Overview
- Description
- Unsteady, shot from moving vehicle across streets, monument. Montmarte district in Paris. Camera steadies at 01:01:40. People exiting buildings. Germans in uniform on the street then across and to the top of the La Basilique du Sacre Coeur. Pan across street, encompassing bars (including one at 01:02:26 seen later in Story 4411), restaurants, shops. Civilians on the street; German officer (SS?) watching the scene turns and walks toward the camera, smiling, acknowledging the camera. Quality deteriorates at 01:02:55: darker and grainy, showing Germans walking on the street against French civilians; brief focus on a couple of older French people on the street; paintings for sale hung on the walls of buildings outside. Appears to be snowing. View down a narrow street toward the Basilica. German officer with dark-rimmed glasses with female friend. Brief shot of Germans entering a shop. 01:03:38 Scene at the Arc de Triomphe. The camera takes in the entire monument, panning up from the ground. French civilians walk through and around the Arc. German officer with female friend, and a lower-ranking German soldier, walking toward the camera. The same three are shown next to a car a moment later. This is probably a Paris sightseeing tour. 01:04:27 shows Notre Dame; same woman and man in the scene.
- Duration
- 00:04:11
- Date
-
Event:
June 1940?
- Locale
-
Paris,
France
- Credit
- Accessed at United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Unknown Film Source
Physical Details
- Language
- Silent
- Genre/Form
- Amateur.
- B&W / Color
- Black & White
- Image Quality
- Mixed
- Time Code
- 01:00:40:00 to 01:04:51:00
- Film Format
- Master
Master 2720 Film: 16 mm - b&w
Master 2720 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - small
Master 2720 Film: 16 mm - b&w
Master 2720 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - small
Master 2720 Film: 16 mm - b&w
Master 2720 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - small
Master 2720 Film: 16 mm - b&w
Master 2720 Video: Digital Betacam - NTSC - small- Preservation
Preservation 2720 Film: negative - 16 mm - b&w - duplicate negative - A-wind
Preservation 2720 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - small
Preservation 2720 Film: negative - 16 mm - b&w - duplicate negative - A-wind
Preservation 2720 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - small
Preservation 2720 Film: negative - 16 mm - b&w - duplicate negative - A-wind
Preservation 2720 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - small
Preservation 2720 Film: negative - 16 mm - b&w - duplicate negative - A-wind
Preservation 2720 Video: Betacam SP - NTSC - small
Rights & Restrictions
- Conditions on Access
- You do not require further permission from the Museum to access this archival media.
- Copyright
- Unknown copyright
- Conditions on Use
- Film copyright holder is unknown. The Museum has made reasonable efforts and has not been able to identify and/or locate a copyright owner of this film. The Museum therefore places no restrictions on use of this material, but cannot provide any information to the user about the copyright owner. The user is solely responsible for making a determination as to if and how the material may be used. If you have information regarding the copyright owner, please contact filmvideo@ushmm.org.
Keywords & Subjects
Administrative Notes
- Legal Status
- Permanent Collection
- Film Provenance
- The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum purchased five 16mm film reels called "Die Katze im Sack" from a flea market in Berlin, Germany via Juergen Matthaeus (Museum staff member) in September 2003. The original owner and subjects are unknown. It is likely that the films were collected and/or filmed by a Wehrmacht officer stationed in Paris in early 1940.
- Note
- Original label on can: "Paris: Fahrendes Auto, Montmatre, St. Germain u. Hotel, Skribe mit Brandt u. Hoffschlaeger, Bruessel mit Hanna u. Udo u. Fr. Schroeder, Ostern in Kiew, Oper in Kiew u. Altmaennin mit Peter auf dem Balkon"
Film stock edge code dated to 1939.
See also Film ID 2719 for additional footage of this German military officer's trip to Paris. See also Story 4411 for other scenes of the bar/restaurant. See also Story 4405 for the same automobile. - Film Source
- Berlin Flea Market
- File Number
- Legacy Database File: 4717
- Special Collection
-
Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive
- Record last modified:
- 2024-02-21 07:32:35
- This page:
- https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn1003899
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Also in Die Katze im Sack
Five 16mm film reels called "Die Katze im Sack" were purchased from a flea market in Berlin, Germany. The original owner and subjects are unknown. It is likely that the films were collected and/or filmed by a Wehrmacht officer stationed in Paris in early 1940.
