Posted on Sep 7, 2017
"Your Job In Germany" 1945 US Army Orientation Film OF-8; Post World War II Occupation
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"Your Job In Germany" 1945 US Army Orientation Film OF-8; Post World War II Occupation
'U.S. Army training film for U.S. soldiers embarking on occupation duty in Germany. Written by Dr. Seuss and the basis for the latter 1946 Oscar-winning film, "Hitler Lives."'
Reupload of a previously uploaded film with improved video & sound.
Public domain film from the US National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-o...
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945--49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, United States forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the future zones of occupation, in some places by as much as 200 miles. The line of contact between Soviet and US forces at the end of hostilities was temporary. After two months in which they had held areas that had been assigned to the Soviet zone, US forces withdrew in the first days of July 1945...
American Zone of Occupation
The American zone consisted of Bavaria and Hesse in Southern Germany, and the northern portions of the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. The ports of Bremen (on the lower Weser River) and Bremerhaven (at the Weser estuary of the North Sea) were also placed under American control because of the American request to have certain toeholds in Northern Germany. The headquarters of the American military government was the former IG Farben Building in Frankfurt am Main.
Beginning in May 1945, many of the American combat troops and airmen in and around Germany were sent back to the United States based on their Advanced Service Rating Scores. Some of the experienced officers and non-commissioned officers were selected to be sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations for the proposed Invasion of Japan, but most of those men who had served the longest in combat were discharged from the U.S. Army, the Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Navy upon their returns home. Following the Surrender of the Japanese Empire in mid-August 1945 -- by its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration -- a higher percentage of soldiers, airmen, and sailors were granted their final discharges from service. The official signing of the surrender took place on Septermber 2, 1945, but the hostilities had ended weeks earlier.
Berlin
While located wholly within the Soviet zone, because of its symbolic importance as the nation's capital and seat of the former Nazi government, the city of Berlin was jointly occupied by the Allied powers and subdivided into four sectors. Berlin was not considered to be part of the Soviet zone.
Governance and the emergence of two German states
The original Allied plan to govern Germany as a single unit through the Allied Control Council broke down in 1946--1947 due to growing tensions between the West and the Soviet Union... The complete breakdown of east-west allied cooperation and joint administration in Germany became clear with the Soviet imposition of the Berlin Blockade that was enforced from June 1948 to May 1949. The three western zones were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949, and the Soviets followed suit in October 1949 with the establishment of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
In the west, the occupation officially continued until May 5, 1955, when the General Treaty ("German: Deutschlandvertrag") entered into force... When the Deutschlandvertrag became law, the occupation officially ended, the western occupation zones ceased to exist, and the high commissioners were replaced by normal ambassadors. West Germany was also allowed to build a military, and the Bundeswehr, or Federal Defense Force, was officially established on November 12, 1955.
A similar situation occurred in East Germany... the Soviet Union concluded a state treaty (Staatsvertrag) with the GDR on September 20, 1955. On March 1, 1956, the GDR established a military, the National People's Army.
Despite the grants of general sovereignty to both German states in 1955, full and unrestricted sovereignty under international law was not enjoyed by any German government until after the reunification of Germany in October 1990...
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ maj william Maj William W. 'Bill' Price @ maj stephen LTC (Join to see) @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc william SFC William Farrell @ sfc joe SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ spc margaret SPC Margaret Higgins SCPO Morris Ramsey Alan K.
'U.S. Army training film for U.S. soldiers embarking on occupation duty in Germany. Written by Dr. Seuss and the basis for the latter 1946 Oscar-winning film, "Hitler Lives."'
Reupload of a previously uploaded film with improved video & sound.
Public domain film from the US National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allied-o...
The Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during 1945--49. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, United States forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed boundaries for the future zones of occupation, in some places by as much as 200 miles. The line of contact between Soviet and US forces at the end of hostilities was temporary. After two months in which they had held areas that had been assigned to the Soviet zone, US forces withdrew in the first days of July 1945...
American Zone of Occupation
The American zone consisted of Bavaria and Hesse in Southern Germany, and the northern portions of the present-day German state of Baden-Württemberg. The ports of Bremen (on the lower Weser River) and Bremerhaven (at the Weser estuary of the North Sea) were also placed under American control because of the American request to have certain toeholds in Northern Germany. The headquarters of the American military government was the former IG Farben Building in Frankfurt am Main.
