AMATEUR FILM FEATURING LIFE IN GERMANY 1947-1949 INCLUDING DISMANTLING WORK AT THE KRUPP FACTORIES IN ESSEN AND SCENES IN THE BRITISH ZONE AT CHECKPOINT ALPHA HELMSTEDT [Allocated Title]

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  • Title: AMATEUR FILM FEATURING LIFE IN GERMANY 1947-1949 INCLUDING DISMANTLING WORK AT THE KRUPP FACTORIES IN ESSEN AND SCENES IN THE BRITISH ZONE AT CHECKPOINT ALPHA HELMSTEDT [Allocated Title]
  • Film Number: MGH 6790
  • Other titles:
  • Summary: Amateur footage filmed by an unidentified Allied cameraman in and around Essen, Germany, between 1947 and 1949.
  • Description: Reel one (B&W, 1947): Sign on exterior of building advertising the Folkwang Museum in Essen. Views of unidentified manor house with heraldic crests, moat and courtyard. Interior views of building. Scenes at railway station [possibly Essen]. Travellers waiting for their train, surrounded by luggage. People departing by train (the carriages have "1st class" and "2nd class" chalked/painted roughly on the carriage doors). Train leaves station. Couple arrive at unidentified location in a Volkswagen Type 1 (now better known as the Volkswagen Beetle). Family scenes. Scenes at large unidentified arena/stadium with complex radio aerial arrangement sited in the centre of the pitch. German work band performing at the stadium. Family scenes. Construction (?) workers clearing rubble and woodland with bulldozers (factory chimneys visible in the background). German workers under supervision clearing rubble at the Krupp works in Essen. Views of the interior of the vast factory, complete with large crane. Workers apparently salvaging reusable material and removing gas canisters from the site. Reel two (colour, 1949): Views of the exterior of Haus Hartenfels near Duisburg. Family scenes. Views of Cologne, including the cathedral with bomb damage still visible to the rear of the building, the Hohenzollern bridge over the Rhine, bomb damaged buildings by the riverside, and pleasure boats on the Rhine. Family scenes (including some at Baldeneysee and Castle Baldeneysee). Scenes at social event (summer fête?) which appears to have been organised by British personnel living in the region. Large marquee with N.A.A.F.I. emblazoned on the awnings. People occupying tables outside the marquee, being waited on by young women in waitress outfits (a number of the men are wearing British army uniforms). A group of children watch a Punch and Judy show performance. Fencing display. A British armed forces band play to the crowds. Highland dancing display. A Douglas DC-3 in BEA livery departs from RAF Gatow. Family scenes. Travellers in the British zone at Checkpoint Alpha at Helmstedt. Long distance views (presumably for security reasons) of the Soviet checkpoint at Helmstedt. Socialist slogans on the buildings include "1 Mai Kampftag der Werktätigen für den Frieden!" (advertising "Workers Action Day for Peace" on 1 May). Sign in the British zone: "Berlin Autobahn Control Unit British Control Unit All British and Allied Personnel Report Here". Ends with family scenes in Amsterdam, Holland.
  • Alternative Title:
  • Colour: Colour
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: MGH 6790
  • Sound: B&W
  • Access Conditions: NON-IWM
  • Featured Period:
  • Production Date: 1947
  • Production Country: Germany
  • Production Details:
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords:
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour Sound format: B&W Soundtrack language: Silent
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 2 Footage: 960ft; Running time: 27 mins
  • HD Media:
  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    MGH 6790

  • Related IWM Collections Objects:

    Documents.17608b (Private Papers of H W Szymanowski) Documents.17608a (Private Papers of H W Szymanowski) Documents.17608 (Private Papers of H W Szymanowski)
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