German Newsweek No. 748- 11 January 1945

The German Newsweek (Die Deutsche Wochenschau) was the unified newsreel of Germany from 1940-1945. The concept of a weekly newsreel was much older, dating back to WWI, and in the 1930s, there were several different weekly newsreels in Germany. With the outbreak of WWII, these were unified and from June 1940 shown under the title of "The German Newsweek". It was one of the most important aspects of German propaganda.
Each week, over 2000 copies were sent to theaters and movie houses throughout Germany and shown to the general public, as private TV ownership was extremly rare during WWII. Over 700 episodes were produced, and many of the historical WWII footage we nowadays have comes from the Wochenschau.
This is issue No. 748 from January 11th, 1945.
It shows newly raised German Volksgrenadier and Volkssturm units, collection of civlian clothings for the army, soldiers taking an oath, combat footage from Courland and Navy Fast Boat units, a German/American prisoner exchange in St. Nazaire, fighting on the West Front and German Air Force attacks against allied air fields (Operation Bodenplatte).
Subtitles made by me.

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

Check out my Patreon if you want to support me: patreon.com/GermanWWIIArchive Remarks: This is a re-upload. I have uploaded this video before, but this is a much better-quality version, so I have deleted the original one and re-uploaded this version. 00:16 As you can see, this Newsweek issue starts with a short prelude film, that was not part of the actual Newsweek, but was a call for donations for the Volksopfer (see entry at 00:59) 00:28 This is a StuG III Ausf. G Assault gun. 00:35 This officer is, according to his shoulder boards, a Captain (Hauptmann). 00:43 The writing on the building in the background reds: “Believe- Fight- Win” 00:48 Thats…a completely wrong number. “Volksgrenadier” was the name of most of the new infantry divisions being formed or re-formed from July 1944 onwards. By any means, they were still normal infantry divisions, the name was purely for propaganda reasons. However, from July 1944 to the time of this Newsweek, there have been a total of 57 (67 if you count the divisions raised in January 1945) new Volksgrenadier and Infantry divisions raised, with many of them being later merged or just raised for a few months before being absorbed into other units etc. Realistically speaking, Germany managed to raise maybe 30 or 40 new Infantry Divisions from July 1944 to January 1945, not “hundreds”, as claimed here. 00:51 The Volkssturm was a German last-ditch militia, encompassing all men aged 16-60. They were supposed to support the Wehrmacht in the defensive of Germany. Generally, due to a lack of weapons and training, these units were not really effective and were rather used to build field positions and trenches than for actual combat. However, especially on the Eastern front, fighting morale was high and several of these units fought remarkably well against the Soviets, while Volkssturm units in the West were rather keen to surrender to the Western allies. 01:03 The poster reads: “7-28 January - Volksopfer - Give everything you don’t need - textiles and equipment.” The Volksopfer (“Peoples Sacrifice”), was a collection by the NS-regime in January 1945 to collect clothing and other textile items from the civilian populatiob for the Wehrmacht and Volkssturm. It initially ran from January 7th to January 28th, later being extended to 11th February 1945 and around 80.000 tons of textile were collected. 01:05 The sign on the building reads: “Volksopfer - Collection for Wehrmacht and Volkssturm- NSDAP Local Group Wedding - Collection Point: Sellerstraße 34” 02:13 The weapons distributed here are Panzerfaust, a single use, recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher. Introduced in 1943, it was used by German troops and its allies on all fronts. It was easy to use, cheap to manufacture and very efficient against all types of tanks. Around 8,2 million were made during the war. 03:26 The officer giving the speech here is a First Lieutenant (Oberleutnant) who has been awarded the Knights Cross, but I wasn’t able to find out who exactly he is. 03:41 The soldier on the left here has been awarded three Tank Destruction Badges, a German award of WWII, introduced in March 1942. It was awarded to soldiers who had destroyed an enemy tank with handheld weapons; however, Anti-tank units were ineligible for this award, so it was usually awarded to troops who destroyed enemy tanks in situation where dedicated AT-units were unavailable. Once a soldier destroyed 5 tanks, he could be awarded the Tank Destruction Badge in Gold. During WWII, around 18,500 normal and 400 Golden Tank Destruction Badge were awarded. 03:43 This is the oath of Wehrmacht soldiers from 1935 to 1945. 04:30 Courland is a peninsula in western Latvia. From July 1944 to the end of the war, the Courland pocket was a frontline in which to German armies (16th and 18th) were cut off from the rest of the Army Group North during Operation Bagration and continued to fight there until the rest of the war. Despite strong Soviet attacks, the front largely remained intact until the German capitulation. By the time of this Newsreel, the third Soviet attack had ended, which started on December 21st, 1944. Despite some success, the Germans managed to stabilize the frontlines on December 27nd, and the Soviets stopped their attacks on December 31st. The next Soviet offensive would start on January 24th, 1945. 