This film tells the true story of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler," which had started out as Hitler's personal bodyguard unit. We start at the conclusion of the Polish campaign in 1939, with Hitler reviewing the outfit. We follow them through the campaign in Holland, including the linkup with German paratroops in Rotterdam, and the invasion of France in 1940. We then follow them down the Danube River to Bulgaria, from which they take part in the invasion of Yugoslavia in April, 1941, including the linkup with the Italians in Albania. Next comes the invasion of Greece, and the crossing of the Corinth Canal. We finish up with a parade in Athens, and the narrator telling us how the Leibstandarte is moving on to the "fight against Bolshevism," meaning that Russia was probably being invaded when the film was first shown. This is a great piece of history for anyone wanting to know about the early campaigns of this SS unit.
2 Reviews
News footage basically, not sure I'd call it a movie
Horst_In_Translation25 November 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Die Leibstandarte SS-Adolf Hitler im Einsatz" is a German 35-minute film from Nazi Germany. This documentary was made back in 1942, so it has its 75th anniversary this year. It is narrated by Harry Giese and you see several high-profile Nazi politicians like Hitler himself even during the watch. And you also see German soldiers in battle action for the most time. In my opinion, this felt a bit like the Wochenschau reporting about the most crucial happening from last week during the years of Nazi Germany, especially World War II. I am not sure an IMDb entry is justified for this one, but it's fine I guess. It is a documentary after all. But it is inferior to most of the other WWII stuff I have seen and the only appeal is really about how it deals with and narrates subjects directly when they happened. First hand footage and not a film that was made decades after the War. Still not enough to let me recommend it. Thumbs down and it's only worth seeing for those people with the biggest interest in WWII.
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