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:
00:50 The Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were the two ships of the Scharnhorst-class battleship, built between 1935 and 1939. At 32,600 tons, they were small but fast battleships, with nine 28cm guns as main armament. The Scharnhorst was sunk in December 1943, the Gneisenau sunk by its crew as a blockship in Gotenhafen in March 1945.
00:53 Wilhelm Marschall (1886-1976) was a German admiral of WWII, commanding the Gneisenau in 1939-1940, and later served in staff positions in France.
00:58 This is referring to Operation Juno, a German patrol mission in the Norwegian Sea in June 1940, whose mission it was to intercept Allied convoys returning British troops from Norway. During these patrols, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, plus the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and four destroyers, destroyed a British aircraft carrier, its two accompanying destroyer and a few other minor ships. However, the Scharnhorst was also damaged by a British torpedo, forcing it to spend the rest of the year in repairs.
01:42 By the time of this Newsreel, in June 1940, the two Bismarck-class battleships, who were larger than the Scharnhorst-class, were not yet commissioned. (The Bismarck would be commissioned in August 1940, the Tirpitz in February 1941)
02:12 This is an Arado Ar-196, the standard observation floatplane of the German Navy during WWII. 541 built between 1938 and 1944.
02:34 The heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, together with one destroyer, was sent to Trondheim during this mission, leaving the flotilla.
02:53 The HMS Glorious was the British aircraft carrier sunk during Operation Juno. Originally a Courageous-class battlecruiser, commissioned in January 1917, it was converted into an aircraft carrier between 1924 and 1930. On June 8th 1940, the Glorious had no aircraft in the sky and didn’t spot the German battleships, resulting in them being able to get into firing range and destroying it within two hours.
04:04 The Glorious was only armed with 120mm guns, which had a maximum firing range of around 14km. The German ships, however, opened fire over a very long distance, up to 24km, leaving the Glorious no chance of firing back.
04:57 The two destroyers sunk were the HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent, A-class destroyers built in the late 1920s.
07:24 The Orama was a civilian passenger ship, commissioned by the Orient Steam Navigation Company in 1924 and used for passenger and post service between the UK and Australia. In early 1940, the ship was taken over by the Royal Navy. During Operation Juno, it was on its way to Harstad to pick up British troops there, when it was intercepted and quickly sunk by the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper.
08:25 Indeed, Operation Juno was a victory for the Germans, however, it didn’t reach its main goal. No British returning convoys were intercepted, the only troop transporter sunk was empty, and the Scharnhorst was damaged by a torpedo launched from one of the destroyers. Actually, the German Naval Command was very angry with how Admiral Marschall led the operation, as he had specific orders to intercept British convoys and not attack capital ships, and he did exactly the opposite. Plus, while the loss of the Glorious was indeed a heavy blow to the Royal Navy, it was an older carrier, converted from a WWI era battlecruiser, so the loss was not too heavy.
08:39 Paris was occupied by German troops on June 14th, 1940.
08:46 The Maginot-Line, the famous French defensive system on the French-German border, was frontally attacked by German troops of the 1st Army after the breakthrough in the Ardennes and the capture of Paris on June 14th, 1940.
09:11 This is a He-111 medium bomber, the standard tactical bomber of the Wehrmacht during WWII. 6,508 made between 1935 and 1944.
09:34 These are Ju-87 dive bombers.
09:46 This is a 21cm Mörser 18, a heavy artillery piece used by the Wehrmacht. 739 manufactured between 1939 and 1945.
09:57 These are 15cm sFH 18, the standard heavy artillery gun of the Wehrmacht. 6,756 made between 1933 and 1945.
10:01 These are 7,5cm leiG 18, the standard German infantry gun of WWII. Roughly 12,000 made between 1932 and 1945.
10:22 These are probably troops from the 7th Army, which crossed the Rhine on June 15th, penetrating French defenses and captured the cities of Colmar and Strassburg.
13:10 Unlike the impression created here, there was not a lot of fighting at the Maginot Line. The German attack began, as stated above, on June 14th, two days before the French asked for an armistice, and 7 days before the armistice began. Therefore, not a lot of fighting happened, and while the Germans managed to take out some of the smaller bunkers, especially the larger bunkers withhold German attacks, many of them in a position to withstand German attacks for weeks or even months.
