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Within a few weeks, American and British troops occupied all of Westphalia. Town after town, village after village were conquered, sometimes against fierce German resistance, sometimes without a fight. They were accompanied by camera teams who professionally recorded the occupation of the region between the Ruhr and Weser on film. "Embedded" in the advancing units, the cameramen shot some spectacular images of victory and defeat, the end and new beginning of 1945. The previously largely unpublished footage does not paint a complete picture of the end of the war in Westphalia, but it does paint a very multifaceted and vivid picture: They show fighting and war destruction as well as the mass capture of German soldiers, encounters with the civilian population, the liberation of forced labor camps, the discovery of war crimes, the internment of officials of the "Third Reich" as well as Allied victory celebrations and the gradual return to normality. For this documentary, directed by Katarzyna Salski, the most meaningful scenes were selected, accompanied by music and expert commentary. The resulting film tells the story of the end of the war in Westphalia literally from the perspective of the American troops. A fascinating contemporary document of the "zero hour"! This trailer gives an insight into the 50-minute film. We are publishing the documentary in eleven chapters on YouTube: Chapter 1: Westphalia in the spring of 1945 Chapter 2: Bombing war Chapter 3: American war logistics Chapter 4: Advance into the Sauerland Chapter 5: The Ruhr pocket Chapter 6: German prisoners of war Chapter 7: White flags Chapter 8: Liberation of forced laborers Chapter 9: Confrontation with war crimes Chapter 10: Internment of war criminals Chapter 11: Winners and vanquished The entire film can be seen here: https://westfalen-medien-shop.lwl.org... The DVD can be ordered here: https://westfalen-medien-shop.lwl.org...