Wehrmacht troops; military demonstration

Includes handwritten slates in German. Uniformed German soldiers with helmets lined up for review. An officer inspects a rifle. Another view of the troops in the street. Small groups of Wachkommandos march ahead in a courtyard. Another group marches away, relieved from their duties of watching the barracks, with civilians in the streets behind. CU of a sign, "8. (M.G.) Komp. Inf. Regt. Goettingen" affixed to Barracks 3 with two soldiers at the entrance. Soldiers at target practice (mixed dress from WWI and new Wehrmacht outfits). The first man introduced as Sergeant Schmitz, followed by Private Bolte, and then Meissner, the chief of the 172nd Regiment veterans group from Duesseldorf, at 01:02:04. Quick CU of Sgt. Schmitz from Hilden, Germany. Queue of soldiers waiting, then at leisure, smoking, shooting pistols. One rides a bicycle. Pan of a group of men (the title card jokes that they are at odds with Meissner). New Wehrmacht recruits march away. 01:03:40 Frau Meissner walks towards the camera (going shopping according to the slate). The WWI second platoon (B-Zug) soldiers on horses parading on the street, some pulling carts.

01:04:17 Celebrating 100 years (of the 172nd Regiment?) with a military demonstration. Physically fit men running in an outdoor field lined by spectators. Men perform calisthenics, swing shotputs, throw medicine balls. 01:05:26 Quick shot of a still camera being loaded. Military vehicles roll out, followed by shooting cannons and other drills. Good MS of the band seated with instruments and musical stands, and children beside them. The celebration continues with a speaker adjacent to a podium decorated with the Iron Cross and many soldiers lined up, listening. MS, sign indicating 100 with the year MDCCCXXXV [1935], a Reichswehr flag, an Iron Cross, and a swastika flag. Officials stand in grass before garland decorations on the building façade. Another view of the podium with a helmeted official, and new Wehrmacht troops lined up. Soldiers with horses perform another drill in the field with spectators gathered.

Sunday School outing in 1935

Film

Title: "Sonntags-Schulausflug 1935" Families gathered outdoors for a Sunday School outing. More soccer and other forms of frolicking.

Vosskamp family takes a summer holiday near Offenburg

Film

The Vosskamp family plays outside on a summer holiday. A man pushes a woman and child on a tree swing; others swim. Children dig in a sandbox. Three of the family members (Johannes's brother in Lederhoesen?) go hiking in the hills. They come across an old lady with whom they stop and chat. Waterfalls. The children climb up a tower lookout, their father Johannes Vosskamp joins them. The family visits old stone ruins, picks berries, and breaks for lunch. They then walk about town, observe the rail station at Offenburg, go to a swimming pool, and play in the sandbox some more. 01:09:35 Quick blurry repeat of the children climbing a staircase to an outlook point.

Sunday School trip to Mintard, Germany

Film

"Sonntagschule Duisburg-Meiderich Quadtstr." Led by Fritz Fackert and Oskar Brauner. "Sommerausflug 1936 nach Mintard" [A Summer Outing to Mintard, 1936] The youngsters (along with their parents) march along to the festival area. Children and their parents relaxing and frolicking about in a grassy area: playing soccer, drinking chocolate milk, and being sociable.

Cowboys and Indians home movie

Film

Indiscernible buildings. Title: "Eine Indianer Geschichte, mit Alfred Voshkamp u Herbert Birkenbeul" [An Indian Story, with Alfred Vosskamp and Herbert Birkenbeul]. Several boys make a home Cowboys-and-Indians movie. Three boys, one wearing an Indian head-dress, lie on the grass, pretending to hide. A boy dressed as a frontiersman comes along. The three Indians run up, take hold of the frontiersman and tie him to a tree. A fifth boy wearing wearing a cap and driving goggles comes to the rescue, using his toy gun to easily overpower the three unarmed Indians. The odds are stacked in his favor; it is all over in a matter of seconds. The savior ties the three Indians together and hauls them off.

