 The latest weapons, coupled with the fighting skill of the American soldier, stand ready on the alert all over the world to defend this country. View the American people against aggression. This is the Big Picture, an official television report to the nation from the United States Army. Now to show you part of the Big Picture, here is Sergeant Stuart Queen. During the winter of 1777 and 78, the tattered troops of the American Army were bifwacked in the bitter cold of a bleak little town called Valley Forge. To this town came a small detachment of German soldiers headed by a military genius, Baron Frederick von Steuben. Desperately in need of help, General Washington placed von Steuben in charge of training the Continental Army. Working against great handicaps, this group of German soldiers turned ragged recruits into the effective fighting force that thoroughly defeated the British at Trenton, probably the turning point of the revolution. Today there is a reverse military exchange underway. Today American officers and men are helping to train the new Democratic German Army. On January 20th, 1956, the American trained new German Army held its first review for their Chancellor, Dr. Konrad Adenauer. Just barely two months in service, the new recruits took special care to present a sharp military appearance. Dr. Adenauer is saying, you are the first soldiers of a new German Army. You will have many difficulties overcoming both the shadows of the past and the problems of the future. After years of trial, the German people now belong to a partnership of the free nations of the world. We have equal rights among these nations, but we also have equal obligations. The German people look to you as the defenders, not only of their nation, but also as the defenders of our allies. Without this mutual cooperation between all free nations, the defense of one nation would be impossible. The sole goal of the new German Army is to aid in this defense to keep the peace. We mean this from the bottom of our hearts. As Chancellor Adenauer continues with his remarks concerning the responsibilities of free men in a troubled world, one can't help but remember another German leader who less than 20 years before, with impassioned oratory and frantic gestures, captured the minds of the German people and sent the world to war. Adolf Hitler promised the German people the world, promised them they were better than anybody else, a master race, Superman. And he convinced enough of them with demonstrations, publications, and the spoken word to take over the government and run the country as a police state. The Gestapo, SS troops, and particularly propaganda became recognized methods of his government. This was Adolf Hitler's show, a dazzling display of pomp and ceremony with one purpose alone, to stagger the mind with the might of the Nazi police state, to dominate the civilian population of Germany, to dominate Europe, subservient only to Adolf Hitler, the dictator. Dazed by Hitler's success in Austria and Czechoslovakia, the Nazi army now truly becomes his pawn, and at his bidding, marches into Poland. September 1st, 1939, the world learns a new word, Blitzkrieg, Belgium, France, and Norway. The Nazi tide sweeps over Europe, but tides must turn, and by late summer of 1944, the full weight of the United Nations offensive was pounding the once powerful Panzer divisions into junk. The Nazi army was defeated, the Nazi myth exposed, the Nazi Superman was only an average human being after all. The promises of glory through a militant dictatorship were found to be empty promises, and the once proud legions that used to strut so smartly before their dictator now stumbled into POW camps, thankful to be alive. The nations that fought with the Allied nations in World War II only one turned that victory into an aggressive drive to seize an empire. That nation was Soviet Russia. One after another, the prostrate peoples of Eastern Europe fell under the heel of the Red Army to become satellite countries of communist Russia. Germany was divided and occupied. East Germany became just another Russian satellite. The Iron Curtain had descended on Europe. And the people of East Germany, how did they feel? Sick of Nazism, they found communism equally intolerable. Thousands upon thousands left all they ever owned and risked their lives to make the break for freedom. To slip under the Iron Curtain, to seek a new life in the Democratic West. The refugee, the displaced person, became a common man in Europe. In the five years from 1948 to 1953, over 600,000 refugees fled into West Berlin from the surrounding communist countryside. And the reasons for this flight from communism? They were political, social, and economic. The Russian reparations schedule crippled East Germany's prospects of industrial recovery right from the start. Factories were dismantled. Machines and equipment were shipped back to Russia. The East Germans never had a chance. At the same time in the western zones of occupation, an effort was made to erase the scars of war. Under the benign administration of England, France, and the United States, West Germany made a rapid recovery. Berlin lay in the center of the Russian zone of occupation, and it was also split east and west. West Berlin prospered, an island of democracy in a communist sea. Her economy based entirely on trade through the Russian zone to West Germany, and from there to the free world. West Berlin became the symbol of democratic success and communist failure. Its prosperity, its very existence became intolerable to the Russian bosses. On April 1, 1948, the Red Army imposed a blockade on all overland transport between Berlin and the West. Trade, the lifeblood of Berlin, ceased entirely. At the end of West Berliners, the Cold War had begun in Ernest. Soon there would be a shortage of food. In this crisis, the free nations of the West responded with spirit and imagination. Even though the Red Army might have a stranglehold on all avenues of overland transport, the air was still free, and through that air came