THE PEOPLE'S CHARTER

Year Published: 1947

Creator: United Nations Department of Public Information

Description: “The People’s Charter” (1947) is an educational documentary describing the historical context of WWII and the subsequent formation of the United Nations or U.N. It highlights the extreme suffering and destruction left in the wake of war as well as the need for long term solutions for peace. It shows the signing of the Atlantic Charter completed by FDR and Churchill in 1941, the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in 1945 and the difficult road towards restoration as nations dug out from mounds of rubble and economic debt. It continues to explain the functions of the UN relying on support from the government and the people. Other efforts of the UN included tackling global issues of trade, food, health and human misery. 00:00 It opens with the title screen (:07) and is presented by the U.N. Department of Public Information. Scenes open over farmlands (:17) in peacetime and again in wartime. Explosions erupt and combat interrupts daily lives, employment and food production (:26). Welders seal automobile parts together at a plant (:28). Bomber planes peel off from formation (:32). Air raid sirens wail (:36). A Heinkel He drops a pay load (:40). Masses of soldiers surrender (:52). Images follow of the HMS Prince of Wales (1:01). Roosevelt and Churchill meet in August of 1941 (1:00) for the signing of the Atlantic Charter. Intended goals of the charter are discussed (1:11). Radios across the globe share words of the charter (1:20). Struggles to maintain peace included increasing battlefronts (1:24). Bombs fall over Pearl Harbor (1:36). The Declaration of the United Nations was the main treaty signed in January of 1942. FDR, Churchill, Maxim Litvinov and T.V. Soong are pictured at the long table (1:49). Negative reactions to the signing included guerilla warfare (2:06). Radio men (2:21) and detonators (2:27) prepare to blow a rail line. The fuse shortens and a blast erupts (2:32). Industry pumps out war materials (2:39). Naval guns blow (2:50). An M3 Stuart blasts through (2:50). Allied troops look over maps (2:59) and heavy anti-aircraft guns blast (3:08) in combat montage scenes. Wounded civilians are tended to by Allied forces (3:19). A section explains the ties forged through war were to continue in peacetime as so stated by the charter (3:28). The Moscow Conference of 1943 was held at the Kremlin and Spiridonovka Palace. Vyacheslav Molotov is pictured at the center of the table (3:32). Aerial strafing footage follows (3:51). The long road to reconstruction begins (3:57) over images of decimated rail lines. The Dumbarton Oakes Conference of 1944 (4:11) addressed various needs for reconstruction. Survivors of war emerge from bombed out dwellings (4:30). A woman’s bullet wounds are tended to (5:01). The Charter of the UN and Statue of International Court of Justice (5:48) provided a definitive plan for reconstruction. Survivors from concentration camps reunite with loved ones (7:18). Refugees walk with belongings surrounded by rubble (8:45). The process of reconstruction is shown in images of workers on the ground with pick axes (9:32) and hand removing rubble (9:43). Delegates meet for the first meeting of the UN General Assembly on January 10th, 1946 (9:58). How the assembly operates follows (10:32). Mr. James Byrnes (10:47), Clement Attlee (11:25), Mr. Andrei Y. Vyshinsky (11:41), Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar (12:22), Trygve Lie (12:34) make their addresses. Lines of transportation are rebuilt (13:23). Farm machinery harvests grains (13:44) and the sick are tended to (13:52) as food and human misery become other targets of the UN. A paper boy offers issues about efforts of the UN (14:24). The final section of the film looks to future efforts of the UN (14:50) calling for support and participation from citizens of the world. Words from President Franklin Roosevelt / FDR close the feature (15:01).

