Ostland Woche №25083 (1944)

The newspaper "Tevija" ("Fatherland"), Headline: "The Fatherland Calls!" Latvian volunteers with suitcases in their hands head to the recruiting station.

An officer speaks in front of the formation.

They sign up for the division.

Volunteers undergo a medical examination and register.

In the barracks, they receive uniforms and boots, and try on the SS uniform.

Close-up of the patch on the sleeve: "Latvia".

At the location of Latvian units on the Eastern Front.

A messenger delivering mail to a village where troops are quartered.

Soldiers joyfully surround the postman, sort out the letters, and read them.

Islands in the Aegean Sea.

The Greek island of Samos, occupied by the Germans.

Landscapes of the island and aerial views of the town of Samos.

Scenes of street life in the city.

Local artisans making their products.

A young man grinds grain on a millstone.

German soldiers in the city.

Citrus and banana plantations.

A soldier picks an orange and gives it to his comrade, who is sitting next to a local girl.

A soldier cuts a banana.

With the help of an interpreter, soldiers buy fruit at the local market and talk to the locals.

Food and wine warehouses on the shore.

Soldiers pour local wine from barrels into bottles and pack it into parcels to send home.

Soldiers enjoy wine.

Local residents greet German soldiers and treat them to wine.

A girl in a national costume serves glasses of wine on a tray.

German soldiers inspect ancient ruins and the building of an Orthodox monastery high in the mountains.

A monk lowers a basket from a window, then raises it with food.

Soldiers on the monastery grounds, talk with the abbot, and inspect an art gallery of portraits of Greek clergy, including a portrait of Hitler.

View from the window of the monastery domes and the sea.

A massive raid by American aircraft on German territory on January 11. An observation post on a German anti-aircraft battery.

An alarm sounds.

The gunners run out of the barracks and run to the guns, which are brought to combat readiness.

German Focke-Wulf and Messerschmidt fighters take off.

An air battle with a squadron of American bombers.

Spectacular footage.

A downed American plane smokes and falls to the ground.

Attacks by German fighters.

The remains of downed American planes are burning on the ground.

The bodies of downed pilots lie there.

German soldiers examine the remains of the planes and take them away on a tractor.

A warehouse of wrecked American planes.

Captured American pilots are led away and interrogated.

The return of German fighters to the airfield.

The pilot opens the fuselage and smiles at his comrades who have run up.

Pilots at a meeting with the commander, he shakes hands, talks.

A battle song is playing.

The tasks are being discussed.

The squadron is taking off for the next task.