WWII 1944: Hitler at Gen. Dietl’s Funeral | Degrelle Speech | SS in Normandy | Wochenschau 38/44

⚠️ DISCLAIMER — HISTORICAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
This film is presented exclusively for educational and documentary analysis.
It does not promote or glorify Nazism, fascism, antisemitism, or any form of hate or violence.
The goal is to preserve historical evidence and allow viewers to critically study propaganda, manipulation, and military imagery from the Nazi regime.
Understanding these materials helps expose how extremist ideologies used film and media to control narratives and justify atrocities during World War II.

This 1944 edition of the Deutsche Wochenschau (German Weekly Newsreel) documents a series of propaganda segments designed to maintain morale during the final, desperate phase of the war.

Part 1: Adolf Hitler attends the funeral of General Eduard Dietl, the famed “Hero of Narvik,” accompanied by Heinrich Himmler and Wilhelm Keitel. The ceremony highlights the Nazi use of public mourning as a propaganda tool, glorifying “heroic sacrifice” for the Reich.

Part 2: In Brussels, Belgian fascist leader Léon Degrelle, head of the Rex movement and commander of the Walloon Legion, delivers a fervent anti-Communist speech supporting the Nazi cause and urging continued resistance against the Soviet Union.

Part 3: German officer candidates are shown undergoing field training near active combat zones, reflecting the Reich’s struggle to maintain leadership ranks amid mounting losses.

Part 4–6: On the Western Front, heavy German coastal artillery near Cherbourg fires on U.S. naval vessels, reportedly setting one aflame. The film shows destroyed American tanks, vehicles, and paratroopers, aiming to portray German defensive success. SS troops and tanks advance through Normandy, attempting to repel the Allied invasion.

Part 7: The reel concludes with scenes from the Eastern Front, where German rocket artillery and panzers fire against Soviet forces — a glimpse into the ongoing brutality of the war’s final year.

Despite the polished narration and editing, this footage was released at a time when Germany’s defeat was already inevitable — a last attempt to maintain illusion and loyalty through film.

Видео WWII 1944: Hitler at Gen. Dietl’s Funeral | Degrelle Speech | SS in Normandy | Wochenschau 38/44 канала World Documentary Archives