us-005578-irn1004058
type: RecordSet
biographical history: 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.
date: March-April 1938
has or had holder: us-005578
has or had identifier: 2
has or had identifier: 1
has or had some members with language: Silent
has record set type: Item
identifier: irn1004058
note: Note that the sequences from 01:08:22 to 01:08:57 and 01:12:19 to 01:13:39 are from Austrian newsreels. The second segment containing several shots of the Hitler/Goebels speech on the balcony of city hall on April 9 corresponds to Ostmark Wochenschau issue #16B/38 (issued April 15). The Bakers either could not shoot there since photography was banned, or were disappointed with their results, so spliced in the professional footage. 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
scope and content: Leaflets and newspapers litter a Vienna street and swirl around in the wind. Pro-Schuschnigg graffiti and the Vaterlandisches Front [Fatherland Front] symbol are visible on the pavement near Hotel Atlanta. The scene shifts to show crowds of people on the street. They appear to be shouting slogans and some give the Nazi salute. At 01:04:49 the German travel agency"Deutsches Reic" on Kärtner Strasse is visible, complete with Nazi eagle. This was a notorious meeting point for NS followers; eyewitness testimony at the DÖW Austrian Archive indicates that on March 11 the staff was broadcasting German radio at high volume to a growing audience of Nazi sympathizers. It is located to the right of the Opera house. Austrian policemen move the crowds along and occasionally strike people with their clubs. This is most likely March 10 or 11, when the Schuschnigg government was still in power but the takeover was imminent. The crowds have no flags or other Nazi symbols yet. Before the takeover the Nazi party and the salute were illegal. See Helen Baker's diary entry below. Scenes from a few days later begin at 01:05:44. These scenes were shot after the German army has entered Austria (they were probably shot on March 15; see diary entries below). Huge crowds of people are gathered in front of the parliament building and some march in the street. People gathered on the Athena statue wave flags and salute. A parade of men in shiny helmets marches by; people are visible sitting in trees. The camera pans across German military vehicles as they move slowly down the street. Some of the vehicles are stopped and uniformed men stand in the street. Austrian Nazis in black uniforms march down the street. 01:07:39 Pan across huge crowds, probably waiting for Hitler to appear at Heldenplatz on March 15. Lots of flags and hands in the air saluting. 01:08:18 Hitler is visible in his car through the crowd. Close-up of ecstatic girls' faces. German soldiers march past Goering (?). German police (?…
title: Crowds in Vienna during Anschluss; Hitler motorcade and at Hotel Imperial