1. A few ounces a day (06:39)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
Alexander, Donald, 1913-1993
Summary:
This film uses diagrams to illustrate the importance of salvaging common everyday items in an effort to reuse important raw materials for building ships. The film asserts that one day's salvage by the whole British people counteracts the loss of one ship. An emphasis is put on "The importance of salvage to the flow of goods; [and] various examples of useful materials commonly thrown away."--War Films, Bulletin of the Extension Division, Indiana University, February, 1943.

3. A letter from Bataan (14:21)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Shane, Maxwell, 1905-1983
Summary:
A Hollywood short aiding the war effort, emphasizing the need for preparedness and conservation of materials, i.e. rubber, metal, shellac. An American soldier writes home from Bataan, and while his family reads the letter, the soldier's ghostly apparition interjects statistics about food and equipment shortages.

4. Battle wreckage (10:09)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Pictorial Service
Summary:
Explains why large quantities of war materials, in particular steel, are needed for the war effort. Shows the sea battle and beachhead landing of the Normandy invasion.

5. It's up to us (10:39)

Date:
1941
Main contributors:
General Motors Corporation
Summary:
Focuses on the conservation of important natural elements such as rubber, oil and metal needed to support the U.S. Victory Program. Viewers are shown various ways in which they can change daily habits to get the most out of these materials.

6. Know your enemy--Japan! (14:47)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Knox, Gordon, 1906-1992
Summary:
"Produced in cooperation with the Institute of Pacific Relations, this film answers such vital questions as: How large in the Japanese Empire? Is Japan self-sufficient in food? What is Japan's naval and military strength? What are the living standards of the Japanese people? What are Japan's vital weaknesses? How can Japan be defeated?"--War Films Bulletin of the Extension Division Indiana University, February, 1943.

7. My Japan (16:19)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. War Finance Division
Summary:
Presented as an authentic message from the Japanese people to the American people, this film is actually a fake newsreel designed to counter any views the American moviegoer might have had about the Japanese being a backwards nation. The film employs a white American in yellowface as the Japanese narrator who describes the modern, technological Japan capable of withstanding the American military's attacks. Uses captured feature films and documentaries from the Japanese, including a short sequence from the 1937 German/Japanese co-production "The Daughter of the Samurai" in a brief clip with the actress Setsuko Hara. The film concludes with a plea to buy U.S. war bonds.

8. Our enemy-- the Japanese (20:53)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
See Other Contributors
Summary:
"Stridently anti-Japanese film that attempts to convey an understanding of Japanese life and philosophy so that the U.S. may more readily defeat its enemy. Depicts the Japanese as "primitive, murderous and fanatical." With many images of 1930s and 1940s Japan, and a portentious [sic] and highly negative narration by Joseph C. Grew, former U.S. ambassador to Japan."--Internet Archive.

9. Our enemy-- the Japanese (20:08)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Grew, Joseph C. (Joseph Clark), 1880-1965
Summary:
"Stridently anti-Japanese film that attempts to convey an understanding of Japanese life and philosophy so that the U.S. may more readily defeat its enemy. Depicts the Japanese as "primitive, murderous and fanatical." With many images of 1930s and 1940s Japan, and a portentious [sic] and highly negative narration by Joseph C. Grew, former U.S. ambassador to Japan."--Internet Archive.

10. Paratroops (09:00)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures
Summary:
"A quick overview of the weeks spent in learning to jump, tumble, and fall, in practice jumping from a tower and from a dummy plane, in packing the parachute one's life depends on, in learning to jump from a plane in half a second, to guide a chute by working the shroud cords, to land without splintering a leg, to disengage the chute and come up fighting."--War Films, Bulletin of the Extension Division, Indiana University, February, 1943.

11. Peace comes to America (10:46)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
Summary:
Asserts that although World War II is over, Americans still have responsibility for their government and veterans of the war. Features appearances by President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of the Treasury Fred M. Vinson, and Ted R. Gamble, national director of the War Finance Division.

12. Pincers on Japan (18:58)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
National Film Board of Canada
Summary:
"Canada's place in the strategy of Pacific warfare is the subject of this wartime film. Convoys, carrying the sinews of war, steam out from her ports, while along her western coast lookouts and patrol boats keep constant vigil. The close cooperation between the United States and Canada in the Pacific is illustrated."--NFB website.

13. RAF & 8th Air Force report from Britain (07:02)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
United States. Army Pictorial Service
Summary:
"Includes a report from Britain showing the RAF and the 8th Air Force on a hedgehopping bomber flight over France and Germany, and the 5th Air Force report from New Guinea." ("News and Notes," Educational Screen, June, 1944, 266.) Shows a film clip claiming to be an "Official German Newsreel," with footage of American planes that have been shot down and have crashed onto German soil. Shows how Germans salvage metal from these American aircraft to use for their own war effort and explains that each crashed plane is indicative of loss of soldiers' lives.

14. Remember these faces (17:27)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. Navy
Summary:
World War II film showing the horror of the Pacific war with extensive coverage of the care and treatment of the wounded. Created in support of the 7th War Loan drive, the film encourages the general public to purchase war bonds to aid the recovery of wounded servicemen.

15. Report from Russia (08:00)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
United States. Office of War Information. Domestic Branch. Bureau of Motion Pictures.
Summary:
Tells of the energy, the courage, and the efforts of the Russians behind the front lines in World War II. Shows the holding and striking power of Russia.

16. Right of way (07:35)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
Eastman, Joseph B. (Joseph Bartlett), 1882-1944
Summary:
Follows a troop train, a freight train, and a truck rushing to deliver men and supplies to a ship convoy in 1943. Explains the reasons for transportation delays and the shortage of goods in wartime. This film was intended to promote understanding and support of the war effort despite inconveniences on the home front.

17. Road to Berlin (18:48)

Date:
1943
Main contributors:
United States. Army. Signal Corps.
Summary:
Using dramatized events and newsreels, this film shows the organizing done during World War II to ship war supplies to the military. Shows the work of the Army Transportation Corps in providing ship convoys, as well as the work done by supply depots.

18. Salvage (07:15)

Date:
1942
Main contributors:
Nelson, Donald Marr, 1888-1959
Summary:
A message from Donald M. Nelson, chairman of the War Production Board, urging Americans to save metals, rubber, and greases for the World War II effort.

19. Secrets (07:11)

Date:
1945
Main contributors:
United States. Navy Department
Summary:
Discusses the importance of various secret weapons used throughout World War II, such as radar and the atomic bomb. The film emphasizes the development and use of these weapons as being critical to winning the war, thereby justifying their costs. Ends with a plea to purchase victory bonds to support research that will prevent future wars.

20. Sicily, key to victory (20:48)

Date:
1944
Main contributors:
Canada. National War Finance Committee
Summary:
"A record of the achievements of the Canadian Army's First Division in the Sicilian campaign of World War II, a campaign that breached the walls of Axis Europe. It also shows how this campaign was made possible by the efforts of farmers and factory workers in Canada."--NFB website.