Twentieth Century Fox version, Reel 1: Early struggle for power; Reichstag; boycott; book burning; Hitler Youth

Identifier
irn1003968
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2006.73.1
  • RG-60.4503
Dates
1 Jan 1921 - 31 Dec 1934
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • English
  • German
Source
EHRI Partner

Creator(s)

Biographical History

United States Navy Lieutenant E. R. Kellogg certifies motion pictures of Nazi concentration camps in an affidavit presented in the "Nazi Concentration Camps" film by the Americans as evidence during the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Kellogg had expertise in motion picture and photographic techniques through his employment with Twentieth Century Fox Studios in California from 1929 to 1941. He attests that he has thoroughly examined the concentration camp liberation films of the Army Signal Corps and found them to be unaltered, genuine, and true copies of the originals in the U.S. Army Signal Corps vaults.

Scope and Content

Reel 1 of the English language version of "The Nazi Plan" produced by Twentieth Century Fox with new graphics. Credits and Title: Producer and Director: Ray Kellogg, Commander, U.S.N.R. Legal Supervision by James B. Donovan, Commander U.S.N.R. Search teams commanded by Budd Schulberg, Lieutenant U.S.N.R. See notes field for more credits. Unlike the German version of The Nazi Plan, the English version contains film material from non-German sources. Scenes of American soldiers on the newly-liberated streets of Germany switches to a close-up of film reels. The voiceover indicates that teams of researchers looking for enemy film followed close on the heels of the American forces and that caches of film were found all over Germany. The scene changes to show the defendants in the dock at the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal. Various footage plays as the narrator lists the crimes of which the defendants were accused. The footage includes: Jodl, Keitel, Mussolini and Hitler consulting a map; a high-ranking German officer being forced into a barracks at a concentration camp, human remains in ovens and in a mass grave. The narrator states that in addition to traditional evidence, a film was shown "which sought to establish the manner in which the Nazis obtained totalitarian control in Germany." Shots of judges and prosecutors in the courtroom and Justice Robert Jackson, followed by Kellogg's affidavit testifying that the film to follow is exclusively from German sources. From this point the film follows the original shown in the courtroom at Nuremberg, except for the English voiceover translations and some of the titling, until the last few scenes. Some sequences are shorter in the English version. "Part 1 The rise of the NSDAP, 1921 - 1933." "Alfred Rosenberg describes the early Nazi struggle for power." Rosenberg, seated at a desk, tells of his introduction to Hitler in 1921, his work on the Nazi newspaper Völkischer Beobachter, and the struggles that ensued after the attempted putsch in Munich in 1923. Early Hitler, early party footage, close-up of headline of the Volkischer Beobachter, Goebbels speaking, unrest in the streets. Other IMT defendants appear and some are named, such as Julius Streicher and Baldur von Schirach. Most of the German titles from the Nuremberg Reich Party Day 1927 and 1929 footage have been omitted. Rosenberg's translated narration returns and he talks about his move to Berlin, Hitler taking power, and Rosenberg's appointment as commissioner for the education of the NSDAP and all its subordinate organizations. Headlines from Der Angriff and scenes from the night of January 30, 1933. 01:11:59 Title: Goering named Prussian Minister of Interior by Hitler, outlines his program, February 1933. Goering, sitting at desk, promises to make Prussia strong again. Title: "Election Day in Bavaria 5 March 1933." Close-ups of newspaper headline and campaign poster. SA marching at night. SA house and trade union house. Title: "Election Day in Berlin 5 March 1933." Franz von Papen votes and is interviewed. Title: "Meeting of Reichstag at which Hitler and his cabinet receive plenary powers of legistaltion 24 March 1933." Hitler speaking to Reichstag. Title: "Part 2: Acquiring totalitarian control of Germany 1933-1935." "Opening of official antisemitic campaign 1 April 1933." Crowds listen to Goebbels speak about the boycott. Boycott footage. Title: "Foreign Press Conference April 1933." Goebbels, then Hitler speak. Title: "The Burning of the Books 10 May 1933." Bookburning footage, including Goebbels' speech. Title: "Reichstag address on Disarmament 17 May 1933." Hitler speaks to Reichstag. Title: "Youth Meeting in Thuringia 18 June 1933." Hitler speaks to youth. Title: "Swastika becomes National Symbol 9 July 1933." Hitler speaks to rally, saying that he doesn't believe that the enemies who once laughed [at Germany] are still laughing ["... und ich glaube nicht, dass die Gegner die damals noch gelacht haben, heute auch noch lachen."]. This part of the speech is untranslated. He then talks about the flag, which is translated. Title: "Fifth Party Congress September 1933." Hitler walking through crowds and speaking at party congress. Title: "1934"; "Over radio network Hess administers oath of allegiance to more than 1,000,000 leaders of the NSDAP and all affiliated organizations 25 February 1934." Hess administers the oath to huge crowd. Title: "Hess reaffirms Hitler's faith in SA after Roehm purge July 1934." Hess states that Hitler has punished the guilty parties in the SA. Robert Ley stands on a podium with Hitler and presents to him 50,000 men from the Reich Labor Corps (Reichsarbeitsdienst) Close-up on a fanatical-looking member of the Reich Labor Corps as he makes a statement about how they are soldiers armed with shovels and pickaxes.

Note(s)

  • Some of the sequences in the English version have been edited down. The slate at the beginning of this tape is incorrect -- it is reel 1, not reel 4. The credits list Robert Webb, Robert Parrish, and John McCafferty as film editors. There is also a thank you to Col. Darryl F. Zanuck for making the adapted English version possible.

  • "The Nazi Plan" was shown as evidence at the International Military Tribunal (IMT) in Nuremberg on December 11, 1945. It was compiled by Budd Schulberg and other military personnel, under the supervision of Navy Commander James Donovan. The compilers took pains to use only German source material, including official newsreels and other German films (1919-45). It was put together for the US Counsel for the Prosecution of Axis Criminality and the US Office of the Chief Counsel for War Crimes. The film was received in evidence as IMT exhibit USA-167. Summary from NARA story card (archive source number 238.1): "On the activities and policies of the National Socialist Party in Germany, 1921-1944, particularly as reflected in the speeches of Adolf Hitler. Shows much of the pagentry associated with the speeches. Consists of four parts: Part I: The rise of the NSDAP, 1921-1933 (reels 1-2); Part II: Acquiring totalitarian control of Germany, 1933-1935 (reels 3-8); Part III: Preparation for wars of aggression, 1935-1939 (reels 9-16); and Part IV: Wars of aggression, 1939-1944 (reels 17-22)."

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