Vosskamp family vacations in Schieder, Germany

Film

Title card: "Ferienaufenthalt 1936 in Schieder/Lippe Rosenhof" [Holidays in Schieder/Lippe, 1936 Rosenhof]. A group of children and their mothers lounge about outside in lawn chairs. Several children play on a seesaw simultaneously. The children play at the pond with an older teenager. Alfred Vosskamp (the boy) walks out over the pond on a narrow plank. The children fish. Johannes Vosskamp walks out onto the plank to play with the children. More of the children at play on holiday. 01:05:16 The children gather for Ring-Around-the-Rosie, holding hands and dancing in a circle. They get into a horse-drawn wagon. A boy chases ducks in the yard. 01:07:02 CU, a girl walks towards the camera in a beautiful garden, plays with a water basin, and smells flowers.

Vosskamp and friends visit Hamburg by boat

Film

Boat tour on a lake or river bordered by hills and mountains. Scenic views of the towns and homes that line the shore. 01:10:00 Johannes Vosskamp looks into binoculars. Boat name "Derindje". Closer views of people on board the boat, some with life jackets. View of a city from the harbor. HAS of the docks and of a large crowd with a couple embracing in the center. The boat returns to the water, passengers cover their shoulders with blankets. 01:12:21 A couple of SA soldiers walk about on the streets of Hamburg. A child approaches a dwarfed man selling souvenirs. More passengers deboard the boat at Hamburg and return shortly afterwards, walking up a ramp: "Hamburg-Sud". 01:13:24 A quick view of Johannes and a woman. More scenic views of the mountains from the moving boat, some shots are quite dark, waterfalls, houses on the shore. Passengers salute a warship? (flag is not discernable). Views from the boat. "Ende"

World War I soldiers and families celebrate in Wesel

Film

Part Two of FAHRT INS BLAUE with elaborate hand-decorated slates. Continuation of World War I veterans of the 172nd Regiment on a "Journey into Blue". The day-trippers at leisure. Men singing with tour buttons on their lapels. A woman performs a comedy routine. Adults playing on the seesaw. A woman pokes a tree for "the forbidden fruit," then holds the apples for the camera and takes a bite. Jolly adults sit on others' backs; a man passes by with a swastika flag. Johannes Vosskamp (the donor's father) sits at a table, lights a cigarette, and drinks coffee delivered by his wife Margarete Vosskamp (nee Clas, the donor's mother). They hug each other, kiss, and walk away. Two women and one man rest on the grass, smoking. Four men, including Vosskamp, at a table with a white tablecloth. VCUs, harvest-oriented swastika lapel pins. Ends with a title card.

World War I veterans take a trip

Film

Street scenes with well-dressed civilians and shops (this could be another day-trip taken by Johannes Vosskamp and his contemporaries from Duisburg). Signs show "Schenkwirtschaft Theod. Hünnekens", "Dortmunder...", and "Tivoli Beer". 01:06:15 Johannes Vosskamp, in a dark suit and bowtie, smoking, exits a building with others, including women and a uniformed soldier. Buses line the streets of the unknown city/village with a river. The well-dressed day-trippers (men and women) walk through a park and sit at a long table having refreshments with coffee. The group boards buses, with Vosskamp at 01:08:28. WS, large government-type building in the city with buses parked in front. LS, buses depart and cross a bridge. The tour group takes a break, smokes, and embarks on a walk (in another city/village?, possibly Bruges, Belgium?). They enter "Gasthof Wwe Franz Dückers" with Coca-Cola and Diebels Alt beverage signs.

World War I veterans parade in the Saarland

Film

MS, multiple takes of men and women gathered around a tour bus (picture quality is poor), a man sells souvenirs (this could be another day-trip taken by the WWI veterans from the 172nd Regiment from Duisburg). Side view of Weidemann and his wife at a cafe table. The tour makes a short stop in Trier for repairs. Roll call in a field in Saarlouis, Germany. Bundesfuehrer Vorwald and other officials are greeted (after the Saar was reintegrated into the German Reich in 1935). Vorwald raises the regiment flag, then raises his arm before a large crowd, also heiling. Parading in Saarlouis with swastika flags and a band. Pan of a group of elated men, women, and children, followed by a group of veterans celebrating, posing for the camera. A group of German Navy veterans from WWI gathered in the streets, waiting. 01:03:54 View from behind of Vorwald and the decorated WWI men in a city square, they turn to the camera, and men begin to march in the BG. Quick shots of the atmosphere in Saarlouis before the Fahnenkompanie marches with regiment flags, past a sign on the side of a building reading, "Der 172er Ortsgruppe Wiesbaden". Others (some in civilian dress) march past a reviewing stand, saluting the decorated officials, some holding placards. Closer, more candid and intimate shots of a group of men and women, standing in the street, gesturing, having fun, followed by similar takes of another group, introduced as their comrades from Wuppertal, including a couple dancing and a man on crutches. 01:06:24 MS, the chief of the Duesseldorf 172nd veterans group, Hans Meissner, shakes hands with Kubi from Pfalz. Another group of men gathered with flags and a placard. Quick stop to visit the Rhine River as the group heads home by bus, with individuals walking up stairs, waving, and waiting to board the bus.