13:39 This is a 2cm FlaK 30 AA-gun.
13:46 This is a Bf-109 Fighter plane.
14:33 Straßburg, in Alsacce, was part of Germany from 1871-1914, and came back to France after WWI, and then back to Germany from 1940 to 1944, before being again part of France since the end of WWII.
14:52 This is an Sd. Kfz. 222 scout car, armed with a 2cm autocannon. 990 built between 1935 and 1943.
15:00 These are light Panzer II tanks, armed with a 2cm autocannon.
15:05 The “G” on the back of the turret indicates that this tank belonged to the Tank Group Guderian, a tank unit formed on June 5th, advancing through the Ardennes to the coast, and then later took part in cutting off the Maginot Line from the rest of the French troops.
15:13 The Vogesen are a low mountain range near the French/German border.
15:24 This is a Panzer III Ausf. E, the first Panzer III variant built in somewhat larger numbers, with 96 manufactured between 1938 and 1939.
18:23 Unlike in WWI, there was no bigger fighting around Verdun during WWII. Only a few French troops were stationed as vanguard there, and some of the old, WWI-era guns fired a few shots at advancing German troops, but this was only to slow them down, there was no serious fighting around Verdun in WWII.
19:16 This is a French monument erected to commemorate the fighting around Verdun in 1916.
20:20 Ernst Busch (1885-1945) was a German General, later Field Marshall of WWII. During the invasion of France, he commanded the 16th Army, which covered the left flank of Guderians Tank Corps.
20:44 As the armistice was sign on June 22nd, this was also the day the French Army surrendered in the Maginot Line.
20:53 Technically, large parts of the Maginot Line were still intact and prepared to hold out, but they surrendered accordingly.
20:57 This is most likely referring to the French 4th, 5th and 8th Army, which were stationed at the Maginot-Line, and their respective commanders (Generals Requin, Bourret and Garchery).
21:30 The usage of African colonial troops by the French was often targeted by Nazi propaganda; the black soldiers were racially insulted and humiliated in Nazi propaganda.
22:13 The first tank here is an early production model Panzer IV, followed by two early Panzer III and then a few Panzer II.
22:31 This is an Sd. Kfz. 232, an eight-wheel radio car with a large frame aerial, produced from 1938 to 1943.
22:39 These are again Sd. Kfz. 222
22:50 These are all kinds of different tanks, Panzer I, II, III, IV etc.
23:37 This is a StuG III. Ausf A, the first production variant of the StuG III. These were still quite rare in the Battle of France, only 36 were produced between January and May 1940.
23:50 This is again a Panzer III Ausf. E.
24:32 Again a StuG III. Ausf A, the short-barrel 7,5cm StuK 37 is visible.
25:06 The tank in the middle and on the right are Char B1, a heavy tank produced by France between 1935 and 1940. It had a 47mm gun in the turret and a 75mm howitzer in the chassis. With a frontal armor of 40, later 60mm, it was basically impenetrable for most German tanks. 405 build, and a lot of these used by the Germans later on, who also rebuild them into flamethrower tanks and SPGs. The tank on the left is a WWI era Renault FT, the worlds first tank with a movable turret. Despite being clearly outdated in 1940, France still had 504 of these in service, and were used during WWII.
25:14 This is a Somua S-35 medium tank, armed with a 47mm gun and up to 47mm of armor. Around 440 were built between 1935 and June 1940, many of these were later re-used by the Germans.
25:27 The tank on the right here is a Hotchkiss H-35, a small French cavalry tank build between September 1936 and June 1940. It had strong armor for a light tank (40mm on the turret and 34mm on the hull) and a 37mm gun. 1200 were made, making it the most built French tank of the interwar period. About 550 H-35 were captured by the Germans and used for fight against partisans and the chassis were converted into a variety of TDs and SPGs.
25:47 This is again a Panzer II light tank.
27:29 Alfred Jodl (1890-1946) was a German General who was Chief of the Operations Staff of the Wehrmacht from September 1939 to May 1945, Walther von Brauchitsch (1881-1948) was Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht from February 1938 to December 1941, and Wilhelm Keitel (1882-1946) was Chief of the OKW from February 1938 to May 1945.
