ANNALES DE LA GUERRE 89 [Main Title]

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  • Title: ANNALES DE LA GUERRE 89 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: IWM 508-89
  • Other titles: THE WAR ANNALS 89 [Alternative Title]
  • Summary: French newsreel of Alsace-Lorraine in the revolutionary period and the arrival of French troops, November 1918.
  • Description: A sign in the town of Breisach, "1789-1918 Ici commence le pays de la Liberté", is shown to the camera. French and German soldiers converse and fraternise together quite happily on a bridge over the Rhine in the neutral zone. French prisoners of war line up to cross the border back into France. As they pass they cheer the camera. A British contingent following them looks happier as it passes. A pan over the city of Strasbourg under the control of the revolutionary National Council. The Revolutionary Guard, some in German uniform, some in civilian clothes, maintain a sentry post on the Kehl bridge. Civilians pass, one with a bicycle with wooden 'tyres' as a substitute for rubber. Local civilians and released French prisoners of war make their way into the city. In the city centre the signs are in German but French and US flags are displayed. The camera, on a tram driving through the streets, is cheered by the people. A soldier and two local officials cheer and point to a clock, showing that the city is now officially within the French time zone. The statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I in front of the Imperial Palace has been knocked over and locals clamber over it. The statues of the three German emperors, Wilhelm I, Friedrich Wilhelm and Wilhelm II in front of the main Post Office have been decapitated. In Kléber square the crowds wave French flags and cheer. French troops make a ceremonial entry into Thionville in northern Lorraine. The procession, to the cheers of the crowd, is of Cavalry and Infantry led by a band. In the main square the crowds gather, including women in white (possibly a religious ceremony).
  • Alternative Title: THE WAR ANNALS 89 [Alternative Title]
  • Colour: B&W
  • Digitised: Yes
  • Object_Number: IWM 508-89
  • Sound: Silent
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © IWM (IWM 508-89)
  • Featured Period: 1914-1918
  • Production Date: 1918-11-23
  • Production Country: France
  • Production Details: Section Cinématographique de l'Armée Française (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations: French Army (regiment/service) German Army (regiment/service) French Revolutionary Guard (regiment/service) Revolutionary Guard (regiment/service) British Army (regiment/service)
  • Keywords: society, French military - friendship (object name) society, German military - friendship (object name) prisoners of war, French - repatriation (object name) prisoners of war, British - repatriation (object name) transport, French civilian - 2/3 wheel: bicycle (wooden tyres) (object name) celebrations, French - liberation: Durre (object name) demolition, French - symbolic (object name) ceremonies, French - event-related: liberation (Thionville) (object name) religion, Christianity - ceremonial, French (object name) administration, French - occupation (object name) politics, French - alternative (object name) First World War, Armistice & 11/1918 (event) Germany & Breisach, Baden-Wurttemberg (geography) Rhine (River), France (geography) Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France (geography) Thionville, Moselle, France (geography) camera (concept)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W Sound format: Silent Soundtrack language: None Title language: French Subtitle language: English
  • Technical Details: Format: 35mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 621 ft; Running time: 11 mins
  • HD Media:Yes
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    IWM 508-89

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