Funeral for Henri Barbusse in Moscow
Film
Titles in French: "Le grand ecrivain et apotre de la pais e Asnieres en 1873 est mort a Moscou le 30 Aout 1935 au Kremlin" Amateur-looking footage - family poses in lobby for photography, child in center, camera on tripod at left. Family leaves building, walks down stairs, departs in automobile. Sign in Cyrillic letters. Title: "Le 9 Septembre Moscou fait au champion de la lutte cont a guerre et le facis des obseques grandioses" Top of flag posts with bronze hammer and sickle. Title: "L'hommage du Comite Central Executif des Soviets e l'URSS" CU, wreath sash with name in Cyrillic, next to grave. Title: "La couronne du Comite Executif de l'Internationale Communiste" CU, another wreath sash. Title: "A l'ami des travailleurs de l'Union Sovetique: HENRI BARBUSSE" Wreath sash in Russian (Cyrillic). CU, Henri Barbusse's body in coffin during funeral mass in Moscow (Barbusse was buried in Paris). Shots of friends in attendance in Moscow, names indicated in intertitles: Koltzov, Kirchon, Marty, Molotov, Kaganovitch, Stassova, Karpinsky, LeJeune. People at funeral, walking past open casket. Queues filing past coffin surrounded by flowers and wreaths. Gentlemen speak at lectern. CU, Barbusse in open casket. 01:06:37 Title "L'Armee Rouge end les honneurs u grand ecrivain ami de la paix et defenseur du peuple" VAR shots, funeral procession through Red Army guards, saluting, lots of flowers. Putting casket on train.
Easter service in Kiev
Film
Nighttime scene of a church service, Easter in Kiev. Very bad quality EXT shot of people arriving at a church; quality is somewhat better inside, where throngs of people watch as clergy and others make their way to the altar. Some pushing and shoving because of the enormity of the crowd. Perhaps taking communion?
KdF performance in occupied Paris
Film
A dance or circus performance of some kind, on a stage, including acrobatics, juggling, ice skating, and a comic routine with man dressed as a cowboy riding a bucking "horse". This was most likely a Kraft durch Freude (KdF) variety performance to exhibit German artists.
Sightseeing in Paris; German officers
Film
More tourist-y views of Paris streets, including Eiffel Tower and the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde. The camera sometimes focuses on individuals, such as the woman seen before, the elderly man, and the German officer leading the map meeting with the glasses (in Story 4414). 01:09:55 SEQ: German with dark-rimmed glasses with three French women (not seen before). Street scenes, signs, buses, pedestrians and German soldier, cars, "Café de la Paix" restaurant on corner. Policeman looks directly into camera briefly. Man with glasses in previous map scene walks across the city streets with civilian clothes, camera follows him. 01:13:32 Newspaper vendor displays his goods and passersby slow down to read the headlines. 01:14:36 Opera Garnier house. 01:14:59 Cameraman filming himself and German with glasses (in Story 4414 - map scene) in mirrored shop window, both in civilian clothes. EXT, Hotel Scribe. 01:15:08 Shots of 6 uniformed Germans walking towards the camera, standing on a balcony with the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. They are almost certainly all from the map session shown in Story 4414, Film ID 2720. Shot of women through pane of glass, Eiffel Tower reflection seen. More aerial and ground-level shots of a German military parade, with the Arc de Triomphe in the BG.
German soldier and women
Film
Outdoors on an athletic field. An older man wearing an athletic suit, jumps for camera. Two different women and German soldier with glasses. A nurse is visible briefly in the BG - maybe this is on the grounds of a hospital? CU, blonde woman. Women and 2 German officers talk, greet each other, walk about the field, look over stone wall.
Paris under German occupation
Film
Aerial view of German military parading on a street. Camera pans along the street. Shots of a brunette woman (featured in Film ID 2720) being playful with the German in dark-rimmed glasses. Two blondes, not seen before. Rooftops of Paris and the Eiffel Tower in the distance, scenes of Germans at Versailles. Camera focuses on two German officers walking towards camera, including the officer leading the meeting in Story 4414 at the left. As the men exit the grounds of the palace, women converge on the men and attempt to hand them pieces of paper, which the men ignore. Brief scene of a checkpoint at the Arc de Triomphe. German soldiers check automobiles and let them through (same vehicle seen at Story 4408).
