German Newsweek No. 703- 23 February 1944

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. 703 from February 23rd, 1944. It shows footage from the hormone research of Prof. Butenandt, the introduction of the new president of the German Academy, Seyss-Inquart, footage from a German winery, a boxing match in Brussels, training and rehearsal of the German Film Ballet in Berlin, a recreation home for wounded fighter pilots, French fishing boats fishing under German protection, supply of troops in Italy, the destruction of Monte Cassino, withdrawal movements of German troops on the Eastern front, and combat footage from the Kerch bridgehead on Crimea. - Subtitles made by me.