From the Destruction of Poland to the Bombing of Rotterdam
About This Footage
Reel 4 of The World at War (1942) documents Germany’s early World War II conquests through devastating Blitzkrieg campaigns. The reel begins with the destruction of Poland in 1939, showing Warsaw bombed and starved into surrender, Polish civilians fleeing as refugees, and the forced servitude of captured workers as slave laborers. After Hitler reviews his victorious troops, the focus shifts to naval warfare in the Atlantic and the rapid expansion of German power in 1940. Blitzkrieg tactics are shown in Denmark and Norway, followed by the invasions of Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The film features dramatic scenes of German mechanized forces, tanks, artillery, and parachute troops descending over Holland from Luftwaffe planes. The reel culminates in the devastating bombing of Rotterdam, leaving cities in flames and civilians displaced. This footage illustrates the speed, power, and human cost of Germany’s lightning war in the early years of WWII.