Published 05/08/2013
Eva Braun's home movies, the Agadir crisis and a boxing kangaroo. These are just a few of the things found in our newest collection, Chronos Media, which covers the history of the German Reich, covering both the Empire's political evolution as well as the daily life of its people.
|
The Turn of the Century This collection is home to some of our archive's earliest footage yet, with film dating as far back as the 1890s. It even includes Germany's very first moving image, of a boxing kangaroo from 1895. Germany at the turn of the century has been captured in a series about the history of the German Empire, chronicling the politics and leadership of Emperors Wilhelm I and Wilhelm II, as well as life amongst Berlin's working and middle classes. Our favorite clip from the this period is this brief montage of German inventions from the era. We have no idea why the "watershoes" didn't catch on... |
|
|
|
The 1920s A large part of the collection documents Berlin in the 1920s, and features the glitz and glamour of its celebrities, fashionable socialites, the gritty criminal underworld... it is a body of material that captures the zeitgeist of this evocative time and place in all its splendour and all its hardship. Particular highlights include aerial shots across the city, behind the scenes footage of Ernst Lubitsch's feature film Anne Boleyn, a clip featuring stars Chaplin, Lindbergh and Pavlova, and scenes exposing the gap between Berlin's wealthy and poor. |
|
The First World War A rich and detailed account of the First World War also features within the Chronos collection, with clips showing German aircraft in combat, trench and chemical warfare, women's factory work, and the Battle of the Somme filmed from German lines. This clip is particularly fascinating as it features future Nazi leader, Hermann Goering as a fighter pilot, and a truly alarming plane explosion. |
|
|
|
The Eva Braun collection The infamous home movies of Eva Braun are also available through the Chronos Media archive, containing some of the most intimate footage ever seen of Hitler and his fellow Nazis at his holiday home, Berghof, in the Bavarian Alps. Discovered in 1972 by a survivor of the Third Reich, Lutz Becker, this collection of chillingly surprising films feature the Fuhrer and members of his inner circle, socializing and relaxing. These films, now with Bridgeman Footage, are given further historical context with detailed information on people, places and events shown within. While a large part of this collection can be found on our website now, we have even more coming soon! |
