Nazi Germany invades Memel in 1939. Archive film 91545

An educational film produced by the Reichsanstalt fur Film und Bild in Wissenschaft und Unterricht (a state body), which documents Germany's annexation of the Memel Territory in 1939. The film emphasises the warm reception that met German troops on the streets of the four territories.
An officer throws a newspaper into a crowd. Close up of the newspaper 'Memmelwacht' declaring freedom for the Memel Territory from Poland. A man climbs a ladder and fastens a little nazi flag above a door. A banner declares "We have come home". A bilingual sign at a ferry station is defaced, leaving only the German text. A uniformed official opens a metal gate, ecstatic young men and women flood in waving flags. Soldiers poke their heads out of a covered army truck and wave at the crowds, one carries a posy of flowers. Local soldiers wearing uniforms decorated with fresh flowers watch the procession on the ground and in the air. A formation of aircraft fly above. Shots of the sea from a military vessel. Officers sit and chat on deck. Various shots of the boat and its passengers, some waving. The German naval ship docks in the harbour. Hitler and a second high ranking military man disembark and are greeted by an official party. Hitler receives a bunch of flowers. He inspects the guard of honour and parades though town in an open topped car. Point of view shots from a moving vehicle of the cheering crowds in the streets. The official party come round a bend. Another guard of honour. The man salutes the crowds. Men, women and children cheer and wave handkerchiefs. Various shots of a stage prepared for a speech, the expectant crowds saluting. On stage Hitler returns their salutes. A Nazi flag flutters in the wind. Memel-Gebiet. Nazi Germany invades Memel in 1939