04:39This soldier is armed with an StG 44, the world’s first mass-produced assault rifle. Introduced as the MP 43, and first produced and given to frontline troops in limited numbers from October 1943, it was mass-produced from July 1944 to the end of the war, with a total of 425,997 rifles being produced. 04:48 These guns are 10.5 cm leFH 18, the standard German light field gun of WWII. 11,848 produced between 1935 and 1943, with a further 10,265 produced of its successor, the 10.5cm leFH 18/40, from 1943-1945. 04:50 These guns are 15cm sFH 18, the standard German heavy artillery piece of WWII. 6,756 made between 1933 and 1945. 04:53 This is again a 10.5 cm leFH 18. 05:01 This is a late model StuG III Assault Gun. 05:09 This tank is a Marder II tank destroyer. The Marder was an improvised tank destroyer, developed after the Germans encounter T-34 and KV-1 tanks during their invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. It was a lightly armored TD on the chassis of a Panzer II, equipped with a 7,5cm PaK 40. Built between July 1942 and June 1943; 531 were made. 05:25 The German Schnellboote (“Fast Boats“) were a type of German fast attack crafts produced from the early 1930s to the end of the war. In total, 191 of these were built, with the most common one being the S-38b type with 81 units. They usually were armed with a few light AA-guns and two 533mm torpedo tubes. Because they were fast and small units, they operated with some success, sinking in total 101 merchant ships, 12 destroyers, 11 minesweepers and 8 landing crafts during the war, with a further 37 ships sunk by mines laid by these boats. They were involved in a number of important battles, for example, they were the first German navy units responding to the allied invasion in Normandy on June 6th, 1944. 05:35 Because of their small size and their powerful engines, these boats could reach speeds up to 43.8 knots (81km/h) 06:22 The so called “Atlantic fortresses” (Atlantikfestungen) were important coastal cities in France, which where heavily fortified and garrisoned by the Germans, and were besieged by the Allies even after they advanced to the German border in late 1944. Some of these cities in France and Belgium/Netherlands held out until 1945, for example, the German garrisons of St. Nazaire, La Rochelle and Lorient only capitulated after Germanys surrender on May 9th, 1945. 06:30 These scenes were filmed on November 29th in the Atlantic Fortress of St. Nazaire in France, where indeed Americans and Germans did a prisoner exchange. 07:10 This is Generalleutnant (Major General) Hans Junck (1893-1966), who was the Commander of the St. Nazaire from September 1944 to the end of the war. Joining the Germany Army as an artillery officer in October 1913, he remained an officer after Germanys surrender in WWI, serving in various artillery units, before being trained as a division commander in May/June 1944, and taking over command of the 47th and then 265th Infantry division in Jul and August 1944, respectively. He was then made commander of St. Nazaire. After the war, he was tried by the French for war crimes, but was acquitted in September 1947 and released in March 1948. 07:13 This is Konteradmiral (Commodore) Hans Mirwo (1895-1986) who was the Navy Commander of St. Nazaire during the siege. Joining the German Navy in April 1914, he initially served in the U-Boat forces, before being an officer on various German navy ships during the 1920s and 30s, and commanding the German training ship Emden from August 1940 to July 1942. From February 1944 he was regional navy commander of the Loire-Gironde district. After the surrender in May 1945, he was held POW by the French before being released in September 1947. After the war, he worked in various German merchant navy offices from 1955 to 1965. 07:38 Unlike claimed here, the allies actually pretty successfully established supply routes on the Northern French coast. The few cities that remained in German hands on the Atlantic coast did not interrupt allied supplies to the front. 08:15 Referring to the German Ardennes offensive, which by that time was pretty much over for the Germans, who had to fight off Allied counteroffensives in January 1945. 08:23 This is a Panther medium tank. Armed with a 7,5cm KwK 42/L70 and armored with up to 80mm front armor, angled at 55 degrees, and up to 100mm turret armor, it was a very good medium tank, considered by many to be one of, or even the best, medium tank of WWII. Around 6,000 were built from January 1943 to April 1945. 08:28 Walter Model (1891-1945) was a German Field Marshal during WWII. He was known as “Hitlers fireman” for his ability to stabilize the frontline at critical points. Model joined the German Army as a cadet in 1909, and served during WWI, where he was severely wounded. He continued serving in the German Army after WWI, and became a staff officer in 1938. He took part of the Invasion of the Soviet Union as commander of the 3rd Tank Division. In January 1942, he became commander of the 9th Army, where he successfully managed to avoid an encirclement on the Front around Rzhev. By the time of this Newsweek, Model was Commander of Army Group B, who was the Army Group that led the German offensive in the Ardennes. After the defeat in the Ruhr pocket in March/April, Model shot himself on April 21st, 1945, having declined all offers to capitulate. 08:49 This is an American M2 Browning heavy MG. 08:53 This destroyed tank is an American M4 Sherman.