Complete Record: “The People’s Charter” (1947) is an educational documentary describing the historical context of WWII and the subsequent formation of the United Nations or U.N. It highlights the extreme suffering and destruction left in the wake of war as well as the need for long term solutions for peace. It shows the signing of the Atlantic Charter completed by FDR and Churchill in 1941, the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in 1945 and the difficult road towards restoration as nations dug out from mounds of rubble and economic debt. It continues to explain the functions of the UN relying on support from the government and the people. Other efforts of the UN included tackling global issues of trade, food, health and human misery. 00:00 It opens with the title screen (:07) and is presented by the U.N. Department of Public Information. Scenes open over farmlands (:17) in peacetime and again in wartime. Explosions erupt and combat interrupts daily lives, employment and food production (:26). Welders seal automobile parts together at a plant (:28). Bomber planes peel off from formation (:32). Air raid sirens wail (:36). A Heinkel He drops a pay load (:40). Masses of soldiers surrender (:52). Images follow of the HMS Prince of Wales (1:01). Roosevelt and Churchill meet in August of 1941 (1:00) for the signing of the Atlantic Charter. Intended goals of the charter are discussed (1:11). Radios across the globe share words of the charter (1:20). Struggles to maintain peace included increasing battlefronts (1:24). Bombs fall over Pearl Harbor (1:36). The Declaration of the United Nations was the main treaty signed in January of 1942. FDR, Churchill, Maxim Litvinov and T.V. Soong are pictured at the long table (1:49). Negative reactions to the signing included guerilla warfare (2:06). Radio men (2:21) and detonators (2:27) prepare to blow a rail line. The fuse shortens and a blast erupts (2:32). Industry pumps out war materials (2:39). Naval guns blow (2:50). An M3 Stuart blasts through (2:50). Allied troops look over maps (2:59) and heavy anti-aircraft guns blast (3:08) in combat montage scenes. Wounded civilians are tended to by Allied forces (3:19). A section explains the ties forged through war were to continue in peacetime as so stated by the charter (3:28). The Moscow Conference of 1943 was held at the Kremlin and Spiridonovka Palace. Vyacheslav Molotov is pictured at the center of the table (3:32). Aerial strafing footage follows (3:51). The long road to reconstruction begins (3:57) over images of decimated rail lines. The Dumbarton Oakes Conference of 1944 (4:11) addressed various needs for reconstruction. Survivors of war emerge from bombed out dwellings (4:30). A woman’s bullet wounds are tended to (5:01). The Charter of the UN and Statue of International Court of Justice (5:48) provided a definitive plan for reconstruction. Survivors from concentration camps reunite with loved ones (7:18). Refugees walk with belongings surrounded by rubble (8:45). The process of reconstruction is shown in images of workers on the ground with pick axes (9:32) and hand removing rubble (9:43). Delegates meet for the first meeting of the UN General Assembly on January 10th, 1946 (9:58). How the assembly operates follows (10:32). Mr. James Byrnes (10:47), Clement Attlee (11:25), Mr. Andrei Y. Vyshinsky (11:41), Sir Ramaswami Mudaliar (12:22), Trygve Lie (12:34) make their addresses. Lines of transportation are rebuilt (13:23). Farm machinery harvests grains (13:44) and the sick are tended to (13:52) as food and human misery become other targets of the UN. A paper boy offers issues about efforts of the UN (14:24). The final section of the film looks to future efforts of the UN (14:50) calling for support and participation from citizens of the world. Words from President Franklin Roosevelt / FDR close the feature (15:01).

