Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive

E–mail New Search

01:00:02:05

01:00:03:04

01:00:15:14

01:00:18:26

01:00:34:15

01:00:39:06

01:00:44:07

01:00:45:06

01:00:46:25

01:00:51:06

01:01:10:19

01:01:15:26

01:01:19:27

01:01:27:07

01:01:30:09

01:01:35:06

01:01:41:16

01:01:45:08

01:01:50:18

01:01:53:17

01:02:02:18

01:02:05:00

01:02:12:19

01:02:14:09

01:02:15:18

01:02:20:19

01:02:33:28

01:02:38:29

01:02:42:11

01:02:45:29

01:02:56:01

01:02:57:20

01:03:01:20

01:03:06:11

01:03:09:13

01:03:12:11

01:03:15:10

01:03:18:01

01:03:31:25

01:03:33:10

01:03:42:13

01:03:46:01

01:03:55:03

01:03:57:12

01:04:02:25

01:04:07:23

01:04:11:14

01:04:18:04

01:04:20:03

01:04:24:14

01:04:28:06

01:04:39:23

01:04:53:13

01:05:02:07

01:05:09:27

01:05:21:08

01:05:25:25

01:05:27:18

01:05:32:15

01:05:36:17

01:05:42:27

01:05:46:15

01:05:48:17

01:05:51:16

01:05:58:25

01:06:02:09

01:06:07:03

01:06:08:19

01:06:14:19

01:06:20:16

01:06:24:18

01:06:30:28

01:06:40:10

01:06:45:07

01:06:47:09

01:06:48:19

01:06:50:08

01:06:52:17

01:06:54:29

01:06:57:08

01:07:01:11

01:07:06:22

01:07:08:11

01:07:12:22

01:07:17:00

01:07:21:01

01:07:29:20

01:07:35:24

01:07:42:14

01:07:47:01

01:07:49:20

01:07:56:16

01:08:04:11

01:08:05:14

01:08:10:24

01:08:17:15

01:08:18:14

01:08:21:22

01:08:25:04

01:08:40:23

01:08:44:14

01:08:47:13

01:08:54:22

01:08:59:14

01:09:01:15

01:09:04:14

01:09:09:11

01:09:11:04

01:09:12:20

01:09:13:16

01:09:16:14

01:09:18:04

01:09:20:06

01:09:22:25

01:09:25:07

01:09:26:06

01:09:28:15

01:09:30:24

01:09:33:26

01:09:39:06

01:09:42:24

Download flash player »

Streams:

Flash Video

MPEG4 Video (selected)

FAQ

	Documentary about the German invasion and siege of Poland Story RG-60.4705, Tape 3049

Title:	Siege
Collection Title:	Julien Bryan Collection
Event Date:	September 1939
Place:	Warsaw, Poland
Copyright:	Public Domain
Duration:	00:09:48
Links:
Description:	In this ten minute film, Julien Bryan, the last neutral reporter remaining in Poland on September 1, 1939, records the horror and confusion of Warsaw during the German attack on Poland. Through actual footage taken during the siege, Bryan poignantly describes the frightening chain of events that finally resulted in the capitulation of Warsaw and Poland. During the early stages of the blitzkrieg, civilians were commandeered to dig ditches, set tank traps and shore up fortifications. Then, as the Polish soldiers retreated, Warsaw was surrounded and besieged. German planes, triumphant in the skies, wreaked destruction on the city with aerial and incendiary bombs, while heavy artillery guns kept up an incessant bombardment. Hospitals and churches were ultimately targets and women were machine gunned from planes while digging potatoes for their hungry families.
Notes:	Released in 1940 by RKO as a newsreel in the Reelism Series, "Siege" is the first non-Nazi film of the start of World War II to be seen in American theaters. It was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Short, one reel) in 1941 and placed on the 2006 National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress in December 2006. After an exhaustive search, the USHMM believes that this 35mm print is the best surviving and most complete film element of "Siege." See SSFVA departmental files for more information. This film was preserved with a 2008 National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) cash grant. Transferred at 24 FPS Detailed preservation notes from the film lab are available in SSFVA department files. Additional photographs are available in the USHMM Photo Archives.
Language:	English
Genre:	Documentary
Color:	No
Image Quality:	Excellent
Biography / History:	Julien Hequembourg Bryan (1899-1974) was an American documentarian and filmmaker. In the 1930s, he conducted extensive lecture tours, during which he showed film footage he shot in the former USSR. Between 1935 and 1938, he captured unique records of ordinary people and life in Nazi Germany and in Poland. He was in Warsaw within days of Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939 and remained throughout the German siege of the city, filming and photographing what would become America's first cinematic glimpse of the start of WWII.
Accession Info:	2003.214 The Julien Bryan Collection of films, photographs, documents, and artifacts was purchased by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum from Sam Bryan and the International Film Foundation, Inc. on February 12, 2003.
Keywords:	AIRPLANES ARTILLERY BABY BOMBINGS BRIDGES BRYAN, JULIEN CHILDREN CHURCHES CITY DESTRUCTION FARMERS/FARMING FILM FIRES GERMAN OCCUPATION HOSPITALS INVASION LUFTWAFFE (GERMAN AIR FORCE) MIKA, KAZIMIERA MILITARY VEHICLES NURSE PEASANTS POLAND POTATOES PRIEST REFUGEES RUINS SIGNS/POSTERS SOLDIERS/MILITARY SOLDIERS/MILITARY (GERMAN) SOLDIERS/MILITARY (POLISH) STATUES WARSAW, POLAND WOMEN
Producer:	Narrated by Julien Bryan
Cameraman:	Julien Bryan
Production Date:	1940
Source:	Sam Bryan, JB 9977A
Original Format:	35mm b/w safety composite print
USHMM Format:	35mm; Uncompressed QT; DigiBeta; ProRes 422; Betacam SP; H264; VHS
Time Code:	01:00:00 - 01:09:48
Credit:	US Holocaust Memorial Museum, gift of Julien Bryan Archive