Beginning in May 1945, many of the American combat troops and airmen in and around Germany were sent back to the United States based on their Advanced Service Rating Scores. Some of the experienced officers and non-commissioned officers were selected to be sent to the Pacific Theater of Operations for the proposed Invasion of Japan, but most of those men who had served the longest in combat were discharged from the U.S. Army, the Army Air Forces, and the U.S. Navy upon their returns home. Following the Surrender of the Japanese Empire in mid-August 1945 -- by its acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration -- a higher percentage of soldiers, airmen, and sailors were granted their final discharges from service. The official signing of the surrender took place on Septermber 2, 1945, but the hostilities had ended weeks earlier.
Berlin
While located wholly within the Soviet zone, because of its symbolic importance as the nation's capital and seat of the former Nazi government, the city of Berlin was jointly occupied by the Allied powers and subdivided into four sectors. Berlin was not considered to be part of the Soviet zone.
Governance and the emergence of two German states
The original Allied plan to govern Germany as a single unit through the Allied Control Council broke down in 1946--1947 due to growing tensions between the West and the Soviet Union... The complete breakdown of east-west allied cooperation and joint administration in Germany became clear with the Soviet imposition of the Berlin Blockade that was enforced from June 1948 to May 1949. The three western zones were merged to form the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949, and the Soviets followed suit in October 1949 with the establishment of the German Democratic Republic (GDR).
In the west, the occupation officially continued until May 5, 1955, when the General Treaty ("German: Deutschlandvertrag") entered into force... When the Deutschlandvertrag became law, the occupation officially ended, the western occupation zones ceased to exist, and the high commissioners were replaced by normal ambassadors. West Germany was also allowed to build a military, and the Bundeswehr, or Federal Defense Force, was officially established on November 12, 1955.
A similar situation occurred in East Germany... the Soviet Union concluded a state treaty (Staatsvertrag) with the GDR on September 20, 1955. On March 1, 1956, the GDR established a military, the National People's Army.
Despite the grants of general sovereignty to both German states in 1955, full and unrestricted sovereignty under international law was not enjoyed by any German government until after the reunification of Germany in October 1990...
@ col mikel COL Mikel J. Burroughs @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen C. @ ltc stephen LTC Stephen F. @ ltc frank LTC (Join to see) @ ltc john LTC John Mohor @ maj william Maj William W. 'Bill' Price @ maj stephen LTC (Join to see) @ capt marty Maj Marty Hogan @ smgt doc SMSgt Minister Gerald A. "Doc" Thomas @ tsgt joe TSgt Joe C. @ sra christopher SrA Christopher Wright @ msg andrew MSG Andrew White @ sfc william SFC William Farrell @ sfc joe SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL @ sgt david SGT (Join to see) @ sgt david SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth @ sp5 mark SP5 Mark Kuzinski @ spc margaret SPC Margaret Higgins SCPO Morris Ramsey Alan K.
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Private Snafu - Going Home - Remastered
Digitally remastered for your viewing pleasure. Private Snafu - Going Home - Remastered US Army Cartoon - 1944 Pvt. Snafu's unit suffers the consequences of ...
Thanks for sharing SGT John " Mac " McConnell a classic Dr. Seuss "U.S. Army training film for U.S. soldiers embarking on occupation duty in Germany."
On January 7, 1943 Theodor Geisel AKA Dr. Seuss dressed in a size 40-long U.S. Army captain’s uniform, boarded a train for California.
"He also worked alongside famed Warner Bros. animation directors Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng in creating cartoon shorts featuring Private Snafu—a bald, bumbling GI with the looks of Elmer Fudd and the voice of Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc supplied the voices of both characters). In nearly 30 episodes, the misadventures of the inept soldier both entertained and educated servicemen by demonstrating the pitfalls of doing things exactly as they shouldn’t be done—such as disobeying orders, evading censors and leaking classified information."
