Soviet War Memorial; atomic bomb explosion
Creator(s)
- West Virginia and Regional History Center (WVU Libraries)
Scope and Content
Welt im Film Nr. 33, 12/28/1945 "Berliner Bilder" At the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin, a large military ceremony takes place, possibly the dedication in November 1945. CUs of individuals and the memorial. Destruction from the street. People shovel large piles of rubble. 01:01:26 Brief cut of three male runners stand on a track and shake hands with a man in a suit. 01:01:32 Welt im Film Nr. 66, 8/28/1946 "Bikini Atom-Explosion Unter Wasser" A film recording of the second nuclear test in Bikini Atoll on July 24, 1946. The bomb was attached under a boat in 27 meters of water. The underwater explosion proved devastating as nearly 20 percent of the established vessels sunk. Aerial views of the coast, ships and a submarine. An American flag is raised. Men in uniform board a ship, salute each other, enter a door that reads "Restricted Area Authorized Crossroads Personnel Only." Two men sit in front of some technical equipment, CU of the machine. Men on the deck looking out to sea with binoculars. A man speaks into a microphone while observing machinery. CU of a dial, the needle falling from the 20 second mark down to "fire." CU of the man with the microphone, counting down: "three, two, one, fire." The mushroom cloud erupts. Aerial views of another plane flying a close distance away. More views of the explosion, the smoke engulfs a nearby ship. 06:35 Aerial views of other naval ships out at sea. CU of a man on deck, observing some equipment. Ships, the submarine, another plane marked "627." Men film the explosion from the airplane window. Mushroom cloud from above. "Ende."
Note(s)
The Tiergarten Soviet War Memorial was constructed on the orders of the Red Army shortly after the end of World War II. It was the first Soviet memorial in Berlin and was put up in the heart of the city, not far from Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building. It was officially dedicated already on 11 November 1945. The design was done by the sculptors Lev E. Kerbel and Vladimir E. Zigal and the architect Nikolai W. Sergievski. The memorial’s location was a conscious choice, since it functions as a literal barrier to the victory once envisioned by the Nazis: it stands where the "Siegesallee" (Victory Avenue) planned as a north-south axis by Albert Speer, Adolf Hitler’s chief architect, would have intersected with the east-west axis (today’s Strasse des 17. Juni).
Subjects
- CEREMONIES
- BOMBINGS
- RUINS
- SPORTS/GAMES
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (SOVIET)
- DESTRUCTION
- SHIPS
- MEMORIALS
Places
- Berlin, Germany
Genre
- Film
- Newsreels.