GIs firing mortars; German prisoners and weapons
Creator(s)
- Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
- George C. Stevens (Director)
- Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) (Producer)
Biographical History
George Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. During World War II, Stevens joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and headed a film unit from 1943 to 1946 under General Eisenhower. His unit shot footage documenting D-Day — including the only Allied European Front color film of the war — the liberation of Paris and the meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River, as well as horrific scenes from the Duben labor camp and the Dachau concentration camp. Stevens also helped prepare the Duben and Dachau footage and other material for presentation during the Nuremberg Trials. In 2008, his footage was entered into the U.S. National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress as an "essential visual record" of World War II.
The Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) was placed under the control of the Supreme Headquarters' Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). The SPECOU consists of 45 people: writers like Ivan Moffat, William Saroyan and Irwin Shaw; cameramen like Dick Hoar, Ken Marthey, William Mellor, Jack Muth; sound operators as Bill Hamilton, who comes from Columbia, assistant directors, as Holly Morse, who has worked with Hal Roach.
Scope and Content
Sign reads: "Berlin 137 kms, Duben 3 kms" on right. Pan left to another sign that reads: "Leipzig 32 kms" on left. GIs firing mortars, situation clearly genuine action. They are in a field behind some houses. LS of what apparently is the target in the distance. VS through an aperture of some sort viewing across a green field. More shots of GIs firing mortars. Another angle of mortar firing. CUs, three American GIs. GIs sweeping up shells in street next to armored vehicle. Group of GIs by tank. Pan of men walking across a narrow pontoon bridge over a river, continues pan to reveal German soldiers guarded by GIs. GI searching and checking identification of German prisoners. Germans with their equipment walking toward camera up hill from river with destroyed bridge in BG. German officers sitting on grassy hillside with hundreds of enlisted men behind. Stevens and two Lt. Colonels standing by bridge (excellent CUs). Street of unidentified village, GIs in FG and captured Germans walking directly toward camera. Pile of captured German weapons. German officers supervising the loading of a cart. German motor pool and captured German vehicles, Stevens walks to captured German Mercedes, takes something from front seat.
People
- Stevens, George, 1904-1975.
Corporate Bodies
- United States. Army. Signal Corps. Special Coverage Unit
Subjects
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (AMERICAN)
- STEVENS, GEORGE
- WEAPONS/ARMS
- MILITARY OFFICERS
- GERMANY
- PRISONERS (GERMAN)
- CAMERA OPERATORS
- CARTS/WAGONS
- POWS (GERMAN)
- CAMERAS
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (SOVIET)
- FLAGS
- BRIDGES
Places
- Torgau, Germany
- Duben, Germany
Genre
- Unedited.
- Film