Herbert Apfelthaler was born in Vienna as a son of the tire dealer Friedrich Apfelthaler. From 1931-1941, he goes to school in Vienna, and becomes a member of Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) around 1942/43. His father dies in 1947. In 1951, he married Hedy. Around 1964, he turns to the company Eumig as a movie adviser and head of the Eumig Filmstudios and establishes his own film studio (Schmalfilmzentrum Rosenhügel; by 1970 Film- und Viedozentrum Rosenhügel). He remarried in 1984 to Angelika. He died in Vienna in 2008. Herbert's father Friedrich founded a commercial firm for car tires and car components and was an ambitious film amateur and member of the Klub der Kinoamateuere Österreichs (DdKÖ).
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 at efilms.ushmm.org.
Private film by Herbert Apfelthaler. Title card reads: “Schnitt, Kamera: Herbert Apfelthaler.” Rows of Nazi Reichsarbeitsdienst (RAD) march with shovels on their shoulders. A small group of other soldiers, perhaps higher ranking, shake hands and give the Nazi salute. They inspect the lines of Nazi RAD, who stand at attention with their shovels. They march down a path through fields. Shots of them in formation with their shovels in a field, then running into formation. Marching. More maneuvering and inspections. They do exercises in unison in shorts. They perform gymnastics on wooden logs and jump rope. They set up tents. They take down the tents. They perform drills with weapons.
Officials review Reichsarbeitsdienst workers