The End of the War in Colour | Part 5: Winners & Vanquished | Free Documentary History

Berlin early July 1945 since the end of the housing war in Hitler's Center of power the Soviet authorities have determined the future of the city two months after the end of the War the British and Americans are allowed to move into their agreed sectors a camera crew of Hollywood director George Stevens Ventures into the Soviet occupied part of the city at the Brandenburg gate at Parisa Platz the men first filmed the badly damaged Hotel Adlon before the war one of the most fashionable abodes in Berlin it was a military Hospital during the battle for the capital shortly after the surrender the building caught fire and has been uninhabitable ever since just around the corner winter Den Linden a ruin is collapsing Brandenburg gate George Stevens poses in his Jeep just as he's used to doing in the Dream Factory he would have loved to have been there with his cameras and Hitler's downfall but Allied reporters are not allowed to enter Berlin until July to document the lives of the defeated after 12 years of Nazi Rule and six years of war [Music] [Music] Berlin's former Boulevard is now passable again bicycles are a luxury as a means of transport debris is being removed and tied it up everywhere the last weeks of the war the bombing raids the excesses of the Soviet conquerors seem almost forgotten it's not yet clear how things will continue in a little over a week the Victorious Powers will discuss this in Potsdam Moscow the 24th of June 1945. six weeks after the German surrender the Soviet Union celebrates its victory over the fascist Beast [Applause] here before the walls of the Holy Kremlin the country greets its sons who have returned from Victory Heroes of unprecedented battles on all fronts of the Patriotic War from Lenin's Mausoleum Joseph Stalin receives the homage of his subjects and oversees the red Army's Grand parade in Red Square [Music] for four years the generalissimo demanded everything of his people to drive the German Invaders out of the country the Soviet Union suffered 27 million casualties in the Great Patriotic War the Red Army celebrates itself and its victory over Hitler the symbols of Nazi rule are thrown on the ground in front of the red dictator in camera ready fashion Stalin is at the height of his power with the help of the Red Army he will consolidate the Soviet Union status as a superpower foreign [Music] 1945 a flight over a desert of rubble 50 000 tons of explosives fell on Berlin during the war off the buildings in the German Capital 48 000 are destroyed 23 000 severely damaged and 172 000 slightly damaged after visiting the destroyed German Capital British Air Force Marshal Arthur Tedder described it this way Berlin as a city is completely destroyed the ruins of what was once Berlin should be preserved as a modern Babylon or Carthage a monument to Prussian militarism and the horrors of the Nazi regime the city is completely dead you drive kilometer after kilometer through abandoned ruins and fight nothing habitable Berlin can never be rebuilt [Music] the New York Times in the summer of 1945 hopes that the obliteration of Berlin could Herald the beginning of a renewed civilization of Germany and a visitor believes that very few people would regret The Disappearance of this unlovable parvenu among European capitals the American journalist William Shearer describes Berlin in his diary how shall one find words to portray truthfully and accurately the picture of a great Capital destroyed beyond recognition the image of a once powerful nation that has ceased to exist the image of a conquering people who only five years ago when I left here behaved in such a brutally arrogant Manner and were blindly convinced of their mission as a master race [Music] in this pile of rubble there are also berliners with confidence journalist root Andreas Friedrich writes in her diary on the 7th of July 1945 the whole city lives in a frenzy of expectation one wants to tear oneself apart with eagerness to work to have a thousand hands and a thousand brains the Americans are here the English the Russians the French two are said to be in the offing maybe they've already moved into their occupation area we don't know all that for sure rumors abound are defended and refuted it doesn't matter at all all that matters is that we are at the center of the activity 2.8 million people live in Berlin Rubble women dominate the cityscape they take Stone after Stone out of the mountains of rubble for reconstruction cleanup work that will take years and most of the men have been killed or unprisoned in Berlin at this time cameramen from special film Project 186 are also on the move on the 9th of July 1945 Captain Carter shoots this footage of Berlin women and children who are apparently being adequately cared for refugees from the east on the other hand have a particularly hard time U.S reporter William Shearer starving human beings with no will purpose in life or goal reduced to animalistic functions like finding food and shelter to get through the next day alive rations Amiga the best offer heavy workers and workers in unhealthy factories this also includes cultural and artistic workers then come the categories for blue and white collar workers Rubble women and children those who do not work only receive ration card number five for non-working family members and the rest of the population in the vernacular it is called the hunger or Cemetery card Captain Carter's real job is to document the bomb damage in the capital on this 9th of July he's particularly interested in historic buildings that played a special role in the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler the kaiserhoff hotel on wilhelmsplatz was the first luxury hotel in Imperial Berlin