Updated and improved as of December 2016, this revised disc includes subtitling which does not extend three lines without being split; tighter and cleaner translating; and some video improvements.

Our translations of Die Deutsche Wochenschau newsreels covering the events, mainly in Europe, from November through December 1941 (with supplementary films from 1936 and 1942 ... see description) with first hand film reports.  Each part has variable film quality based on the original films it shows.  Overall, we would say the quality would correspond to a range of well worn VHS to very good DVD quality.  There may be some sound or picture issues on parts of the film.

SOME OF THE TOPICS COVERED:  

• German troops in the Leningrad region receive winter equipment and clothing
• The Germans attack Soviet positions north of Moscow
• Difficult road conditions outside of Moscow hamper the Germans
• A look at workers’ hovels in Kharkov
• The frontline newspapers go to the front along with the advancing troops
• Advance against the Crimea
• Victory parade for Rumanian troops in Bucharest
• Funeral for Generaloberst Ernst Udet
• Alfred Rosenberg is named as Reichsminister for the occupied Eastern Territories
• Conquest of Tichwin
• The Germans take Simferopol and Yalta on the Crimea
• The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is received by the Fuhrer in Berlin
• General Dietl at the Fuhrer’s headquarters
• Meeting between Reichsmarschall Goering and Marshal Petain

A LOOK BACK:

ERBKRANK (1936):

This "educational" film deals directly with the subject of the mentally ill and the institutionalized.  It does not speak in the language of hate or discrimination:  on the contrary - it is logically and scientifically presented with chilling dispassion.  The "emotional" aspects of the narration appeal to the overall good and needs of society versus the care for and support of "lesser" individuals.  It is an insidious film.  The message is subtle and the conclusive decisions society needs to make are obvious.  The narration becomes especially chilling and powerful when, in hindsight, we know all too well how far the message became reality and that the overwhelming majority of those we see on the screen were eventually subjected to "mercy killing".  The comparison in costs to society to care for these people is no less offensive than the statement in the film that, "the farmer, by controlling the overgrowth of weeds, preserves what is most valuable."  When the film asks, near its end, "Are we to burden future generations with this inheritance?", you understand clearly what this film was preparing its viewers for, if  you, or they, couldn't figure it out up to that point.

A powerful, depressing and important documentary, if only because, like Ich Klage an, it addresses issues all contemporary societies deal with and which put into play ideas of charity, morals, self-sufficiency, and the rights of the individual in a given society.  The pictures shown are, overall, not offensive or shocking.  Sensitive viewers should take note, however, that much of what is said will shock and hurt terribly. 

If, as the saying goes, a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizens, then this film should leave no doubt that it was the moral duty of everyone during that time to fight and destroy fascism ... just as that duty continues to this day.  Silent German film with German intertitles and optional English subtitles.

1942 – Gebirgsjäger:  Biwak im Winter

Put out shortly after the Germans’ first winter experience in Soviet Russia, this film provides very useful information on how to construct protective shelters out of snow and ice on the battlefield.  While very informative and helpful, it does not appear to be very practical in wartime conditions, though it purports to be just that.  Most of the constructions seem cumbersome and time-consuming to the viewer … though, perhaps, under actual conditions shown in the film, this is just a deceptive appearance.

IN GERMAN WITH SWITCHABLE ENGLISH SUBTITLES.