Kriegsende in Wetzlar [Archivtitel]

Summary

End of War in Wetzlar [Archive title]

Documentation of the city of Wetzlar in Hesse at the end of the war in November 1918, including Braunfelser Straße and Silhöfertorstraße. Buildings are decorated with wreaths and garlands of fir branches. A sign "A welcome to the undefeated in their homeland" hangs across the street. Occasionally men and soldiers walk through the streets, later women, children and also troops returning soldiers can be seen. Army vehicles are parked at the roadside. Wagons pulled by horses. A few small children run beside the troops or watch them.

Since the 1910s, Oskar Barnack, the inventor of the Leica, has captured events around Wetzlar on film with his self-constructed film camera. He documented flood disasters, city festivals, medical experiments, sporting events and the company where he was employed as chief designer: the Optical Works Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar. His films form the basis of a film archive in which local history has the same place as the effects of great historical events.