Occupation and liberation of Rome
Creator(s)
- United States. National Archives and Records Administration. Motion Picture Reference
- Universal News (Producer)
Scope and Content
Narrated by Ed Herlihy. Title: Universal Newsreel First Pictures of Rome's Capture. German newsreel footage showing Allied prisoners being marched through the streets of Rome during the German occupation. The narrator notes that the ". . . Italians watch quietly. Note the absence of any demonstration." Shots of Kesselring and fighting around Rome. American tanks enter and liberate Rome to cheering crowds: "Now the attitude of the Italian people has changed." People cheer the soldiers and wave American and Italian flags. American General Mark Clark enters the city in a Jeep. American, Italian and British flags fly. "The hated swastika flies no more over Rome." A US Army sergeant does a Mussolini impression on the balcony of Mussolini's former palace. Bells ring in the Vatican. Pope Pius XII addresses a crowd of 200,000. American soldiers attend mass. Aerial shots of Rome, "the first Axis capital liberated by our troops." Italian Crown Prince Umberto appears at the palace in front of a crowd. Crowds flee as a grenade is thrown into the headquarters of the fascist police. A woman kisses an American soldier. American soldiers line up to receive "real beer, made in Naples." Shots of a destroyed town north of Rome, where American soldiers inspect abandoned German artillery. Also on this newsreel (beginning at 02:29:26): Title: Buy a Bond - Join the 'Fighting 5th' (narrated by Ed Herlihy). Parades in Texarkana, Texas and in New York in support of the 5th war loan campaign. Title: Spars Become 'Sparks' (narrated by Gertrude Warner). Female Coast Guard reservists (SPARS) who have completed a course in radio reception. Commander Dorothy Stratton presents the women with certificates. Title: Human Side of the War (narrated by Ed Herlihy). American soldiers in the South Pacific receive mail during mail call. World of Sports: rodeo competition between the US and Australia.
Subjects
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (ALLIES)
- TANKS
- FLAGS
- PALACES/CASTLES
- POPE PIUS XII (EUGENIO PACELLI)
- AERIAL VIEWS
- VATICAN
- LIBERATION
- POLICE
- CROWDS
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY
- KESSELRING, ALBERT
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (AMERICAN)
Places
- Rome, Italy
Genre
- Newsreels.
- Film