00:53 Wilhelm Marschall (1886-1976) was a German admiral of WWII, commanding the Gneisenau in 1939-1940, and later served in staff positions in France.
00:58 This is referring to Operation Juno, a German patrol mission in the Norwegian Sea in June 1940, whose mission it was to intercept Allied convoys returning British troops from Norway. During these patrols, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst, plus the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper and four destroyers, destroyed a British aircraft carrier, its two accompanying destroyer and a few other minor ships. However, the Scharnhorst was also damaged by a British torpedo, forcing it to spend the rest of the year in repairs.
01:42 By the time of this Newsreel, in June 1940, the two Bismarck-class battleships, who were larger than the Scharnhorst-class, were not yet commissioned. (The Bismarck would be commissioned in August 1940, the Tirpitz in February 1941)
02:12 This is an Arado Ar-196, the standard observation floatplane of the German Navy during WWII. 541 built between 1938 and 1944.
02:34 The heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, together with one destroyer, was sent to Trondheim during this mission, leaving the flotilla.
02:53 The HMS Glorious was the British aircraft carrier sunk during Operation Juno. Originally a Courageous-class battlecruiser, commissioned in January 1917, it was converted into an aircraft carrier between 1924 and 1930. On June 8th 1940, the Glorious had no aircraft in the sky and didn’t spot the German battleships, resulting in them being able to get into firing range and destroying it within two hours.
04:04 The Glorious was only armed with 120mm guns, which had a maximum firing range of around 14km. The German ships, however, opened fire over a very long distance, up to 24km, leaving the Glorious no chance of firing back.
04:57 The two destroyers sunk were the HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent, A-class destroyers built in the late 1920s.
07:24 The Orama was a civilian passenger ship, commissioned by the Orient Steam Navigation Company in 1924 and used for passenger and post service between the UK and Australia. In early 1940, the ship was taken over by the Royal Navy. During Operation Juno, it was on its way to Harstad to pick up British troops there, when it was intercepted and quickly sunk by the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper.
08:25 Indeed, Operation Juno was a victory for the Germans, however, it didn’t reach its main goal. No British returning convoys were intercepted, the only troop transporter sunk was empty, and the Scharnhorst was damaged by a torpedo launched from one of the destroyers. Actually, the German Naval Command was very angry with how Admiral Marschall led the operation, as he had specific orders to intercept British convoys and not attack capital ships, and he did exactly the opposite. Plus, while the loss of the Glorious was indeed a heavy blow to the Royal Navy, it was an older carrier, converted from a WWI era battlecruiser, so the loss was not too heavy.
08:39 Paris was occupied by German troops on June 14th, 1940.
08:46 The Maginot-Line, the famous French defensive system on the French-German border, was frontally attacked by German troops of the 1st Army after the breakthrough in the Ardennes and the capture of Paris on June 14th, 1940.
09:11 This is a He-111 medium bomber, the standard tactical bomber of the Wehrmacht during WWII. 6,508 made between 1935 and 1944.
09:34 These are Ju-87 dive bombers.
09:46 This is a 21cm Mörser 18, a heavy artillery piece used by the Wehrmacht. 739 manufactured between 1939 and 1945.
09:57 These are 15cm sFH 18, the standard heavy artillery gun of the Wehrmacht. 6,756 made between 1933 and 1945.
10:01 These are 7,5cm leiG 18, the standard German infantry gun of WWII. Roughly 12,000 made between 1932 and 1945.
10:22 These are probably troops from the 7th Army, which crossed the Rhine on June 15th, penetrating French defenses and captured the cities of Colmar and Strassburg.
13:10 Unlike the impression created here, there was not a lot of fighting at the Maginot Line. The German attack began, as stated above, on June 14th, two days before the French asked for an armistice, and 7 days before the armistice began. Therefore, not a lot of fighting happened, and while the Germans managed to take out some of the smaller bunkers, especially the larger bunkers withhold German attacks, many of them in a position to withstand German attacks for weeks or even months.
13:39 This is a 2cm FlaK 30 AA-gun.
13:46 This is a Bf-109 Fighter plane.
