Die Deutsche Wochenschau is the title of the unified newsreel series released in the cinemas of Nazi Germany from June 1940 until the end of World War II, with the final edition issued on 22 March 1945. The co-ordinated newsreel production was set up as a vital instrument for the mass distribution of Nazi propaganda at war.
In this Die Deutsche Wochenschau video:
00:41 Boris III. of Bulgaria (1894-1943) was the Tsar of Bulgaria from 1918 until his death in August 1943. Despite Bulgaria being a Tsardom and Boris official title therefore being Tsar, it was and is common both in English and German media to refer to him incorrectly as “King”.
0:50 This is referring to the fact that Bulgaria was part of the Central Powers in WWI, fighting alongside Germany from October 1915 until 30th September 1918. Bulgaria initially remained neutral during WWII, however, with German support, it received Southern Dobruja from Romania as part of the Treaty of Craiova in September 1940. Bulgaria introduced antisemitic laws in January 1941, denying citizenship to Bulgarian Jews and restricting several rights for them. Bulgaria officially joined the Axis in March 1941, however, it did not take part in the Invasion of the Soviet Union, even maintaining formal diplomatic relationship with the Soviet Union, as many Bulgarians were pro-Russian at that time. Still, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria on September 8th, 1944, and occupied the country.
01:15 Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893-1946) was Foreign Minister of Germany from February 1938 to April 1945. Tried and hanged as a war criminal in Nuremberg.
01:41 Carinhall was a large, luxurious private estate of Hermann Göring outside of Berlin, named after his first wife, Caring Göring (1888-1931).
06:19 Karl Dönitz (1891-1980) was a German Navy officer during both wars, joining the German Navy in 1910. During WWII, he became commander of the U-Boat in October 1939, and chief of the German Navy in January 1943, and Hitlers successor as President of Germany in early May 1945. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral on March 14th, 1942.
06:45 The attack on Aruba was an attack on oil installations and tankers by German and Italian submarines on February 16th, 1942. Aruba, a small Dutch colonial island in the Caribbean sea, was home two to of the largest oil refineries at that time. It was attacked by the Axis submarines, with 6 allied tankers sunk and 2 damaged; also, the submarines shelled the oil depots on the island itself. This attack interrupted allied fuel transport for a few weeks.
06:46 All I could find was an attack on Curacao on April 19th 1942, so over two weeks after the airing of this episode. Im not entirely sure which attack is referred here.
06:52 The numbers on these pennants signify the tonnage of enemy ships destroyed.
07:00 In early 1942, the Germans indeed managed to sink a large number of Allied ships and interrupt trade between America and Europe, however, thanks to the large industrial power of the US, the Allies were able to replace these losses in only a few months.
07:05 The German Cross was a military award, introduced in September 1941. It was intended as an in-between medal between the Iron Cross and Knights Cross. It was awarded in Silver and Gold, with the Silver one usually awarded for Leadership, e.g. for staff officers, while the one in Gold awarded for bravery. 24,404 Gold and 1,114 Silver German Crosses were awarded during the war.
08:00 These soldiers have been awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class
.
10:14 This is a Soviet DShK Heavy MG, introduced in 1938. Weighing 34 kilos and chambered in 12,7x 108mm, it was one of the heaviest Soviet MGs used during WWII. This example was probably captured by the Finnish, who often used captured Soviet guns both during the Winter War and WWII.
11:07 These guns are most likely 76mm divisional guns M1939, the standard Soviet division-level artillery piece. 9,812 built between 1939-1941.
11:30 While I couldn’t confirm which one exactly, these guns are very old Russian guns, model 1877. Either as 87mm, 107mm or maybe even 152mm, these are definitely old Russian field guns from the 1870s.
15:20 This gun is a 21cm Mortar 18, a heavy howitzer used by the Germans during WWII. Despite its name, its not a Mortar, but a howitzer (All German guns over 20cm were named “Mortar”). With shells weighing 63 kilos, it was a devastating weapon. 738 built between 1939-1945.
16:31 This sign reads “100.000th shell”
16:49 This gun is a famous 8,8cm FlaK 36 AA/AT-gun.
17:09 This gun is a light 2cm FlaK 38 AA-gun.
17:26 This tank is a Soviet T-34/76
17:35 These are German Panzer 38(t) light tanks.
17:38 This is an early version StuG 3 with the short barrel 75mm gun.
18:36 Naokuni Nomura (1885-1973) was a Japanese Admiral. He joined the Japanese navy as an officer in 1907, and became a staff officer in the 1920s. From November 1940 to August 1943, he was the Japanese naval attaché in Berlin.
18:39 Abe is a very common name in Japan, and while I did find a few high ranking Japanese navy officers named Abe, none of them were in Europe during 1942, so I’m not sure who exactly this officer is.
18:52 This is a Bf110 heavy fighter.
19:15 These are Ju-52 transport plane.
21:55 These are Italian CR. 42 Falco fighter biplane. Italy continued building and developing biplanes after most nations switched to monoplanes in the early/mid 1930s. The CR.42 is the last Italian monoplane, introduced in 1939, with 1,1819 build between February 1939 and late 1943. Despite its old design, it was pretty nimble and maneuverable, however it lacked in armament, being only armed with two MGs.