in the 1920s The Operators sympathized with right-wing nationalist circles from 1932 Hitler lived exclusively in this hotel when he visited Berlin from his suite he planned the Takeover of Germany on the 30th of January 1933 he traveled from here to president Hindenburg who appointed him right Chancellor the kaiserhof is just as much a ruin as the Berlin Sports Palace on potsdama Strasse it was here that Hitler gave his first major speech as head of government in February 1933 announcing the crushing of the Communist party and declaring his anti-semitic inflammatory slogans to be State Doctrine ten years later on the 18th of February 1943 propaganda Minister Joseph goebbel shouted do you want Total War into the arena for thousand fanatical party comrades cheered him and chanted previously rehearsed slogans it took only two years for Total War to finally reach Berlin Hitler's rice chancellory was also badly damaged in a heavy bombing rate in February 1945. Soviet artillery did the rest on the 1st of May Reich Chancellor Joseph gobbels committed suicide here clearing the way for the unconditional surrender of the capital Red Army soldiers immortalized themselves on the sign with vulgar slogans the fate of Adolf Hitler remains unclear on this 9th of July 1945. German propaganda had declared that the fura was killed in action fighting for Germany against bolshevism to his last breath but this is a bold-faced lie in the bunker Under The Garden of the right chancellery the dictator shot himself in the head on the 30th of April his last loyal followers carried the body to this bunker exit and doused it with petrol former security officers will soon testify that they watched the burning from a watchtower they say that the charred remains of Hitler and his wife Ava were then buried in a bomb crater but what happened to the bodies as early as the 5th of May 1945 Soviet Secret Service agents found the grave within a short time Hitler could be identified by his teeth Joseph Stalin was informed but the Kremlin ruler keeps the news to himself because he wants to keep his Western allies in the dark with heavy losses the Red Army has captured Hitler's Power Center on this 9th of July 1945 another U.S Air Force cameraman meticulously documents the bullet holes in Albert speer's Monumental architecture which for six years symbolized the German delusion of invincibility the Red Army put a bloody end to this hubris throughout Victors put up posters with mottos by Joseph Stalin the strength of the Red Army consists in the fact that it does not and cannot Harbor racial hatred against other peoples not even against the German people as it is educated in the spirit of equality of all peoples and races in the spirit of respect for the rights of other peoples such words are sheer mockery even for opponents of the Nazis in view of looting and countless rapes in the first weeks after the surrender journalist root Andreas Friedrich writes in her diary how little do trained politicians understand the simple trick that you only win peoples if you offer them better than before the crowd hails The Liberator the Savior from Evil because they added to their misery the inhabitants of the East Zone hate the Russians today the Americans will do it differently the English too they will correct the psychological blunders of the first occupying power and restore Justice and Trust a symbol of Hope is the almost intact Victory column affectionately called the golt Elsa by berliners it stands beyond the Brandenburg gate in the British sector of Berlin where the Union Jack has been flying since the 1st of July thank you Hollywood director George Stevens also took his camera crew to Wilhelm Strasser to visit Hitler's Reich chancellery after the so-called Angeles of Austria and the victory over France the Germans cheered their Fury here now most of them don't want to hear about it anymore these men are glad that they survived the war and were not taken to the Soviet Union George Stevens has special permission from the Soviet occupation authorities to also visit and film inside the building State guests were once received in the cordoner Albert spare went all out for crude effects when the diplomats see this they will learn to fear it Hitler Hitler said to have one set to his architect the Hollywood director is also interested in the dictator's whereabouts that the body was burned here in the garden is only a rumor at this point what is certain is that Josef grebels and his wife Magda took their own lives here their chart bodies were also recovered here by the Soviet Secret Service but in this case Stalin's propaganda had already informed the world public about the find [Music] George Stevens drives with his team to the sites from the Germans Imperial past at the National Monument to Kaiser Wilhelm the first the American reporters meet a group of Red Army soldiers the Soviets have already made a German prisoner of war flown in from Moscow the police chief of Berlin in May and thanks to the anti-fascist attitude of Paul Markov control the newly established police units one of the tasks is to combat Black Market trafficking directly at the Brandenburg gate is the largest Black Market in occupied Berlin the place is ideal for illegal business because the tier Garden is nearby and the Soviet sector begins only a few meters away many berliners sell their last belongings that survived the bombing War for food officially the Allied authorities disapprove of the barter trade and occasionally tried to crack down on it with raids the Western allies are suspicious of the mark half police from the start rightly suspecting that the men are the extended arm of communist functionaries who have already arrived in Berlin from Soviet Exile in early May the Communist Party of Germany banned by