Black Film Center/Archive
William Miles Collection, Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II
William Miles, President of Miles Educational Film Productions Inc. has produced and directed numerous award-winning public television documentaries including I Remember Harlem, Men of Bronze, The Different Drummer: Blacks in the Military, and Black Champions.
William Miles' life's work is dedicated to exploring the history, culture and achievements of African-Americans, from their arrival in America in the 16th century (depicted in his award-winning PBS series, I Remember Harlem), to their achievements as astronauts and scientists (examined in his PBS special Black Stars in Orbit). A member of the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame, Mr. Miles has also received the "Lifetime Achievement" Award from the Association for Independent Video and Filmmakers, in acknowledgment of his outstanding contribution to the history of African-Americans on film.
The only African-American independent producer based at WNET/Thirteen in New York, Mr. Miles has produced fifteen films dedicated to African-American history and achievement that have been broadcast nationwide as "specials." Mr. Miles' films are based on in-depth historical research and are committed to the dissemination of history to a broad national audience on public television and educational institutions throughout the country. Mr. Miles, in cooperation with WNET, produces study guides to accompany his films, and actively participates in the films' distribution.
Miles spent three years researching material for I Remember Harlem, a four-hour special which traced Harlem's 350-year history, evoking one of America's most vibrant and volatile communities. As a visual counterpart to the oral histories in the film, Miles unearthed old photographs and motion picture films and newsreel footage, much of it rare and never before seen on television. In early 1982, one year after it was broadcast, I Remember Harlem won an Alfred I. Dupont-Columbia University Citation and an American Film Festival Award.
In 1977, Miles gained recognition with the debut of Men of Bronze at the New York Film Festival and its subsequent national public television airing later that year. The film won an American Film Festival Award and a CINE Golden Eagle Award in 1978. Men of Bronze is an emotional outpouring of memories and anecdotes, combined with treasured photos and footage, of the all-black 369th Infantry Regiment which fought under the French flag during the First World War.
Miles' penchant for creating historical documentaries was nurtured through 25 years of restoring archival films and early feature classics with Killiam Shows, Inc. and the Walter Reade Organization, Inc. His editing credits include the series called The Silent Years with Orson Welles and Lillian Gish, and Thomas Hardy's Wessex, a half-hour episode for the poetry series Anyone for Tennyson, which won a Chicago Film Festival Award in 1977.
In 1983, Miles produced The Different Drummer: Blacks in the Military. The three-part series, which aired on public television, illuminated the often-neglected history of black patriotism and involvement in America's military conflicts from Colonial times to the present. Miles received the D. Parke Gibson Award in Journalism and the 1984 CEBA Award for Excellence for his work on this series.
In 1986, Miles produced Paul Robeson: Man of conscience for WNET/New York and Janus Films. This hour long documentary celebrated Paul Robeson the athlete, scholar, singer, actor and early activist against racial injustice. Miles also produced Black Champions, a three-part documentary mini-series, which was presented by WNET/New York on National Television. The series provided a vivid account of black athletes and their accomplishments throughout the 20th Century.
William Miles is also the recipient of the American Association for State and Local History Award in 1978 and 1981, the Black Harlem Award, and the Blackfrica Promotions Award in 1981.
Miles co-produced James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket, a 90-minute documentary aired on National PBS for American Masters in August, 1989. Miles' next project was Black Stars in Orbit, the story of African-American astronauts, which aired on PBS in February 1990.
In 1992, Miles co-directed and co-produced Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II with Nina Rosenblum. This ninety minute documentary examines African-American soldiers in World War II and their fight against racism in the military as well as at home. Liberators received a nomination in the Best Documentary Feature category at the 1993 Academy Awards and was awarded the IDA Award by the International Documentary Association in 1992.
Mr. Miles has also served as the official historian of the 369th Regiment Armory, in Harlem, whose collection he organized and cataloged. His involvement with African-American veterans' organizations and prior films on African-Americans in the military has won the respect of military men and women and veterans, who look to him to honor and preserve their contributions to history.
William Miles is a member of the International Documentary Association, and is a member of the board of advisors for the National Black Programming Consortium, Production Partners for Black and Hispanic Images and Media Alliance.
Scope and Content NoteThe William Miles Collection contains materials relating to William Miles' 1992 documentary, Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II. The collection is arranged into two series: Videos and Miscellaneous. The Videos series contains fourteen ½" VHS videocassettes consisting of recorded material related to the film, such as interviews with and testimonials of members of the 761st Battalion, news segments, and screenings of the film itself. The Miscellaneous series is made up of one photograph, a military insignia medal, and an audio interview with several "Liberators."