World War I soldiers and families travel to Wesel for an SA march and celebration

Film

Decorated title in German: "Vereinsfilm aufgenommen durch Fr. Jasper Text von H. Vosskamp" followed by the main title card: "Kameradschaft Duisburg der ehem. Angehoerigen des 3 Oberelsäss. Inftr.-Regiments 172 FAHRT INS BLAUE mit dem Salondampfer 'Deutschland' am Sonntag, dem 13 August 1933 vorm 7:10 Uhr ab Mühlenweide, Ruhrort". Another title card indicating the program, whereby guests will depart from Muehlenweide at 7:30 AM on a "Journey into the Blue" and debark for a march of SA men to the fortifications [in Wesel]. Comic illustration of an early rise from bed at 5 AM. Man opens apartment windows and gestures to a woman below. Cut to Duisburg harbor where a large group of former soldiers of the 172nd Regiment from World War I and their families board a ship with Nazi flags. The crowd mingles and one man holds an umbrella decorated with inscriptions (similar to the kind of information found on the earlier title card). People wave. Trucks in field, one with "Brauerei Böllert A.G. Duisburg" on the side and another with "Trinkt Degerma-Milch!", unloading provisions for the journey. LS, group boarding the docked ship at Duisburg harbor. CU, ship name 'Deutschland'. INTs, boat, with CUs of the faces of day-trippers (men, women, and children) seated at tables, then leaning out the windows. The group deboards in Wesel, some carrying small swastika flags, one man in SA-uniform, and almost all of them with white circular tour pins/stickers affixed to their clothing. 01:06:14 Margarete Vosskamp (nee Clas, the donor's mother) appears on the left with two other women in a white jacket with a black collar and no hat. 01:06:39 Parade of SA men to the fortifications of Wesel, mix of well-dressed civilians, children, and military. Johannes Vosskamp in a black suit (plain clothes) at 01:06:47 just before the boy with a swastika flag; Alfred Vosskamp (the donor's older brother) at left, marching with a black Nazi flag at 01:06:55. One child holds a placard reading, "... 172er Duisburg". Drum corps and more marching, including Johannes Vosskamp at 01:07:48. 01:08:18 Wider shot of the group parading, led by children, then horses with decorated carts. A tour guide addresses the group from the fort's citadelle, with Johannes behind the man giving a speech. They enter the historical fortification, then march through the city. 01:10:10 Sign, "Herzlich Willkommen ehem. 172er" with the old German flag and a Nazi swastika. CU, decorated WWI veteran. The group lunches at outdoor picnic tables, laughing, smoking, resting in a park. 01:11:30 A man performs for the camera wearing funny glasses and a fake nose and mustache, drinking beer at a small table. More of the group at leisure, playing soccer, smoking, stepping over a wire fence, and posing for the camera in a group (some bare-chested). VCU, part of the group departs around a corner. A jolly group of children race by, play with a stuffed bird and noisemakers (some shots out of focus), and engage in playground amusements. Two couples drink mugs of beer, Edith (the donor, blonde girl) with other children and a bald man, and five men sing a song. Ends abruptly.

LfQ office; SA march; track and field events

Film

Handwritten slates in the old German Suetterlin Schrift. "Einige Aufnahmen aus dem Wirkungskreis der LfQ" INTs of an office showing civilian workers (men and women) at their desks with papers, pens, telephone, etc. There is a map on the office wall in the BG. More views of the employees. [LfQ may stand for Landesinstitut fuer Qualifizierung, the State Institute for Qualifications] 01:03:30 "Und nun Kaempfe um das S.A. Sportabzeichen" A group of SA men marching in town on cobblestone streets. Closer shots of the men. 01:04:41 "Der Leichtathlet" A man in exercise clothing throws a ball. "Die Kugel fliegt" Johannes Vosskamp, in the middle in a dark track suit, with others, each of whom practice throwing the shotput outdoors.

