Buchenwald survivors; German civilians view camp

Arthur Mainzer (1923-) was a cameraman in the 4th Combat Camera Unit of the 9th Air Force. The Combat Camera Unit was tasked with creating Air Force training films at Hal Roach Studios. After completing training at the Air Force Photo Technical School in Denver, CO and the First Motion Picture Unit in Culver, City, CA, Mainzer was deployed to Europe. He was filming bomb damage by the Allied Air Forces with Captain Ellis Carter when they heard about Buchenwald and drove there by jeep on April 13, 1945. Mainzer and Carter filmed conditions at the camp on Kodak color film stock using two handheld 16mm film cameras. The footage was then sent to headquarters in London for processing. Captain Wallace Albert Early: 3rd Army, 100th Division, 397th Infantry, Company L Rudy (Rudolf) Baum was born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany in 1915 and immigrated to the U.S. in 1936. In 1941 he was drafted into the U.S. Army where he served for five years as a Military Intelligence officer and Media Control Officer in Military Government. He was a member of the liberation force that freed Buchenwald survivors in 1945. His parents were deported from Frankfurt to the Lodz Ghetto, where they perished. Rudy married Hannelore Schoenfarber in 1943 before going overseas with the Army. After the war, they ultimately settled in Dallas, Texas, where they raised their family and were active in the vibrant German Jewish community. He died just shy of his 94th birthday in 2009. Slate: "Capt. Carter, Prod #186, Buchenwald, Rock-C39, Date 4-16-45" HAS of crowd of German civilians in main courtyard of Buchenwald, moving about, mix of soldiers and civilians. Male survivor stands in front of a building. Barred window partially visible in BG. Man is wearing what appears to be a uniform coat and looks directly at the camera. CU of his face as he demonstrates facial wounds; he has scars on his face and one eye is swollen shut. A younger male prisoner looks right and left and then directly at the camera. Camera pans from toe to head of a woman, against the same wall; she is well dressed in heels and overcoat, her hair is also styled. CU of her face as she looks directly at the camera. A male survivor in a vest, collared shirt, and tie stares at camera; CU of his left cheek with a large scar which runs from under his eye to his chin. CU survivor in profile, he is wearing cap and speaking to someone off camera. CU of the same man, switches to straight angle, as he continues to speak. CU of another survivor in profile with a goatee and glasses, wearing a cap as he speaks to someone off camera. At one point he turns and speaks directly to the camera. CU of a young man wearing beret and staring. CU of two men wearing berets with a patch/insignia. Two middle aged men sit side by side, separated by a white pole, both are dressed in work clothes, man on right is smiling faintly. Two other survivors in BG. A man wearing prisoner number 48652 (likely Frans Sterckx of Thildonck, Belgium) with closely cropped hair stands in front of a row of barracks, he speaks to someone off camera. A man wearing prisoner number 43175 (likely Heinz Kampf of Essen, Germany) with glasses, wearing a beret, stands in front of barbed wire. CU of his prisoner's patch (a red triangle and number "43175"). [These prisoners are political prisoners: Hungarian, Bavarian and French.] Someone raises an American flag on a flag pole, barren trees in BG. German civilians enter the camp by bus. View of entrance. HAS from watchtower. German civilians walk in a long line through the main courtyard of the camp, guided by Allied soldiers. CU of a lamp shade. A variety of objects sit on a table outside, there are military vehicles and German civilians in the BG. German civilians stand around table to view objects that include lampshades and specimen jars. In BG survivors sit atop barracks and watch. Military personnel examine the objects on table and demonstrate to civilians. Camera pans from right to left over crowd of Germans, one man turns away. Civilians are led into the camp courtyard. German civilians and Allied MPs in FG, survivors sit atop barracks in BG, the two groups look at each other. Germans walk away with distraught facial expressions. Two women walk arm in arm. 03:48:56 American soldier (Rudolf Baum) with his back turned motions for German citizens to keep walking; he briefly turns towards the camera. Captain Wallace Early can also be seen in this sequence. More women and men exit the crematorium, grasping their chests and crying. Women in the crowd crying. CU of heads and feet of corpses. CU, pan, pile of corpses lying on top on one another. More civilians leave the camp, covering their mouths and noses. Several women are crying; one woman runs away in terror. Slate washed out by sunlight. Photo of a young woman (former inmate or Ilse Koch?) propped up for the camera. Overhead shots of a bombed out city, many large buildings in ruins; various views of the destroyed city.