Nazi Film Melodrama By Laura Heins

Art is capable of having a large impact in all aspects of society, as it sends a message to the masses and striking emotions in ways words cannot. Knowing the important role art had on their citizens, the leaders of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union used art as a way to influence their nations. Artistic expression and messages dramatically changed after the Nazis and Soviets rose to power. Ranging from family roles, working roles, society roles, and artistic techniques, the political leadership used art as a universal language to promote what was acceptable. Art conveyed different messages for both countries. One major difference between Nazi and Soviet art is the portrayal of gender and sexuality. Nazi Germany used art to emphasize the importance

Holocaust film has emerged as its own genre throughout time. Originally, directors ignored the possibility of Holocaust films, then the content started to take form in non-fiction recordings. Eventually, the genre of Holocaust film took off and today there is an abundance of Holocaust related films that appear when one scrolls through movie streaming sites. The Pawnbroker (1964), directed by Sidney Lumet, is a perfect example of a film that deals with both the lasting effect of the Holocaust and the stereotyping of a multitude of characters. Exploring the Holocaust in media through The Pawnbroker and The Pawnbroker’s film techniques, serve as a prime example for not only how Holocaust survivors felt emotionally imprisoned, but stereotypes different groups as well. Critics responded harshly to this stereotypical labeling and this shows how the meaning of the film has been interpreted by society differently over time.

Just like France, the United States, and Russia, Germany also began to make films, as a way to entertain the working class in an inexpensive way. By 1933 Adolf Hitler came to power, creating very harsh social condition that made several writers, actors, and directors flee Germany because they feared that if they stayed they would have gotten killed. Joseph Goebbels later came to run the UFA, as a government owned production company to make films that were shown to civilians and the military as propaganda on March 13 , 1933, and intended to censor German cinema to make the people believe that they were fascist. Numerous movies in that period of time tried to steer clear of talking about the Holocaust to distract people from what was really happening and to make Hitler seem almost godlike. One film in particular directed by Leni Riefenstahl called The Triumph of the Will became a well known example of propaganda in film history. Throughout the film, you really get to experience a sense of historical context that influenced thousands of people during the time of World War 2. Today, several people view The Triumph of the Will and have a difficult time distinguishing whether or not they can conclude if they view the film as propaganda or an actual piece of art.

Adolf Hitler spent much of his life wanting to be a painter and when he was eighteen years old he fled with two other young men to Vienna. He and the two other men wanted to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. The two other men were accepted but Adolf Hitler was not. He blamed his non-acceptance on the fact that the art academy had been run by the Jewish and were discriminating against him. After years of failing in the art industry, Hitler’s political ambitions rose to the surface and he brought the Nazi Party to power in Germany. The Rape of Europa investigates Hitler and other leading advisors, and how they looted numerous of the great museums and private art collections of Europe during the duration of World War II in order to

Nazi Germany, under the rule of Adolf Hitler, was harrowing, with fanatical Nazis repeatedly undertaking inhumane acts of violence. Despite the disturbing facts of the period, to this day many films are directly, or indirectly, based around the actions of Nazism. Specifically focusing on The Lion King, Cabaret, Sophie Scholl, Schindler’s List, and The Downfall, Nazism is heavily illustrated. These films focus on various parts of Hitler’s timeline, and the actions of the Nazi Party, with society continuously being intrigued with media based around these themes.

Max Beckman was a German painter, printmaker, craftsman, and sculptor. Beckmann enjoyed great success, receiving official honors and awards. His success suddenly reached a turning point when Adolf Hitler came into power. Hitler resented Modern Art, and led in the abolishment of Modern Art in Germany. Shortly after, Beckmann was disliked by the Nazi Government and was often referred to as a “Cultural Bolshevik”. Cultural Bolshevism was a term used by Nazi Germany to attack Modernist Movements in the arts. After enduring such rejection, Mac Beckmann focused his experience of Modern life into Expressive images with an intensity of emotion and symbolism.

He thought the Jews were damaging the culture of Germany, and the race of Aryans by living around them like parasites (Boyer & Goldstein, 206). Moreover, he wanted to keep the Aryan race pure and safe from the corruption of the Jews, for he believed they were defile creatures (Boyer & Goldstein, 209). This was illustrated in the film Jud Süss when Süss had defiled Dorothea Strum towards the end, he was found guilty of miscegenation and was hung to death in front of the community. So to protect his race, he decided to build ghettos in some areas to quarantine the Jews because he believed that they were filthy and sneaky. Harlan illustrated this in the scene when Süss entered in Stuttgart and became the duke’s advisor. For the German citizens saw him as a poor and nasty immigrant from the ghettos (Tegel, 80). These actions, as well as the secret attacks on the Jews in Weimar Republic stirred up the warfare again (Brose, 18 ). Many of the Jews had been driven out by the Nazis, for they were destroying their livelihood. Over five hundred synagogues had been burned down, over seven thousand Jewish own shops had been ruin and about ninety Jews had been killed (Brose, 220) these actions led to the extreme Holocaust and World War

