From France’s Defeat to Churchill’s Stand Against the Luftwaffe
About This Footage
Reel 6 of The World at War (1942) portrays the collapse of France and Britain’s determination to resist Axis aggression. The reel opens with German armies sweeping across France, supported by relentless Luftwaffe raids, artillery, and advancing tanks. Scenes of burning cities, refugees, and children evacuated from Paris underscore the human toll as German troops march past the Arc de Triomphe. Italy enters the war, the Maginot Line falls, and Adolf Hitler accepts France’s surrender at Compiègne in the same railcar that marked Germany’s defeat in World War I. Jubilant images of Hitler highlight the symbolic triumph. The focus then shifts to Britain, where Winston Churchill rallies the nation as the Luftwaffe bombs London, Plymouth, and Coventry. Footage of civilians in shelters, British troops fighting in Egypt, and Malta under siege demonstrate resilience in the face of overwhelming odds. The reel concludes with the restoration of Emperor Haile Selassie to Ethiopia, a moment of hope amidst global conflict.