tons of supplies for the people of West Berlin. The airlift made history. From the end of April 1948 to the end of September 1949, when the blockade was lifted, Allied aircraft flew in over two million tons of food and fuel to the people of West Berlin. The end of democracy had held out. The strong arm methods of the communists had been defeated. And West Berliners had discovered that their faith in the free nations of the world was well founded. The airplane and food had broken the blockade. Free will. West Berliners collected the funds to have this monument constructed, a memorial to those airmen who lost their lives bringing food and fuel to blockaded Berlin. In contrast, stands the Russian War Memorial, built to remind Berliners that the Red Army conquered their city once and still is not far away. The free nations learned something too from the blockade of Berlin. The aggressive action of the Red Army made it painfully clear that the Russian Communist Empire had not stopped expanding. That whenever the opportunity arose, the Red Army could and would strike down a weaker neighbor. Banding together, ten nations of Western Europe, along with Canada and the United States, formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, N-A-T-O. It was March 1949. The NATO nations were dedicated to the proposition that if any member nation were attacked, all members would come to her defense. To back up their pledge with means, all NATO nations pooled units of their armed forces into a single command. Maneuvers were held periodically. Now men from different nations, speaking different languages, using different equipment, could learn to live and work and fight together for their common security. NATO grew in strength until it became the major deterrent to any further Russian expansion. But it never came close to matching the Communist Army's man for man. NATO commanders looked forward to the day when a free West German force could be added to the NATO ranks. Protected by NATO, free Europe and particularly West Germany recovered from the destitution left by war. On September 1st, 1949, the federal government was founded at Bonn. This new government for West Germany was a republic. A parliament with two houses just like our own Congress was established. Every citizen had the right to vote for the candidate of his own choosing. Dr. Konrad Adnor became chancellor in September 1949 and has been re-elected since. The Bonn Republic is a member of the European Coal and Steel Community, the Council of Europe, UNESCO and the International Monetary Fund. Her steel industry revived and produced more steel than before the war. For the first time, under the European Coal and Steel Community, German steel went to build a French ship. Trade increased. Under a liberal democracy, West Germany prospered. At the same time, certain weaknesses appeared within the Communist Empire. On the 16th of June 1953, anti-communist riots broke out all over East Berlin. 200,000 German people were sick enough of communism to risk their lives in the hope of changing their life. For the first time, the free world got a glimpse of the true situation behind the Iron Curtain. For the first time, the free world got a clear indication that the German people would fight for their freedom, would stand up against the communist system and the communist methods, against unarmed German civilians. It took the Red Army to restore the communist bosses in East Berlin. And when it was done, 16 Germans had died for freedom. The riots in East Berlin proved one thing, that east or west, Germans were wholeheartedly on the side of the free nations in the Cold War for Europe. In September 1955, a German artillery officer, Colonel Kurt Fischer, arrived at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was the first German officer to attend a military school in the United States since before World War II. As a sovereign member of the free world, West Germany desired to share in its defense. With the blessing of the NATO nations, the Bonn Republic had passed the necessary legislation to create a democratic West German army. Since there had been no German army for over 10 years, and since the new army was to be equipped largely from American sources, Colonel Fischer's mission here was to learn all he could, to make up for lost time, and to return to Germany to teach the artillery units of the new army what he had learned. Colonel Fischer is terribly aware of the responsibility of his mission. In his hand and in the hands of men like him rests the future of the new German army. From his American teachers, he is determined to gain all the information that he can. Colonel Fischer is enrolled in a class of foreign officers from free nations all over the world. They are all here at Fort Sill, Oklahoma with the same purpose. To learn the latest American military techniques and apply what they learn to the armed forces of their own countries. To bolster the forces of freedom throughout the world. Like so many officers in his class, Colonel Fischer is an enthusiastic student. For a military man to have the opportunity to work with the very latest American equipment is a wonderful experience. But Colonel Fischer's experiences are not all military. During a coffee break, he gets to know Americans. And during his spare time, he gets to know America. With his new American friends, he and his wife visit a local carnival. And then a wildlife refuge. Since Colonel Fischer is the highest ranking officer in his class, it is his responsibility to report the class present to the American instructor. The course given here covers all phases of modern field artillery from mortars to missiles. And includes such mathematical problems as the computation of minimum elevation when firing a battery of how it serves. All the classes are given in English and most of the foreign officers speak it. Colonel Fischer learned it in an American POW camp during World War II. Also included in the Foreign Officers program is a weekly discussion period conducted by a civilian