Scenes of Paris before German occupation
Film
Title: "PARIS. Une realization de la Cinematheque Kodascope" Titles identifying sites of interest: Place de la Republique, La Porte Saint Martin, L'avenue de l'Opera, La colonne Vendome, etc., followed by shots of the named spot, street scenes, traffic. 01:09:29 La Basilique du Sacre Coeur (prominent in Film ID 2720). Le Pont Neuf, water, bridge.
Sightseeing in Paris
Film
Title reading, in English and French: "Paris La Nuit / Paris by Night." Sights by night, with lights, Place de la Concorde, yellowish light, nice effect, especially fountain, with traffic rushing by. Arc de Triomphe, camera lingers on details, pans upward. Les Grandes Boulevard. Paramount theater, various theaters and advertisements in lights. People window shopping, lots of activity on the street. Tout Va Bien restaurant. Interior of a restaurant with people drinking coffee, reading [motion is fast forward]. Montmartre: cafes, more lights, Moulin Rouge. Gaumont
Theater performance; balcony
Film
INT of a theater. People in costume rehearse a scene in which a king and queen process across the stage, followed by men holding the King's train. Two women (not seen heretofore on Film IDs 2719 or 2720 are shown sitting in the audience, no one else in audience. One of these women is shown on a balcony in the sunshine, cuddling and playing with a cat, which doesn't seem happy about the situation. A bald man in civilian clothes is shown briefly playing with the cat as well (man seen at 01:06:10 in Story 4409 and in Story 4411). Brief shot of mountain and lake.
German and woman at cafe
Film
Another outdoor café scene showing a German and a woman sitting at a table (woman seen before in Story 4410 on Film ID 2720), smiling at the camera. Man's metal arm braces leaning against fence post. Same woman and another sitting at a table drinking tea, perhaps in a yard, greenery. A different woman is shown exiting a restaurant and crossing the street toward the camera. A moment later, a German is shown exiting. He waves his hand in front of his face, perhaps indicating that the camera should be turned off.
Meeting of German soldiers
Film
INT of an office where a meeting is being held. Camera pans around the table, showing perhaps a dozen men, mostly German officers, smoking and a female secretary (one of the women seen earlier?) Maps on the wall. Some men in civilian clothes (French collaborators?) Marked map on the wall, one of the Germans (shown in Stories 4405 and 4407, and earlier in Story 4412 wearing lighter-rimmed glasses at 01:12:10) points to parts of the map and gives a presentation to the others.
German soldiers meet
Film
INT, four Germans in uniform, in an office, map on wall in BG. One sits behind a desk with glasses reading a letter. They are speaking to one another.
German soldier and woman at cafe in Paris
Film
Brief shot of bride and groom. LS church, Basilica. Panning shot of Montmartre district street scenes; cafes, people in street. Another uniformed German and a woman with heavy makeup (not the same people as earlier) sit at an outdoor table. Signs on the bar (seen earlier in Story 4408, but more in depth here) are in German: "Der Wirt spricht Deutsch" "Speise Wirtschafte Belegte Brotchen." The German and the woman drink through straws. The next scene shows the same woman sitting at the same table with an elderly man in civilian clothes (seen earlier at 01:06:10 in Story 4409 and later in Story 4416). They also drink through straws. View of "Restaurant a La Mere Catherine" "Jardin Bosquets" across the screet with people sitting at outdoor tables and walking past. Brief CU of woman from previous scene, smoking and talking with someone beside her.
