Antwerpen Liberation on 8mm

Got this amateur film taken at Antwerpen and an other of battleships at an online auction.

Very excited to share this absolute gem. Unfortunately the digitization is taking longer than expected. Here are some stills I made for sharing, not final digitization.

Any thoughts on the date and things going on in the frames would be very appreciated!

Finally, are there any museums or institutions that would be interested in this footage?














Can't wait!

 

A quick DSLR recording of the projected film before sending it out for scanning, just to be safe. Complete 1st reel and beginning of 2nd.



Link is private, please do not put on other sites.

 

I recently started talking to the Antwerp City Archives, and they are certainly interested in the films. Soon there will be an exhibition/showing of films from that period and they want to use this film in it as well.

Thinking about donating the films + digital files.

Unfortunately, it is a bit difficult from a legal point of view because the copyright holder is unknown, and there is also portrait rights on some fragments.

Furthermore, collaborators can be seen being taken away - those fragments are (perhaps) too sensitive for the archive to use without permission from copyright/portrait right owner.


So very cool that a purpose has already been found for the recordings, a pity that it is a bit difficult from a legal/ethical point of view.

My opinion about the fragments with the collaborators is that all facets of war should be seen, also with people in bad/hate positions. Otherwise we can remove all the not-nice images and thus give a happy go lucky image of history.

What is your opinion?

 

A few emails later, and I agreed to donate the 2 films. Provided that I can show a high resolution scan of the footage on my YouTube channel, because I paid for the films and the 4K scan.

A nice and certainly informative message:

"Meanwhile, I showed the recordings to 2 colleagues of mine who work on the WWII project. It is in any case a unique and valuable film. It contains various topics: arrest of Germans and collaborators, fraternization with the allied soldiers, damage to houses, chaos of the liberation days, ....

An exact date is difficult to determine. It is possible that part was filmed on September 4, when German soldiers were taken prisoner and the first collaborators arrested. Part of the video takes place at the entrance of the zoo, where curious people gathered to watch the prisoners. It may also be about different dates: perhaps there was not much time on that first liberation day to meet with the soldiers and collect signatures: after all, the battle continued for much of the afternoon and evening. Those scenes may date from September 5 or even later. The same applies to the recordings about the damage and the ship: perhaps of a slightly later date.

It is very nice material to include in the exhibition. If you wish to donate this, it will be carefully preserved by the city archives and can be consulted for research."

 

The people who gathered in front of the zoo were actually waiting to get inside. They wanted to have a look at the German soldiers who were imprisoned in the former lion and tiger cages. 75 jaar bevrijding | Duitsers achter de tralies in Antwerpse dierentuin | NOS