U.S. 8th Infantry in the Rhineland
Creator(s)
- Museum of Jewish Heritage
- Abraham T. Banen (Camera Operator)
Biographical History
Dr. Abraham T. Banen (1909-2014) served with the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II, likely with the 551st Engineer Heavy Ponton Battalion. Banen grew up in Minnesota, majored in German at the University of Wisconsin, and studied dentistry at the University of Minnesota. Banen enlisted in the Army and landed in Normandy with his infantry battalion in July 1944. In March 1945, the 551st Battalion completed the construction of the 1900-foot pontoon bridge across the swift-moving Rhine River, making it possible for the Allied Armies to cross and initiate the big push to end the war. Banen used a personal 16mm movie camera to document his wartime experiences. He was often relied upon for translations in German and French. He was shot in the back of his knee and awarded a Purple Heart. In January 1946, at 37 years old, Banen started a dental practice in International Falls, Minnesota, married Blanche Bachinski in Guatemala City in 1949, and had three children. From 1972-1974, he served as mayor of International Falls. He lived to the age of 104.
Scope and Content
Title card: "Banen Productions" "8th Infantry Division: Normandy. Northern France. Rhineland. Central Europe." Swastika flag. American soldiers in the Rhineland, smoke in field. Damaged cathedral in Cologne. Ruins. "Cologne air field" Soldiers board U.S. Army Air Forces Air Transport plane. Title card: "Crossing the Rhine! surely Jerry won't hold out long now!" American military vehicles cross the Rhine River in March 1945. Traveling in trucks on roads, passing abandoned tanks. Rubble in villages. Road sign for Altenkirchen. 01:07:16 Medics loading wounded military into ambulance "USA 725448-S". INTs, hospital, wounded with bandages, some on stretchers. 01:08:55 Displaced German men crouched with their belongings. White flags of surrender hanging from windows. More local civilians (mainly women and children), repair roads. Autobahn. Directional sign for Ratingen and Essen, and another for Dusseldorf. Title card: "Duisburg" Street scenes in Duisburg. 01:11:23 (color) Daily life in the city of Duisburg, civilians, bicycles. Ruined buildings, destruction. Newspapers posted on brick building exteriors. Title card: "Nonfraternization" American soldiers with local women. 01:13:20 Uniformed American soldier, likely Dr. Banen, on city street approaches the camera and smiles. Title card: "Hotel Duisburg I stayed here 5 days" EXT hotel. Filling buckets with water pump. Sign for a dentist: "Dr. Dalhoff Zahnarzt" Rubble, church, women riding bicycles. Children playing in bomb craters. Reparing a flat tire. CUs, children sitting besidTitle card: "Banen Productions" "8th Infantry Division: Normandy. Northern France. Rhineland. Central Europe." Swastika flag. CU, badge #8. American soldiers in the Rhineland, setting up mortars, smoke in field. City sign “#8 Grapefruit Blue” Sign posted by a military tank: “Sightseers Keep Out! Beyond this point you draw fire on fighting men. He risks his life 24 hours a day. DO YOU??” Cathedral in Cologne. Damaged buildings, ruins. Military soldiers. "Cologne air field" Soldiers board U.S. Army Air Forces Air Transport plane. Title card: "Crossing the Rhine! surely Jerry won't hold out long now!" American military vehicles cross the Rhine River in March 1945. Traveling in trucks on roads, passing abandoned tanks. Rubble in villages. Road sign for Altenkirchen. 01:07:16 Medics loading wounded military into ambulance "USA 725448-S". INTs, hospital, wounded with bandages, some on stretchers. 01:08:55 Displaced German men crouched with their belongings. White flags of surrender hanging from windows. More local civilians (mainly women and children), repair roads, cleaning rubble. Autobahn, bombed out bridge. Directional sign for Ratingen and Essen, and another for Dusseldorf. Title card: "Duisburg" Street scenes in Duisburg. 01:11:23 (color) Daily life in the city of Duisburg, civilians, bicycles. Ruined buildings, destruction. Newspapers posted on brick building exteriors. Title card: "Nonfraternization" American soldiers with local women. 01:13:20 Uniformed American soldier, likely Dr. Banen, on city street approaches the camera and smiles. Title card: "Hotel Duisburg I stayed here 5 days" EXT hotel. Filling buckets with water pump. Sign for a dentist: "Dr. Dalhoff Zahnarzt" Street scenes. Rubble, church, women riding bicycles. Children playing in bomb craters. Repairing a flat tire. CUs, children sitting beside the road.
Note(s)
Some sequences are introduced with handmade intertitles.
Subjects
- TRUCKS
- SIGNS/POSTERS
- AIRPLANES
- GERMANY
- RUINS
- GERMANS
- AIRPORTS
- WOUNDED
- CHILDREN
- UNIFORMS
- RED CROSS
- AMBULANCES
- MEDICAL CARE
- RHINE RIVER
- MILITARY VEHICLES
- SMOKE
- CIVILIANS
- BICYCLES
- LIBERATION
- SOLDIERS/MILITARY (AMERICAN)
- RUBBLE
- CHURCHES
Places
- Dusseldorf, Germany
- Essen, Germany
- Altenkirchen, Germany
- Duisburg, Germany
- , Germany
- Cologne, Germany
Genre
- Film
- Amateur.