[@war_observer]

Thanks for these helpful remarks

[@killforkylie]

"I knew we were losing the war when our victories started getting closer to home."

[@McArthur-qn7kj]

where does the quote come from?

[@killforkylie]

@@McArthur-qn7kj I can remember reading somewhere but I cannot remember where. It might not even be contemporary. I can remember it made me chuckle.

[@James-rp9cz]

@@McArthur-qn7kj memoirs of a panzer commander maybe? I have heard or read it but can’t seem to remember either.

[@McArthur-qn7kj]

@@killforkylie thanks !

[@SMGJohn]

Its a joke among Germans at the time, they knew the war was lost when victories got closer and closer. Speaking of defeat was punishable specially in 1944 and 1945, so people just said the victories got closer to home.

[@slavianskiy]

There is no greater optimist in the world than the editor of German Newsweek in January 1945.

[@Draious]

Actually there is, the editor of the German Newsreel of February 1945

[@user-vj7el2wg9b]

@@Draious Chemical Ali?

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

@@Draious The editor of the German Newsweek in March 1945 beats them both ;P

[@gartik2367]

Great footage, great videos, you do all people interested in this period a massive service. Keep it up!

[@rumpstatefiasco]

Beautifully said!

[@Jonathansww2]

Thats what im talking about

[@normalusername5223]

Just a fan of the era.

[@terryroots5023]

The unmistakable look of desperation

[@robertodibiase9685]

A crazy dictator, his people died for nothing.

[@NathanStickney-xv6dy]

It's the German cocaine.

[@karlshorstzwei]

​​@@werebearradioMein Führer, Steiner konnte nicht genügend Kräfte für einen Angriff massieren. Der Angriff Steiners ist nicht erfolgt.

[@topolinopippo3451]

It's incredible what propaganda may do to men, yesterday and still today

[@Blind_Hawk]

Thank you for providing archives of historical footage. As a huge history buff I love to see unfiltered and raw archives.

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

Remarks, Part II: 09:01 This gun is an American 3-inch gun M5, a 76,2mm American AT-gun, produced from December 1942 to September 1944, with 2,500 guns produced. It was an effective gun, but was too heavy at around 2,2 tons, leading to it only being used on a limited scale. 09:28 This is an Sd. Kfz. 10, a German half track used for towing lighter artillery, towing a 7,5cm PaK 40 AT-gun. 09:37 The American losses in the Ardennes Offensive were around 800 tanks, not 1600 as claimed here. 09:57 This is a Waco CG-4 Glider, the standard glider of the Western Allies during WWII, with around 14,000 build between 1942-1945. 11:41 This is referring to Operation “Bodenplatte” a German Air Force mass attack to cripple the Allied air forces in Belgium, Netherlands and France on January 1st, 1945. Over 850 German fighter planes attacked field bases of the Americans and British. While the Germans managed to destroy 305 Allied planes and damaging a further 190, they also lost 292 planes themselves. In general, this offensive is considered a German pyrrhic victory. While the Allies could replace their losses quickly, and also lost few pilots because most of the planes were destroyed on the ground, the German losses of planes and especially experienced pilots and squadron leaders could not be replaced.

[@jacksons1010]

9:19 Wasn’t “Aus der Traum” considered a defeatist slogan? I’m surprised it was featured in this newsreel - perhaps as “spin” to make it seem patriotic?

[@BeandLauert]

@@jacksons1010In this context (Battle of the Bulge) it is probably meant that the Americans should stop dreaming about reaching German soil or liberating Germany.

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

@@jacksons1010 This was meant for the Americans- in the sense that their dream of ending the war in 1944 by defeating Germany was over with the German Ardennes offensive.

[@JLTJr.]

When you see the US Army firing a salute at Arlington or at the Capital , this is the cannon that they're firing the blank shells from . There is also one on the lawn of the Penn Daw Fire Co. ( Fairfax. Co. Station 11 ) as a war memorial . It was also featured as the seal on the Penn Daw fire engines for many years .

