One of the things I love about being an archivist is that every day is a little different. The materials you’re working with depend entirely on what happens to end up on your desk. Last week, this showed up: 
a can labeled “German – Confiscated Film.”
The films this reel was grouped with were a mis-labeled mess and I was doubtful that the label was correct, but my curiosity got the better of me. Man, am I glad it did!
The reel ended up being a copy of a WWII era German short. From the image content and German narration, it seems to be propaganda-newsreel about military victories over the Allies. Shots of German soldiers on foot and in Panzer tanks fighting was accompanied by rousing music and descriptions of how easily they defeated the US Shermans. 
While things like this don’t come around everyday, they illustrate the importance of archiving: ensuring that artifacts of our past are available for the future.
I love my job!
