David Glick's trip to WWI battle sites in France in the late 1920s

Identifier
irn1003782
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2004.320.2
  • RG-60.4308
Dates
1 Jan 1928 - 31 Dec 1928
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Silent
Source
EHRI Partner

Creator(s)

Biographical History

In 1936, at the behest of Paul Baerwald and Felix Warburg and the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), David Glick, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania attorney, traveled to Germany to act as an independent liaison between Nazi officials and Jewish organizations. His primary objective in this capacity was to assist German Jews in leaving the country, through whatever legal means possible. He met with Heinrich Himmler (Head of the Secret State Police), Reinhard Heydrich (head of Security Services), Dr. Karl Haselbacher (Deputy in Charge of the 'Jewish Problem'), and Dr. Werner Best (Deputy Leader of the Secret State Police). From 1936-38, David Glick, as the unofficial representative of the JDC in Germany, criss-crossed the country meeting with leaders of major Jewish organizations and members of various congregations. Much of his work was conducted at great risk to his own personal safety. He worked with the Reichsvertretung der Juden in Deutschland (The Council for the Representation of Jews in the Third Reich), and the U.S. and British governments to assist thousands of German Jews in emigrating to Palestine and South America. In 1937 he successfully negotiated the release and emigration of 120 of the 300 Jews who were then prisoners in the Dachau concentration camp. In 1939, David Glick visited every country in South America on behalf of the JDC to survey the needs of the German and Austrian refugees who had settled there. He brought with him a 16mm camera, and he filmed his experiences with the new refugees in many of these countries. The films in this collection are the only photographic documentation known to exist of David Glick's journeys. They are a testament to the work that a private American citizen was carrying out on behalf of the Jews of Germany when the official U.S. government policy had yet to acknowledge the extent of Adolf Hitler's plans to eradicate European Jewry.

Scope and Content

EXT, VS of unidentified town in France, in the vicinity of Verdun, France. Horses and carts pass by, townspeople move about the streets. Three Americans (David Glick, his wife, and an unidentified woman) standing in front of a monument and memorial to the fallen in World War I. The monument is in a town square, children are visible playing in the BG. It is difficult to make out the inscription on the monument due to the poorly shot footage, but the year inscribed on one of the stone pillars is "1918". Camera pans this pillar from top to bottom, a wreath lies at the foot of the monument. Another large horse drawn cart full of straw is led by a man through the streets of the town. More shot of the townspeople near the WWI memorial, the Americans talk to the locals, MCU of local children at the memorial. 01:01:17:05 David Glick appears on screen, he is speaking to his wife and some of the townspeople. There is also another American man featured, he is slender and has a mustache and he is talking in a very animated fashion while pointing out something on a photo that he is holding in his hand. The camera pans the monument again, and the words "Commemorative of the Heroic Deeds of the Third Division" VS along the river in this same town. LS, the four Americans entering a WWI cemetery with large iron gates, LS, panning the cemetery and row upon row of white crosses. MCU of the grave marker for "Giulio Quecchia". MS of the large memorial arch in the center of the cemetery with a wreath. VS, the town and countryside surrounding the cemetery, old Roman ruins in the region, mountains, fields, etc. WWI German tank that still lies in an open field, the tank is tipping over slightly and is covered with graffiti, CU of the graffiti. LS of a man riding a bicycle on a nearby road, German tank again from another angle, this time the German Army cross is visible on it. CU, two men in an unidentified town, they both have bandages on their face, most likely WWI veterans who are still suffering from their war wounds. The two men joke and rough house with each other, one has a bandage under his right eye, the other has a bandage wrapped around his forehead. MS, brick arched entrance to another WWI cemetery. MS, inside the cemetery, two workers laying stones, rows of crosses visible in the BG. MLS, a gardener tilling the soil near graves, CU, white cross grave markers, all the graves in this cemetery have flowers, camera pans the entire cemetery, more shots of the workers in the graveyard. Another scene in the countryside, the four American are looking at the ruins of a large stone structure that looks like it was once a bridge. CU of the lower supports of this structure, the two American women are peeking in, they seem tentative about going into the space. The camera cuts away to another view of the surrounding countryside and a large church or shrine off in the distance. MS, underneath the bridge, debris and objects are scattered about. More views of cemetery in France, French flag flying in the center of a large grassy field. MS, entrance to a church, pan of the church. This is the same building that was first visible in LS. Glick running up and down a rock formation in the French countryside. MS, Two men in WWI soldiers' uniforms sit at the entrance to what looks like the remains of an underground bunker built into the hillside. They talk to each other and to the camera. VS, more sightseeing in the northeastern French countryside. More pans of the cemetery.

Note(s)

  • A report titled "Rescue and Resettlement" that was prepared by the donor, Mr. Allen Hepner, contains copies of JDC letters, David Glick's letters while in Germany, and David Glick's country reports back to the JDC while traveling across South America. Please contact Film and Video department to access these materials.

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Places

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.