Street scenes of Vienna. People in Austrian dress, streetcars, bicyclists. Helen Baker talks to a young man who sells bread from a large basket on his back. She inspects a large round loaf of bread and then tosses it into the air. The donor, Stan Baker, who was sixteen at the time, feeds a bird and then a squirrel. More street scenes, including several chimney sweeps and people who carry large bundles of wood on their backs. Helen, Stan, and Raymond (Stan's twin brother) appear again at 01:02:27. The camera follows a woman who crosses the street with a huge bundle on her back. Ground level shots of dogs wearing muzzles.
Ross Allen Baker was born on November 13, 1886, in Greencastle, Indiana, to Philip S. and Luemma Allen Baker. His father was a chemistry professor at DePauw University. Ross received a BA in chemistry from DePauw and a PhD in 1914 from the University of Wisconsin. He married Helen Fredericka Porter on December 30, 1914. The couple had five sons: Philip, Porter, Frederick, Stanley, and Raymond. He held various teaching positions throughout the US and in England. He was a national counselor for the Boy Scouts of American and helped write the merit badge booklet. During World War I (1914-1918), Ross served in the Chemical Warfare Service specializing in the use of mustard gas. He later became active in efforts to have nations ban the use of biological and chemical weapons in the League of Nations, and later in the United Nations. He was active in several professional associations. In 1928, he was a US delegate for an International Union of Chemistry meeting at the League of Nations and, in 1938, a US delegate to the International Congress of Chemistry in Rome, Italy. In 1937, Ross held a position as professor of chemistry at the City University of New York. During the 1930s, there had been technological advances in optics and photography in European universities and American scientists sought to emulate this work. Ross received a sabbatical leave to take courses in microchemistry at the University of Vienna. Ross, his wife, and three of their five sons lived in Vienna from early 1937 until May 1938; summers were spent in travel. In May 1938, the family accompanied Ross to Rome and also witnessed public events for the summit meeting of Hitler and Mussolini. They travelled the rest of the summer and then returned to the US. Ross retired from San Diego State. He passed away, age 92, in 1978 in San Diego, Ca. Helen Fredericka Porter married Ross Allen Baker on December 30, 1914. The couple had five sons: Philip, Porter, Frederick, Stanley, and Raymond. Ross, Helen, and three of their five sons lived in Vienna from early 1937 until May 1938; summers were spent in travel. In May 1938, the family accompanied Ross to Rome and also witnessed public events for the summit meeting of Hitler and Mussolini. They travelled the rest of the summer and then returned to the US.
Vienna scenes; Helen Baker; dogs
This film is featured in the Ephemeral Films Project: National Socialism in Austria. Watch the historic film through an innovative film player showing contemporary images, geographical mapping, and shot-level analysis here: http://efilms.ushmm.org/film_player?movieID=41&movieSig=EF-NS_041_USHMM&movieSpeed=18