The Battle of Russia (1943) – shows a history of Russian defense and Russia’s battle against Germany. This film made available courtesy the Department of Defense, National Technical Information Service, and the National Archives and Records Administration http://www.archives.gov/
Capra’s synopsis: “History of Russia; people, size, resources, wars. Death struggle against Nazi armies at gates of Moscow and Leningrad. At Stalingrad, Nazis put through meat grinder
The following background information is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_We_Fight
Why We Fight is a series of seven propaganda films commissioned by the United States government during World War II to demonstrate to American soldiers the reason for U.S. involvement in the war. Later on they were also shown to the general U.S. public to persuade them to support American involvement in the war.
Most of the films were directed by Frank Capra, who was daunted yet also impressed and challenged by Leni Riefenstahl’s propaganda film Triumph of the Will and who worked in direct response to it. The series faced a tough challenge: convincing an only recently non-interventionist nation of the need to become involved in the war and ally with the Soviets, among other things. In many of the films, Capra and other directors spliced in Axis powers propaganda footage—recontextualizing it so it promoted the cause of the Allies instead.
Why We Fight was edited primarily by William Hornbeck and is among the best examples of stock-footage montage ever produced, although some parts were re-enacted “under War Department supervision” if there was no relevant footage available. The animated portions of the films were produced by the Disney studios — with the animated maps following a convention of depicting Axis-occupied territory in black.
The films were narrated by Academy Award winning actor Walter Huston. This narration, though factual for the most part, is replete with nationalist and racist rhetoric describing implacably warlike Germans and “blood-crazed Japs.” Conversely, it lionizes the courage and sacrifice of the British, Soviets, and Chinese.
At the end of each film, the quotation from Army Chief of Staff George Marshall that “…the victory of the democracies can only be complete with the utter defeat of the war machines of Germany and Japan.” is shown on screen, followed by a ringing Liberty Bell over which is superimposed a large letter “V” zooming into the screen, accompanied by patriotic or military music on the soundtrack.
Why We Fight also contains many scenes from Triumph of the Will when talking about the Nazis. .
The Battle of Russia,” Chapter V of Frank Capra’s “Why We Fight”
series, follows the beginning of the end for Adolph Hitler. In Part
Two, the German army falls victim to the Soviet scorched-earth strategy.
The Russian forces flee from the start, retreating deep into their
homeland, drawing the Nazis farther and farther away from the German
border. As the Red Army falls back, it destroys infrastructure and
natural resources, making it difficult for the Nazi army to live off the
land. Once the famed Russian winter sets in, Germany is doomed. The
film focuses on the stalwart defense of Leningrad. After the Nazis
surround the Soviet metropolis in an attempt to starve out its
residents, the Russians outsmart them by constructing a fully
operational railroad across a frozen lake to get supplies to the
beleaguered citizens. The Battle of Russia ends up as a disaster for the
Germans, who lose more than 800,000 men.
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