Americans visit Europe in 1938
Creator(s)
- John Voigt
- Ralph Voigt (Camera Operator)
Biographical History
Ralph Voigt graduated from St John’s Military Academy high school in 1937. He was the only child of Elmer and Nellie. Elmer’s father, Otto, immigrated from Germany to Milwaukee WI. Elmer was an executive of Western Publishing Company and was an avid movie maker.
Scope and Content
Ralph Voigt recorded his family's travel to Europe in 1938, likely in celebration of Ralph's graduation from high school, Title- EUROPE 1938. Couple, probably Elmer and Nellie Voigt, at desk with pamphlet ‘How to See Europe’. The Americans are well-dressed and packing nice clothes. 1:02 Moving train. Ship smokestacks. Map of Europe with the travel itinerary: Havre, Paris, Versailles, Basel, Lucerne, Berne, Zurich, Como, Florence, Siena, Rome, Naples, Venice, Budapest, Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, Mittenwald, Nuremberg, Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin, Kolberg, London, and Bath. 2:07 Title- FRANCE and ITALY. 2:17 Title- PARIS The Place de le Concorde. Street scene with impressive buildings and cars. 2:48 Title- The LOUVRE and the TUILERIES. EXT large building. Park with fountains, possibly in spring or fall. 3:24 Title- MALMAISON The Home of Napoleon and Josephine. The couple visit a park with a man; they are well-dressed. 3:47 Title- THE LUXEMBOURG GARDENS. Gardens. The lady seen earlier (Nellie Voigt?) Crowds. Children, donkey rides. 5:03 Title- THE SWISS MOUNTAINS. Elevated view of mountain village. Snowy peak. 5:39 Title- BERN. The Capital of Switzerland. Large buildings. 5:50 Title- ROME. HAS of Rome and the Vatican. 6:10 Title- MODERN ROME. MUSSOLINI’S FORUM PALACE VENEZIA. Garden with statues. Street scene in Rome. 6:47 Title- THE VICTOR EMANUEL II MONUMENT. PALACE OF THE QUIRINALE. Building with columns. 7:09 Title- SAINT PETER’S BASILICA. EXT scenes of the basilica. 7:47 Title- FOUNTAIN OF TREVI ST. ANGELO PALACE. Fountain. 8:07 Title- ANCIENT ROME The Grandeur That Was Rome. Elevated shots of the city of Rome and the Colosseum. 8:47 Title- THE ROMAN FORUM “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” The American visitors with a younger man visit the Roman Forum. 9:52 Title- THE HARBOR OF NAPLES. Ship in the harbor. Volcanic mountain. 10:33 Title- POMPEII Buried by ashes from Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, the excavations in 1748 revealed much of Roman life. The Americans walk among the ruins of Pompeii. 11:23 Title- VETTI’S HOUSE in POMPEII. Tourists. 11:43 Title- THE THEATER AND CIVIL FORUM. 12:16 Title- VENICE The Bride of the Adriatic. Canal. Lady in St. Marks Square feeds the pigeons. 12:37 Title- HUNGARY. On Sunday the peasant girls dress in their brilliant costumes and walk around the village square. Boys and girls in costume in Hungary. 15:07 Title- MOTHER GOES TO WISH A BRIDEGROOM MUCH HAPPINESS. Upon seeing her in a native costume, he invites her to dance. Many fun dancing scenes. 16:35 Title- GERMANY AND ENGLAND. 16:43 Title- IN THE BAVARIAN ALPS. A German church with Nazi flags in foreground. Young women in brown shirts march with swastika flags. Various street scenes. Clausings Bost Hotel. Passions-Theater. 17:57 Title- THE CITY OF NÜRNBERG. Scenes of Nuremberg. Large church. 18:32 Title- SANS SOUCI The Home of Frederick the Great. The Americans visit Sans Souci palace. 19:09 Title- BERLIN Off the Unter den Linden is Wilhelmstrasse on which are Adolf Hitler’s Chancellery and Dr. Goebbels’s Palace. Street scenes in Berlin, tourist shots. 19:51 Title- IN AND AROUND BERLIN. The University, The Museum, The Old City Hall, the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. 20:35 Title- THE ROYAL PALACE OF THE EX-KAISER. 21:02 Title- DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSA Airport and passenger planes with the Nazi insignia on tails. 22:01 Title- “THE ROAD TO KOLBERG. From Berlin we take a trip 300 miles up to Kolberg to see my father’s relatives. Here my great grandfather lived as a boy, works as a cabinet maker, and lived on a farm with his folks. We spent many happy hours visiting with Anna and Franz, the two closest relatives. They told us of our relatives living now in Kolberg and we told them of those living in the U.S. They showed us the old cabinet shop, the farm where my grandfather lived, and also the station where he began his trip to America.” Country road lined with trees. The Voigts with their relatives. Yellow house in the country and farm buildings. More family members and friends. 24:56 Title- LONDON. BUCKINGHAM PALACE The Changing of the Guard. The military guard at Buckingham Palace. 26:12 Title- THE HORSE GUARDS OF WHITEHALL. The Americans visiting the palace in London. 26:55 Title- THE SHAKESPEARIAN COUNTRY The Bard of Avon. Old country house. 27:43 Title- WARWICK CASTLE. 28:04 Title- HOMEWARD BOUND ON THE QUEEN MARY. Views on board the Queen Mary ship to New York. Men bring suitcases with stickers of the countries they visited into the house. The group of travelers pose. 28:55 Title- A VOIGT PRODUCTION. The film ends.
Subjects
- GUARDS
- STREETS
- CITIES
- AIRPORTS
- TRAINS
- AIRPLANES
- PALACES/CASTLES
- ALPS
- PARKS
- TOURISM/SIGHTSEEING
- CHURCHES
- SWASTIKAS
- MOUNTAINS
- MAPS
- MARCHING
- QUEEN MARY (SHIP)
- FAMILIES
Places
- , Atlantic Ocean
- Paris, France
- Rome, Italy
- Bern, Switzerland
- Nuremberg, Germany
- Venice, Italy
- London, England
- Berlin, Germany
- , Hungary
Genre
- Amateur.
- Film