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Prelude to War

Government Films1942Public Domain
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About this film

National Archives and Records Administration ARC Identifier 36067 / Local Identifier 111-OF-1 Prelude to War Department of Defense. Department of the Army. Office of the Chief Signal Officer. (09/18/1947 - 02/28/1964). This motion picture film explores the background of World War II. Reel 1 shows the bombing of Pearl Harbor, London air raids, cavalry and tank battles in Russia, and Panzer and Luftwaffe operations in western Europe. Footage also shows Fascists in Italy and Nazis in Germany as they riot and parade. In Reel 2, Emperor Hirohito inspects Japanese troops. Footage also shows military demonstrations in the Axis countries, their legislatures in session, German slave labor, Alfred Rosenberg's denunciation of the church in Germany and reenactments of political assassinations. In Reel 3, Axis school children receive political indoctrination, Secretary of State Frank Billings Kellogg hands the 1929 Peace Pact to President Hoover, and U.S. citizens state isolationist views. Footage also shows Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and Works Projects Administration (WPA) workers constructing a road. Reel 4 contrasts play of U.S. children with military games of Nazi children and diagra…

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National Archives and Records Administration

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archives.gov;public.resource.org

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