14:33 Straßburg, in Alsacce, was part of Germany from 1871-1914, and came back to France after WWI, and then back to Germany from 1940 to 1944, before being again part of France since the end of WWII.
14:52 This is an Sd. Kfz. 222 scout car, armed with a 2cm autocannon. 990 built between 1935 and 1943.
15:00 These are light Panzer II tanks, armed with a 2cm autocannon.
15:05 The “G” on the back of the turret indicates that this tank belonged to the Tank Group Guderian, a tank unit formed on June 5th, advancing through the Ardennes to the coast, and then later took part in cutting off the Maginot Line from the rest of the French troops.
15:13 The Vogesen are a low mountain range near the French/German border.
15:24 This is a Panzer III Ausf. E, the first Panzer III variant built in somewhat larger numbers, with 96 manufactured between 1938 and 1939.
18:23 Unlike in WWI, there was no bigger fighting around Verdun during WWII. Only a few French troops were stationed as vanguard there, and some of the old, WWI-era guns fired a few shots at advancing German troops, but this was only to slow them down, there was no serious fighting around Verdun in WWII.
19:16 This is a French monument erected to commemorate the fighting around Verdun in 1916.
20:20 Ernst Busch (1885-1945) was a German General, later Field Marshall of WWII. During the invasion of France, he commanded the 16th Army, which covered the left flank of Guderians Tank Corps.
20:44 As the armistice was sign on June 22nd, this was also the day the French Army surrendered in the Maginot Line.
20:53 Technically, large parts of the Maginot Line were still intact and prepared to hold out, but they surrendered accordingly.
20:57 This is most likely referring to the French 4th, 5th and 8th Army, which were stationed at the Maginot-Line, and their respective commanders (Generals Requin, Bourret and Garchery).
21:30 The usage of African colonial troops by the French was often targeted by Nazi propaganda; the black soldiers were racially insulted and humiliated in Nazi propaganda.
22:13 The first tank here is an early production model Panzer IV, followed by two early Panzer III and then a few Panzer II.
22:31 This is an Sd. Kfz. 232, an eight-wheel radio car with a large frame aerial, produced from 1938 to 1943.
22:39 These are again Sd. Kfz. 222
22:50 These are all kinds of different tanks, Panzer I, II, III, IV etc.
23:37 This is a StuG III. Ausf A, the first production variant of the StuG III. These were still quite rare in the Battle of France, only 36 were produced between January and May 1940.
23:50 This is again a Panzer III Ausf. E.
24:32 Again a StuG III. Ausf A, the short-barrel 7,5cm StuK 37 is visible.
25:06 The tank in the middle and on the right are Char B1, a heavy tank produced by France between 1935 and 1940. It had a 47mm gun in the turret and a 75mm howitzer in the chassis. With a frontal armor of 40, later 60mm, it was basically impenetrable for most German tanks. 405 build, and a lot of these used by the Germans later on, who also rebuild them into flamethrower tanks and SPGs. The tank on the left is a WWI era Renault FT, the worlds first tank with a movable turret. Despite being clearly outdated in 1940, France still had 504 of these in service, and were used during WWII.
25:14 This is a Somua S-35 medium tank, armed with a 47mm gun and up to 47mm of armor. Around 440 were built between 1935 and June 1940, many of these were later re-used by the Germans.
25:27 The tank on the right here is a Hotchkiss H-35, a small French cavalry tank build between September 1936 and June 1940. It had strong armor for a light tank (40mm on the turret and 34mm on the hull) and a 37mm gun. 1200 were made, making it the most built French tank of the interwar period. About 550 H-35 were captured by the Germans and used for fight against partisans and the chassis were converted into a variety of TDs and SPGs.
25:47 This is again a Panzer II light tank.
27:29 Alfred Jodl (1890-1946) was a German General who was Chief of the Operations Staff of the Wehrmacht from September 1939 to May 1945, Walther von Brauchitsch (1881-1948) was Supreme Commander of the Wehrmacht from February 1938 to December 1941, and Wilhelm Keitel (1882-1946) was Chief of the OKW from February 1938 to May 1945.
Source :
https://archive.org/details/die-deutsche-wochenschau-no.-512
https://digitaler-lesesaal.bundesarchiv.de/en/video/8924
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2Pi8reTezU