the Nazis was already readmitted by the Soviets on the 11th of June 1945 most berliners still don't care they're not interested in the slowly emerging conflict between the Victorious Powers but in the daily struggle for survival on the 10th of July 1945 Captain Carter of special film Project 186 shoots this scene of Rebel women clearing mountains of rubble for 72 fanix an hour and a better ration card [Music] every brick that is still halfway usable will be the basis of new housing for Berlin's population which has overwhelmingly made up of women and children [Music] [Music] on this 10th of July 1945 the journalist would Andreas Friedrich reflects in a diary on the political future of Germany perhaps part of our Misfortune is due to the fact that we have too few personalities truly endowed with about the same percentage 10 percent leaders against 90 lead that is to say among 60 million Germans about 6 million of all classes who think independently act independently judge independently against 54 million who are indifferent immature and basically followers after the last 25 years what has remained of this precious 10 percent foreign cameraman Carter's notes say that this boy's parents are dead and the nine-year-old is searching for his big brother endless Refugee tracks pass through the ruined City hundreds of thousands of people who have come from the East with their few possessions because Berlin is already overcrowded most of them have to move on those who live in Berlin have to improvise every day water is a precious commodity the supply is still provided by public pumps but some of the groundwater is contaminated and carries the risk of Contracting dysentery or typhus even the obviously better off show up in the streets and stroll through Berlin and pretty summer dresses looking for work barter goods are a flat many of the undestroyed houses and Villas in the suburbs of darlam salendorf or charlottenburg have been requisitioned by the British and Americans to house the occupying troops thank you Lord Andreas Friedrich writes in her diary our soldiers have also seized quarters in Russia and France only that one obviously feels something like this much more bitterly when it happens to oneself evacuation within a few hours barely the most Necessary Things allowed to be taken away when the flat door click shut behind the evacuees they can consider themselves totally bombed out and as with the totally bombed out the unfortunates fall without distinction of person whether Nazi opponent or Nazi friend Rich or poor Whoever has to get out has to get out let him then see where he can find a place to live foreign those who were bombed out during the last years of the war know their situation on the ruins you can still see the inscriptions with new addresses for relatives or friends many flats have bomb damage but are still usable if the facade is missing Family Life takes place in front of the public at night people have to be careful not to fall in the dark entire streets on the other hand are uninhabitable on this 10th of July 1945 Captain Carter shoots a tracking shot for the U.S Air Force the green of the street trees will not remain for long most of them are already cut down in Autumn as fuel for the winter although most of the streets have been cleared There is almost no traffic in the former Metropolis only a few private vehicles are registered most of the wide cars were confiscated by the vermacht or later by The Victors and so people wait patiently for the few means of public transport like here at alexanderplatz in the Soviet sector where there are regular tram connections to the outer districts again even an s-bahn line has been back in service since the beginning of July George Stevens has gone to the rice spot felt where Nazi Germany was allowed to host the 1936 summer Olympics at first the USA wanted to boycott the event but when the regime agreed to allow Jewish athletes to compete American officials relented Jesse Owens a black athlete with four gold medals became the Superstar of the games much to the Chagrin of the furo not only in the USA but also in Germany many people had hoped that the Olympic Games would strengthen the dictator's will for peace but this soon proved to be a naive illusion foreign has been in the British sector since the arrival of the western allies the new Masters immediately put the Olympic swimming Stadium back into operation for their soldiers for Germans of course swimming is off limits George Stevens and his team also take a trip to the vansay where only a few bathers are enjoying themselves in July 1945 [Music] their occupation soldiers and their female companions who demonstratively ignore the ban on fraternization the relationship between the soldiers of the Victorious Powers still seems to be unclouded here the interest in the German foil lines unites them to enter the beach but they're only too happy to make an exception for attractive young ladies [Music] there is even a golf course at the beach club of the second U.S Armored Division the Hell on Wheels under the command of General George S Patton the unit has fought its way from Normandy through the Arden to Germany and is now stationed in the American sector of Berlin German policemen have cleared the square at the Brandenburg gate for a large parade by the British the men are wearing uniforms that were in service before 1933 especially in the Soviet sector the police are not too particular about their past men trained under the Nazis are also loyally at the service of the new Masters on this 12th of July 1945 soldiers of the British Desert Rats march across Hitler's East-West access to the Brandenburg gate the cameraman of special firm project 186 are on site to film the special spectacle the seventh British Armored Division distinguished