This silent WWII newsreel, made by Official Films for the home market, shows the end of the conflict in Europe. Times Square in New York is the scene of raucous celebrations on May 8, 1945 (30 seconds). At the 1 minute mark, the U.S. Army meets the Russian Army at the Elbe River. At Caserta, German troops are surrendered en masse and the Nazi representatives sign surrender documents (1:30). At Nuremberg, home of the famed Nazi rallies, an iconic Swastika emblem is covered by the American flag (2:30), and later the Swastika is destroyed (3:00) by demolition charges. General Montgomery receives German officers including Gen. von Friedeburg at the 3:10 mark, and takes an offer of peace, but he declines it because the offer does not include a surrender to the Russians. The Germans eventually return to the negotiating table and 25 hours later surrender unconditionally (4:30). General Jodl is seen in Reims at the 5:30 mark, again signing surrender documents, officially ending the war in Europe. At 7:40 General Eisenhower is seen holding the surrender document pen. At 7:55, war-shattered Germany is seen, its buildings in rubble. Hamburg is utterly demolished (8 minutes). On the Rhine River, 50,000 German prisoners of war are seen in a camp (8:30). At 8:50, Allied officers visit Berlin and tour the area near the Reichstag, where German resistance ended. The Chancellery buildings are seen at the 9:20 mark, as well as the Brandenburg Gate and the Adlon Hotel. At the 9:55 mark, Marshall Zhukov is seen in Berlin with Allied leaders to ratify the surrender with German Field Marshall Keitel. The signings at this time represents a ratification of the surrender documents. At 11:56, General Omar Bradley is seen, as well as General Courtney Hodges, General Hood Simpson, General Alexander Patch, General Eisenhower, General George Patton, all important U.S. Army leaders who made the victory in Europe possible.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com