Duisburg Nazi Party members go to Nuremberg for Reichs Party Day

Film

Title: "Mit der Ortsgruppe Duisburg-Süd zum Reichsparteitag Nürnberg 1935". Second title reads: "Schmalfilmaufnahmen von Hans Vosskamp" Nazi Party members from Duisburg-South go to Nuremberg for the 1935 Reichs Party Day. The men, dressed in uniform, gather on the platform in a train station (Duisburg?), in good spirits, conversing, purchasing refreshments from a vendor, smoking. 01:01:46 Brief shot of a cameraman. Men with packs march past the camera. View of the passing German countryside from the train window. Marching band parades in Fuerth, a few spectators line the streets. LS, building marked "Gau Standquartier Essen." Pedestrians in the street. CU, handmade sign, "Quartier Ortsgruppe Dbg. Süd!" INT, men in their sleeping quarters - many cot mattresses line the floor with barely any room to walk. Eating and celebrating outdoors, some men wear little party hats, drinking beer, smoking, laughing, canteens. A toddler lines up with the men in uniform for soup. 01:05:11 Street scenes/crowds in Nuremberg, shops decorated for the festivities, newspaper stand, swastika banners, men in uniform with Nazi armbands. 01:05:55 A park in Fuerth. Five uniformed men toast beverages at a small table in the park, CUs, women join them. More people walk through the park, including Johannes Vosskamp at 01:07:14 walking alone. Women in the street, some dressed in traditional garb. 01:07:41 Large crowd gathered in a city square, swastika flags on flagpoles. Officer with rifle in guard-station, others salute as they enter an important building. Changing of the guards. Band (seen from behind) plays music for the crowd. Civilians and Nazi Party members gather in the streets for the Reichs Party Day celebration. 01:09:25 Preparing for the Fuehrer's arrival. Open cars pull up to the entrance of the Hotel Deutscher Hof near the Opera House in Nuremberg, and party officials exit the car and enter the building. Military soldiers line the street. 01:09:57 Spectators (from behind) raising their arms as Hitler passes quickly in an open car. Parade continues with military marching, open cars with important officials passing by quickly, a marching band, and other soldiers. They march past a sign "SS Biwak" with an arrow pointing to the right, photographer in lederhosen in the FG. Nazi officials in a hotel window/balcony. Marching band on horseback. View from behind of spectators on ladders. 01:11:50 "der Fuehrer kommt" Hitler parades by, standing in an open car. Group portrait of the Nazi Party members from Duisburg-South. High angle view of a train station. Johannes Vosskamp's brother Willy appears in some scenes.

World War I soldiers celebrate Regiments' Day in Dusseldorf

Film

Title: "Der 8. Regimentstag des Bundes ehem. 172er am 28-30 Juli 1934 in Düsseldorf". Second title frame reads: "Film Aufnahmen von Hans Vosskamp Fritz Jasper". Animated cards and titles throughout. Two men holding a sign before a newspaper kiosk on a city street. Former soldiers of the 172nd Regiment from World War I gather in the city streets. Street scenes with pedestrians, bicyclists, shops ("Wolsdorff Hamburg" tobacco shop; "Hotel Niesen") as the group walks to their lodge. The men gather in front of a building entrance; others from Aachen beside an automobile. A few men have Nazi armbands. Shots of the group walking in a city street. Drawings by Karl Prasse suggest that several of the party goers seemed to have "recovered" from the party in the park overnight. Paraders with musical instruments, flags, and wreaths pass by, including women in civilian dress. More shots of the parade on a different city street. Long line of men in suits with tophats, passing a theater showing the best of the world's attractions with a double-feature Apollo variety show/festival. Closer views of the men. CU, wreath on grave in a cemetery where some WWI comrades were buried, ribbon with a swastika. Men paying respects in the cemetery, heiling, an official memorial service in front of a large monument, commemoration attended by men, women, and children. 01:08:25 Extreme closeup of two men (Johannes Vosskamp on the right) having a conversation. CU, older man (an important colonel?). Three women lean against a car, the man in the drivers' seat stands up and uses a cane. 01:09:14 Johannes Vosskamp on the left leaning on the car (with license plate beginning with IZ) and talking to someone in the backseat. Men congregate in front of restaurant, with the decorated comrade Vorwald (?) at right. More CUs of the group, some in uniform, some women (visual quality deteriorates). INT, several women chatting on their return from the cemetery in a special car (rail or tram?). A photograph of the oldest surviving member of the group. 01:11:08 Vosskamp (on the right, not in uniform) talking to Kurt Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equord on the street; more close shots of several uniformed men. MS, group of uniformed men marching. CU, two men, introduced as Schriftfuehrer Schuchardt and Ziegler, followed by the chief of the Duesseldorf group, Meihsner, entering a room, sitting at a table, reviewing documents alone and then with another gentleman. They enter a garden through a wooden picket fence (his home?), Meihsner limps. Quick ECU of Meihsner. 01:13:14 Unrelated sequence of two girls playing in a stream (could be the film leader).

