Eisenhower Speaks in Front of the 101st Airborne Division

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, addresses troops of the 101st Airborne Division during ceremonies in which the entire division received the Presidential Citation, the first division so honored. The picture was taken at Mourmelon, France, March 15, 1945.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=9254131128006951&set=gm.2372742259577850&idorvanity=237076659811098
https://www.reddit.com/r/wwiipics/comments/o48pzw/general_dwight_d_eisenhower_awarded_the/

Heldengedenktag in Offenburg (12 March 1944)

In 1919, the German War Graves Commision proposed a national day of mourning to remember the fallen of WWI. This day was called Volkstrauertag ("peoples day of mourning") and was first celebrated in 1922 with a remembrance ceremony in the German Parliament. It was held two Sundays before the first day of Advent, so usually in November.

When the Nazis came to power, they completely changed the meaning of the day, shifting towards hero worshipping instead of a sober remembrance ceremony. The day was made a national holiday, nig parades and rallies were held, and the day was instrumentalized for Nazi Propaganda. Its name was changed to Heldengedenktag ("Day of Commemoration of Heroes"), and it important dates were often held closely to it, for example, in 1936, German troops entered the Rhineland one day after this day.
In 1939, Hitler ordered the day to be celebrated on March 16th or the Sunday before March 16th, the day of re-introduction of conscription in 1936, removing any religious connection.

The day was held throughout the war, the last time on March 11th, 1945, were it was used one last time to urge people to continue fighting, despite the war situation already being hopelessly turned against Germany.

This video shows some raw color Propaganda footage from the Heldengedenktag 1944 held in Offenburg, a city in southwest Germany, close to the French border.

It shows as Wehrmacht parade, as well as the marching by of various NSDAP party organization, Hitler Youth etc.
It also shows what appears to be the swearing in of new recruits.

As this is raw, unprocessed footage, there is no sound or narration, and therefore no subtitles.

Remarks: As written above, this is raw camera footage, so there is no sound or narration. Back then, many cameras had no microphones, and sound would only be added later in the studio. This is also true for many Wochenschau issues.

00:19 I don’t know where exactly this is, but it looks like some kind of military barracks ground.
00:23 This officer is wearing his full parade uniform, which includes a white belt and all of his decorations. This was common on this day, as you will see later on this footage.
00:35 This is a delegation of WWI veterans. The officers in the brown uniform with the tricorne hat are WWI Africa veterans.
00:39 This is a delegation of various party officials, an RAD-officer and some civilian politicians.
00:50 This appears to be the swearing-in of new recruits.
01:01 This is a troop flag, the white color symbolizing infantry. Here is a link to a Wikimedia image showing how it looks: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Heeresfahne_Infanterie.svg/323px-Heeresfahne_Infanterie.svg.png
01:29 The guns next to the podium are 3,7cm PaK 36, a light AT-gun.
01:53 While I’m not 100% sure, I believe the two flags on the left are old Imperial German army flags, possibly from WWI or even before, which were often flown/shown on Heldengedenktag.
03:02 The wreath-laying process for the fallen war deaths.
03:32 This is a unit of Hitler Youth boys.
03:48 This is a unit of Deutsches Jungvolk, recognizable by the single “S” rune. The Deutsches Jungvolk was the organization before the Hitler Youth, for boys aged 10-14 (Hitler Youth was for boys aged (14-18).
04:25 These are again various SS, Wehrmacht and Party Officials in their full-dress uniforms. The person on the far right is the Mayor of Offenburg, Wolfram Rombach (1897-1987), wearing the mayoral insignias.
04:34 I’m not sure what these flags are, but probably some kind of WWI veterans organization.

Source :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pewg9saKOMk

The USS Midway (CVB-41) Launching

The USS Midway (CVB-41) is launched on March 20, 1945, in Newport News, Virginia. Midway was laid down 27 October 1943 in Shipway 11 at Newport News Shipbuilding Co., Newport News, Virginia; launched 20 March 1945, sponsored by Mrs. Bradford William Ripley, Jr.; and commissioned on 10 September 1945 (eight days after the Surrender of Japan) with Captain Joseph F. Bolger in command. Midway was the largest ship in the world until 1955, as well as the first U.S. aircraft carrier too big to transit the Panama Canal. She operated for 47 years, during which time she saw action in the Vietnam War and served as the Persian Gulf flagship in 1991's Operation Desert Storm. Decommissioned in 1992, she is now a museum ship at the USS Midway Museum, in San Diego, California, and is the only remaining inactive U.S. aircraft carrier that is not an Essex-class aircraft carrier.

Source :
National Archives and Records Administration 80-G-K-3515
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
https://www.flickr.com/photos/airandspace/albums/72157715574200936

Wehrmacht Funeral on the Eastern Front

After the first major German losses in the Eastern Front in 1941, divisional cemeteries were set up behind the front lines. Here the dead were brought for burial, with the Divisionskommandeur and other officers attending to pay their respects. A total of 2.7 million German soldiers died on the Eastern Front, and 1.4 million German civilians were killed. These numbers are dwarfed by the 11.4 million missing and killed Soviet soldiers, including 3.5 million prisoners of war who died in captivity. Soviet civilian losses were even higher at 15.2 million. One can justifiably describe the German-Soviet war as the bloodiest war in history!

