Thread: Imagery and propaganda

Here are translations for the narrators text. This are his words (after a rather rough translations) unless noted with a * where I have made some short Annotations.
The translations are far from perfect, for one because I did this at 3am, but also because the German used in such Newsreels are far from the German spoken today and often sounds very..strange and weird. Also I added some links in the text in case someone wants further informations.

Titlescreen: The German weekly newsreel.

0:10-0:25: Aghta, the Captain of a Berlin Explosive Ordnance Disposal squad is awarded the Eichenlaub for disarming over 1016 bombs. Here shown giving orders to his men.

0:25-0:30: Wherever timed or unexploded bombs are a threat to life and home the bomb squad is called.

0:33: *The Shield says Blindgänger (literally „ Blind Walker“). German for unexploded ordinance*.

0:35: Captain Aghta is disabling a timed bomb.

0:40 – 0:50: Panzerfaust training in a German city. Here every German can learn to handle this weapon which is feared by every enemy.

0:50 – 1:05: It is really as easy as it looks. Even women can easily handle this weapon.

1:05 –1:30 The Führer welcomes in his headquarter the Reichs Youth leader Axmann with a group of 20 Hitler youth members. Which have especially proven themselves defending our all home and are awarded the Iron Cross. These 20 boys are symbolic for the German youth who have risen up to stand loyal and brave at the side of the Wehrmacht and Volksturm in combat.

1:30 -1:45 : The War in the east. The unrelenting onslaught of the Bolshevik hordes on the Fortress Breslaus fails time and time again due the iron-willed defence of its habitants. Men and Women work together to keep the defences ready at all time.

1:50 – 1:55: Volkstorm members are preparing defensive positions.

2:05: Alarm in the ruins!

2:15 – 2:26 During the evacuation of threatened populations from east and west prussia the German Kriegsmarine work was exemplary. Far over half a million refugees were brought back into the Reich over the Sea.

2:27 – 2:50: Despite heaviest burden through a dastardly bombing terror the German people are still fulfilling their duty. Uninterrupted the supplies keep rolling to the front, where the German soldiers are facing an enemy who ravages German towns and cities with a brutality seldom seen before in the history of mankind.

2:47- 2:50: *The writing on the wall reads “Protect our Women and children from the Red Beast

2:51 – 3:00 Grenadiers and Volksturm in combat at the rail-damn of Altdamm (Dąbie) (*This position had already been taken by the soviets for 2 or 3 weeks when this reel was produced*)

3:05-3:10: Here a disabled Stalin-Tank.

3:10 – 3:15: Light and heavy flak are engaging tanks and mounted infantry.

3:17 – 3:25: This severely wounded assault gun driver returns to his post right after being patched up.

3:25 – 3:45 : This the Fahnenjunker mentioned in the Report of the OKW, Feldwebel Schmückle and his men. During his first infranty mission Schmückle and his squad held an important point for 24 hours at the Elbe-front against overwhelming Soviet forces and fulfilled exemplary the order of the day: Stand and Fight

so all done. This took far longer then the short duration of the Video implies. I must have watched it at least 20 times in order to do this. If any there any questions left, just ask.

Your effort is hugely appreciated, thank you.

krikey, tarek, amazing work. thanks a bunch.

interesting to note how the newsreel german is so different from today's german. the newsreel english back then was the prestige "mid-atlantic accent", which sounds old-fashioned to modern ears but is quite easy to understand.

It is not that it is hard to understand, but rather that nobody talks like this, or uses those kind of phrases anymore and was more then once lost when it came to find a fitting english counterpart. Much of the "flair" (for the lack of a better term) got lost in translation.

btw: If there is interest in how other specific events (like start of Operation Barbarosa for example) were portrayed in the Wochenschau I could try to find further videos and translate them, though I cannot promise that the requested video is even available online. There is an archive that you can order them from, but that does cost money.