Vosskamp family

Film

Title: "Familienfilm der Familie Johann Vosskamp in Duisburg-Meiderich". Second title frame includes text and a caricature of a man with a film camera, "Aufnahmen: Hans Vosskamp". Graphic of the Vosskamp family tree in 1936. The family included 8 children, 4 girls and 4 boys, as well as 24 grandchildren. Closeups of the elders introduced in title cards: Father (Johann Vosskamp) and Mother (Mathilde Schmidders) at their home, in the house and in the garden. The grandchildren enter the frame and surround the elder couple sitting in chairs. 01:02:44 Edith, the donor (b. 08/22/1929), is the little girl in the white dress with the page cut. Johannes's oldest brother Dietrich stands with his wife Alwine [they had 7 children]; their children dance in a circle. CU, teenage siblings, riding on bicycles. The children of Johannes's oldest sister Elisabeth are Mathilde, Inge, and Karli - they read a book in the garden, different views, then Edith squeezes into the picture while Mathilde is reading. The three kids exit the house, down stairs, and into the garden. Johannes's brother Willy and wife Kaethe, and their two sons, Kurt and Heinz, in the garden [Both died in the war. Their mother never recovered from the loss and died of a nervous breakdown.] A man in the garden. 01:06:13 In the garden, Edith and her cousin Kurt on a bicycle. The boys link their arms and goof off. Edith plays peek-a-boo, then sits in the lap of her father, Johannes, enjoying a bag of candy. Emilie with her two adolescent daughters in braids sitting on a bench outside the home. Erika Brauner playing with a ball and her little sister Ruth sitting on a bench braiding and chatting with Edith at far left. Heinrich, another brother of Johannes, with his wife Aenne and their two children in the garden. They play with a wheelbarrow, followed by Edith. CU, baby boy. A toddler and nurse push the carriage. Johannes's sister Anna (husband Fritz Fackert) with her two children in the garden, followed by a shot of all five of their children (boys) in a row. One boy roller-skating in the streets. CU, another boy wearing a cap, waving and making faces. MS of the happy grandchildren. Brief shot of the Vosskamp adults (Johannes's siblings).

Sunday school trip

Film

Title card: "Sonntagschul-Ausflug 1937 / Sonntagschule Dbg. Meiderich Quadtstrasse". Handwritten slate indicating that the film was taken by Fritz Jasper. A group from a "Sunday-school" on Quadtstrasse in Duisburg Meiderich meets at the train station and goes to Bottrop, 25 km NE of Duisburg, for a day of fun. Boys on the train station platform in Oberhausen. The train pulls into the station. The large group (approx. 100 participants) run to board the train. CUs, children on the train. They arrive at Bottrop Nord train station, and debark. One child holds a rifle in a brown bag. More close shots of the trip participants at the train station. Walking to town, a mother pushes baby carriage, followed by a larger group of participants. 01:04:01 Destination "Haus Waldfriede", which served as a meeting place. MS, sign, and side view of the house. Happy children outdoors, some gathered at tables, having refreshments. Close shot of older men, introduced jokingly on slate as "Der Fuehrerstab", inquiring about provisions from the gentleman in a white jacket. Cakes are delivered from the back of a truck. Various shots of the guests conversing and playing outdoors. 01:06:43 Johannes on the left and his oldest brother Dietrich settle the cake delivery. The oldest and youngest attendees. Trip participants play at an amusement park (slide, merry-go-round, see-saw) and return to the train station on foot. Quick shot of a dial inside the train. Film begins and ends with brief shots of a boat in the water, which could be film leader.