13170_40888_hitler
1932
Video opens in Washington D.C. with shot of the U.S. Capitol building’s dome. An airship (blimp) floats in the sky behind it. Clips of hunger march demonstrations. A crowd stands in front of the Capitol, others march in front of it and in nearby streets, holding signs and singing. Then clips of the Bonus Army (WWI veterans, their families and affiliated groups). Tanks and troops on horses arrive to disperse and send home the marching and encamped Bonus Army. Troops in gasmasks enter (adamsite gas was used to prevent rioting). The Bonus Army’s wooden encampment shacks are set on fire—clips show them burning. Video cuts to shot of German soldiers marching in street. President Paul von Hindenburg watches, dressed in an army uniform with medals displayed. He gestures and nods at the soldiers in approval or acknowledgment. Next shot is a bird’s eye-view of a sea of cheering Germans at Lustgarten in Berlin. The crowd is only broken by a path wide enough to fit a car. A few convertibles drive through the path. Adolf Hitler, a presidential candidate, stands in front of the crowd and delivers a speech, his voice and gestures harsh and abrupt. More shots of the crowd as a band plays.