Transcription

[Music] since history began wees interludes of Peace shattered fruitful lands ravaged livelihoods disrupted progress sacrificed then Total War and great suffering welded a great Unity of need born of common [Music] fear dark days for Freedom loving peoples fighting against the aggressors was not enough we all needed a long-term goal to find the Atlantic Charter answered that need in August 1941 Mr Rosevelt and Mr Churchill put into words a goal Worth Fighting For Freedom From Fear and want freedom of speech and worship the words were set out all over the world they were heard even when it risked life to listen but new problems were arising as fighting continued for the battlefronts were many and increasing Pearl [Music] Harbor and Nations throughout the entire world were struggling against the conquerors our leaders meeting at Washington in January 1942 answered our need for Unity they agreed that only by standing firmly together could The Many Nations fighting the aggressors March forward and our United suff ing need and purpose brought us a unified plan for action the call for coordinated action was answered by gorillas in many of our lands Patriot sabur carried out their special systems of attack the war plants of our Nations turned out the tools we needed all who could produce produced for the use of all material for our Mighty offensive went into action our men from our many lands fought together under one great plan the power of our roused unified world was felt by the enemy but we needed assurance that this Unity would be continued after Victory Was Won to know that the Nations who cooperated during the war would go on working together to protect us from the anguish that war now means to us all our leaders met at Moscow in October 1943 they decided that after Victory they would continue to plan together to work forward together toward a secure peace and the idea of the security Council of the United Nations organization was born our final push to victory was necessarily destructive many resultant problems would have to be solved when our enemies were defeated we would need reconstruction both material and human on a scale such as our world had never known before this would require unified action in the economic and social fields at Dumbarton Oaks in 1944 our leaders outlined solutions to our problems for our many needs were growing clearer as the war neared its end our first taste of approaching victory was sweet those of us who had been living like animals on the ground felt we could emerge and breathe the air again comrades and victory could begin to Rejoice but there was still much to be won we had urgent problems to be solved and wounds of every kind to be healed our need was great for Assurance that all this would not happen again when our Representatives came to San Francisco in the spring of 1945 that need was answered our need to know that our children will never have to endure what we have seen War to mean representatives of the Nations United peace Drew up a plan to protect us to help us to work toward a better world for us to live in like the plans on which the governments of our various countries operate the plan for our new world had to be put into words agreed upon and signed the charter of the United Nations a definite plan on which to Begin work our Charter Signed Sealed approved delivered to the free peoples of the world we the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding Generations from the scourge of War which twice in our lifetime has brought Untold mind and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights in the dignity and worth of the human person in the equal rights of men and women and of Nations large and small and to promote social progress and better standards of life in large of freedom and for these ends to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors and to unite our strength to maintain International Peace and security have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims Victory opened the gates of the concentration camps the homecoming of prisoners brought many of us reunion with our loved ones our fighting men had yearned for this [Music] moment but some not return many had paid the great price for the victory that had to be won so that we might [Music] live desolation in the wake of [Music] War it seemed like a ruined world but it was a free world and many people in Many Lands could start trudging homewards home is home no matter what problems it presents [Applause] much had to be cleared before building could begin building a new world from the wreckage of the old our representatives were building two meeting together in London the first meeting of the general assembly of the United Nations the new or organization planning solutions to our many complicated problems the delegates of all United Nations working together for peace in a better world for all this was the answer to our need for international cooperation the general assembly operates on Democratic principles All Nations have an equal voice and an equal vote fellow delegates the functioning of the United Nations will depend not merely upon the words of its Charter all the rules of procedure we adopt here are upon the individuals we elect to hold office it will depend entirely upon the support it receives from the governments and the peoples of the Nations which have created it and which must sustain it without social justice and security there's no real foundation for peace for it is among the socially disinherited and those who have nothing to lose that the gangster and the aggressor recruit their supporters the positive function of securing human happiness human progress and human Prosperity is laid heavily on the economic and social Cel those who gave their lives in order that we may be free those who lost their homes those who suffered and still suffer from the consequences of War have given us a sacred mandate that is to build a firm foundation for the Peace of the world we may find difficulties and obstacles ahead of us but the harder the task the higher the price it is the future of the whole civilized World which is at State The Same Spirit of Courage and sacrifice that won for us a costly Victory is needed today to rebuild a world of lasting peace facing the difficult world problems of trade of food of health of human misery determined to overcome them together representatives of our nations are working together ironing out difficulties sorting out differences so that we can proceed along the pathway toward a secure future because the United Nations is our organization we have the right to come to meetings to see and listen for ourselves we have the responsibility to keep intelligently informed about our United Nations then we will know our government's obligation and why they must be carried out the United Nations system of open diplomacy gives us the chance to have our say about our new world while the world decisions are being made and because this is true the success of the United Nations is in our hands it's our job to resist the impatient and the cynical with steadfast loyalty in the words of the late President Roosevelt the Firm Foundation can be built and it will be built but the continuance and Assurance of a living peace must in the long run be the work of the people themselves ours is an association not of governments but of peoples and the people's hope is peace here as in England in England as in Russia in Russia as in China in France through the continent of Europe and throughout the world wherever men Love Freedom The Hope and purpose of the people are for peace a peace that is durable and secure [Music]

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