Images: Insure your home against Hitler!, published by PM Magazine on July 28, 1942, Dr. Seuss Collection; WWII propaganda cartoon by Theodor Geisel; Still from a Private Snafu cartoon depicting Hitler as the devil; Spreading the lovely Goebbels stuff, published by PM Magazine on September 18, 1941, Dr. Seuss Collection
Dr Sueus Private Snafu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1M0G12Fc4U
"Before Dr. Seuss wrote the “Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs & Ham” or most of his acclaimed children’s books, he used his illustrative talents and penchant for rhyming to pen political cartoons and produce propaganda films that supported the Allied cause in World War II. II.
As World War II continued to rage on January 7, 1943, Theodor Geisel reported for duty. Dressed in a size 40-long captain’s uniform, the U.S. Army’s newest volunteer boarded a train for California, leaving behind his New York apartment as well as his budding career writing and illustrating children’s books under his distinctive pseudonym—Dr. Seuss.
Three years earlier, Geisel had been at work on his fourth children’s book, “Horton Hatches the Egg,” when a news flash on the radio announced that Paris had fallen to the Nazis. Having dabbled in political cartoons during the 1930s, Geisel felt compelled to put his projects for young readers aside and brandish his pen to fire satirical shots at Adolf Hitler and American isolationists such as aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh who wanted to keep the country out of the war in Europe. “While Paris was being occupied by the clanking tanks of the Nazis and I was listening on my radio, I found that I could no longer keep my mind on drawing pictures of Horton The Elephant. I found myself drawing pictures of Lindbergh The Ostrich,” he said.
In 1941 and 1942, Geisel drew over 400 editorial cartoons for the left-leaning tabloid newspaper PM. Although the cartoons sport his distinctive style and fanciful menagerie of creatures, the subject matter is quite foreign, in more ways than one, to Dr. Seuss readers. One cartoon depicts a “Lindbergh Quarter” with an ostrich sticking its head in the ground in place of an American eagle. Another showed Lindbergh patting the head of a swastika-covered sea serpent that sported Hitler’s trademark mustache.
When Geisel heard news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he put down his copy of the Sunday New York Times and went to his drawing board to sketch a Seussian bird labeled “ISOLATIONISM” being blasted high into the sky by an explosion. “He never knew what hit him,” read the caption. With the United States now at war with Japan, Geisel’s cartoons increasingly trafficked in racial stereotypes. He portrayed Japanese leaders as narrow-eyed, buck-toothed caricatures, and one xenophobic cartoon portrays Japanese-Americans on the West Coast waiting in a long line for blocks of dynamite as well as “the signal from home.”
The American government enlisted the illustrator in the war effort by having him draw cartoons that urged the conservation of resources and the purchase of savings bonds and stamps to raise money for the war effort. Wishing to do more to back the war that he had lobbied for, the 38-year-old Geisel joined the U.S. Army and was deployed to the Fox studios in Hollywood—dubbed “Fort Fox”—to serve with some of the country’s top filmmakers, screenwriters, animators and journalists in Oscar-winning director Frank Capra’s Signal Corps unit.
Geisel worked to enliven the typical training manuals with his imaginative characters, such as an anthropomorphized malaria-carrying mosquito named Ann who eschewed whiskey and gin for the blood of soldiers and the “squander bug” who feasted on money that could have been better spent on war bonds.
He also worked alongside famed Warner Bros. animation directors Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng in creating cartoon shorts featuring Private Snafu—a bald, bumbling GI with the looks of Elmer Fudd and the voice of Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc supplied the voices of both characters). In nearly 30 episodes, the misadventures of the inept soldier both entertained and educated servicemen by demonstrating the pitfalls of doing things exactly as they shouldn’t be done—such as disobeying orders, evading censors and leaking classified information.
Geisel wrote rhyme-studded scripts and contributed to storyboards of the cartoon, which was considerably more risqué than even the looniest of Looney Tunes (although the acronym that inspired the character’s name was sanitized to “Situation normal all FOULED up”). Since “Private Snafu” was released to only a military audience, it was not subject to the censors upholding the Motion Picture Production Code and could feature mild profanity, occasional off-color jokes and double entendres such as the hazards of “booby traps” posed by buxom spies. One episode even depicted a mosquito named “Malaria Mike” taking aim at Private Snafu’s bare bottom as he bathed in a river.
