Uploaded April 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 the last issue of the Wochenschau, No. 755, from March 22nd, 1945.
Considering the fact that many theatres and cinemas throughout Germany have been already destroyed, and the civil infrastracture came to a standstill, probably hardly anyone saw this last episode.
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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 the last issue of the Wochenschau, No. 755, from March 22nd, 1945.
Considering the fact that many theatres and cinemas throughout Germany have been already destroyed, and the civil infrastracture came to a standstill, probably hardly anyone saw this last episode.
-
Subtitles made by me.
![Panorama Color Monthly Newsreel No.4- January/February 1945 [Full HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jgAwra8WYkI/mqdefault.jpg "Panorama Color Monthly Newsreel No.4- January/February 1945 [Full HD]
The Panorama Color Monthly Newsreel (Panorama-Farbmonatsschau) was a German propaganda newsreel produced during WWII.
Color film was already invented in the mid 1930s and was commercially avaliable, although color cameras and film were extremly expensive.
Nevertheless, during WWII, more and more German propaganda footage was shot in color, and by 1944, the Propaganda Ministry wanted to create a newsreel completly in color.
The Panorama Color Newsreel was only produced in four episodes, from November 1944 to January/February 1945.
The newsreel was more focused on cultural events, civlian footage, footage from workplaces etc. and contained few military footage/footage from frontlines.
This video is the last issue prodcued, No.4 from January/ February 1945.
It shows scenes from a glass factory, a circus performance, footage from various frontline areas, including the Italian alps, footage from a burning village in Norway after a Soviet air attack, and footage from German Navy net layers.
There are also some annotations from the German Federal Archive before and after the episode.
- Subtitles made by me.")
![German Newsweek No. 727- 10 August 1944 [Full HD] (U-Boat Arctic Sea, Combat West/ East Front)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jqOcB4Ni5mM/mqdefault.jpg "German Newsweek No. 727- 10 August 1944 [Full HD] (U-Boat Arctic Sea, Combat West/ East Front)
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. 727 from August 10th, 1944.
It shows footage of new defensive positions and trenches being constructed in the East, reserves moving to the frontlines in the East and combat footage, including footage of destroyed Soviet heavy tanks. Other scenes show footage from the Normandy front, including French militia, and frontline inspections by Field Marshall Kluge.
The last part is a lengthy section from inside a German U-Boat operating in the Arctic Ocean.
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Subtitles made by me.")
![German Propaganda Footage about the Tiger Tank - 21 April 1943 [Full HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/js6uPjrIzog/mqdefault.jpg "German Propaganda Footage about the Tiger Tank - 21 April 1943 [Full HD]
The German Tiger tank is one of, if not the most famous tanks of WWII. With its powerful 8,8cm gun, thick frontal armor of up to 100mm and its characteristic design, it was one of the most powerful tanks of the war, but it also suffered enormously under technical problems, and the engine was underpowered, often leading to mechanical failures and breakdowns.
The Tiger was often featured in German propaganda, being portrayed as an invincible war machine and an example of alleged superior German engineering. This has an effect untill today, with the Tiger tank still being one of the most well-known tanks of WWII, despite its limited overall effect.
The following footage, aired in April 1943, is an example of that, showcasing Tiger tanks during various trials. It shows Tiger tanks moving across difficult terrain, shooting at targets and even driving through a house.
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Subtitles made by me.")
![German Advance in Greece and Occupation of Athens- 30 April 1941 [Full HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/kQ-EGthaNtc/mqdefault.jpg "German Advance in Greece and Occupation of Athens- 30 April 1941 [Full HD]
When Germany invaded Yugoslavia, they also a long-planned attack against Greece on April 6th, 1941. This was both to help Italy, who have been struggling with their invasion of Greece, and to prevent the British Army gaining Airfields in Greece, from which they could strike Romanian oilfields.
The Greek and British troops offered fierce resistance, but they were outnumbered and outgunned by the combined German-Italian forces, which fielded more men and better equipment, especially tanks and aircrafts.
The following is German propaganda footage of the German advance through Greece, showing fighting with Greek and British troops, and the German occupation of various towns and cities, including the capital Athens, which was occupied on April 27th. This footage was shown in German propaganda newsreels, broadcasted on April 30th, 1941.
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Subtitles made by me.")
![Ufa Sound Week No. 486- 26 Dec. 1939 [Full HD] (Battle of Heligoland Bight, German Seaplanes Patrol)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l26CxTzZS8o/mqdefault.jpg "Ufa Sound Week No. 486- 26 Dec. 1939 [Full HD] (Battle of Heligoland Bight, German Seaplanes Patrol)
The Ufa (Universum Film AG) was a German movie and TV company, founded in December 1917. It was founded by several companies, with the German goverment secretly involved; and its initial goal was to produce pro-German propaganda movies that would be shown outside of Germany.