[@jebbroham1776]

It's hard to believe that we're fast approaching the 80th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge this year, yet it still feels like a recent event and there are still people alive today who experienced it.

[@dmitripazlov491]

I know, right? To me it's crazy to think that just 100 years ago Benito Mussolini was in power in Italy, the soviet union was barely out of its cradle, the US was still in prohibition, and it was the inter-war years. History does not seem that long ago!

[@protivliberastov9182]

Better remember Stalingrad, where was turned way of war) without it Allies won’t landed in France

[@allenlindus3933]

​​​​​@@protivliberastov9182 Moscow was the turning point of the war. The Germans did nothing but lose ground following that. The Russians nearly lost the war in a matter of months. The Germans would have had a great chance if they weren't unnecessarily tying up resources in cities considered strategically unimportant. Stalingrad was no doubt a high casualty meat grinder but the resources tied up in the siege of both Stalingrad and Leningrad were considered more of a political move then strategically sound or important. Maybe if Hitler had named a city after himself, the reds would have used their resources to try to destroy that instead of win the war... They didn't call Hitler a mad man for nothing. Basically just threw the victory away

[@gerhard6105]

I live in the Battle of the Bulge area. My neighbor is from 1928 and he told me some stories. Next week is a big military fair in Cindy and in Juni there is one in La Gleize, where a King tiger 2 is standing.

[@chrish5503]

Great stuff. How prophetic it was, the German soldier writing "the dream is over" on the knocked-out American gun, not knowing that the bell was tolling for him, not for the Yanks. I was stationed Germany most of the 90s, in Heidelberg and Mannheim, and even then I could still feel an uneasiness with the Germans in their 60s and 70s. I definitely felt like an occupier, but tried to be graceful about it. The German people were, by and large, some of the finest I've ever met.

[@HDreamer]

Depends on their level of delusion and/or fanatism I'd say, my grandpa used to say that they "knew it was over after Stalingrad". Writing stuff like this could easily be just for the camera after all or sarcasm.

[@user-vj7el2wg9b]

I am Scottish but have lived in Germany (mainly in the Mannheim area) since the '80s. I remember the first Remembrance Sunday parade I attended there. It must have been in '82, and there were veterans of the War there. Every bit as moving as anything I'd experienced back home.

[@josephstalin6549]

Oh he knew the dream was over for him. He was probably smart enough to trick the censors into thinking he was referring to the Americans

[@thefishindahouse]

Damn crazy to think this still motivated people to enlist. Very interesting footage thanks

[@kenoliver8913]

They were volunteers in name only. Those who did not enlist in the Volksturm risked hanging at this stage of the war.

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

​@@kenoliver8913 Enlistment into the Volkssturm was mandatory; it was ordered via a decree from Hitler, which had legislative effect.

[@VonTurtle8282]

the Volksgrenediers in this where probably the very best equipped of any volksturm unit in all of Germany. they probably stuck the not so enthusiastic "volunteers" in the back round.

[@michaelweigel2466]

@@VonTurtle8282 Volksgrenadier divisions had nothing to do with the Volkssturm. They were regular units that had previously been normal infantry divisions. Volksgrenadier divisions were directly subordinate to Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler. That was one of the actions with which they tried to turn the tide. My grandfather last fought in the Volksgrenadier Division 363. Before that it was the Infantry Division 363. He was deployed against "Market Garden", among others, and managed to escape the Falaise cauldron. In spring 45' he fought near Remagen at the bridge. Like him, these were often soldiers who had previously fought on the eastern front and were after being woundet then deployed in new units in the west. The equipment was quite good, he said. They had good camouflage uniforms and the 44 assault rifle. The slogans and propaganda were much greater than under the High Command of the Wehrmacht.

[@tilmannglimm704]

Wenn der Chef dir mit links die Hand schüttelt, weil ihm sein rechter Arm kaputtgeschossen wurde (4:18): Kein besonders positives Zeichen für deine unmittelbare Zukunft.

[@gardeningniceperson]

Ist mir auch aufgefallen. Das gehörte wohl nicht zur Zeremonie

[@user-ls7ui9el8w]

Vielen Dank.

[@rjuttemeijer]

The hysterical music alone……

[@yukiomishima33]

these are so good. please keep the uploads with translations coming. youre providing a service to history and mankind. danke, mein bruder

[@waffen843]

Maravilloso documental,muchas gracias.☺

[@michaelmapes4119]

Old men, young boys and middle-aged accountants.

