Santa Klaus came by helicopter in 1952 to give presents to Freising children.
The 68-year-old video has now appeared again - and can be seen here.
In 1952 "Operation Christmas" took place in Freising: US soldiers disguised as Santa Claus came to children by helicopter.
A film that has now surfaced again shows scenes from the action at the time.
The district office is looking for people who recognize themselves or others on the film.
Freising
- There was tense expectation in Freising on December 5th, 1952: St. Nicholas had announced his arrival.
For this time of year it would not have been anything special in and of itself.
The holy benefactor was using a state-of-the-art means of transport for the first time: a helicopter.
Dozens of children and young people flocked to the former factory premises of the old Steinecker brickworks in Freising from 11 a.m. to receive St. Nicholas.
Today the Marriot Hotel stands there.
But Nicholas had rescheduled.
So we went up to the Pallotti Home, where the sisters of the children's home with their pupils and the orphanage assistant Hella Kirchberger had already met.
Nicholas landed the helicopter to the cheers of the children
At 12 noon the time had finally come: to the cheering of the children, Saint Nicholas floated in with a helicopter from the US Army.
In the so-called goldfish bowl of the helicopter of the type Bell 47 you could see him from afar: this time it was not the pious bishop with staff and miter, but a daring Santa Claus who paid his respects to Freising.
Dressed with a long beard, he personally drove the aircraft in red and white outfit.
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The spectacular landing of Santa Claus in Freising in 1952 marked the start of "Operation Christmas" in Bavaria.
© Federal Archives, Film inventory: F 002035
The spectacular landing of Santa Claus in Freising in 1952 marked the start of "Operation Christmas" in Bavaria.
The US Air Force carried out the charity campaign worldwide for the first time this year.
The romantic comedy "All the best comes from above", which recently appeared on the Netflix streaming service, is reminiscent of this.
“Operation Christmas” benefited orphaned and needy children.
They received food and toys from the US military.
While the Air Force threw its presents over the islands of the Pacific, in Germany pilots in the form of Santa Claus gave the little ones.
A Hollywood actress pulled the strings
The project management for Bavaria was shared by civil and military forces.
Chester S. (Jim) Wright, US government representative for Munich, brought the idea to Germany from the United States.
In the USA, since 1914, charities have been giving presents to children from poor families every year at Christmas time under the motto “Give every child a Christmas”.
Colonel Ben Funk, commander of the Erdinger Air Depot, and his wife Judy, who had previously worked as an actress in Hollywood, planned the strategic implementation.
And so in the first weeks of December 1952 six helicopters took off from the US Army's Erdinger Air Depot.
A total of 97 Bavarian orphanages were to be flown to and around 10,000 children were given care.
Mr. Wright and Colonel Funk insisted on being there at the opening event of the Christmas presents in Freising.
They willingly answered journalists' questions.
And they came to Freising in large numbers.
In addition to the representatives of the local press, a radio reporter from the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation went to Freising.
The editorial team of the weekly newsreel “Welt im Bild” sent a camera team to Freising to film the events.
The report was shown in German cinemas the very next day.
This 40-second film has been preserved in the Federal Archives to this day.
The interesting contemporary document can be seen on the YouTube channel of the Freising District Office at https://lrafs.de/nikolaus.
Colonel Funk made a career in the US Army in the following years and made it to major general.
After his military service, he worked for the space industry.
Ben Funk died very old in 2012 at the age of 98.
Who recognizes themselves in the photos?
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Shining eyes: the children were happy about the packs.
But some people clearly had respect for Santa Claus.
© Federal Archives, Film inventory: F 002035
It is not yet known what happened to the Freising children, who received the gifts from Santa Claus with enthusiasm and awe.
Anyone who recognizes the filmed and photographed people or even himself is asked to contact the District Office by e-mail to besucherdienst@kreis-fs.de.
A little surprise awaits.
Bernd Feiler, district home nurse
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