Mannerheim 75

I got degree on media history specialization hence I would like to present something about this specialization : a real special event, the birthday celebration of Carl Gustaf Mannerheim. This event is real sensational  in the view of the film- and radio history of the world..

Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland celebrated his 75th birthday on the 4th Jun, 1942. The Marshal is/was a honored member of the Finnish society, the multiple hero of his country..

Hence it us not a great surprise that the Finnish wartime newsreel, the Katsaus Journal number 49. was dedicated the birthday event of the Marshal.

Yes, it was true, the celebration started in a rail coach  close to Imatra  and the birthday dinner is rather puritan  (bread and butter with tea). I share this secret soon, meanwhile let us know some of the members of the Finnish general-staff.

Aarne Blick

Jarl Lindquist

Harald Öhquist

Erik Heinrichs

Karl Lennart Oesch.

Wiljo Einar Tuompo

The sign of the honor: the railway officer cleans the handhold before Mannerheim.

The celebrated in the middle of this picture.
Remember: he is now cheer and joyful.

Väinö Tanner.

Risto Ryti, president of the Finnish Republic, dressed a little bit strange:
for the cutaway normally folding hat is expected.
Every person who wear cutaway are dressed the same.

It is the time to share the secret of the puritanism and the strange location: there was on his way a surprise guest ,who was photographed by another cameraman in another airplane.

Deutsche Wochenschau 612.

I guess he can be recognized right now. The Finnish were not happy to receive him, and wanted to demonstrate that this visit is absolutely not an official state visit. Certainly this was known right on time by the German secret service, so the promotion of general Dietl was organized in this event.  .

Hence many German generals arrived to the Imola airport before Hitler's landing:

Hans-Georg von Seidel arrives 10 o'clock, Lindquist greets him.

Hans-Jürgen Stumpff arrives 11:15 o'clock, left to him is again Lindquist.

 Dietl  arrives himself at 11:30 o'clock.

 
..he was greet by the Finnish generals...

Hungarians can be found everywhere. Left to Dietl stays the half-Hungarian half-Finnish
 Aladár Antero Zoltán Béla Gyula Árpád Paasonen.

He caught the collapsing and dying President Kallio in Dec 1940.

Dietl points to the plane, which did not bring him too much luck.
Two years later he will die in an air-accident with his whole staff.
Next to him stays still Aladár Paasonen.

Hitler's Focke Wulf FW 200 arrives at  12:30 o'clock, and the Finnish cameramen show the burning gum. But the pilot was not a simple beginner.

Hans Baur., Hitler's personal pilot who stayed with him until his last moments.

The reception, the cameraman appears right.

Ryti  greets Hitler.

The cameraman is visible at the right side. Who should be him in this list...?

... his pictures :

Ryti fogadja Hitlert.

Finnish cameraman rushes in the background.

The Finnish cameraman is visible now. The pictures of the two newsreels are close to be the same until now:

Katsaus Journal:

Deutsche Wochenschau:

Hitler with general Wiljo Einaar Tuompo,  Lindquist is in the background

The Deutsche Wochenschau makes a cheat with the time at this point. The Katsaus Journal shows, that Hitler meets Mannerheim earlier, then Mannerheim presents the Finnish general-staff and thereafter is held Dietl's promotion ceremony.

The German generals are very nervous.

The face of the Generals are very remarkable ..

Dietl thanks the promotion,  Mannerheim is visible in the background.

General Heinrichs. Aladár Paasonnen, Keitel, Hitler.

The interpretation of the Deutsche Wochenschau about the same event :

Hitler promotes Dietl (Mannerheim is not visible!)

Dietl, left to him stays  Stumpf

Hitler and Seidel

”The first soldier of the German Empire greets the First Solder of Finland.”

Hence in this interpretation these two events were each  after and  Mannerheim seemed to be not present in Dietl's promotion ceremony..
After all started the birthday dinner where Hitler promotes Mannerheim also.

 

The face of Mannerheim is remarkable ..

Heinrichs, Hitler, general Edvard Hanell, Mannerheim, Aladár Paasonnen

 The face of Mannerheim is too cool.

There is a microphone, left close to be  not visible.

The rail coach was cabled by the Finnish radio referred to a broadcast about the promotion ceremony. One of the officers, Thor Damon, "forget" to switch off the tape at the end of this ceremony, hence made a private record about Hitler, this  is available on the webpage of the Finnish radio. The bodyguards later recognized this activity, hence the tape is switched off after approx. 10 minutes but the tape is saved. It was survived in two pieces, Thor Damon's family found the second piece only in 1992 and delivered to the Finnish radio company.. The strange noise at the beginning is the sound of the movie camera.

At the end of the dinner a party talk starts.

Mannerheim talks with Paavo Talvela more joyful and cheerful.

Paavo Talvela, behind him Aladár Pasonnen

Väinö Hakkila Finnish Socialdemokrat Politician.
His appearance is also rather strange: he was insulted physically by the activists of the right-wing extremists Lapua party.

The farewell starts at 18:10 o'clock at the airport. The cameraman of the Deutsche Wochenschau is visible again ...

 

... and his recording:

  
The face of the Finnish officer !

Hitler was fascinated by the Marshal, who made real Hitler's dream two and a half year ago: the 170.000 staffed Finnish army could not only resist again the million staffed Russian army but counterattack. This interpretation played a significant role at the planning of the Barbarossa. The sympathy was not mutual: regarding some memorials Mannerheim lighted his cigars many time and their smell irritated Hitler hardly.

The most important thing of this five hour is the tape recording, which helped to make a historical importance movie approx. sixty year later. Bruno Ganz formed Hitler's character based on this tape in the movie  The Fall.