[@sternencolonel7328]

pretty amazing that war propaganda doesn't have changed that much in the last 80 years

[@charlesburgoyne-probyn6044]

Because it can't human nature after all

[@rempseaheinamies9414]

Make it last 8000 years.

[@davejohns6694]

Great stuff, the bit with the Field Marshall talking to the troops was featured in "The World at War".

[@phantomeagle2684]

Thank you very much for your effort🤍

[@TheFlual22]

Shocking to see how old and young got sacrificed for a battle that was already lost. The effective battle strength of the "Volkssturm" was basically non existent.

[@maghrebcat890]

Очень много проблем было у танкистов от этих штурмовиков с фаустпатронами ((

[@daconvertible534]

They were going hard as hell on the field but on the map it wss hopeless

[@skelligandude1559]

Thank you so much 👍🏻

[@historyatwar]

Awesome stuff!

[@claykalmar8131]

It's interesting that they are hyping up their Battle of the Buldge progress because by the time this was shown to the public they had already lost the battle and most of the gains they had made. They also didn't show anything being hit by the fast boat torpedo. The top brass were just spinning anything they could as a victory, which hasn't changed today. I guess it's much easier to recognize and study propaganda with hindsight.

[@herzschlagerhoht5637]

Ja, das ist mir schon früher aufgefallen, dass die Aufnahmen viel zu spät gezeigt wurden, denn Mitte Januar hatte die Ardennen-Armee schon kein Benzin mehr und die Offensive brach zusammen.

[@user-vh8yf2fh3v]

В январе 1945 Рейх как никогда близок к победе! ...но есть нюанс

[@simonpowell4641]

THANK YOU.

[@SmokeyBCN]

a rare reel showing active allied forces. probably very carefully framed and edited. Brave of them to show a Mulberry Harbour, a logistical feat the still-horsedrawn Wehrmacht could only dream of.

[@pilotwhaleproductions5880]

I think people overestimate the level of deception the German homefront received. Everything was carefully framed and recontextualised but German propagandists didn’t out and out cover things up the way they had in the first world war. They knew from that experience and the new technologies of the time that they couldn’t cover up enemy advances or new weapons, and they had lived through the disastrous collapse in moral that had occurred when the reality of the previous war couldn’t be hidden from the homefront any longer. Rather than ignoring lost battles they would report on them but describe the casualties as martyrs, the enemies as fighting dishonourably and encourage new recruits to avenge the fatherland

[@wspencerwatkins]

Yeah and they described the artificial harbors like it was a bad or desperate thing, when it was one of the most impressive feats of engineering of the war & done so speedily. That’s like saying “haha look at all those planes in the sky they must have ran out of pigeons”

[@Hammonds_Angels-TwinZ]

Thank you so much for these videos,i wonder if the Deutche Wochenschau has made any recordings in the balkan regions such as Greece and Yukoslavia

[@tatar0960]

In earlier news weeks yes

[@Hammonds_Angels-TwinZ]

@@tatar0960 thank you very much,i will see if i can find them hidden in the web

[@StefanHausmann]

So, how did the Germans get their hands on footage from the invasion beaches and of M4s in action in '45? I can't wrap my head around this.

[@johnnyb2909]

Captured footage

[@spazemfathemcazemmeleggymi272]

Don't forget we had our own propaganda that they could get their hands on to use.

[@kellyshistory306]

@@johnnyb2909Or they just got Allied Newsreels through neutral nations.

[@seaninferno1]

Just really makes me wonder how they got the footage from the encircled harbors in france

[@alexmuenster2102]

Captured enemy footage???

[@castercamber]

Announcer: "We're winning, we're winning!!" Reality: "No you're not."

[@theplayerofus319]

Dont Spoiler bro

[@Blackstaralpha]

@@theplayerofus319 same😭im not so far into my history book

[@iamconsomateur3832]

@@theplayerofus319bro is watching the playlist each month in real time 💀

[@jourwalis-8875]

The war was already lost......

[@Fatboy00000]

you don't say

[@i3lackfusion]

The war was lost before it began. You don’t win those wars if you don’t have the resources and manpower required

[@OliverFlinn]

the war was lost by the time operation barbarosa had begun.

[@hoodatdondar2664]

@@OliverFlinn No, he could have won if winter had come a bit later. It was close.

[@iamconsomateur3832]

@@hoodatdondar2664Steiner + Rommel coming from the south could easily take Moscou in 2 weeks fr

[@1Dougloid]

How I won the war with kids and old folks. Hitler's next book.

