“Window to the West,” is a black and white travelogue style film from the 1950s that was part of Carl Dudley’s “It’s a Wonderful World” series. Narrated by John Cameron Swayze, this film takes the viewer through post-war West German Federal Republic through the framework of a tour on the Rhine River. The film highlights West Germany’s scenic nature, modern buildings, and bustling economic life. This is all juxtaposed with the quiet and austere scenes of East Berlin. In this, some viewers will see that this is also a Cold War propaganda film.

Opening credits (0:10). John Cameron Swayze introduces film (0:24). Café in small-town West Germany overlooking the Rhine (1:08). Commercial boats, tug boats, and barges along the Rhine (1:20). Camera pans, aerial view of Bingen am Rhein (1:51). Köln-Düsseldorfer Rhine River Cruise (2:01). Cruise passengers look out from river boat “Frieden” onto Valley of the Rhine, Ernhaus-style homes (2:38). Perhaps Rheinstein Castle (2:59). Woman collects wine grapes for Rhine wines (3:06). Ruins of uninhabited castles along the river (3:37). Pfalzgrafenstein Castle in middle of Rhine River in Upper Middle Rhine Valley (3:54). Lorelei Rock (4:28). Panorama of Boppard Village (4:45). Bonn trolley bus (5:19). Perhaps exterior gate of Poppelsdorf Palace (5:29). Beethoven Monument, Münsterplatz Bonn (5:34). View of Hohenzollern Bridge, Cologne (5:54). Cologne Cathedral, Gothic architecture (5:58). Factories along river bank in Düsseldorf and Duisburg (6:34). Interior of Duisburg iron factory: melting of metals (6:44). Large hall, assembly line at factory (7:09). Factory workers weld together shell of a train car (7:47). Wuppertal Schwebebahn suspension railway (8:02). Camera pans Germany’s largest seaport in Hamburg (8:57). Cartons are loaded onto large commercial ships (9:04). Hamburg Rathaus (Townhall) as seen from St. Petri, in background the “Michel” Church Tower (9:31). Aerial view of busy downtown street, Hamburg tram besides cars (9:48). Mönckebergstraße shopping street, Karstadt Haus (9:58). Pedestrian traffic in front of Brüggemann & Barkmann (10:07). TWA Boeing 707 in flight (10:29). Flughafen Frankfurt Airport exterior (10:33). TWA Boeing 707 taxis and passengers exit off airstairs (10:45). Frankfurt seen from the Rhine (11:08). Alte Oper (old Opera House) ruins (11:14). Contrast of old and new architecture: Eschenheimer Tower (11:39). VW Bus in front of historical building (12:08). Frankfurt Cathedral (12:11). Construction of new building behind scaffolding (12:28). Scenes of Frankfurt’s bustling streets and commercial area (12:51). Aerial view of Straße des 17. Juni (13:44). Charred remains of Reichstag Building (13:49). Reconstruction of Reichstag Building (14:02). Russian soldiers guard Soviet War Memorial/ Tiergarten (14:20). Approaching Brandenburg Gate from the west (14:50). Arrival on Eastern side of Brandenburg Gate (15:22). East Communist Guard inspects cars (15:36). Stalinallee street sign and buildings in Moscow-style architecture (15:57). Joseph Stalin Statue, East Berlin (16:21). Soviet War Memorial at Treptower Park (16:29). Destroyed Charlottenburg Palace (16:47). Quiet streets of East Berlin, ruins of buildings (17:07). Double decker bus amid traffic in West Berlin, pedestrian traffic (17:29). Zoo Palast cinema (17:54). Telefunken building (18:02). People windowshop home goods, radios, clothing (18:03). Camera pans newly built apartment buildings (18:49). Exterior of Hotel Berlin Hilton (19:21). LED light displays – West Berlin by night (19:37). Cars along the Autobahns (19:56). Views of Neckar River and Heidelberg (20:32). Commercial street, trolley pulls up (20:40). Montage of clips of Heidelberg University campus buildings (20:45). Camera pans tree tops of Black Forest/ Schwarzwald in Southern Uplands Region of West Germany (21:15). Roadside guest houses (21:31). Village tucked into mountain side, built along stream (21:44). Aerial view of Freudenstadt (22:02). Town hall on the marketplace in Freudenstadt, Neptune Fountain (22:32). Folk dancing, music, traditional costumes at harvest festival (22:45). Schaffhausen waterfall/ Rhine Falls, view from scenic restaurant (23:50). White waters (24:00). Montage of scenes from the film (24:32). Closing words (25:28).

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, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com