itself above all in the battles of the African campaign liberating Tripoli and Tunis in 1943. crossed the Rhine in March 1945 and took part in the occupation of Hamburg the border between the British and Soviet sectors runs right here so this square is the ideal place to celebrate the joint victory over Nazi Germany thank you but Berliner sense very clearly that cracks are appearing in the Allied Brotherhood in arms journalist root Andreas Friedrich writes in her diary they don't seem to love each other our Allied occupying forces while must not let this become loud if we cautiously hint to the Americans and English that there might have been difficulties with the Russian occupation their countenances turn cold as ice Field Marshal Bernard L Montgomery the commander-in-chief of the British occupation forces has arrived from his headquarters in east-westphalia to present the victor of Berlin with a high British Order of Merit Marshall joint appearances like this are intended to deceive the public about the true state of relations between the allies [Music] Hollywood director George Stevens has also come to Berlin with his team to document the forthcoming Conference of the victors Churchill Roosevelt and Stalin had last met in yolta after the death of the U.S president Harry S Truman has become his successor The Big Three are meeting in Potsdam to discuss the future of Germany although Truman sees with concern that the Red Army controls almost all of Eastern Europe he still believes in a future for the anti-hitler Coalition with the Soviet Union in the British sector George Stevens films a red army unit marching through the tiergarten his president expresses the belief these days that the Russians would continue to be friends of the U.S [Music] although incidents between GIS and Red Army soldiers continue to occur in Berlin Truman sees no reason at this point not to welcome their friendship and give them ours [Music] July the 14th 1945 Captain Carter of special film Project 186 shoots this footage at Parisa plant which is part of the Soviet sector what will be the future of a destroyed defeated and occupied Germany will the Soviet Union sooner or later extend its influence further west is Joseph Stalin counting on the withdrawal of American troops from Europe as Roosevelt had announced at the Ulta or will the British Americans and French stick to their plan to rebuild the country and educate the Germans to become Democrats after all the president never really took seriously U.S treasury secretary Henry morgantel's idea of making Germany an agricultural country without heavy industry morgantown's adversary U.S Secretary of War Henry Stimson one Truman over with the view that the only hope for a stable future in Europe was an economically strong and productive Germany in his diary he writes about a conversation with Truman in mid-may 1945 punished the war criminals severely take away the weapons for all time supervised government action until the Nazi educated generation has left the stage but don't deprive them of the possibility of building a contented Germany at the end interested only in the non-military methods of civilization this is exactly what a root Andreas Friedrich hopes for that four world powers will meet in our ruins and that we will prove to the representatives of these world powers how serious we are about our Zeal how boundlessly serious about the effort to make amends and rise Berlin is running at full speed if we are understood and forgiven now everything will be achieved from us everything that we renounce Nazism that we find the new better that we work and are fundamentally of good will never before have we been so ripe for Redemption so tired of Terror fear and Injustice only our vectors will keep their promises to us templehof airport was one of the first major projects of the Third Reich when it was inaugurated in 1941 the Monumental facility was considered the largest surface building in the world however when the U.S Air Force took over the site on the 2nd of July 1945 the cleanup work was not complete so on the afternoon of the 15th of July 1945 three c54 transport planes land at the British military Airfield in gato on board they have the American delegation that the U.S president is taking to the Potsdam Conference it is four times the size of the delegation that had traveled to Yalta in February [Music] the notorious prosecutor of the stalinist show trials Andre vishinsky and Soviet Ambassador andrigo Miko great U.S Secretary of State James Burns various generals and liaison officers accompany the president plus secret service security guards Naval cooks and Military doctors to ensure Truman's well-being U.S General George Marshall is one of The Advocates of Rapid reconstruction with American help he will initiate the Marshall Plan for Europe named after him in 1948 then Truman also leaves his plane in a letter to his mother and sister before leaving Washington he had written I have a briefcase full of information about previous conferences and suggestions as to what I should do and say I wish I didn't have to go there Potsdam has been sealed off by Soviet checkpoints for days in front of the Villa of a German publisher in barbelsberg called Little White House President Truman receives the British prime minister on the morning of the 16th of July 1945. these scenes are filmed by Kirk B Lawton who is part of the American delegation Winston Churchill is a head of government on call because he lost the House of Commons elections on the 5th of July he believes Truman cannot hold a candle to his late predecessor but he's impressed from the outset by the president's tremendous resolve Truman is apparently less enthusiastic as his diary reveals he taught me a lot of nonsense about how great my country