After the end of WWI, however, the focus shifted on producing movies for Germany for commercial profit.
In 1927, Ufa had financial difficulties and was facing bankruptcy, the company was bough by right-wing media mogul Alfred Hugenberg, who continued production as normal, but also Newsreels of the Ufa to advertise his own party and later the Nazi party.
After the Nazis rose to power, Ufa, like all other movie companies, came under strict goverment control, and in March 1937, Hugenberg had to sell the majority of his stakes in Ufa to a goverment-controlled company; the Ufa thus came under direct goverment control.
The Ufa Week was produced from September 1925 onwards, initially as silent newsreel, from September 1930 onwards with sound, hence the name was changed to Ufa Sound Week.
Like all newsreels in Nazi Germany, it was not a neutral news source, but rather full of Nazi propaganda. After the outbreak of WWII, the content that all newsreels produced was unified, and in mid-1940, all newsreels were unified to The German Newsweek.
This is Ufa Sound Week No. 486 from December 26th, 1939.
It shows footage from Japanese landings in China, German recruits being trained in horse-riding, skirmishes on the Western Front, the return of a German fighters from the Battle of the Heligoland Bight, including an interview with fighter pilot Helmut Lent, and footage from German seaplanes conducting controls of merchant ships, and scenes of German U-Boats and Navy ships operating.
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Subtitles made by me.")
![“Real Men”- German Propaganda Short about Paratrooper Training and Combat- February 1942 [Full HD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mHmbgGicnnM/mqdefault.jpg "“Real Men”- German Propaganda Short about Paratrooper Training and Combat- February 1942 [Full HD]
“Real Men” (Ganze Männer) is a short propaganda film about the training and combat mission of German paratroopers.
During WWII, Germany was the first country to use paratroopers on a larger scale; they were employed during the invasion of Denmark and the Low Countries in 1940.
But their most famous operation was the invasion of Crete, where over 14,000 German paratroopers landed on the island and managed to conquer it in May/ June 1941 but suffered heavy losses. Paratroopers after 1941 were used as regular ground troops, mostly on focal points on the front that were under high pressure.
Nevertheless, actual paradrop training was continued until early 1944. The following short shows scenes from Paratrooper training, exercise and combat footage from the landings on Crete. The title, Real Men refers to the fact that, according to this propaganda short, only real men can become paratroopers. This short was shown before propaganda newsreels and films in early 1942.
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Subtitles made by me.")
![Ufa Sound Week No. 478- 1 Nov. 1939 [Full HD] (Siegfried Line Activities, Seaboat Reconnaissance)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/mm-UYznpjo8/mqdefault.jpg "Ufa Sound Week No. 478- 1 Nov. 1939 [Full HD] (Siegfried Line Activities, Seaboat Reconnaissance)
The Ufa (Universum Film AG) was a German movie and TV company, founded in December 1917. It was founded by several companies, with the German goverment secretly involved; and its initial goal was to produce pro-German propaganda movies that would be shown outside of Germany.
After the end of WWI, however, the focus shifted on producing movies for Germany for commercial profit.
In 1927, Ufa had financial difficulties and was facing bankruptcy, the company was bough by right-wing media mogul Alfred Hugenberg, who continued production as normal, but also Newsreels of the Ufa to advertise his own party and later the Nazi party.
After the Nazis rose to power, Ufa, like all other movie companies, came under strict goverment control, and in March 1937, Hugenberg had to sell the majority of his stakes in Ufa to a goverment-controlled company; the Ufa thus came under direct goverment control.
The Ufa Week was produced from September 1925 onwards, initially as silent newsreel, from September 1930 onwards with sound, hence the name was changed to Ufa Sound Week.
Like all newsreels in Nazi Germany, it was not a neutral news source, but rather full of Nazi propaganda. After the outbreak of WWII, the content that all newsreels produced was unified, and in mid-1940, all newsreels were unified to The German Newsweek.
This is Ufa Sound Week No. 478, released on the first of November 1939.
It starts of with footage from a Ballet School in Berlin, followed by a rather interesting scene of stags during rutting season, with some Nazi Social Darwinism Propaganda inserted.
Other scenes include the return of Slovakian troops from the Polish campaign, footage from German soldiers on the Western Front singing and sending propaganda leafleats to the French side, a German village re-taken and cleared of French mines, among other scenes.
The last segment shows a German Dornier Do-18 long-range reconnaissance seaboat conducting martitime patrol, and German Heinkel He-111 bombers taking off for a bombing raid on Scapa Flow.
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Subtitles made by me.")
