U.S. magazine advertisement for the film “The Ramparts We Watch” (1940)

Magazine advertisement for the American feature film “The Ramparts We Watch,” released in the United States on August 16, 1940, and re-released in September with a revised ending. “The Ramparts We Watch” was the first feature-length film produced by March of Time, a subsidiary of Time, Inc., who was primarily known for newsreels. As a result, the film blends newsreel and archival footage with dramatized scenes. Filmed in New London, Connecticut, producers recruited local residents for the cast. The film begins in 1914, when Americans are learning about the escalation of war in Europe. It centers on the residents of an unnamed small town, which includes Austrian and German immigrants who are directly affected and treated with suspicion. As the war progresses, residents of the town and nation begin debating whether the United States should remain neutral. After the U.S. enters the war in 1917, many of the men in the town volunteer or are drafted. The film’s final section is an appeal to the audience, explicitly arguing that in the present day, the country is facing a similar threat from Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and advocates for intervention. “The Ramparts We Watch” incorporated footage from the German propaganda film “Baptism of Fire,” and the filmmakers were accused of piracy by a German distribution company and threatened with reprisals by the German government. The film was also banned in several U.S. states because of the footage. This object is one of more than 1,200 objects in the Cinema Judaica Collection of materials related to films about World War II and the Holocaust as well as Jewish, Israeli, and biblical themes.