANTI-JEWISH)
- USHMM (PERMANENT EXHIBITION)
Places
- Berlin, Germany
Genre
- Unedited.
- Film