Date of Deposit
August 1997
Miles 1
Title: FOX Nightly News; LIBERATORS; 18:47 EG McConnell, Nov 17,
1997
Run time: 120 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles
Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) Kareem Abdul Jabbar news
report: blacks in history
2.) 0:03:00 - interview with E.G.; advancing
tanks, getting hit in battle, painting a snow scene
3.) 0:14:00 - E.G.,
outtakes from Liberators; talking about being in
infirmary next to white soldier when general came by
4.) 0:21:00 - Liberators, segments from film, visit to Buchenwald,
speech about joining the army
5.) 0:42:00 - opening credits to Liberators
6.) 0:45:00 - interview with German man
about Buchenwald (b/w)
7.) 0:48:00 - lunch meeting at Channel 13-WNET with
members of the 761st; Edie Selman calls Leon Bass; Bass talks on speaker phone
about April 11th injury; describes day of liberation and the revolt in the
camps
8.) 1:50:00 - conference call with German man about liberation day
Miles 2
Title: Walker and Naomion; Sun Morn 7/12/92; News Clips ABC, WPIX,
News 12; Liberators Presentation; Smitty CBS News 5/8/95
Run time: 120
min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) Excerpts from Liberators; war
footage, interviews (This seems to be a tape of a screening of Liberators. There is black space around the entire
image)
2.) Channel 12 News, McConnell describing victims
3.) Liberators presentation reel
4.) Channel 11 News
coverage of Holocaust Reunion
5.) CBS News morning show with Paula Zahn;
Smitty and Dorothy Early talk about the end of the war
6.) Blurry image; a
video review of Liberators on CBS
Sunday Morning
7.) Excerpts from Liberators
Miles 3
Title: Excerpt from 41st Annual Reunion at Hilton Head, SC; Tapes
9/9/89; Col. Bates, Col. Gates, Sgt. Hightower, Sgt. Holmes
Run time: 120
min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) Liberators interviewed on couch; man says he witnessed
Germans executing members of the all-white 14th reconnaissance unit
*Apx. 5
min.: E.G. McConnell from off-screen right; saw Nazi soldiers and POWs being
treated better than Black American soldiers were treated by the U.S. Army
*Apx. 10 min.: from off-screen left; German POWs in Ft. Knox treated better than
local Black population; talks about black male as "endangered species" in
Alabama.
2.) Apx. 14 min.: banquet scenes / program at Hilton Head, SC; son
of Col. Bates gives keynote address
3.) Making a videotape for Dave
Williams (someone not at reunion)
4.) Buffet; individual testimonials for
Dave Williams
Miles 4
Title: Liberators Holocaust Memorial, Brooklyn 5/31/92, Tape
One
Run time: 120 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles
Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) Footage of Holocaust
Memorial Committee meeting: songs, speeches by state senators and others who
discuss "black heroes" of WWII; award ceremonies
2.) 0:40:00 - William
Miles honored
3.) 0:52:00 - Smitty honored
4.) 1:10:00 - Benjamin
Bender speaks
Miles 5
Title: Liberators Holocaust Memorial/Brooklyn May 31, 1992 Tape
#2
Run time: 120 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational
Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) Ceremony for the Jewish and
Liberators: lighting of candles; children's choir
2.) Interview with
veterans (Liberators): talks about their experiences; concentration camps
Miles 6
Title: Neighbor To Neighbor reel 1 of 2 Apollo Theater
Run
time: 120 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational Film
Productions
Annotation:
1.) New York television show Neighbor to Neighbor is broadcasted live from the Apollo
Theater. The purpose of this event is to honor the Jewish survivors of the
German concentration camps and the Black soldiers who liberated them. Charles B.
Rangel and Peggy Tishman are the emcees. Speakers: David Dinkins, Mayor of New
York; Robert M. Morgenthau, Manhattan District Attorney; Martin Payson,
Vice-Chair Time Warner, Inc.; Henry Kravis, Chairman Thirteen/WNET; Elie Wiesel,
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate; Rev. Jesse L. Jackson.
2.) Liberators is shown
Miles 7
Title: Neighbor To Neighbor reel 2 of 2
Run time: 120 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) The remaining portion of Liberators is shown
2.) Neighbor to
Neighbor: William Miles and Nina Rosenblum, co-producers of Liberators, address the audience: reading of the
proclamation; the survivors and Liberators are honored
3.) Neighbor to Neighbor: discussion
Miles 8
Title: The 761st Tank Battalion, Another View-Black War Heroes,
Excerpts from 41st Annual Reunion (#1) at Hilow Hedd [sic], SC; Col Bates; Col.
