Overview
- Description
- Reel 14: (1945) Concentration camp in Nordhausen, Germany; Ike, Frankfurt; Air trip to England; Cambridge
American soldiers board military planes in a field. Sign, "Leave Flight Officers." Ansco (film) logo. At Nordhausen concentration camp, soldiers inspect rocket debris. [Fedeli reports visiting the contentration camp at 'Buchenwald' near Weimar, Germany in late April 1945.] Brief LS of camp buildings along road. Pan of liberated camp and environs from a moving vehicle. Dozens of large containers of ammunition stacked side by side in fields, behind a sign: "Tor II." Displaced families push carts with their belongings. Circular pan of camp with three watchtowers in the distance and Red Cross trucks. Crowds of people, mostly men (civilians? survivors?), queuing for some reason, seen from inside a car. Stacks of stretchers outside a brick building marked "42." Forest and bare trees with camp below, shot from above. Soldiers with Red Cross armbands walk about the camp, one with a still camera poses by barbed wire fencing. Touring and shooting from the moving car, different shots of the camp, destruction, rockets. Locals or refugees pass on foot and bicycle. Countryside.
Soldiers gathered around Eisenhower's plane, Sunflower II, at the Frankfurt airstrip. Other aircraft taxis and cars are parked. SHAEF sign. Gen. Eisenhower greets the group of soldiers who stand at attention in front of an American flag and march in formation. Ike boards the plane and it departs.
A small group of soldiers walk uphill towards the camera towards a castle, sightseeing. Aerial views from the plane of fields and houses. EXT, the plane and soldiers. Sign on a building reads "US Army Air Forces, Army Post Office." More aerial shots, a plane flies by. Soldiers on leave in and near Cambridge, England at an estate or public park. [Fedeli writes about being on leave in England - Cambridge and seeing General Eisenhower at Frankfurt airstrip in late April 1945.] Man paddles a boat on a stream, ornate building in the distance. Tourist views. Soldiers smile for the camera with a civilian. More sightseeing. - Duration
- 00:22:22
- Date
-
Event:
April 24, 1945 to June 1945
- Locale
-
Germany
Frankfurt, Germany
Nordhausen, Germany
England
- Credit
- Accessed at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, courtesy of Library of Congress
- Contributor
-
Camera Operator:
William J. Fedeli
- Biography
-
Major William J. Fedeli served in the European Theater of Operations with the 534 Quartermaster Group from June 1943 to February 1946. Refer to the Library of Congress's Veterans History Project for more biographical information about Mr. Fedeli. He donated his nine 8mm films to the Library of Congress in July 2003.
Physical Details
- Language
- Silent
- Genre/Form
- Amateur.
- B&W / Color
- Black & White
- Image Quality
- Excellent
- Time Code
- 01:11:25:00 to 01:33:47:00
- Film Format
- Master
Master 4160 Digital: ProRes 422 - b&w - sound - HD
Master 4160 Digital: ProRes 422 - b&w - sound - HD
Master 4160 Digital: ProRes 422 - b&w - sound - HD
Master 4160 Digital: ProRes 422 - b&w - sound - HD
Master 4260 Digital: ProRes 422 - b&w and color - silent - HD
Master 4260 Digital: ProRes 422 - b&w and color - silent - HD
Master 4260 Digital: ProRes 422 - b&w and color - silent - HD
Master 4260 Digital: ProRes 422 - b&w and color - silent - HD
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
- Copyright
- Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
- Conditions on Use
- Requests for duplication of moving image materials at the Library of Congress begin with the Moving Image Section reference staff (mpref@loc.gov), who gather basic information about the order, such as titles requested, format desired, collection restrictions (if any), and whether or not a copyright search is required. From there, the order goes to the Public Services Office for pricing and fulfillment. Refer to http://www.loc.gov/rr/mopic/copies.html for more information.
