American soldiers move through Belgium and Germany

Identifier
irn1005078
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • RG-60.1791
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Silent
Source
EHRI Partner

Creator(s)

Biographical History

Major William J. Fedeli served in the European Theater of Operations with the 534 Quartermaster Group from June 1943 to February 1946. Refer to the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project for more biographical information about Mr. Fedeli. He donated his nine 8mm films to the Library of Congress in July 2003.

Scope and Content

Reel 11: (1945) Eupen, Belgium; Duren, Germany Aachen in ruins. Sign, "Deutsch Pilsener Aus Der Brauerei Decker Aachen." [Fedeli reports moving to Eilendorf, Germany through Aachen, Siegfried Line, and Duren in mid-March 1945 and then to Euskirchen.] Army trucks on the road. VAR shots of another city in ruins, a dead horse lies in the street. More ruins, planes fly overhead. Tanks and trucks, soldiers. More city views. HAS, group of boys with soldiers in the street. Truck, passing ruins, dead animals in a field. Signs, "Vamoose, Master Signal Depot #3 and Bonn, Remagen and Euskirchen; N56, N51 and N56." Soldiers on the street, damaged war tank, overturned, contrails in the sky. More contrails, soldiers examine the contents of a rucksack. Soldier poses beside a large statue of a man. Pan of more ruins. Displaced refugees walk through the town with their belongings in a cart. An American flag. Military men. Soldiers walking in a field, a man digs a trench. ECU, man's face. Man rides bicycle wearing a top hat, soldiers try it on. Street views, a girl walks with a bucket. Two soldiers converse. INT, men at a table, reading. Soldiers get into a tank. Tent camp. Reel 12: (1945) Ruins of Brus, France; Siegfried Line; Belgium; Germany Touring ruins again, people on bicycles, traffic, a soldier walks around a ruined church. Building sign, "Ateliers de Bruz." Street views of a city. Three American soldiers salute camera. The countryside with a large chateaux in the distance. A soldier and small child outside a country home. City views. Sign, "Entering Germany." Soldiers stand by Siegfried Line. Moving toward another destination, sign: "N1 Albenhoven, N3 Liege, N28 Eupen, L88 Raeren to N258, Neerlen, N57 Alsdorf." CU, Army vehicle license plate for Fedeli's Quartermaster Corps #534, "15 534 QM." Downed plane in a field, trucks. Crowds of displaced persons on foot in the street. Crashed Nazi plane. Cemetery, ruins. Abandoned German trucks. Red Cross vehicles. Planes overhead and the countryside. Message spray-painted on a building reads "Mit Hitler Zum Sieg," [With Hitler to Victory] and people walk by. Soldiers march in the street past a church. Building sign, "Quellenhof." Soldiers walk by with handmade sign "534 QM BP" and hand out large bundles. Back on the road, views of American tanks parked in a field. Signs, "Under Enemy Fire, Keep Interval" and "Remagen Bridges Sinzig." Driving across the pontoon bridge. [Fedeli reports moving to Bad Neuenahr across the Rhine at Remagen to Marburg, Germany with "bad roads" in early April 1945 and then from Marburg to Bad Wildungen.]

Note(s)

  • USHMM originally ordered a digital copy of the reference video (an early transfer of the 8mm films) under 1178645-2-1 in January 2016 as Film ID 4160. USHMM ordered new HD transfers in July 2016 under 2282980-2-1 as Film ID 4259. Refer to SSFVA files for Major Fedeli's notes (ca. 2003) outlining his World War II military experience from 1943 to 1945 with references to the movie reels.

Subjects

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.