[@joeypinterrockandroll3961]

most of those guys knew by January it was all over.

[@kellyshistory306]

Many of them would be dead before it was over. German casualties in 1945 were appalling. One recent (within the last 20 years) German study put German KIA in 1945 at 1.5 million... in just over 4 months of fighting (to May 8th). The Germans lost 2 million KIA in the whole of WW1, and they almost lost that many in the last 4 months of WW2.

[@PatrikStarFunk]

2x speed makes it even more astonishing, and in 0,5 speed, the drunk and depressed version when die untergang ist da

[@izzudinmuhammad5782]

7:28 first selfie ever recorded?

[@rainerfantasie9573]

Everything here shouts "We are losing so hard!" without using the words "We are losing so hard!" so hard.

[@EpicGamer-wi8qn]

what song is in this? 2:10

[@cloudtail]

at 8:49, what city was he talking about that was recaptured?

[@hackkitts9254]

somewhere in the benelux it seems

[@gerhard6105]

It was in a French speaking city because of some visible advertising above a shop. So, probably in Belgium or Luxemburg, not in the ne from the Benelux. Ne stands for Netherlands

[@ErossMcCloud]

Looking at the individual soldiers reminds me of my time in the military

[@peakeverything7531]

2:25 is a very famous sequence from early in WW2, does anybody know more on this?

[@electronicfarts5105]

Yes, I believe it was an early German propaganda video from when they were drilling on the Siegfried line before the invasion of France.

[@Smikkelboy69]

2:17 are those some WW1 stahlhelmen in that lineup?

[@stephandeiters4754]

Yes.

[@MkVII]

At 9:01, somebody has stolen the corpse's boots.

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

American boots were usually of better quality than German ones, especially later in the war, so its not rare to see dead soldiers without their boots. This happend on the Eastern Front as well, because Soviet winter equipment was usually of better quality than German equipment.

[@spaceenemiesnovel]

Volkssturm in 1945. They were not volunteers, they were forced.

[@allanfifield8256]

The first minute - Things are not going well if you are collecting old coats and boots for Victory!

[@Hedgehog_Prime]

Is the aircraft at 12:18 not a Soviet fighter? Looks rather like a Yak-9 to my eye.

[@bordias5922]

It looks like a Soviet aircraft indeed, but it looks more like an La-5 to me. The wings do not match those of the Yak

That depressive atmosphere was omnipresent and even more depressive was that look at that old man with his wooden cart at 1:11-13. This old man (who probably survived 1WW) should win the war for Germany against USSR?

[@DovahkiinDragonborn-wx5te]

In this scene a collection of fabric and clothing is shown for the future Volksturm unit. The man with the cart has donated his last shirt and may have also been drafted.

[@user-rm4er8rq5k]

8:53 what tank is that?

[@HenniMeansLove]

Looks like a sherman

[@dreamscape26]

Sherman variant m4a3 jumbo canon 76 not (W) high armor in front an torret canon 76 insuficient from battletanks More suportt infantry labor

[@earlystrings1]

The only weapon produced for the Volkssturm in sufficient quantities was the Panzerfaust. In almost every other respect, they were unarmed, untrained, and practically without uniforms. The Panzerfaust was an effective anti tank weapon but required that it be fired no more than 50 meters from the target, a big ask for an elderly conscript who could see where things were headed. The GIs were much more afraid of the weapon in the hands of young, clueless teens.

[@alexmuenster2102]

At 7:08 and again at 7:20 , the narrator says "Aus ferner ??Sehe??" - According to the English subtitles, this is "from far away." Who can help me with the actual Wortlaut des deutschen Originals?

[@DovahkiinDragonborn-wx5te]

No the narrator says "aus Saint-Nazaire" a harbour in france.

[@alexmuenster2102]

@@DovahkiinDragonborn-wx5te Amazing that you were able to decipher that! Thanks!

[@basarends6433]

How they the Germans get footage of the destroyed Mullberry harbours?

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

Usually it was captured. Probably during the Ardennes offensive. Most soldiers camps, frontline accomodations etc had some kind of room to show newsreels and other movies to soldiers, so if that gets overrun, the footage falls into enemy hand and can then be used. The Allies did similar things, showing footage from captured German newsreels.

[@basarends6433]

I thought so, thanks.

[@telramud]

Several editions of Die Deutsche Wochenschau contains enemy footage from captured reels or take from another way from neutral countries.

[@crispingoodall7921]

As a matter of interest, Mulberry harbour A, American and Mulberry harbour B, American. The American harbour was destroyed in a storm and, according to Wikipdia, so badly damaged it had to be abandoned. The British harbour was better anchored and built of concrete and if you go to France you can see some of it is still there! Some of the ships outside the harbour were deliberately sunk to act as breakwaters.

