Victory in the West German Invasion of Belgium, Holland & France Part 4 (1940)

Synopsis

Sieg im Westen (Victory in the West) is a 1941 German propaganda film the shows Hitler's greatest military victory -- the Blitzkrieg conquest of Holland, Belgium and France in the spring of 1940.It was produced by the Oberkommando des Heeres, the German Army High Command, rather than the Propaganda Ministry of Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels indeed sabotaged its release in minor ways, delaying its premiere and telling propagandists not to promote it. The prologue consists of the Nazi version of European history and the origins of World War II, and the rest deals with the Blitzkrieg in Western Europe of May and June 1940. The movie was made largely from newsreel footage recut into a documentary. The programme provided states that it is to show the audacity of the German offensive and the superiority of German arms, required because they will not be permitted to live in peace. It did not give Hitler or the Nazi party a central role, thus ensuring its disfavor with Goebbels. The Nazi journal "Der deutsche Film" called Sieg im Westen "the greatest of all German newsreels." Unlike many other German propaganda films, Sieg im Westen does not belittle the enemy, instead admitting that the French soldiers fought gallantly. The war is presented "from above"; the battles are depicted as smooth forward advances on the map, with results from reports at the front. The "encirclement" of Germany is depicted by showing prisoners of war from far-off countries. The Battle of France, also known as…

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Details

Running time

27 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage