Object description
A study of one of fifteen alien companies in the Pioneer Corps.
Full description
Their history is explained by their CO and occasionally told by the men themselves: they are all volunteers, German and Austrian anti-Fascists (the company between all its members has a total prison and camp record of over 125 years) and film points out the danger to which these men expose both themselves and their families by serving. The men are shown (during the commentary) drilling, building a camp, installing coastal guns, receiving and training with weapons, and relaxing (title of film comes from a song they are shown singing); the detailed histories of individuals include distinguished civilian and even WW1 German military careers, clever means of escape (one secured exit permit for a whole bogus football team), and stories of concentration camp life: one man shows his release card from Dachau, another, a Jewish former amateur boxer, shows how punishment for a trivial offence has ruined his hands, etc. "At last they are on the right side of the barbed wire and gun."
Physical description
35mm
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