(01) Why We Fight: "Divide and Conquer" (ca. 1943) 1/6

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Divide and Conquer (1943) was the third film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, dealing with the Nazi conquest of Western Europe in 1940.
The film begins immediately after the fall of Poland. Of the two major Western Allies of 1940, the United Kingdom is first to be mentioned. The role of the Royal Navy in blockading Germany is highlighted, in that it means that Germany must overcome British resistance in order to clear the way for its world conquest.
Hitler's treachery towards the small neutral countries of Europe is exposed - to Denmark: "We have concluded a non-aggression pact with Denmark" - to Norway: "Germany never had any quarrel with the Northern States and has none today" - to the Netherlands: "The new Reich has always endeavored to maintain the traditional friendship with Holland" - and to Belgium: "The Reich has put forth no claim which may in any way be regarded as a threat to Belgium". These quotes are repeated after the conquest of each of these countries is shown.
The first targets of the Nazis in 1940 were Denmark and Norway. Nazi interest in Norway is described in terms of Germany's desire to use Norway's fjords as U-boat bases, and to use airfields in Norway for a bomber attack on the British naval base at Scapa Flow. After Hitler's surprise invasion of Denmark is briefly mentioned, the film accuses the Nazis of using Trojan Horse ships - designed to look like merchant ships but concealing troops, tanks and artillery guns - as a way of seizing control of all of Norway's ports. The role of Norwegian traitors such as Vidkun Quisling in aiding the Nazi conquest of Norway is also emphasized. At the end of the section on Norway, Hitler is likened to gangster John Dillinger and Nazi-occupied Norway is portrayed as the northern claw of a giant pincer movement aimed against Britain. The conquest of France would provide the southern claw.
The film's story of France begins in 1914 at the Battle of the Marne. The offensive-minded spirit of French general Ferdinand Foch is emphasized: "My right is driven in, my center is giving way, the situation is excellent, I attack!" (the original in French is displayed on-screen). The film then goes on to describe the defensive orientation of 1930s France, exemplified by the Maginot Line. This is explained as being primarily due to the 6 million casualties which France suffered in World War I, but also due to factors including Nazi fifth column activities, political corruption and greedy vested interests.
Possible routes for a German invasion of France are discussed: the 1870 attack through Alsace-Lorraine and the 1914 attack through Belgium. The French, believing the Maginot Line impregnable, expect the German attack to come through Belgium, as in 1914. The French order of battle in 1940 is described: 78 divisions along the border with Belgium, 15 in the Maginot Line, 10 divisions facing Mussolini's forces in Italy and 3½ divisions as a safeguard against Spain. The British Expeditionary Force contributed an additional 10 divisions.
The important role of paratroopers in the conquest of Holland is covered, as is the fact that the Germans easily defeated Belgian resistance at Fort Eben-Emael knowing the best method of attack after extensive practice on an exact copy of the fortress built in occupied Czechoslovakia. Special attention is also paid to Nazi atrocities, such as the bombing of Rotterdam (which according to the film was after the surrender of the Netherlands) and Nazi attacks on villages and small towns (designed to choke roads with refugees and thus impede the Allied troop movements).
It is then mentioned that the Nazis' attack on Belgium and Holland was a feint to distract from the main attack through the Ardennes, where the Allies least expected it. A U.S. military officer shows an animation which demonstrates the German blitzkrieg technique - tanks form the front spearhead, while infantry spill off from the sides to form solid walls, thus protecting the center of the column through which trucks pass to supply all forces involved. France Germany why we fight British Nazi Poland World War II

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[krevno]

In defence of neutral countires like Sweden and Switzerland, without them far fewer refugees would have been able to escape German controlled territory

During the war, Britain and America refused to accept many refugees from German territories lest they contain spies.

Also, Sweden in particular provided secret training for Norwegian and Danish troops in exile, and helped evacuate nearly the whole Jewish population of Denmark into Sweden.

[2bn442RCT]

@krevno THat's nice we fought your battles 2 times.

[Creativerloser30]

No regime is perfect including the allies but to say that the reason the nazis are potrayed as horrible is because the allies won the war is inaccurate. Look at all the first hand accounts of how it was to live in Germany under the reich. The only way one could claim the nazis were the good guys was if you are anti democracy. The problem with this video is it's potrayal of the soviet regime as a good regime but you kind of had to because if not Americans would have less motivation to fight.

[olehunter2207]

@krevno No.. I dont know with the Denmark, but in Norway, people emigrated to Great Britain to become soldiers. Norwegians who didt'nt wanna fight and just wanna escape, or people uncabable to fight traveled often to Sweden instead of the British island.

Sweden trained no norwegians.

And Gestapo had a lot of power in Sweden, iven when Sweden was neutral.

That is one of the reasons why conservative, political war-veterans dislike Sweden.

[2bn442RCT]

@CarstenOepping O' and by the way calling me an idiot on this subject is very funny and also gets you banned from other posts.

[2bn442RCT]

@CarstenOepping Actually Auschwitz was 3 camps with several supporting camps. Auschwitz II-Birkenau was actually the extermination camp. Extermination Camps like Terblinka, Chelno and Sobibor where killing centers

and once completing there assignments blown-up. Camps like Bergen-Belsen where concentration camps not extermination camps. Obviously crimes against humanity where committed there. The American's called their concentration camps re-location centers.

[puttaforknit]

@2bn442RCT how sad for krevno , to compare the ultimate sacrifice to pacifist thinking... there is no defence... the whole world refused to take refugees. Or to stop the devil when he was weak.. now we have a new ignorance, supported by zombie pacificist.. russia is still communist, china is still communist, now usa has no representation ?? no voice.. wake up.. Japanese wmd chinese...

[randy95023]

Part of the reason for US isolationism early in the war was that Hitler was killing Communists and Jews by the truck load. At the time the USA was still quite anti semitic and pretty much hated Communists, so except for bombing the Brits we weren't too excited about fighting Hitler's war machine. We eventually came around but I still wonder when we would have finally got into the war had the Japanese not bombed Pearl Harbor...

[krevno]

Unlike the US and the USSR, Sweden made it a point of policy not to sell weapons to Nazi Germany. They only refused co-operation where they could make a difference.

Almost all the Jews of Denmark were got out to Scandinavia and Britain while the German Navy looked the other way. You can look it up. The Jews met with discrimination and suspision in Sweden, but they were alive, and free to go on.

[borcer]

Well Sweden didn't accept many refugees during the WW2, especially if they were Jewish. Swedish Jews had to have a "J" in their documents, that was done to keep their "neutrality" with the Nazis. Sweden was selling rubber and steel to the Nazis and also allowed Nazi troops to enter its territory so that they could attack Norway from the north. Today "neutral" Sweden is selling high-tech weapons to both India & Pakistan.

[2bn442RCT]

@HotelLambert I hate to say USA had concentration camps for Japanese/American citizens in World War II.