Volkssturm defend the Eastern Front
Creator(s)
- Deutsche Wochenschau (Producer)
- Bundesarchiv (Germany). Filmarchiv
Scope and Content
Map of the Eastern Front, indicating Warsaw, Breslau, Kattowitz, Litzmannstadt, and other locations. German refugees on horse-drawn carts with their belongings move West, fleeing the "Mongol storm." Shots of Soviet POWs. Civilians build barricades to defend against the Soviets. Refugees board trains to get away from the front. The woman getting on the train wears an armband bearing the insignia of the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (NSV; National Socialist Peoples' Welfare organization). Members of the NSV provide food and other care to refugees arriving in Germany. NSV members (all women) inspect documents, prepare and serve food. Men in Volkssturm uniforms wearing fur hats prepare to defend Germany. They are issued weapons and equipment. Mini-tanks are unloaded from a truck. Volkssturm leave for the front. Sign for the town of Kattowitz which is being defended by the Germans. CU on poster with a drawing of a German soldier and the word HALT! Tank-destroying troops get into place in their trenches with their anti-tank weapons. Tank battle against the Soviets in a field in East Prussia. German planes attack Soviet troops from the air. Soldiers load antitank weapons into planes. These will be dropped to the ground for use by the population. A plane takes off from a snowy runway.
Subjects
- VOLKSSTURM (PEOPLE'S ASSAULT)
- EATING
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (GERMAN)
- TANKS
- REFUGEES
- AIRPLANES
- NSV (NAZI WELFARE ORGANIZATION)
- WOMEN
- VOLKSDEUTSCH
- SNOW
- WEAPONS/ARMS
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (SOVIET)
- SIGNS/POSTERS
- DOCUMENTS
- MAPS
Places
- , Germany
- , Poland
- East Prussia, Germany
Genre
- Film
- Newsreels.
Copies
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United States Holocaust Memorial Museum holds copies of Holocaust-relevant archives from Bundesarchiv, Berlin-Lichterfelde (Abteilung Filmarchiv)