The World at War (1942) Reel 4

Reel 4 of the landmark 1942 U.S. War Department film The World at War captures the terrifying speed of Nazi conquest in 1939–1940. It opens with the total destruction of Poland — Warsaw bombed into submission, civilians fleeing, and survivors forced into slave labor. Hitler reviews his triumphant troops before the narrative shifts to the Atlantic and the lightning invasions of Denmark and Norway. The reel then shows the full force of Blitzkrieg against Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg: parachute drops, mechanized columns, Stuka dive-bombers, and the infamous bombing of Rotterdam that left the city center in flames. Rare, crystal-clear 35mm footage that remains some of the most dramatic combat material ever filmed.

• Opening titles and recap of Poland campaign
• Warsaw in ruins after 1939 bombing and siege
• Polish refugees streaming from the city
• Captured Poles marched off to slave labor camps
• Hitler salutes victorious troops in Warsaw
• U-boat and surface raider warfare in the Atlantic
• April 1940: German invasion of Denmark and Norway
• May 1940: Blitzkrieg strikes Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg
• German parachute troops drop over Holland
• Mechanized columns race across Low Countries
• Luftwaffe Stuka dive-bombers in action
• Rotterdam bombed – city center engulfed in flames
• Civilians flee burning Rotterdam, end of reel