Berlin Air Raid Defense Drill (1941–1942) | Firefighters & Decontamination Units
Rare color and black-and-white footage from Berlin-Neukölln showing a large-scale air raid defense exercise of the German Sicherheits- und Hilfsdienst (SHD) between 1941 and 1942. The film documents the organization, inspection and deployment exercises of multiple SHD branches, including firefighting units, medical services, repair teams and chemical decontamination squads during the Second World War.
Police General Walter Goldbach inspects formations of SHD personnel, fire protection police, Technical Emergency Corps (Technische Nothilfe / TN) and medical detachments before the exercise begins in the streets of Neukölln near Körnerpark.
The footage includes:
Firefighting and rescue demonstrations, Medical evacuation exercises, Gas mask and decontamination operations, Repair and engineering units at work, Civilian spectators observing the drills, Rare wartime color sequences from Berlin
Historical note: The Sicherheits- und Hilfsdienst (SHD) was created to organize civil defense and emergency response in heavily threatened German cities during Allied air raids. In 1942, the local SHD units were absorbed into the Luftschutzpolizei.
This footage is presented for historical and documentary purposes only.
Chapters:
▷ 00:00 – Introduction and SHD background
▷ 00:08 – Inspection of firefighting units
▷ 00:39 – Medical units inspection
▷ 01:14 – Repair and engineering detachments
▷ 01:50 – SHD convoy departs
▷ 02:12 – Officers and formations in Neukölln
▷ 02:47 – Rare color footage begins
▷ 03:50 – Engineering and repair exercises
▷ 05:16 – Firefighting deployment exercise
▷ 06:24 – Ladder and balcony rescue operations
▷ 08:30 – Medical evacuation training
▷ 09:44 – Chemical decontamination exercise
▷ 10:47 – Color footage of engineering operations
▷ 11:34 – Casualty transport and treatment
▷ 12:54 – Gas mask casualty evacuation
▷ 13:35 – Final SHD formation
▷ 14:27 – Decontamination service units
▷ 15:14 – Units march out and departure
1941/42 © Archive footage licensed by Xerxes