Source :
https://archive.org/details/die-deutsche-wochenschau-berita-mingguan-jerman-no.-604-1-april-1942-teks-indonesia
https://digitaler-lesesaal.bundesarchiv.de/en/video/5627/684461
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcs9kmkzcfw
In this Die Deutsche Wochenschau video:
00:41 Boris III. of Bulgaria (1894-1943) was the Tsar of Bulgaria from 1918 until his death in August 1943. Despite Bulgaria being a Tsardom and Boris official title therefore being Tsar, it was and is common both in English and German media to refer to him incorrectly as “King”.
0:50 This is referring to the fact that Bulgaria was part of the Central Powers in WWI, fighting alongside Germany from October 1915 until 30th September 1918. Bulgaria initially remained neutral during WWII, however, with German support, it received Southern Dobruja from Romania as part of the Treaty of Craiova in September 1940. Bulgaria introduced antisemitic laws in January 1941, denying citizenship to Bulgarian Jews and restricting several rights for them. Bulgaria officially joined the Axis in March 1941, however, it did not take part in the Invasion of the Soviet Union, even maintaining formal diplomatic relationship with the Soviet Union, as many Bulgarians were pro-Russian at that time. Still, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria on September 8th, 1944, and occupied the country.
01:15 Joachim von Ribbentrop (1893-1946) was Foreign Minister of Germany from February 1938 to April 1945. Tried and hanged as a war criminal in Nuremberg.
01:41 Carinhall was a large, luxurious private estate of Hermann Göring outside of Berlin, named after his first wife, Caring Göring (1888-1931).
06:19 Karl Dönitz (1891-1980) was a German Navy officer during both wars, joining the German Navy in 1910. During WWII, he became commander of the U-Boat in October 1939, and chief of the German Navy in January 1943, and Hitlers successor as President of Germany in early May 1945. He was promoted to Vice-Admiral on March 14th, 1942.
06:45 The attack on Aruba was an attack on oil installations and tankers by German and Italian submarines on February 16th, 1942. Aruba, a small Dutch colonial island in the Caribbean sea, was home two to of the largest oil refineries at that time. It was attacked by the Axis submarines, with 6 allied tankers sunk and 2 damaged; also, the submarines shelled the oil depots on the island itself. This attack interrupted allied fuel transport for a few weeks.
06:46 All I could find was an attack on Curacao on April 19th 1942, so over two weeks after the airing of this episode. Im not entirely sure which attack is referred here.
06:52 The numbers on these pennants signify the tonnage of enemy ships destroyed.
07:00 In early 1942, the Germans indeed managed to sink a large number of Allied ships and interrupt trade between America and Europe, however, thanks to the large industrial power of the US, the Allies were able to replace these losses in only a few months.
07:05 The German Cross was a military award, introduced in September 1941. It was intended as an in-between medal between the Iron Cross and Knights Cross. It was awarded in Silver and Gold, with the Silver one usually awarded for Leadership, e.g. for staff officers, while the one in Gold awarded for bravery. 24,404 Gold and 1,114 Silver German Crosses were awarded during the war.
08:00 These soldiers have been awarded the Iron Cross 2nd class
.
10:14 This is a Soviet DShK Heavy MG, introduced in 1938. Weighing 34 kilos and chambered in 12,7x 108mm, it was one of the heaviest Soviet MGs used during WWII. This example was probably captured by the Finnish, who often used captured Soviet guns both during the Winter War and WWII.
11:07 These guns are most likely 76mm divisional guns M1939, the standard Soviet division-level artillery piece. 9,812 built between 1939-1941.
11:30 While I couldn’t confirm which one exactly, these guns are very old Russian guns, model 1877. Either as 87mm, 107mm or maybe even 152mm, these are definitely old Russian field guns from the 1870s.
15:20 This gun is a 21cm Mortar 18, a heavy howitzer used by the Germans during WWII. Despite its name, its not a Mortar, but a howitzer (All German guns over 20cm were named “Mortar”). With shells weighing 63 kilos, it was a devastating weapon. 738 built between 1939-1945.
16:31 This sign reads “100.000th shell”
16:49 This gun is a famous 8,8cm FlaK 36 AA/AT-gun.
17:09 This gun is a light 2cm FlaK 38 AA-gun.
17:26 This tank is a Soviet T-34/76
17:35 These are German Panzer 38(t) light tanks.
17:38 This is an early version StuG 3 with the short barrel 75mm gun.
18:36 Naokuni Nomura (1885-1973) was a Japanese Admiral. He joined the Japanese navy as an officer in 1907, and became a staff officer in the 1920s. From November 1940 to August 1943, he was the Japanese naval attaché in Berlin.
18:39 Abe is a very common name in Japan, and while I did find a few high ranking Japanese navy officers named Abe, none of them were in Europe during 1942, so I’m not sure who exactly this officer is.
18:52 This is a Bf110 heavy fighter.
19:15 These are Ju-52 transport plane.
21:55 These are Italian CR. 42 Falco fighter biplane. Italy continued building and developing biplanes after most nations switched to monoplanes in the early/mid 1930s. The CR.42 is the last Italian monoplane, introduced in 1939, with 1,1819 build between February 1939 and late 1943. Despite its old design, it was pretty nimble and maneuverable, however it lacked in armament, being only armed with two MGs.
Source :
https://archive.org/details/die-deutsche-wochenschau-berita-mingguan-jerman-no.-604-1-april-1942-teks-indonesia
https://digitaler-lesesaal.bundesarchiv.de/en/video/5627/684461
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcs9kmkzcfw