In order to exemplify the significance of Jewish revenge, I will first explain a brief history of Jewish revolts against the Nazis, most notably in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Next, I will describe the fantasy of revenge in Holocaust cinema. Third, I will analyze the specific sequences of armed vengeance in Inglourious Basterds. Finally, this analysis will lead into my discussion of the director’s depictions of imagined Jewish revenge. Through the interpretation of particular film techniques, I plan to accentuate the malevolent and vindictive fantasies taken by Jews in order to highlight their resemblance to the monstrosities of

As said by Joseph Goebbels, “Because this, my dear Harlan, is a perfect opportunity to show, that all Jewish characters and temperaments are originally from the same source.” He’s referring to Werner Krauss, whom had the idea to play all the background Jewish characters in the movie, Jud Süß. This 1940 film is an extremely anti-Semitic piece of propaganda from the Nazi Regime. How exactly did this particular piece of propaganda come to be and how did it help further and contribute to the goals of Nazi Germany? Propaganda’s job is to give its audience certain ideas and to train them to think in a certain way. It can be used as a way to dehumanize or show how horrible the subject of their hatred is, and during war this is often the case. With

The leadership of the Nazi and Soviet parties knew the impact art had on their respective country’s people. It was important that they kept this in mind as they both rose to power. The artistic expression changed due to what was allowed by the Nazi and Soviet regimes. Art was used as a universal language to convey the political ideologies to each society. In Nazi Germany, the focus of art was centered on a patriarchal society, favoring masculinity as women were meant only to be mothers and good homemakers. While in the Soviet Union, the art focused on the newfound equality of between men and women, as the art portrayed a positive message. The art in Nazi Germany was symbolic to show what was acceptable and what was not, while in the Soviet

Art is a subjective medium of expression. Based on each person’s experiences, beliefs, and feelings they will create and also interpret art in different ways. Usually this will lead to a healthy discussion on the differences of the interpretation of each individual. This was not the case when the Nazi’s had power in Germany and they used their power to shape art in their country to what they deemed to be acceptable and exiled art they deemed unacceptable or not fitting their belief system. This would change the art direction of Germany from a more expressive style to a more conservative style that fit the Nazi party’s beliefs and how they wish to run the country.

Art and culture during the Third Reich is a complex phenomenon to understand due to the ambiguity of the scholarship. When the Nazi’s came to power in 1933, they understood that art and culture are going to be a fundamental institution in furthering the efforts of the regime to transform and build a utopian society. It became important to eliminate influences that were being generated by a part of the population considered to be degenerate. However, it is also important to have enemy’s to look down upon and trample over in order to feel superior amongst all races.

Even though Orff may despise the Nazis for their lack of aesthetic sensibility, he kept that mind to himself. The Carmina Burana achieved a huge success and Hitler loves this piece particularly, it was exploited in propaganda because the innate power generated from the pounding rhythms. After the Nazi’s domination was crashed, the new government took a long time to accept it, since it was once considered a symbol of Nazi.

Considered Nazi Germany’s most successful propagnda film, Jud Süß (1940) suceeded in fostering greater anaimosity towards Jews through the guise of entertainment. The film contained a melodratic narrative and relied on existing prejudices towards Jews. The central antagonist, Oppenheimer, is a sexually and morally deviant Jew who corrupts the naive Duke of Wûrttemberg to enrich himself and the Jewish community.

After the Holocaust and World War II, many filmmakers and directors neglected to create politically charged media in order to avoid criticism. Only decades after the events of the Holocaust did Hollywood start to engage itself with the topic, but these works struggled to succeed as they faced harsh comments from Jewish and secular critics alike. These films, produced with truly the most sensitive and educational intentions, ended up perpetuating ethnic stereotypes for the same reasons. There was a gap between Hollywood's preconceived notions about their productions in regard to themes and the aspects that critics actually picked up on. Through my narrative discovery, background on the time period, summary and analysis of the film, and contemporary responses to the film I will explain how these stereotypes came about in film at the time and how people responded to them while also touching on the impact of the Holocaust on survivors. The Pawnbroker is a perfect example of a film that deals with both the lasting effect of Holocaust and the stereotyping of a multitude of characters (Dir Lumet 1964). Different audiences and critics focus on these two pieces, characterizing the film in accordance with its timestamp.