German invasion and occupation of Poland; arrest of men in Bromberg (Bydgoszcz)
Creator(s)
- John C. Bechtler
- Ms. Claranne M. Bechtler
- UFA (Producer)
Scope and Content
Titles on screen: Ozaphan 10a/39 Monatschau [monthly show]; Krieg in Polen [War in Poland]. Scenes from the invasion of Poland, including cannons firing and German soldiers, shot from a distance, moving across a field. Title on screen: Die Fliegerbilder werden sofort Ausgewerten [the aerial photographs are immediately evaluated]. Soldiers develop and analyze aerial photos at a mobile lab in the field. Familiar (newsreel) footage of Goering and Hitler with other officers. Back in the field, shots of soldiers with bombs, German airplanes taking off, and destroyed buildings on the ground. Title on screen: Die erste Verwundetenzug [The first train of wounded]. A smiling nurse hands grapes to a wounded soldier; a man on a stretcher is unloaded from a train. Title on screen: Polnische Bauern kehren aus den Waeldern zurueck [Polish farmers return from the forests]. The camera pans along wagons full of Polish refugees, Polish farmers walking their oxen. An old woman holding a baby accepts bread from a German soldier, while another soldier in the background smiles at a young child that he holds in his arms. A German soldier hands out provisions to a group of children. Title on screen: Das Mordgesindel von Bromberg wird aus seinen Schlupwinkeln geholt [The murderous mob of Bromberg is pulled from its hiding place]. Scenes of men being arrested and searched in Bromberg (Bydgoszcz). Two German soldiers march a man with upraised arms at rifle-point along a street. Soldiers surround and frisk a man in the foreground of the scene, and another in the background. A man wearing a hat is marched across a street. A close up shot of a group of men with arms upraised. Shot of German soldiers in the middle of a street, with a group of men, arms upraised, visible on the left. Over 500 Polish civilians, many of them members of the clergy and intelligentsia, were executed in the first few days of the German occupation of the town. Title on screen: Der Meuchelmoerder von Konitz [The assassin of Konitz]. A disheveled man stands in front of a doorway, looking at the camera. A closer view of the man's face. Title on screen: Das befreite Gebiet kehren die Volksdeutschen zurueck [Ethnic Germans return to the liberated area]. Profile shot of ethnic Germans, seated outside. Children sit on the ground beside a river, with their backs to the camera. A large metal bridge in front of them has collapsed into the water. Men in a full boat leave the shore. Women in a line receive and eat food from bowls. A brief shot of a man with a bandage and a badly swollen eye. Men eat from bowls. See Film ID 201, Story 280 for some duplicate footage, with narration. Title on screen: Unter den gefangenen Polen wird mancher Moerder wiedererkannt [Among the captured Poles many murderers are recognized]. German soldiers ordering imprisoned Poles, in military uniforms, into a lineup. Two men, (probably ethnic Germans), one of whom wears a bandage across his face, identify men in the lineup. A close up shot of one of the selected prisoners. Title on screen: Die polnischen Juden, oft mitschuldig an der _hetzung der Bevoelkerung, werden jetzt nuetzlicher Arbeit zugefuhrt [The Polish Jews, often complicit in the harassment of the population, will now be put to useful work]. The camera pans across faces of three religious Jews, then across a crowd of men seated on the ground. Shots of Jews performing forced labor. Title on screen: Der Fuehrer erscheint ueberraschend wahrend des Ueber ueber den San [The Fuehrer appeared amazed by the ? over the San]. Medium long shot of German troops crossing a low wooden bridge over the San river. Hitler reviews troops as they march down a dirt road. Horse-drawn trucks crossing a low rise. Hitler moves through a tight crowd of soldiers. Germans are greeted by jubilant civilians, who throw flowers and wave. The Germans drive tanks and trucks and march through the crowds.
Subjects
- FORCED LABOR
- FARMERS/FARMING
- EATING
- TANKS
- ARRESTS
- AIRPLANES
- NURSES
- VOLKSDEUTSCH
- RIVERS
- BOMBINGS
- AERIAL VIEWS
- WOUNDED
- FIGHTING
- RUBBLE
- JEWS
- BRIDGES
- HITLER, ADOLF
- HORSES
- POWS (POLISH)
- BOATS
- TRAINS
- POLAND
- MARCHING
- WEAPONS/ARMS
- FLOWERS
- PHOTOGRAPHS
- GOERING, HERMANN
- FOOD
- DESTRUCTION
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (GERMAN)
Places
- Bydgoszcz, Poland
- , Poland
Genre
- Film
- Newsreels.