Die Deutsche Wochenschau

Upon the German invasion of Poland in September 1939, marking the outbreak of the Second World War, the Nazi authorities consolidated the four separate newsreel production efforts into one, led by the Universum Film AG in Berlin.

Die Deutsche Wochenschau received film stock from special Wehrmacht war reporting units (Propagandakompanien) and notable cinematographers like Hans Ertl and Walter Frentz.

[4][5] Newsreels typically preceded the main feature film, introduced by an opening sequence derived from the Horst-Wessel-Lied; after the beginning of the Russian Campaign in 1941 it was accompanied by the fanfare motif from Liszt's Les Préludes.

[citation needed] However, these plans foundered on countless eyewitness reports by Wehrmacht soldiers via military mail or while home on leave, the widespread listening to foreign radio stations, and also the effects of Allied strategic bombing on German cities.

Nevertheless, the URAA also prevents films previously under the administration of the Alien Property Custodian from being renewed, making it difficult to enforce these copyrights in the U.S.[citation needed]