1945

Wehrmacht surrender in Czechoslovakia, May 1945. Original color footage.

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• published: 20 Feb 2014
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A makeshift slate reads: "Haglund, P 21, May 7." German troops, including Hitler Youth, receive food from an outdoor stove set up in a field. Close-up of a young boy who smiles at the camera. Panning shot of the line of men waiting to receive food. More shots of the men receiving hot soup or cereal of some kind. Men in Luftwaffe uniforms lie on the grass and eat soup. One leafs through a binder or pile of papers. They are smiling and aware of the camera. One man sleeps on the ground. Truckloads of men in military vehicles drive past a border checkpoint. The barrier is raised and a white flag and a Czech flag hang from it. The scene changes to a city in Czechoslovakia, where crowds of people smile and wave handkerchiefs and flags, greeting the American troops. There are Czech and American flags among them. Military vehicles pass slowly through the crowds. This appears to be the same location as the footage found in Story 01:07:28: Slate reading: " Haglund, P 27, May 8." A long line of POWs walks down a street. According to the original shot sheet, these may be "white Russians who fought for Germany" but it is not entirely clear that this is the scene referenced on the sheet. Many of the men look into the camera. Some of them are quite young. The vantage point changes to the back of the line of prisoners. A group of civilians follows behind them. Some of them run to catch up with the prisoners. Close-up of a Russian soldier on horseback. Another (longer) view of a column of prisoners walking along a two lane road in the countryside with fields on either side of the road (Germans or "white Russians who fought for Germany"). The camera moves closer to the prisoners, then follows them from behind. Back in town, another group of prisoners, in horse-drawn wagons, then trucks, pass the camera. More prisoners, on foot and horseback, who may be "Poles who were forced to fight for Nazis." Shots of individual dead SS men, killed by the Czechs, lying on the grass. Some of the men are badly wounded but not yet dead. A group of people stands around a wounded man who raises his head briefly. A dead body with blood on his face lies with Haglund's identifying slate beside his head. Several more shots of dead and severely wounded Germans. A woman described in the shot sheet as an "SS girl" walks down the road. She has been beaten and one eye is swollen shut. Several shots of her as she walks toward the camera. She clasps her hands (she appears to be holding a deck of playing cards) and looks down. The camera pans down her body. A half-naked man with blood on his face lies on the grass and looks at the camera. Another shot of the same woman. She sits on the grass with two men and another man stands in front of them. A group of American soldiers stand and look down at the corpse of a young boy in a German military coat. A white handkerchief is placed over the face of another dead man. Various scenes with smiling Czech civilians. Two young girls, surrounded by German POWs are filmed close-up. They look nervously at the camera (accused collaborators?). 01:21:51: New slate reading "P 80 4/8/45 Haglund." A column of German POWs, some wounded, walk down a road. The camera pans down to the bare feet of one man. Americans drive tanks down the road behind the prisoners. More prisoners; this time the camera follows their legs and feet. Several of the men wear no shoes. Tanks, shot from below, with smiling American soldiers. Music: 1. Jóhann Jóhannsson - They Being Dead Yet Speaketh 2. Franck Pourcel - Adagio pour un vénitien anonyme 3. Johann Sebastian Bach - Air on G String 4. Yuki Kajiura - Hear Our Prayer 5. Ennio Morricone: Risoluzione 819 (Clara/Tutte Le Donne)