Reichsbahn-Filmstelle

German fictinalized documentary about the national railways and the international achievements that inspired it.

Adolf Hitler lands at the airport and is greeted by cheering crowds. He drives through the streets lined with groups of people. Fairground with crowds, Adolf Hitler arrives with motorcade. Standing next to Hitler at a lectern, several high-ranking Nazi officials (including the director general of the Reichsbahn, Julius Dorpmüller) give propaganda speeches and praise the construction of the Reichsautobahn as a successful job creation measure for thousands of workers. Hitler gets into his car and sets off on the inaugural drive on the Reichsautobahn. Other cars follow him. Arrival at another square with cheering crowds. Hitler stands at the side of the road and trucks carrying workers who helped with the construction drive past him, as well as motorcycles and mopeds.

A film with a short storyline showing how locomotives and carriages are handled at stations from the arrival of a D-train until its next departure. The son of a train driver, who has to write an essay at school entitled "What I saw at the station," learns about the technical facilities of the marshalling yard along with the viewers: coal loading, water extraction, slag removal, work in the locomotive shed, cleaning the boilers, and maintaining the passenger cars. From the arrival of a train at the platform to its departure, the focus is on operational safety, cleanliness, and passenger comfort.

Documentary about highway construction in Germany.

The first bridge on the Reichsautobahn motorway network was built in 1934 during the construction of the Frankfurt am Main to Darmstadt section near Griesheim am Main. The film shows the construction work after six months of building: driving the sheet piles, installing the caissons using the pressure flushing method, and laying the supports for the steel superstructure.

The film highlights the connection between the Reichsbahn and forestry, showcasing lumberjacks, foresters, and wood transport using horse-drawn carts and forest railways. It features wood processing in sawmills, modern plywood production, and various wood uses like furniture, paper, and railroad ties. The Reichsbahn’s role in transporting wood is emphasized, along with its consumption in carriage factories and coal mines. Wood is also used in highway construction, house building, and a wooden radio tower, symbolizing German culture and spirit.

A man and a woman in a convertible on their way from Giessen to Heidelberg. Numerous traffic obstacles are illustrated: unsuitable town thoroughfares, many curves, confusing railroad crossings, a school, flocks of sheep, a detour, a hay cart, a breakdown. An innkeeper tells the two about the new Reichsautobahn. Traffic moves quickly on the Reichsautobahn.

Footage captures the winter storms on Heligoland’s coast, with snow-covered promenades and houses. Narrow alleys and streets are visible, leading to the Oberland. Destroyed houses and closed shops highlight the storm’s impact. Fishermen repair boats, and renovation work is underway. The Heligoland lighthouse stands in the evening, while the “Kobra” mail boat arrives twice weekly, unloading goods. Hamburg’s vibrant scenes include the harbor, St. Pauli, and train stations. The “Königin Luise” ship offers a journey from Hamburg to Heligoland, with passengers enjoying the sea. Traditional costumes and local life, including Heinz Bohle’s restaurant, add cultural depth to the island’s charm.

The film shows how the German economy is supplied with sea fish: Hamburg-Altona fishing port. Wesermünde-Geestmünde fishing port. Preparations for departure. Departing fishing trawlers. Hauling in and processing the catch. Unloading the cargo in the fish market. Inspection, weighing, and sorting of the fish. Auction, packaging, and processing. Overview of important sea fish from German catches. Transport in special wagons to the German interior.

This film shows the halls of the Borsig locomotive factory in Berlin with the noise of the machines and riveting hammers. Iron and steel plates, bundles of pipes of all diameters are formed. Huge locomotive boilers, lifted by cranes, move through the hall. They connect with the huge steel wheels, glittering steel parts are inserted into the engine of the locomotive being built. Finally, the giant is on the rails, the class 05 express locomotive of the Deutsche Reichsbahn.

The film, which includes some staged scenes, depicts a journey on the Deutsche Reichsbahn's Glass Train through the German Alps to Innsbruck. It promotes the use of this train and provides some technical data. A significant part of the film shows the journey through the winter mountain landscape. In detail: A couple from Berlin travels from Berlin to Munich. During a tour of the city, they notice an advertising poster for the Glass Train and decide to take a trip. Footage: Express train departs from Berlin. Arrival in Munich; inside and outside the main station; the Frauenkirche; a Löwenbräu beer hall; the old town hall; Marienplatz; Odeonsplatz with the Theatinerkirche. Feeding pigeons. Conversation with a railway official who points out that there was already a glass court train for the Bavarian kings in 1865. Ludwig II's court train on the move. The new Glass Train. Technical data. Ride on the Glass Train. Stop in Seefeld; trip to Innsbruck.

The film shows a series of locations and the way of life in the Black Forest. It leads from Baden-Baden with its 20 hot springs through the Murg Valley southwards, past the Daimler factory and the friendly Gernbach stream, along the scenic Black Forest High Road, past the Allerheiligen monastery at the foot of Kniebis-Freudenstadt, Württemberg's highest town - Thermalbad Rippoldsau - through the Schappach Valley with its high pastures and isolated farmsteads down to the Kinzig, the border between the northern and central Black Forest.

The highest peak in the Thuringian Forest, the Inselsberg, is surrounded by peaceful health resorts and industrious rural towns: Friedrichsroda, Tabarz, Schmalkalden, Bad Liebenstein, Bad Salzungen, Ruhla, and Eisenach, the town of Wartburg Castle. We observe knife and scissors smiths and other craftsmen at work in their workshops. Tabarz: Health resorts and industrious rural towns.

Two packers discuss a damaged transport crate, and a young woman arrives to claim it for her father. The supervisor explains the defect and suggests the new container transport system. The father and daughter receive a brochure and watch a promotional film at the Reichsbahn office cinema. The film showcases the efficiency of container transport, featuring various goods like apple juice, strawberries, glassware, and furniture being packed and transported using Reichsbahn containers. The film highlights safety features and the ease of moving large items, concluding with the slogan “From house to house.”

From different perspectives, the viewer sees the appearance of the newly built Reichsautobahnen: Pictures from the lowlands, the Swabian Alb and many other places.

Documentary film about the 1933 Christmas party of the Reichsbahndirektion Berlin in the Sportpalast.

An insight into Göttingen's transportation and train system.