Another film for which Geisel wrote a script, “Know Your Enemy—Japan,” was released on the same day the atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki, and General Douglas MacArthur ordered it quickly withdrawn. Another 18-minute film that Geisel produced following Capra’s discharge, “Our Job in Japan,” met a similar fate as MacArthur prevented its release following its completion. All was not lost, however, as Geisel and his wife, Helen, used the film as the basis for their screenplay for the 1947 documentary “Design for Death,” which earned an Academy Award.
After a three-year stint in the military, Geisel finally returned to civilian life, having received the Legion of Merit award for “exceptionally meritorious service in planning and producing films, particularly those utilizing animated cartoons, for training, informing, and enhancing the morale of the troops.” And with the publication of “McElligot’s Pool” in 1947, Dr. Seuss finally returned from the war effort as well."
From history.com/news/when-dr-seuss-went-to-war
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SPC Margaret Higgins SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
On January 7, 1943 Theodor Geisel AKA Dr. Seuss dressed in a size 40-long U.S. Army captain’s uniform, boarded a train for California.
"He also worked alongside famed Warner Bros. animation directors Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng in creating cartoon shorts featuring Private Snafu—a bald, bumbling GI with the looks of Elmer Fudd and the voice of Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc supplied the voices of both characters). In nearly 30 episodes, the misadventures of the inept soldier both entertained and educated servicemen by demonstrating the pitfalls of doing things exactly as they shouldn’t be done—such as disobeying orders, evading censors and leaking classified information."
Images: Insure your home against Hitler!, published by PM Magazine on July 28, 1942, Dr. Seuss Collection; WWII propaganda cartoon by Theodor Geisel; Still from a Private Snafu cartoon depicting Hitler as the devil; Spreading the lovely Goebbels stuff, published by PM Magazine on September 18, 1941, Dr. Seuss Collection
Dr Sueus Private Snafu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1M0G12Fc4U
"Before Dr. Seuss wrote the “Cat in the Hat,” “Green Eggs & Ham” or most of his acclaimed children’s books, he used his illustrative talents and penchant for rhyming to pen political cartoons and produce propaganda films that supported the Allied cause in World War II. II.
As World War II continued to rage on January 7, 1943, Theodor Geisel reported for duty. Dressed in a size 40-long captain’s uniform, the U.S. Army’s newest volunteer boarded a train for California, leaving behind his New York apartment as well as his budding career writing and illustrating children’s books under his distinctive pseudonym—Dr. Seuss.
Three years earlier, Geisel had been at work on his fourth children’s book, “Horton Hatches the Egg,” when a news flash on the radio announced that Paris had fallen to the Nazis. Having dabbled in political cartoons during the 1930s, Geisel felt compelled to put his projects for young readers aside and brandish his pen to fire satirical shots at Adolf Hitler and American isolationists such as aviation pioneer Charles Lindbergh who wanted to keep the country out of the war in Europe. “While Paris was being occupied by the clanking tanks of the Nazis and I was listening on my radio, I found that I could no longer keep my mind on drawing pictures of Horton The Elephant. I found myself drawing pictures of Lindbergh The Ostrich,” he said.
In 1941 and 1942, Geisel drew over 400 editorial cartoons for the left-leaning tabloid newspaper PM. Although the cartoons sport his distinctive style and fanciful menagerie of creatures, the subject matter is quite foreign, in more ways than one, to Dr. Seuss readers. One cartoon depicts a “Lindbergh Quarter” with an ostrich sticking its head in the ground in place of an American eagle. Another showed Lindbergh patting the head of a swastika-covered sea serpent that sported Hitler’s trademark mustache.
When Geisel heard news of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, he put down his copy of the Sunday New York Times and went to his drawing board to sketch a Seussian bird labeled “ISOLATIONISM” being blasted high into the sky by an explosion. “He never knew what hit him,” read the caption. With the United States now at war with Japan, Geisel’s cartoons increasingly trafficked in racial stereotypes. He portrayed Japanese leaders as narrow-eyed, buck-toothed caricatures, and one xenophobic cartoon portrays Japanese-Americans on the West Coast waiting in a long line for blocks of dynamite as well as “the signal from home.”