Source :

"The Onslaught: The German Drive to Stalingrad Documented in 150 Unpublished Colour Photographs" by Max Hastings

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/germany-to-open-last-wwii-war-cemetery-in-russia-a-914093.html

Finnish Victory Ceremony in Vyborg

31 August 1941: Finnish forces held a victory ceremony in Viipuri/Vyborg Main Square before the statue of Torkel Knutsson, after the recapture of the city in Karelian Isthmus from the Soviet occupation. The Russian control of the Karelian Isthmus near lake Ladoga was crumbling after the defeat of the two Soviet divisions. On 29 August 1941, Vyborg was captured by Finnish troops.

Source :
http://www.kaleva.fi/uutiset/galleriat/viipurin-valtausparaati-varikuvissa/8522/
http://sa-kuva.fi/neo?tem=webneo_image_preview_max&lang=ENG&doc_id=7aa7d22766254111160c4bc40d5496df&archive=&zoom=YEShttp://vyborg-press.ru/forum/20/10/

Julius Schaub Wearing SS Tuxedo

SS-Gruppenführer Julius Schaub, Hitler's personal aide with the formal title of "Persönlicher Adjutant des Führers", wearing an 'SS Grosser Gesellschaftanzug' in a Nazi Party reception held at the Führerbau, 25 February 1939. The tuxedo (or formal evening dress for SS leaders) consisting of short black jacket with black silk lapels and six matt buttons with special SS 'runic' design in front. All insignia including special Breast Badge and big decoration clasp, Swastika armband, NSDAP Badge in Gold, aluminium twisted cord collar piping, silver SS Leader's aiguillette, white linen waistcoat with lapels and either three or four matt silver buttons, white evening-dress shirt with winged collar and bow tie (for less formal occasions, a black waistcoat and bow were worn), and long black trousers piped in white with aluminium black shoes. A long black cape with white metal clasps and chain and a 17.5 mm wide embroidered SS Eagle on the left side was worn with this dress. The picture was taken by Hugo Jaeger, Hitler's personal photographer.

Source :
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=49875&start=60
http://spartacus-educational.com/Julius_Schaub.htm
http://thirdreichcolorpictures.blogspot.co.id/2010/01/ss-obergruppenfuhrer-julius-schaub.html
http://time.com/3881059/adolf-hitler-color-photos-his-inner-circle-and-hangers-on/

The State Funeral of Hugo Bruckmann

The state funeral of Hugo Bruckmann (13 October 1863 - 3 September 1941) which was held in Münich, 6 September 1941. Bruckmann and his wife Elsa Bruckmann were among the early and highly influential promoters of Adolf Hitler, and they helped him with gaining access to, and acceptance within, upper-class circles in Münich. Just behind the woman in black veil (sitting third from right) is SS-Brigadeführer Leopold Gutterer (Staatssekretär im Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda), while the back row behind Gutterer were, from left to right: SS-Brigadeführer Anton Vogler, SS-Obergruppenführer Friedrich "Karl" Freiherr von Eberstein, two unknown Heer generals, SS-Brigadeführer Hans Dauser, SA-Obergruppenführer Ludwig Siebert, SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Fiehler (his head is shown under an outstreched hand behind Gutterer), Reichsstatthalter Franz Xaver Ritter von Epp (wearing brown party uniform), and SA-Obergruppenführer Hans-Georg Hofmann

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Bruckmann
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=183350&hilit=anton+vogler

10th Mountain Division in Formation at Camp Hale

View taken from above looking down at Camp Hale, Colorado, showing 10 columns of men in formation and an honor guard, 1943 or 1944. Probably this parade included the most of the members of the U.S. 10th Mountain Division then in training. Vistors and their cars are parked on the farside of the field to view the formation parade. The photograph also provides a good view of the barracks and what appears to be the mule barns.  In 1942, Pando, Colorado, was a two-room train depot situated in the picturesque Eagle Park valley. By January 1943, an army camp filled the valley and was receiving the first men of the 10th Mountain Division for instruction in mountain and winter warfare, mountaineering, skiing and rock climbing. In less than eight months, the camp grew to accommodate a full U.S. Army Division of 14,000 men. On Maneuvers Ski troops trained in the Rockies at altitudes up to 14,000 feet, often under brutal weather conditions and for weeks at a time. As if nature were not enough of a challenge, the men carried rucksacks sometimes weighing as much as 90 lbs. Tents were home to 10th Mountain Division soldiers while on maneuvers. Thin fabric provided the only shelter from the elements. Rock Climbing was an important element of Divisional training. While some soldiers were recruited for their rock-climbing and mountaineering skills, the majority received specialized training. Mountains and rock formations around Camp Hale provided the ideal classroom for the soldiers. The training proved essential as troops from the 86th Regiment would make a night climb to capture German-held Riva Ridge in the Apennine Mountains of northern Italy.

Source :
http://amyatishkin.livejournal.com/287245.html
http://candiecoded.com/DarlingDollz//Violablu/Colorado/Colorado.html