See departmental files for more detailed information in German from the Bundesarchiv. USHMM copied Reel 1 (180 meters) and Reel 2 (147 meters) in their entirety.
Conditions of Use and/or Copyright updated. Correspondence from Bundesarchiv in May 2023, initially sent to Leslie Swift states: Public Domain. However, since copyright law may differ between the U.S. and Germany, Use statement U3 is being applied.
Reel 1: 00:21:40 Panning shots of buildings severely destroyed in an air raid in Paris. German soldiers enter the city as civilians watch from the sidewalks. Two French police are seen standing in the street, crowds of locals on the sides, watching as German soldiers on bicycles enter. German soldiers on horseback crossing the bridge in front of Notre Dame. German soldiers stop and inspect a car. German parade into the city, led by a band. Local traffic and military convoys moving through the streets. Views of sandbag barricades in the streets. CUs of Notre Dame, a priest on the sidewalk in conversation with a civilian. 00:28:29 German soldier salutes the camera. Military band on horseback crosses a bridge over the Seine. Locals crowd the Place de la Concorde as a military band plays to entering soldiers, 00:29:48 Eiffel Tower visible in the background. Numerous CUs of soldiers and civilians, including several young French women. 00:30:45 A little girl sits on the sidewalk watching the soldiers, her father tries to get her to look up at the camera. Arc de Triomphe visible in the background. Several Fieseler Storch airplanes take off from the Place de la Concorde, crowds line the street and watch. A column of German soldiers march toward the Eiffel Tower. German soldiers salute at the tomb of the unknown soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe. View over the city of Paris, anti-aircraft guns visible. 00:34:41 Scenes at Versailles. 00:36:55 Several men try and start a bus. Civilian autos loaded with belongings drive through the streets. Scenes include Notre Dame, Place de la Concorde, Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Conciergerie, Seine bridges, Quai Voltaire, Versailles, Fontainebleau. Reel 2: 00:37:27 Blurry shots inside a building. Tiled signed over building entrance: Service Geographique de l'Armee / Section Cinematographique. Partially built concrete bunkers shown. German soldiers directing/inspecting traffic. 00:41:44 Officer & others in room, 35 mm film can on table, handling still photographs. 00:42:21 racks stacked with metal film cans. CU box labeled HINDENBURG (the funeral of). Book stalls along the Seine, Louvre in background. German soldiers on guard. German sailors climb out of a truck. Squadrons of planes fly over the city. 00:45:20 Palais de Chaillot and Eiffel Tower, groups of German military sightseeing. Decorations awarded to men lined up outside in gardens. Sign:"Fernschreibvermitlung: Ruhe" Followed by German soldiers working a teletype machine. More groups of soldiers at Palais de Chaillot and framing Eiffel Tower. Walk to buses. 00:50:00 Entrance to Hotel Quai Voltaire. Two German soldiers stroll out onto pavement and talk.
German military convoys in destroyed Paris