- Copyright Holder
- Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
Keywords & Subjects
- Keyword
- AIRPLANES BARBED WIRE CARTS/WAGONS CEREMONIES CONCENTRATION CAMPS CONCENTRATION CAMPS (LIBERATION) DISPLACED PERSONS (DP) EISENHOWER, DWIGHT FLAGS (AMERICAN) LIBERATION MARCHING MILITARY VEHICLES NORDHAUSEN RED CROSS REFUGEES SOLDIERS/MILITARY (AMERICAN) STRETCHERS TOURISM/SIGHTSEEING VACATIONS WATCH TOWERS WEAPONS/ARMS
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection - not accessioned
- Film Provenance
- Major William J. Fedeli served in the European Theater of Operations with the 534 Quartermaster Group and donated his nine 8mm films to the Library of Congress in July 2003. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased digital copies of several reels in January 2016 (SD) and in July 2016 (HD).
- Note
- As he reported in an oral history with the Veterans History Project, Fedeli started shooting movies while training in Iowa and brought his camera with him overseas, where he reported having it with him all of the time. At the end of the war he was in Weimar and made his way to Buchenwald. Nordhausen was originally a subcamp of Buchenwald but eventually became a camp with subcamps of its own. It was largely devoted to producing weapons. Fedeli said, "What I saw is what everybody knows; I saw some of the bones that were baked into the oven; I didn't see them being gassed or anything, but I saw how they lived in these bunks four high and so on; Walking bones." When asked about the pragmatics of shooting during the war, Fedeli reported that "I wasn't supposed to do that but they never said anything to me."
USHMM originally ordered a digital copy of the reference video (an early transfer of the 8mm films) under 1178645-2-1 in January 2016 as Film ID 4160. USHMM ordered new HD transfers in July 2016 under 2282980-2-2 as Film ID 4260. Refer to SSFVA files for Major Fedeli's notes (ca. 2003) outlining his World War II military experience from 1943 to 1945 with references to the movie reels. - Copied From
- 8mm black and white
- Film Source
- Library of Congress - Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division (MBRS)
- File Number
- Legacy Database File: 6067
Source Archive Number: 2282980-2-2 - Special Collection
-
Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 07:58:52
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn1005080
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Also in William Fedeli Collection
Major William J. Fedeli served in the European Theater of Operations with the 534 Quartermaster Group. He donated his nine 8mm films to the Library of Congress in July 2003.
American military at the St. James Cemetery and moving through Belgium and Germany
Film
Reel 10: (1945) Leaving Belgium by train through France; Paris; Army Hdqts. St. James Cemetery in Fougeres, where the QM buried troops. Sign reads "Entrance: US Military Cemetery, Pas de Visiteurs après 17 heures" [No visitors after 5pm]. Other signs point to "American Dead Only" and "Enemy Dead." American soldiers visit the cemetery. Pan, rows of white crosses. Three men stand at a grave covered with flowers. Group of soldiers drink out a bottle and smile for the camera. Soldiers pose next to "Merry Christmas" sign (probably December 1944). 3:07 Large group gathers at a train station, some with Red Cross armbands. Good views of nurses. [The 534th Quartermaster Corps traveled by thrain through Belgium in mid-February 1945 through Liege, Ghent, Bruxelles, and Tamines.] Ruins, city and countryside from the moving train, passing signs: "Comptoir du Tuilier de Courtrai" and "Zulte." 5:30 A couple exits their home, later joined by a soldier. The ruins and soldiers in town, a child poses with the man's helmet. [Black from 7:55 to 8:11] Soldier continues to tour the town with the couple and their dog. Another child poses with the soldiers. Tanks on the road. 9:59 Signs for "Suippes, 29.9K and "40KM, Reims." In Reims, the cathedral and bibliothèque. Other road signs read "Macadam, Massive, Epernay," and "Paris, Notre Dame." Cathedral in Paris, people walking by the river and in the city. [Major Fedeli was on leave in Paris in January 1945.] 13:31 Three soldiers walk in a snowy street. "Liège, 9k." The men climb a snow-covered tank. City and countryside from a car. 15:22 Men collect wood next to a row of cabins. Sign, "Schiessbahn [...] Snowy countryside, men load logs into a truck. Fire.