was how much he loved Roosevelt and how he would love me I think we can get along if he doesn't butter me up too much Stevens drives with his team along the Autobahn to potstar on the way he films berliners who have apparently procured food in the surrounding Countryside in her diary Andreas Friedrich hopes for positive news it was announced on the radio this evening that Stalin Truman and Churchill had arrived for a joint conference what has happened up to now we have to accept as the aftermath of War including the rapes the Looting and confiscations the meeting of the big three will establish order it will prepare the ground for good to flourish George Stevens camera crew is filming in the old garrison city of the Prussian Kings now in the Soviet occupation Zone Stalin has refused to enter Berlin Graves of Soviet soldiers testified to the fact that Potsdam was not vacated by the Vermont without a fight because of the stage guests the Red Army marches through the city more frequently this brings back bad memories especially for many women a potstam woman later writes about the 8th of May 1945. how we had longed for this end but had we now reached a state we could call Peace we had not imagined the Soviet occupation to be as bad as it now appeared now what we had sometimes said ingest during the last months of the war had become reality enjoy the war peace will be terrible although Potsdam was badly hit in an American bombing rate in the spring of 1945 in Stalin's eyes it was suitable for the big conference it is in Soviet occupied territory and can be better protected than Berlin the Magnificent buildings from the Prussian era such as the Nikolai kosher by Carl Friedrich Schenker are also damaged the decision of the upcoming conference will shape the lives of Germans for decades thank you media representatives from all over Europe have arrived to cover the major event s team proudly presents the Russian pass for the car the Hollywood director has an accreditation for the big event whether he was finally allowed to shoot there in black and white is unclear so these scenes remain George Stevens last color shots before his return to America the 17th of July 1945 before the start of the conference Stalin Pays His respects to the American president Kirk B Lawton shoots with his amateur camera Truman will later describe the most powerful man in the world as friendly good-natured and business-like as honest and insanely smart at the meeting U.S Secretary of State Burns casually asks the Soviet dictator if he knows anything about Hitler's whereabouts Stalin claims Hitler is still alive and hiding in Spain or Argentina the venue for the Potsdam Conference is cecilianhof Palace where the German Crown Prince and his family resided before 1918. Luton is allowed to film from the gallery a Russian camera crew on the other hand shoots in 35 millimeter color officially the Soviet Union is still neutral towards Japan and so the first Topic at the negotiating table is the Pacific War Stalin has already signaled to Truman during the morning conversation that he will soon declare war on Japan then Stalin Truman and Churchill discussed the drawing of borders in post-war Europe reparation payments and the administration of occupied Germany press meeting of the big three on the Terrace Truman is in High Spirits because he has got his hands on a military instrument with threatening potential just in time for the start of the conference on a military base in New Mexico the first nuclear weapons test in history has succeeded a new era has begun that will soon be called the Cold War special film Project 186 finishes its month-long work in Germany with aerial footage of destroyed Berlin about 80 hours of footage have been shot the unique material will disappear for decades in a U.S Air Force Depot there is no money to edit a documentary film from it in Potsdam the victors agree that Germany will not be partitioned the West accepts Stalin's demand for the separation of East Prussia in the areas east of the order and nicer Rivers the country is to be completely disarmed and demilitarized the Germans must pay reparations war criminals are to be trialled by an international Military Tribunal old Andreas Friedrich is optimistic big headlines in the newspapers the Potsdam agreement common policy in all occupation zones agreement on the peace order in Europe it took a load off our minds so no new war common construction and common order the final communique emphasizes the Statesmen leave the conference with the renewed confidence that the governments and peoples of their countries in conjunction with the other United Nations will ensure the establishment of a just and Lasting peace it sounds almost too good to be true [Music] the American president is not quite so confident at the site of the destruction in Berlin Truman was utterly shocked on the 16th of July 1945 he wrote in his diary I thought of Carthage valbeck Jerusalem Rome Atlantis thought of Scipio Ramses II and Genghis Khan I hope for some kind of peace fear that machines are several centuries ahead of morality only when morality has caught up will there be no more need for such destruction [Music] foreign

Channel: Free Documentary - History

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Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full Documentary, documentary - topic, documentary (tv genre), History, History Documentaries, Free Documentary History, FD History, History Documentary, World War II, World War 2, World War 2 Documentary, Colour Footage of World War 2, WWII, World War 2 in Colour, Victory in Europe, Nazi Germany Documentary, End of the War in Colour, World War Two in Colour

Id: C_RQ3ONh9nM

Length: 44min 27sec (2667 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 01 2023