psychologist. Here men from different democratic nations become acquainted with each other's problems and ideas. The result is better understanding. Colonel Fischer was the first German officer to come to the United States. He was followed by many others. Here at Port Belvoir, a group of German officers watches a demonstration of some American engineer equipment. At Aberdeen Proving Ground, another group of German officers inspects the Army's 280 millimeter atomic cannon. Inside, American officers demonstrate the cutaway tank turret used to train United States soldiers in tank operation. Here, not only the equipment, but also methods of instruction are shown the German visitors. Then comes an actual tank demonstration. The Sky Sweeper, automatic anti-aircraft gun is put through its paces for the interested German officers. The technical information gained by the German officers here is most important. But also of great value is the friendly relationships that evolve. The Germans who come here are not only impressed with American military techniques, they are also impressed with America, the American way of life, and Americans themselves. A new basis for friendship and understanding between the two peoples is created. While some officers of the new German Army were in the United States learning how to operate modern American equipment, the equipment itself was arriving in West Germany at Andernach, training headquarters for the new German Army. Here, two brand new patent tanks arrive at Andernach along with other mechanized equipment. The U.S. Army M-47 tank, named after General Patton, was the choice of the new German Army. They could have picked any other NATO tank, but they chose the Patton. They like its speed, armor, and firepower, but the one thing that they are most impressed with is its high maneuverability. By the truckload, American equipment rolls into the Andernach training post. This equipment is being made available to the new German Army under the United States German Republic Mutual Defense Agreement. It is being made available to the new German Army with the assurance that it will be used to defend the peace of Europe. At the same time that the Bonn Republic passed the legislation forming the new Army, it also approved 14 congressional amendments clamping strict civilian control on the newly created armed forces. There is to be no revival of militarism in West Germany. With signing of the necessary documents, the new American equipment passes into the hands of the new German Army. For the first time in over 10 years, German soldiers have weapons at their disposal. Weapons held under tight civilian control. Weapons with which to defend the peace and liberty of Europe. GTAG stands for German Training Assistance Group. This is the American Army Detachment that is helping to create a new German Army. The language barrier appeared to be the biggest problem. Only a handful of the Americans spoke German. Therefore, classes were held sentence by sentence, English first, and then German. To replace the pistol caliber 45, we left a larger range and firepower. At present, it is a signed weapon of company commanders, two leaders, and auxiliary personnel, and two served weapons. At the moment, it was followed by a group of company leaders and they belong to the German Army. But as it turned out, most of the American NCOs had picked up enough German words to get along. And they soon found out that 20% of the German recruits spoke English anyhow. So the informal training was carried on in an animated part English, part German manner of speaking, that soon was known as Andernach dialect. In the weapons courses, terminology was really the only bottleneck. But as soon as the American realized that a bolt handle was really a schloss-hebel, and a trigger was an abzug, then everything became much simpler. The German recruits like the lightweight, fast-firing carbine. But they are eager too to proceed with other infantry weapons, machine guns, mortars, and rocket launchers. For any Army, new or old, there must always be close order drill. Officers, no matter what their nationality, know that it is on the drill field that a recruit first becomes a soldier, first learns discipline and teamwork, and first senses the meaning of esprit. An Army can have the finest equipment in unlimited supply. But if it's men lack spirit, lack will and determination and teamwork, then that Army will not succeed. Here at Andernach, there is fine spirit and the determination to make a success of the new German Army. As Dr. Adnauer concludes his address, we hear him say, the German people expect you to faithfully fulfill your obligation to them, and to all free people, to keep the peace in harmony with our allies, to defend that peace if necessary. Begin your tour of duty with the knowledge that it is a worthy service, and that your performance will be recognized. Be strong in your heart and soul. It is my hope that you will enjoy your service, and that it will give you satisfaction. So, West Germany has the nucleus of a new Army, and West Germans are proud. It is only the beginning, but it is a good beginning. This new Army has no aims of conquest, no search after false glory. It has one mission, to protect the freedom of the free citizens of Germany, and in a broader sense, of free citizens of Germany. And so today, the Democratic German Army stands side by side with the other armies of free nations, determined to defend this freedom against all threats of totalitarian aggression. Now, this is Sergeant Stuart Queen inviting you to be with us again next week for another look at your Army in action on The Big Picture. The Big Picture is a weekly television report to the nation on the activities of the Army at home and overseas. Produced by the Army Pictorial Center. Presented by the United States Army in cooperation with this station. You too can be an important part of The Big Picture. You can proudly serve for the best equipped, the best trained, the best fighting team in the world today, the United States Army.