American soldiers move through Belgium and Germany
Film
Reel 11: (1945) Eupen, Belgium; Duren, Germany Aachen in ruins. Sign, "Deutsch Pilsener Aus Der Brauerei Decker Aachen." [Fedeli reports moving to Eilendorf, Germany through Aachen, Siegfried Line, and Duren in mid-March 1945 and then to Euskirchen.] Army trucks on the road. VAR shots of another city in ruins, a dead horse lies in the street. More ruins, planes fly overhead. Tanks and trucks, soldiers. More city views. HAS, group of boys with soldiers in the street. Truck, passing ruins, dead animals in a field. Signs, "Vamoose, Master Signal Depot #3 and Bonn, Remagen and Euskirchen; N56, N51 and N56." Soldiers on the street, damaged war tank, overturned, contrails in the sky. More contrails, soldiers examine the contents of a rucksack. Soldier poses beside a large statue of a man. Pan of more ruins. Displaced refugees walk through the town with their belongings in a cart. An American flag. Military men. Soldiers walking in a field, a man digs a trench. ECU, man's face. Man rides bicycle wearing a top hat, soldiers try it on. Street views, a girl walks with a bucket. Two soldiers converse. INT, men at a table, reading. Soldiers get into a tank. Tent camp. Reel 12: (1945) Ruins of Brus, France; Siegfried Line; Belgium; Germany Touring ruins again, people on bicycles, traffic, a soldier walks around a ruined church. Building sign, "Ateliers de Bruz." Street views of a city. Three American soldiers salute camera. The countryside with a large chateaux in the distance. A soldier and small child outside a country home. City views. Sign, "Entering Germany." Soldiers stand by Siegfried Line. Moving toward another destination, sign: "N1 Albenhoven, N3 Liege, N28 Eupen, L88 Raeren to N258, Neerlen, N57 Alsdorf." CU, Army vehicle license plate for Fedeli's Quartermaster Corps #534, "15 534 QM." Downed plane in a field, trucks. Crowds of displaced persons on foot in the street. Crashed Nazi plane. Cemetery, ruins. Abandoned German trucks. Red Cross vehicles. Planes overhead and the countryside. Message spray-painted on a building reads "Mit Hitler Zum Sieg," [With Hitler to Victory] and people walk by. Soldiers march in the street past a church. Building sign, "Quellenhof." Soldiers walk by with handmade sign "534 QM BP" and hand out large bundles. Back on the road, views of American tanks parked in a field. Signs, "Under Enemy Fire, Keep Interval" and "Remagen Bridges Sinzig." Driving across the pontoon bridge. [Fedeli reports moving to Bad Neuenahr across the Rhine at Remagen to Marburg, Germany with "bad roads" in early April 1945 and then from Marburg to Bad Wildungen.]
American military moves through Germany
Film
Reel 13: (1945) Germany; Air trip to England; Remagen Street scenes, soldiers marching, gathering in the road amongst crowds of civilians. Church. Planes landing in a field, soldiers conversing next to trucks in the airfield (possibly, the Frankfurt airstrip). Soldiers at leisure outside a home (temporary HQ?), play with a small dog, open a metal trunk, and wave to the camera from trucks. Nice CUs of men. Street scenes and views from moving vehicle. In town, soldiers talk with civilians and children, and hang a sign, "534 QM GP". They pose for the camera. Two soldiers in front of the home pictured earlier, then converse in a field. Color: Two soldiers outside the home, smile for the camera. They walk around the house and pick yellow flowers, pinning them to their shirts. Later walk next to a river, CUs of the soldiers smiling for the camera, two other soldiers join them. Black and white: Street scenes. Man exits shop and approaches the camera. Pan of buildings. Soldier with poster. Tanks marked "USA." A group pins medal of honor on a soldier's shirt collar. Soldiers use binoculars. Passing by abandoned planes, trucks. Devastation in a city, some buildings are completely leveled. Cemetery. Boat ferries trucks and soldiers across a river. Pontoon bridge. Views of the river, collapsed bridges (perhaps along the Rhine).
