Australia Today – Australia’s 5th Column: Hitler's fifth columnists (1941)

According to this newsreel, Australia is at war with the '5th Column’, threatened by a ruthless enemy whose objective is the 'downfall of the British Empire’.

This clip opens with type scrolling over a background screen declaring that Australia is at war and threatened by a ruthless enemy. The enemies, according to the newsreel, are ‘agents of Germany’ or ‘Hitler’s 5th columnists’ who attempt to undermine Australia’s freedom and sovereignty.

This clip begins with the re-creation of DJA radio in Berlin which broadcast Nazi propaganda. It also shows the shadow of a swastika being cast across a map of Australia and shows the bombed and burning towns of war-torn Europe.