Traveling through the Alps
George Stevens (December 18, 1904 – March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. During World War II, Stevens joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps and headed a film unit from 1943 to 1946 under General Eisenhower. His unit shot footage documenting D-Day — including the only Allied European Front color film of the war — the liberation of Paris and the meeting of American and Soviet forces at the Elbe River, as well as horrific scenes from the Duben labor camp and the Dachau concentration camp. Stevens also helped prepare the Duben and Dachau footage and other material for presentation during the Nuremberg Trials. In 2008, his footage was entered into the U.S. National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress as an"essential visual recor" of World War II. The Special Coverage Unit (SPECOU) was placed under the control of the Supreme Headquarters' Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF). The SPECOU consists of 45 people: writers like Ivan Moffat, William Saroyan and Irwin Shaw; cameramen like Dick Hoar, Ken Marthey, William Mellor, Jack Muth; sound operators as Bill Hamilton, who comes from Columbia, assistant directors, as Holly Morse, who has worked with Hal Roach.
Sign pointing to left"Franzenfest 35 kms, Bozen 82 kms, Meran 111 kms" Pointing to right"Steinhach 12 kms, Matrei 16 kms, Innsbruck 38 kms" Stevens and Hamilton by sign that reads:"Brennero Pas" and a marble pillar marked"Itali" and"Bernardo Brennero" A mountainside shot of a bombed out building in the Alps. There are shots of bombed out Brenner railroad station. Panning shot of town below. Jeep Toluca, panning left to town. Sign reads:"Innsbruc" VS of town. Two vehicles driven by Germans pass through town. Four Americans talking with German soldier with his arm in a sling. Small sign on steps of building they are standing in front of reads:"German First Arm" in English. MS, Berchtesgaden post office with jeep Toluca in front of the main entrance, American soldiers are in the jeep. Low angle shot through trees to what may be the town of Berchtesgaden.