Gates; Sgt. Hightower; Sgt. Holmes; Sept. 9, 1989
Run time: 120 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) Interviews with: Earnest Sutton, Sr., 505 Black
Paratrooper, Airborne Battalion; George McConnell, 761st Black Panther, Tank
Battalion WWII; Robert Barnett, Air Force (retired)
2.) Members of the
761st Battalion tell their story: George McConnell; Preston McNeil; Leonard
Smith
3.) More interviews with some of the Liberators
Miles 9
Title: John Simmons 2/10/93
Run time: 40 min.
Format: ½"
Video
Company: Miles Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
Exclusive interview with Liberator John Simmons: tells about experiences in
training; experiences in combat; battalion experiences
Miles 10
Title: Liberators Testimonies Ziprik-2/1/93
Run time: 120
min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) Interview with soldiers and survivors in a conference room,
talking about WWII and explaining how the army division system works
(battalions, companies, etc.)
2.) Camera turns to another soldier for
testimony about the chain of communication; explains that 761st was at
Dachau
3.) Others around the table discuss liberation day and the
allegations that the members of 761st could not have been at Dachau
4.)
0:36:00 - Leon Bass on conference call with Edie Selman and others discussing
allegations made in the New Republic; describing the
day he was injured going to Buchenwald on April 11th; named a survivor (Robbie
Weisman?) in Vancouver who remembers being liberated by black men-their reunion
was on MacNeil/Lehrer news show; describes what he
witnessed at Buchenwald; converses with liberators and survivors in room
5.) 0:59:00 - Ben Bender on conference call recounts his memory of 4/11/45 and
the days surrounding the liberation; quotes Elie Wiesel from the New York Times saying he saw black soldiers
6.)
1:30:00 - distinctly remembers being carried out on stretcher by 2 black
soldiers
7.) 1:31:00 - Walter Woodson testimony about liberating Dachau;
looking into camp buildings, gas chambers, bodies, kitchen, crematorium
8.)
1:40:00 - general discussion continues
Miles 11
Title: Intrepid Dub November 1992
Run time: 72 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) TITLE: "Aboard the USS Intrepid with Producer-Directors
William Miles and Nina Rosenblum"
2.) Shots of airplanes; natural sound
only
3.) 0:05:00 - veterans meeting aboard a ship with Louis Gossett,
Jr.
4.) 0:15:00 - Gossett, Jr. interviews Miles and Rosenblum
5.)
0:18:00 - Miles interviews Abe and Dave, holocaust survivors; joined by various
soldiers
6.) 0:24:00 - general shots of meeting, singing, introduction of
filmmakers, speeches by Bill and Nina
7.) 0:34:00 to end - general shots,
dancing
Miles 12
Title: Liberators: Europe 1982 Reel 1/2 and 2/2; Kareer Jabar [sic]
KTTV; Who Killed Vincent Foster; August Pledge Lib Segment; Dick Cavett
Show
Run time: 114 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles
Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
1.) Scenes from 761st tank
battalion trip to Europe (film to video transfer)
2.) 1:15:30 - FOX News,
L.A., Kareem Abdul Jabbar
3.) 1:18:00 - 60
Minutes segment on who killed Vincent Foster
4.) 1:22:00 - PBS
Pledge Drive segment, featuring Liberators
5.)
1:25:00 - Dick Cavett Show with Samuel Pisar (survivor, author of Of Blood and Hope)
Miles 13
Title: Tape ½ "Liberations" 4-30-92, Jewish Museum 2D Dub
Run
time: 105 min.
Format: ½" Video
Company: Miles Educational Film
Productions
Annotation:
1.) Misc. group shots, photo shoots, looking
at albums: Nina, Bill, survivors, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Richard Rubenstein
2.) 0:31:00 - program at Jewish Museum in NYC
0:35:00 - Rubenstein talks
about getting Liberators on TV
0:36:30 - Kareem
talks about the need to tell more stories of Blacks in history
0:39:00 -
Bill and Nina talk about the production of Liberators
3.) 0:44:00 - Question and answer session, remarks from
survivors, soldiers, and Nina and Bill
1:08:00 - 1st audience comment:
American imperialism and Jews in Nazi Germany
1:13:00 - 2nd comment: black
man whose father was in WWII
1:16:30 - 3rd comment: white officer from
WWII
1:18:00 - 4th comment: contemporary racism in NYC between blacks and
Jews
1:24:30 - 5th comment: combat cameraman from WWII; shot footage of
black troops
4.) 1:32:15 to end - E.G. McConnell arrives; talks about
liberation
Miles 14
Title: Dub/Jewish Museum
Run time: 30 min.
Format: ½"
Video
Company: Miles Educational Film Productions
Annotation:
Conference; Liberators tell about combat experiences
Photograph - Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War
II; of the 761st Tank Battalion; 8"x10"; b&w
Decorative
761st military insignia medal
Audio Interview - Liberators with Leonard Smith, Stern, Bender
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