The American government enlisted the illustrator in the war effort by having him draw cartoons that urged the conservation of resources and the purchase of savings bonds and stamps to raise money for the war effort. Wishing to do more to back the war that he had lobbied for, the 38-year-old Geisel joined the U.S. Army and was deployed to the Fox studios in Hollywood—dubbed “Fort Fox”—to serve with some of the country’s top filmmakers, screenwriters, animators and journalists in Oscar-winning director Frank Capra’s Signal Corps unit.
Geisel worked to enliven the typical training manuals with his imaginative characters, such as an anthropomorphized malaria-carrying mosquito named Ann who eschewed whiskey and gin for the blood of soldiers and the “squander bug” who feasted on money that could have been better spent on war bonds.
He also worked alongside famed Warner Bros. animation directors Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng in creating cartoon shorts featuring Private Snafu—a bald, bumbling GI with the looks of Elmer Fudd and the voice of Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc supplied the voices of both characters). In nearly 30 episodes, the misadventures of the inept soldier both entertained and educated servicemen by demonstrating the pitfalls of doing things exactly as they shouldn’t be done—such as disobeying orders, evading censors and leaking classified information.
Geisel wrote rhyme-studded scripts and contributed to storyboards of the cartoon, which was considerably more risqué than even the looniest of Looney Tunes (although the acronym that inspired the character’s name was sanitized to “Situation normal all FOULED up”). Since “Private Snafu” was released to only a military audience, it was not subject to the censors upholding the Motion Picture Production Code and could feature mild profanity, occasional off-color jokes and double entendres such as the hazards of “booby traps” posed by buxom spies. One episode even depicted a mosquito named “Malaria Mike” taking aim at Private Snafu’s bare bottom as he bathed in a river.
Another film for which Geisel wrote a script, “Know Your Enemy—Japan,” was released on the same day the atomic bomb fell on Nagasaki, and General Douglas MacArthur ordered it quickly withdrawn. Another 18-minute film that Geisel produced following Capra’s discharge, “Our Job in Japan,” met a similar fate as MacArthur prevented its release following its completion. All was not lost, however, as Geisel and his wife, Helen, used the film as the basis for their screenplay for the 1947 documentary “Design for Death,” which earned an Academy Award.
After a three-year stint in the military, Geisel finally returned to civilian life, having received the Legion of Merit award for “exceptionally meritorious service in planning and producing films, particularly those utilizing animated cartoons, for training, informing, and enhancing the morale of the troops.” And with the publication of “McElligot’s Pool” in 1947, Dr. Seuss finally returned from the war effort as well."
From history.com/news/when-dr-seuss-went-to-war
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Ivan Raiklin, Esq. Capt Seid Waddell Capt Tom Brown SFC William Farrell SSgt Robert Marx SSgt (Join to see) TSgt Joe C. SP5 Mark Kuzinski SPC (Join to see) SrA Christopher Wright Maj Marty Hogan PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SP5 Robert Ruck SCPO Morris RamseyCPL Eric Escasio SPC Margaret Higgins SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL
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SGT John " Mac " McConnell
>1 y
Great addition as always LTC Stephen F. . I knew you would see that Dr Seuss had his hand in the making of this training film. Have a great day my friend.
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SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth
>1 y
Thank you for the great additional pictures and old military video.
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Posted >1 y ago
The Army of Occupation Medal is special as it is considered a generational medal.
As a Berlin Vet I treasure my friendships with Berlin Vets of different eras and mourn their passing.
As a Berlin Vet I treasure my friendships with Berlin Vets of different eras and mourn their passing.
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SPC John Parmenter
>1 y
PFC McDonald, military personnel serving in Berlin 14 August 1961 - 01 June 1963 (3rd Berlin Crisis) were awarded the U.S. Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal as well. Are you familiar with BUSMVA (Berlin U.S. Military Veterans Association)? They have a website, quarterly newsletters, & annual reunions -- every fourth reunion is in Berlin.
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PFC Lisa McDonald
>1 y
Yes I know several Busmva members.
I belong to multiple Berlin Centered Facebook groups.
Several of my Facebook friends were there when the wall went up.
I was there from 82-84
I belong to multiple Berlin Centered Facebook groups.
Several of my Facebook friends were there when the wall went up.
I was there from 82-84
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SPC John Parmenter
>1 y
PFC Lisa McDonald - My Berlin service was in a 1st Infantry Division augmenting Task Force. I was there 26 June 1963 when President Kennedy came to Berlin.
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