Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.

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Cast

Walter Huston

Self - Narrator (voice)

Max Schmeling

Self - German paratrooper (archive footage)

Adolf Hitler

Self

Walter Huston — Self - Narrator (voice)

Walter Thomas Huston (April 5, 1883 – April 7, 1950) was a Canadian actor and singer. Huston won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), directed by his son John Huston. He is the patriarch of the four generations of the Huston acting family, including his son John, grandchildren Anjelica Huston, Danny Huston, Allegra Huston, and great-g

Max Schmeling — Self - German paratrooper (archive footage)

Maximilian Adolph Otto Siegfried Schmeling (28 September 1905 – 2 February 2005) was a German boxer who was heavyweight champion of the world between 1930 and 1932. His two fights with Joe Louis in 1936 and 1938 were worldwide cultural events because of their national associations. Schmeling is the only boxer to win the world heavyweight championship on a foul.

Adolf Hitler — Self

Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, abbreviated NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party. He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and served as head of state as Führer und Reichskanzler from 1934 to 1945. Hitler is most rem