Top of page

Notice
Special holiday hours in effect, December 2025 through January 2026. More information.

Film, Video [World War II color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day] World War 2 color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day / World War Two color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day / Inventory title: Assorted camera reels / Former supplied title: World War II color footage ; World War II black and white footage

Digital viewing copy

About this Item

Title

  • [World War II color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day]

Other Title

  • World War 2 color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day
  • World War Two color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day
  • Inventory title: Assorted camera reels
  • Former supplied title: World War II color footage ; World War II black and white footage

Summary

  • In late summer 1945, Stevens and the SPECOU visit Berlin. They visit various buildings and historic sites, including the Olympic Stadium. Berlin is heavily damaged. Civilians clean up the rubble. Refugees are leaving with their belongings. Hamilton and Morse visit the Russian Sector. Multiple groups of Russian troops walk and march through town. Some recreational activities are shown--relaxing at the beach, golfing, visiting the racetrack. In the second half of the film, there are out of sequence shots of North Africa and Egypt, filmed in 1943 before D-Day. Stevens and Mellor visit the Sphinx. American military action is staged in the African desert. Unidentified troops march in the desert.

Names

  • Stevens, George, 1904-1975, contributor
  • United States. Army. Signal Corps. Special Coverage Unit, contributor

Created / Published

  • [1943 and 1945]

Contents

  • Stevens and some SPECOU members in Berlin at the end of the war -- Shots of the Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Cathedral, the Kaiser Wilhelm National Monument -- Scenes of devastation, damaged and bombed out buildings -- Civilians cleaning up the rubble -- Stevens, Hamilton, Morse and several others visit the Olympic Stadium built for the 1936 Olympic Games -- Shots of the stadium, diving board and swimming pools -- Hamilton and Morse visit the Russian Sector -- Hamilton displays Stevens' pass which allows him unrestricted travel -- Uniformed Russian women direct traffic -- Multiple groups of Russian soldiers, men and women, walking and marching down the street -- Multiple shots of refugees carrying their belongings -- Stevens visits the British and American Sectors -- out of sequence North Africa scenes of a canal, boats, civilians, palm trees -- out of sequence shot at Dachau, typhus quarantine area -- Berlin footage of civilians cleaning up rubble -- Recreational activities, racetrack, beachside scenes ("Beach Club"), golf course -- Aerial footage of a river between mountains -- out of sequence Egypt scenes, Stevens and Mellor at the Sphinx -- Staged military action in the African desert with tanks, troops and explosions -- Troops march in the desert accompanied by a military band -- Civilians at a bazaar -- Stevens and Mellor talk with an American pilot who then takes off in a single-engine fighter plane.

Headings

  • -  Stevens, George,--1904-1975,--depicted
  • -  Hamilton, Bill,--1908-1971,--depicted
  • -  Morse, Hollingsworth,--depicted
  • -  Mellor, William C.,--1903-1963,--depicted
  • -  Olympiastadion (Berlin, Germany)
  • -  World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Berlin
  • -  World War, 1939-1945--Refugees--Germany--Berlin
  • -  Civilians in war--Germany--Berlin
  • -  Soldiers--Soviet Union
  • -  Soldiers--Recreation--Germany--Berlin
  • -  World War, 1939-1945--Africa, North
  • -  Egypt

Genre

  • Unedited footage
  • Nonfiction films

Notes

  • -  Scenes depicted are not in chronological order.
  • -  Sources used: Five came back by Mark Harris; "Lt. Col. George C. Stevens, World War II color film" document in NAVCC acquisition file, ACQ: Stevens, George (Jr.).
  • -  During World War II, film director George Stevens was commissioned as an officer in the United States Army Signal Corps. After spending six months in North Africa and Egypt, he was directed in late 1943 to organize a Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) of cameramen and sound recorders to photograph the Americans landing in Europe on D-Day. The unit was embedded with American and Allied troops as they moved through France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany.
  • -  The entire collection of George Stevens' World War II footage was selected to the National Film Registry.

Medium

  • 1 video file (digital) (34 min.) : si., col.

Source Collection

  • Stevens (George, Jr.) Collection (Library of Congress)

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2020600759

Online Format

  • image
  • video

Additional Metadata Formats

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is not aware of any U.S. copyright or other restrictions in the vast majority of motion pictures in these collections. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse.

In rare cases, copyrighted motion pictures are made available by special permission to the Library and may be used only for educational purposes. For example, the Gershwin home movies fall within this category. Rights assessment is your responsibility. No registration information exists for some titles, and reproduction of some titles may be restricted by privacy rights, publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Additionally, some works may still be protected by copyright in the United States or some foreign countries. The written permission of the copyright owners in materials not in the public domain is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions.

Whenever possible, we provide information that we have about copyright owners and related matters in the catalog records, finding aids and other texts that accompany collections. You should consult the catalog information that accompanies each item for specific information. This catalog data provides the details known to the Library of Congress regarding the corresponding item and may assist you in making independent assessments of the legal status of these items for their desired uses. You should also consult restrictions associated with donations to the Library.

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division.

More about Copyright and other Restrictions.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Stevens, George, Contributor, and Contributor United States Army. Signal Corps. Special Coverage Unit. World War II color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day. [and 1945, 1943] Video. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2020600759/.

APA citation style:

Stevens, G. & United States Army. Signal Corps. Special Coverage Unit, C. (1943) World War II color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day. [and 1945] [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/2020600759/.

MLA citation style:

Stevens, George, Contributor, and Contributor United States Army. Signal Corps. Special Coverage Unit. World War II color footage--Stevens and SPECOU in Berlin; Stevens in North Africa and Egypt before D-Day. [and 1945, 1943] Video. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <aj.sunback.homes/item/2020600759/>.