1938/39 color footage of the German Reich

Eerie color footage from different German cities, dated 1938 and 1939.

We are shown a training camp of the BdM (Bund deutscher Mädel = League of German Girls, part of the Hitler youth), a party meeting of old fighters of the Nazi movement, and a military parade in the Ruhrgebiet in 1938, which just two years before was a demilitarized territory under the Versailles treaty.

Next up is some footage of the visit of David Llyod George, English politician, convinced that Hitler could be persuaded to peace. After some footage from the Spanish civil war, in which the Franco regime was aided by the Nazis, we see some images from the so-called "Gausporttage" (District Sport Festival), including the performances of the Motor-HJ, showcasing the early military education of the youth.

After some shoots of Berlin city life just before the outbreak of the war (also showing the newly built Reichskanzlei, see earlier post), switch to a briefing on an airfield of the Luftwaffe. The new Messerschmitt planes shown here were used in the raid on Poland in 1939.

Another queer event shown here are recordings of the Polizeimeisterschaften (Police Athletics Championship) 1939 in the town of Frankfurt (Oder), one of the disciplines being "hand grenade throwing". The winner threw to nearly 80 meters. The police corps were directly subordinate to the chief of the SS, Heinrich Himmler, and are said to have perpetrated some of the most grueling crimes and massacres against Jews and civilians during the war.

Hitler's new chancellery

For building the Neue Reichkanzlei (Reich Chancellery), Hitler issued a blank cheque to his favorite architect Albert Speer. (In fact, the total costs exceeded 90 Million Reichsmark, more than a billion dollars today.)

Hitler wanted to create an impressive building to wow foreign diplomats, who were supposed to be intimidated by having to walk hundreds of meters through the building on expensive yet slippery marble before they would meet the Führer.

The sheer dimensions of the rooms and hallways (some up to 20 meters in heights) and the extravagant decorations (nearly 150 paintings were bought from museums) were designed to reflect the power of the Third Reich and instill in the visitor a sense of worthlessness.


Even though the building was only lightly damaged by air bombings, the Soviet occupation force decided to tear it down shortly after the ending of the war, as it had become one of the symbols of the Nazi reign. Some pieces of the extraordinary marble mosaics are said to have been reused in a Berlin subway station.

einestages: 70 Jahre Neue Reichskanzlei