[@marktimeny1488]

It this stage of the war i Doubt there would have been many Cinemas Left to show Newsreels in !

[@sergeysydorov5410]

они снимали пропаганду и в апреле месяце.

[@philhubb5885]

Every German town with a couple thousand people or more would've had a cinema. So proly quite a few.

[@EstoUgric]

how is it so good quality

[@rainerbehrendt9330]

Why not? Film has a high Resolution and all you need is a good Scan.

[@Tolianchig]

Danke schon

[@hanzfranz7739]

1:27 - Imagine a SS soldier showing up with an ice bear hat...

[@billyb4790]

It's amazing they still had the infrastructure to put all this together.

[@MB-hv3ic]

En uno de los tantos derribo de planeadores, sacan un jeep intacto y lo miran con asombro. 🤔

[@louisburke8927]

How did they get the French footage

[@markusdegenhardt8678]

im wondering about that as well.

[@holokpt4263]

At 5:10 The Tank just dissapears XD

[@GannicusMisteriosdeHonduras]

What's that small Panzerfaust called?

[@rickglorie]

"Klein"

[@frantapia6467]

Panzerfaust klein or Faustpatrone

[@Chris-ql9bu]

Faustpatrone kurz

[@RemyCT63]

The nickname was "the Gretchen". Have no idea why they called it that.

[@siggevibes]

At what time in video?

[@ColdGhost01]

Damn I am actually impresses by those motor boats they were showing here. I have to admit I have no clue when it comes to naval war technology, but I assumed the were still driving around with huge coal fueled ships and some maybe not so huge ships with very inefficient petrol engines, but they were speeding from what it looked like in the clip.

[@wspencerwatkins]

That surprised me too. I knew that the Japanese had speed boats prepared as suicide boats similar to the kamikaze in the air

[@philhubb5885]

Twin turbo deisel engines. Probably took several minutes to get up to that speed.

[@hurch1915]

Weren't those "E" boats?

[@rggl3438]

I like how enthusiastically and fanatically the commentator falsely narrated to the public the German army is winning whereas the German high command knew the war was goig to be lost...btw I like to watch German Newsreels while comfortably eating my breakfast

[@MrSongride]

It is unbearable to know that these have been our parents

[@monopalle5768]

So did they win?

[@Ittou-Ogami]

Гитлер конечно долбанулся воевать против всего мира .Впрочем ошибки повторяются .

[@CodeElement190]

Why does it sounds like the narrator inhaled a bunch of helium before starting his narration? 😂

[@rumpstatefiasco]

Hilarious! I adore that aspect, it seems like narrators on every side had that exquisite tonality.

[@Lenn869]

audio track must be messed up. I just compared it to a different Wochenschau he never sounds that sqeaky anywhere else.

[@ctlspl]

Shitty microphones and/or audio recording media.

[@Propaganda99]

fr

[@siggevibes]

To get across clearly, they were trained to speak this way. The recording technology of the time were decent enough, but some radio sets or speakers were limited in what they could play back. So this is the audio register they would speak so that their voice would get across to the audience no matter the listening device.

[@wuhr2790]

8:24 Generalfeldmarschall Walter Model, 3 months later he would take his own life following the encirclement and following defeat at the Battle of the Bulge.

[@Ittou-Ogami]

мда немцы отчаянно сопротивлялись

[@user-vj7el2wg9b]

How did they get film from the beleaguered French ports back to the Reich?

[@MelindaSordinoIsLiterallyMe]

11:54 3DMark03 demo lol

[@simosaarinen7039]

game was over by then

[@allanfifield8256]

The Germans did catch the Allies napping several times lake in the war.

[@user-du6yr1qx5d]

Кино доктора Гебельса до последенего дня работало....😳

[@martinspannring5711]

🥰🥰🥰♥️🥰🥁🎺🎶

[@Microbe1972]

9:16 the writing says "The dream is over"... but for whom? The German dream of a 1000 year lasting 'Reich'? The dream of many young soldiers to come home alive?

[@michaelvalenzuela2528]

A couple of the G.I.s at 9:00 were striped of their boots.