Title:	Siege
Collection Title:	Julien Bryan Collection
Event Date:	September 1939
Place:	Warsaw, Poland
Copyright:	Public Domain
Duration:	00:09:48
Links:
Description:	In this ten minute film, Julien Bryan, the last neutral reporter remaining in Poland on September 1, 1939, records the horror and confusion of Warsaw during the German attack on Poland. Through actual footage taken during the siege, Bryan poignantly describes the frightening chain of events that finally resulted in the capitulation of Warsaw and Poland. During the early stages of the blitzkrieg, civilians were commandeered to dig ditches, set tank traps and shore up fortifications. Then, as the Polish soldiers retreated, Warsaw was surrounded and besieged. German planes, triumphant in the skies, wreaked destruction on the city with aerial and incendiary bombs, while heavy artillery guns kept up an incessant bombardment. Hospitals and churches were ultimately targets and women were machine gunned from planes while digging potatoes for their hungry families.
Notes:	Released in 1940 by RKO as a newsreel in the Reelism Series, "Siege" is the first non-Nazi film of the start of World War II to be seen in American theaters. It was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Short, one reel) in 1941 and placed on the 2006 National Film Registry by the Librarian of Congress in December 2006. After an exhaustive search, the USHMM believes that this 35mm print is the best surviving and most complete film element of "Siege." See SSFVA departmental files for more information. This film was preserved with a 2008 National Film Preservation Foundation (NFPF) cash grant. Transferred at 24 FPS Detailed preservation notes from the film lab are available in SSFVA department files. Additional photographs are available in the USHMM Photo Archives.
Language:	English
Genre:	Documentary
Color:	No
Image Quality:	Excellent
Biography / History:	Julien Hequembourg Bryan (1899-1974) was an American documentarian and filmmaker. In the 1930s, he conducted extensive lecture tours, during which he showed film footage he shot in the former USSR. Between 1935 and 1938, he captured unique records of ordinary people and life in Nazi Germany and in Poland. He was in Warsaw within days of Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939 and remained throughout the German siege of the city, filming and photographing what would become America's first cinematic glimpse of the start of WWII.
Accession Info:	2003.214 The Julien Bryan Collection of films, photographs, documents, and artifacts was purchased by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum from Sam Bryan and the International Film Foundation, Inc. on February 12, 2003.
Keywords:	AIRPLANES ARTILLERY BABY BOMBINGS BRIDGES BRYAN, JULIEN CHILDREN CHURCHES CITY DESTRUCTION FARMERS/FARMING FILM FIRES GERMAN OCCUPATION HOSPITALS INVASION LUFTWAFFE (GERMAN AIR FORCE) MIKA, KAZIMIERA MILITARY VEHICLES NURSE PEASANTS POLAND POTATOES PRIEST REFUGEES RUINS SIGNS/POSTERS SOLDIERS/MILITARY SOLDIERS/MILITARY (GERMAN) SOLDIERS/MILITARY (POLISH) STATUES WARSAW, POLAND WOMEN
Producer:	Narrated by Julien Bryan
Cameraman:	Julien Bryan
Production Date:	1940
Source:	Sam Bryan, JB 9977A
Original Format:	35mm b/w safety composite print
USHMM Format:	35mm; Uncompressed QT; DigiBeta; ProRes 422; Betacam SP; H264; VHS
Time Code:	01:00:00 - 01:09:48
Credit:	US Holocaust Memorial Museum, gift of Julien Bryan Archive

Contact:
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
Phone: 202–488–6104
Fax: 202–314–7820
E-mail: filmvideo@ushmm.org

Explore more resources:

Search the Collections
Search the Holocaust Encyclopedia
The Legacy of Julien Bryan

Steven Spielberg Film and Video Archive

Documentary about the German invasion and siege of Poland

Explore more resources: