Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The German Newsweek (Die Deutsche Wochenschau) was the unified newsreel of Germany from 1940-1945. The concept of a weekly newsreel was much older, dating back to WWI, and in the 1930s, there were several different weekly newsreels in Germany.
With the outbreak of WWII, these were unified and from June 1940 shown under the title of "The German Newsweek".
It was one of the most important aspects of German propaganda. Each week, over 2000 copies were sent to theaters and movie houses throughout Germany and shown to the general public, as private TV ownership was extremly rare during WWII.
Over 700 episodes were produced, and many of the historical WWII footage we nowadays have comes from the Wochenschau.
This is issue No. 736 from October 11th, 1944.
It shows fortifications and field positions being built near the Eastern Front, Estonian civilians being evacuated from the advancing Soviet troops, Estonian air force auxiliaries being sworn in, Fw-190 ground attack planes attacking Soviet positions, German troops fighting in Courland, combat footage from Luneville on the Western front, a visit from Goebbels to Field Marshall Model and excerpts of a speech from Goebbels in an armament factory, and finally a small parade of King Tiger tanks.
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Subtitles made by me.
The German Newsweek (Die Deutsche Wochenschau) was the unified newsreel of Germany from 1940-1945. The concept of a weekly newsreel was much older, dating back to WWI, and in the 1930s, there were several different weekly newsreels in Germany.
With the outbreak of WWII, these were unified and from June 1940 shown under the title of "The German Newsweek".
It was one of the most important aspects of German propaganda. Each week, over 2000 copies were sent to theaters and movie houses throughout Germany and shown to the general public, as private TV ownership was extremly rare during WWII.
Over 700 episodes were produced, and many of the historical WWII footage we nowadays have comes from the Wochenschau.
This is issue No. 736 from October 11th, 1944.
It shows fortifications and field positions being built near the Eastern Front, Estonian civilians being evacuated from the advancing Soviet troops, Estonian air force auxiliaries being sworn in, Fw-190 ground attack planes attacking Soviet positions, German troops fighting in Courland, combat footage from Luneville on the Western front, a visit from Goebbels to Field Marshall Model and excerpts of a speech from Goebbels in an armament factory, and finally a small parade of King Tiger tanks.
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Subtitles made by me.
![German Newsweek No. 606-16 April 1942 [Full HD] (Panzer III Production, Combat Footage North Africa)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/r-0wCIqd4xA/mqdefault.jpg "German Newsweek No. 606-16 April 1942 [Full HD] (Panzer III Production, Combat Footage North Africa)
The German Newsweek (Die Deutsche Wochenschau) was the unified newsreel of Germany from 1940-1945. The concept of a weekly newsreel was much older, dating back to WWI, and in the 1930s, there were several different weekly newsreels in Germany.
With the outbreak of WWII, these were unified and from June 1940 shown under the title of The German Newsweek.
It was one of the most important aspects of German propaganda. Each week, over 2000 copies were sent to theaters and movie houses throughout Germany and shown to the general public, as private TV ownership was extremly rare during WWII.
These newsreels were, of course, not a neutral news source, but would rather spread Nazi propaganda, trying to create the impression that Germany was winning the war and that Germany was fighting a just war, without mentioning the countless war crimes and crimes against humanity commited by German forces.
285 wartime issues were produced, from September 1939 (No. 470) to March 1945 (No. 755).
This is issue No. 606, from mid-April 1942.
It starts by showing a concert from the Berlin Philharmonic in a German armament factory, and then Panzer III and StuG III production in that same factory. Other scenes include awarding of successful German fighter pilots, aerial combat footage from the Eastern Front, German and Romanian soldiers fighting in Crimea, and a visit of Grand Admiral Raeder on a German battleship.
The next scenes show German navy units in Italian harbors, and finally scenes of supply convoys on their way to Africa, and combat footage from German and Italian troops in North Africa.
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Subtitles made by me.")
![Capture of Hong Kong- Japanese Propaganda Reel- 6 January 1942 [Full HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rTlpRKIS8M8/mqdefault.jpg "Capture of Hong Kong- Japanese Propaganda Reel- 6 January 1942 [Full HD]
Hong Kong was the first British colony in Asia to be attacked by Japanese Forces. On December 8th, 1941, on 10 am local time, just a few hours after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Japanese forces began their attack on Hong Kong.
Japanese Forces of the 23rd Army under the command of Lieutenant General Sakai, supported by a small Navy Detachment (one cruiser, three destroyers, four torpedo boats and a number of smaller vessels) under the command of Vice Admiral Niimi, in total around 27,000 men, attacked the colony, which was defended by around 12,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers under the command of British Indian Army Major General Christopher Maltby.
The British put up fierce resistance, but underestimation of the Japanese forces and the overall strategical situation made it impossible to hold Hong Kong, and British troops had to surrender on December 25th, 1941.
Around 1,800 British and 700 Japanese troops were killed; several British ships and boats were sunk, and one British destroyer (HMS Thracian) which was scuttled by the British was salvaged by the Japanese and later put into service.
This video is a short propaganda clip about the Japanese invasion of the city, showing aerial and naval bombardment, Japanese soldiers landing at Hong Kong with boats, and footage of the victory parade after the city was taken.
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Subtitles made by me.")
![German Newsweek No. 662- 15 May 1943 [Full HD] (Japanese Invasion of Burma, Funeral Viktor Lutze)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rjxgQRNP9Tc/mqdefault.jpg "German Newsweek No. 662- 15 May 1943 [Full HD] (Japanese Invasion of Burma, Funeral Viktor Lutze)
The German Newsweek (Die Deutsche Wochenschau) was the unified newsreel of Germany from 1940-1945. The concept of a weekly newsreel was much older, dating back to WWI, and in the 1930s, there were several different weekly newsreels in Germany.
With the outbreak of WWII, these were unified and from June 1940 shown under the title of The German Newsweek.
It was one of the most important aspects of German propaganda. Each week, over 2000 copies were sent to theaters and movie houses throughout Germany and shown to the general public, as private TV ownership was extremly rare during WWII.
These newsreels were, of course, not a neutral news source, but would rather spread Nazi propaganda, trying to create the impression that Germany was winning the war and that Germany was fighting a just war, without mentioning the countless war crimes and crimes against humanity commited by German forces.
285 wartime issues were produced, from September 1939 (No. 470) to March 1945 (No. 755).
This is issue No. 662, from mid-May 1943.
It shows footage from the Japanese invasion in Burma and Japanese air raids, including the sinking of the British carrier Hermes and the American carrier Hornet.
Other scenes include footage of the state funeral of SA-chief Viktor Lutze, production of wartime locomotives, and footage from the Eastern Front, including a visit of SS-chief Heinrich Himmler to the frontlines, and various combat footage.
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Subtitles made by me.")