Sightseeing in Paris; women modeling new dresses
Film
Another day, showing monument/great building, two women with another German officer. Focus on one (not the same woman as shown previously), who is smiling and laughing. She tips her hat to the camera. 01:05:18 in a park. Two women from the previous scene are laughing and swinging on a swing set, standing up. An older woman speaks to them, appearing to chastise them (perhaps for standing or for swinging too high, or she wants the children to get a turn). Children in BG. Two women and the officer at a food stall of some kind. One of the women (in dark coat) feeds something to the German officer (flirtatiously). Panning shot of scenery taken from some high point above Paris. German guard at front of gate of Versailles. Camera pans to the top of the gate showing Louis XIV engraving. SS officer and the woman with light-colored jacket and hat (shown earlier) from behind as they regard the gate and the German guard. Camera shows naked female statue. Same woman in light-colored coat with an older man in civilian clothes (seen later in Stories 4411 and 4416 and in Film ID 2719) holding her arm. Pan of a river, scenery appears more village-y than Paris. 01:06:34 Soldiers march, marching band; Arc de Triomphe in BG. Camera movement jerky and focus not good. Camera shows marching soldiers with large motorcade following them. Louis Vuitton shop on the street. 01:07:46 Scene switches to INT, the two women from earlier shown modeling dresses, swimsuits. They smile, dance, and otherwise pose for the camera. At one point the blonde woman appears to be wearing only a bra on top; she twirls an open umbrella in front of her. Coffee. The officer with the glasses can be seen briefly in the background, smiling and watching them. He wears his uniform, but his shirt is unbuttoned, showing his white undershirt.
International Exposition in Paris, 1937
Film
People at International Exposition in Paris in 1937. Statues. Foot of Eiffel Tower. Aerial shots, crowds, pavilions. CUs, people transported in little train car (powered by automobile). MSs, German pavilion with eagle at top. Buildings with sign: "Dauphine" and "A la Cicogne." Boat in river, traveling shot of pavilions and large statues. Children walking over bridge at expo attraction.
Pavilion attractions and entertainment at the International Exposition in Paris, 1937
Film
"Expofilm. Le Plus beau souvenir de l'Exposition" 01:08:12 German flag with swastika flying with other country flags. Country maps. Child dressed like Churchill with cigarette. Adults gathered to watch play with midgets dressed in period-attire. 01:09:29 "Expofilm presente" "en exclusivite" "les parcs d'attraction" Amusement ride for children, airplane. 01:10:11 "et leurs etonnantes nouveautes" Amusement park rides, one similar to the Pirate Ship. Spectators watch, amazed at mechanical innovation, Muslim walks in FG, food stalls, hot air balloon. 01:11:01 "achetez Expofilm" Raft ride, helping people on and off ride. CUs, "sailor"-helpers, mildly retarded. Signs in front of amusement: Hollywood; Marck. Shots of a lion. A mime. "Pour vous meme / Pour vos enfants / Pour vos amis" "achetez Expofilm." "Souvenir unique et inedit" "realise par Fred Jeannot" 01:12:29 Underwater fish at the aquarium.
International Exposition in Paris at night: fireworks
Film
International Exposition in Paris, 1937 at night, fast speed. "Philips RADIO" Lights, fireworks. "Les fetes de Nuit" "Les Illuminations" "L'embrasement de la Tour"
Country pavilions at International Exposition in Paris, 1937
Film
Daytime, line to get into the expo grounds, guards stamping passes. View of country pavilions: Denmark. Austria. Canada. 01:17:30 German pavilion - the largest at the Exposition. CUs, eagle sculpture at top of building, swastika. Belgium. Radio. Italy. Sweden. USA. Czechoslovakia. Food stalls. MSs aquarium, turtle.
Building the International Exposition in Paris
Film
International Exposition in Paris: river, buildings and pavilions under construction for opening in May 1937 (date of this footage unknown, possibly 1935 as follows shots of Barbusse's death in Moscow in 1935). Sign: "Exposition Internationale de 1937 section de la -nce d'outremer" Sign: "Exposition Internationale de 1937 Pavillon des Stats du Levant enterprise generale Les charpentiers de Paris 24 Rue Larouste" Crowds in winter clothing. Pan of pavilions under construction, scaffolding, structures, statues, cranes. 01:10:38 CU, flag with hammer and sickle, workers building the Russian pavilion. CU, man lifting wooden board. 01:11:14 CU, German flag with Nazi swastika. LS, pavilions under construction. Sign: "Parcs D'Attractions" MS (blurry) men in group, talking. Statues for Russian pavilion under construction in BG. Woman polishing statues, looks at camera and makes a face. CUs, workers polishing statue. Giant sickle.