[@jimthesoundman8641]

On 11 January 1945, the Axis still had 3,720,197 troops in the field, fighting on three fronts (East, West, and Italian). Sounds impressive, right? Three point seven million is a lot. But, the Allies had 10,908,672 troops coming at them from all directions. So it was a lost cause. Source: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3TUeJh3oruoZ6s

[@kaiyanui]

the zimmerit on this panther appears to be in very rough shape 8:33

[@IntrospectorGeneral]

Zimmerit was discontinued from factory application from early September 1944 and from field application in early October 1944. By this stage of the war there was quite a lot of variation in how thoroughly Zimmerit was being applied so this Panther may have been a rush job (plus winter mud).

[@eisenhertz6347]

Welch ein Wahnsinn!

[@dexterdog62]

January 1945. It was pretty much game over by then.

[@davidofglenbrook4487]

I wonder where Germans went for a pleasant weekend in early 1945.

[@HenniMeansLove]

I don’t know if this question is serious or if you just want to mock on already dead People But from what ive heard, aside from the bombings, the tough work and the lack of ressources the german people were eager to search diversion They tried to live their life as Long as they still could There were a lot of festivities or partys to cope with the war, the Loses and the fear that all will end soon

[@hoodatdondar2664]

Switzerland is nice this time of year.

[@capoislamort100]

Italy was a popular spot for the soldiers.

[@ColdGhost01]

I wonder if the soldier was aware of the endless irony, of a German soldier writing "Aus der Traum" which translates to "The dream is over" on a US(?) gun 9:16 in 1945.

[@mjfan653]

I think the soldier knew what he meant, maybe also the rundfunk people. But you cant say it out loud, so you imply it with these messages. Everyone knew the dream of a great reich was over.

[@mikeg2491]

@@mjfan653it’s strange the propaganda department would include that though

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

@@mjfan653 No, the general idea behind the message was that the dream of penetrating the German borders, perhaps even ending the war in Winter 1944/45 was over for the Americans. This slogan/slogans like these were actually circulating for quite some time from late 1944 onwards, because many in the Allied camp had hoped the war would be over soon with the quick and rapid advance through France, and when German resistance stiffend on the German border, this slogan- that the dream of a quick victory for the Allies is over- began circulating.

[@florianvanbondoc3539]

Thumbnail at 4:40

[@powerhouse1981]

Incredibly tragic. To be honest, no lies were told in this propaganda. There is a positive framework on the specific events they are showing, but no false claims. This differs from other propaganda which makes outlandish and absurd claims of impossible numbers, or results.

[@DanielJamesEgan]

January and they're having their citizens bring in their heavy winter coats.

[@paulwaide6201]

The horror of WWII and WWI was a backdrop to my childhood, as I imagine it was to all Europeans of a similar age. Yet here we are over 70 years later and in America, Europe and Asia so many people have forgotten the hell that unabated nationalism takes us to and are buying into the worst kind of populism - i.e. identification of an "other" that's supposedly the cause of all our problems, viciously targeting that "other" and calling any who don't do the same sellouts and traitors, and when that all fails (as it always does while causing untold misery in its wake) start doubling down and making the cycle even more vicious. That's exactly what we're seeing in these hideous Nazi propaganda reels. The only way we can progress as a species is by always aiming to do to others as we would wish them to do to us (yes, its from the Bible but it's a universal trusim). We need much more empathy and much less materialistic and zero-sum thinking.

[@guidoberetta9680]

Poor people !!!

[@Merrexz]

Wahnsinn.

[@progressorofbridgesman]

Вермахт победоносно отступает,хайль!😂😂😂

[@AyoubusMagnus]

Waw it's pretty nice to see the battle of the bulge from Goebbels side. I am the only one who names every piece of equipment I see I wonder ?

[@CommentConqueror]

Close Combat flashbacks

[@BritishWorldWar2Archive]

This is from January 1945 (Fact) (I am Bulgarian)

[@JackF99]

Perhaps that is why the title says it's from January 1945.

[@daconvertible534]

Agreed (I am African)

[@rempseaheinamies9414]

Great historic stuff. Propaganda was getting very tired at this point.

[@Tourist150]

stg-44

[@user-cu6ij1ui4i]

It’s interesting because they do not outright lie as much as I thought that they would. They twist the truth, and do lie about a lot of things, but they also tell some truths like about the territory that they’ve lost, which I find interesting.

[@markusdegenhardt8678]

yeah thats shows their skills of manipulating. A good lie differs only little from the truth.

[@giangminh3132]

Damn those news television really brain washed right there

[@jourwalis-8875]

A terrible oath!

[@rzerizrz]

Kriegsmarine in 1945, interesting.. i doubt there was much left

[@wenaldy]

Young and old

[@OliverFlinn]

lmfao kriegsmarine in 1945? what kriegsmarine :D :D