Nazi Propaganda Film

Hitler was an avid fan of films, supporting production of many films. Hitler used films effectively to disseminate Nazi propaganda. “Fascism used its mass arenas as stage-props to construct a new kind of hyper-reality for the movies that left the masses unable to distinguish between reality and representation, between truth and propaganda”. One of the most famous films during this time, “Triumph of the Will,” produced in 1935 by Leni Riefensthal, is both aesthetically and technologically outstanding. The film portrays Germany

The investigation assesses the Nazi regime from 1933 – 1945 in regards to the totality of their actions. In order to evaluate the Nazi regime on whether or not they were more evil than other genocidal regimes, the investigation evaluates how the Nazis controlled their country. The investigation will start in the early years of the Nazi regime in how they set up their totalitarian government and how they expanded their control. Then the Holocaust will be looked at for how the Nazis treated those they were exterminating. Accounts from soldiers and Jewish people who lived through the Nazi control will be mostly used to evaluate if the Nazis were more evil than other genocidal regimes. Two of the sources used in this essay, “The Liberation of Dachau” by Chuck Ferree, and “Fate did not let me go” a letter by Valli Ollendorff are then evaluated for their origins, purposes, values and limitations.

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.

After World War I occurred, many Germans were still upset. Germany was burdened with many war reparations that they couldn’t pay. Many of these upset Germans helped to form the Nazi party- or the National Socialist German Worker’s Party (“Nazi”). They called for strong militarism, nationalism, and wanted to expand Germany’s

Propaganda through advertisements was very effective. Propaganda was shown in multiple films to make sure the ideas of Nazi's would stick in society's minds

Throughout the Holocaust hate and intolerance seemed like the only themes seen in the world. This period of time is often thought of by adults and youth alike as the time when the Germans persecuted the Jews. Assumptions are made that the Germans were cruel and evil, but, sometimes people need to peer through set stereotypes and find the truth. In fact, in the evidence below obtained from fictional film, non-fictional film, children’s literature and literature, there is a clear theme shown that hate and intolerance wedged their way into every person’s own situation during the Holocaust.

He urged the people, “go into your churches, kneel before God, and implore his help for our brave army.”(25) This moment hinted at a more independent minded approach to traditional authority. When coupled together, the emotions of the crowds and the ability of groups like the Fatherland Party to find a footing in the political arena, gives reason to believe that the German people were ready to make a change that served their newfound interests. Fritzche explicitly makes this point, “the patriotism that Germans displayed was of their own making and suited to new conceptions of nation and citizenship which invited rather than discouraged public participation.” (66) At the conclusion of the war, millions of people were at a loss, and the Nazis stepped in to fill a void left by their opposition who had stoked the flames of nationalism but failed to capitalize on its apparent momentum. This included a strong message that laid blame for the German surrender at the feet of those in charge. Also, previous notions of class were turned upside down or, for the Nazis, right side up, making it possible for an illiberal, fascist community to become the norm. Simply put, “Basic elements of the Nazi message spoke to the political aspirations that burghers had held for more than ten years.” (192) Germans became Nazis by their own choosing, they were not forced to

The rise and subsequent take-over of power in Germany by Hitler and the Nazi Party in the early 1930s was the culmination and continuation not of Enlightenment thought from the 18th and 19th century but the logical conclusion of unstable and cultural conditions that pre-existed in Germany. Hitler’s Nazi Party’s clear manipulation of the weak state of the Weimar Republic through its continued failure economically and socially, plus its undermining of popular support through the signing the Treaty of Versailles all lead to the creation of a Nazi dictatorship under the cult of personality of Hitler. This clear take-over of power and subsequent destruction of any

German cinema was greatly affected during the Nazi movement between 1933 and 1945. Once appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 Hitler wasted no time and almost immediately began working on his propaganda strategy. Typically “propaganda targets a mass audience and relies on mass media to persuade. Propaganda is aimed at large numbers of people and, as such, relies on mass communication to reach its audience” (Gass, 14). The Nazi party used film propaganda to brainwash the German people, distract them from the harsh reality of the Nazi party, and attempt to intimidate the enemy. Hitler knew propaganda entailed mass persuasion and he knew just how to get his message out there; film. It was through the use of

While I knew how to show fascist symbols through film media, I knew that I wanted my screenplay to be more like anti-fascist propaganda, so I realized that it wouldn’t make sense to use Riefenstahl’s techniques alone, so I did more research. I found a Disney short film, Education for Death, which was an American propaganda film shown in theaters throughout the United States during World War II. After the release of the Disney cartoon, Fantasia, Disney was going bankrupt because of how terribly it did in

Big, bold, audacious. Inglorious Basterds will startle or annoy some while also accentuating that Tarantino’s a brilliant director of quixotic films. While this war adventure may bore some, it is filled with many of Tarnatinos’ wondrous film making skills. Set in a fictitious WWII in German occupied France, Aldo Raines (Brad Pitt) and “The Basterds” are on a mission to take out Nazis. Meanwhile, Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) is running a cinema and is approached to premiere a propaganda film. Her vengeful plans coincide with “The Basterds” plan and fates align in an attempt to exterminate the Nazis gathered at the cinema. Jew-hunter Cl. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) also throws his hand into the bowl to stir the mixture, creating a wonderful final product.

Therefore, this film is not only a testimony about the German past but also the German present. It displays the irrational annihilation of six young Germans at the end of WWII, summoning up a very agonizing recollection of Nazi Germany’s futile effort to turn back the Allied invasion by hurling teenage boys into the

‘Triumph of the will’ is a film of the 1934 Nazi Rally at Nuremburg. It was directed by Leni Riefenstahl and funded by the Nazi party. The question of whether Triumph of the Will was created for the purpose of Nazi propaganda or simply as a documentary has provoked historical debate. There is no doubt that the film was used as propaganda, as when the Nazi’s annexed Austria, triumph of the will was streamed in every cinema to convert the disillusioned Austrians into practising Nazis. However, historians have questioned the intentions of the film’s creator. Leni Riefenstahl was found to be a Nazi Sympathiser by the French in 1950, but, her reluctance to accept that the film was created as propaganda has triggered a debate among historians

Riefenstahl completely succeeds in showing the soldiers as healthy young lads, keen to work but also to have fun. The piece looks inherently fake and we see clearly Hitler’s image of the perfect human being. The soldiers are all fit and good looking, they shoot water at each other, play games and fight. It’s obvious Hitler wants the audience to see Germanys perfect youth - charismatic, fit and eager to prove themselves. The piece is particularly interesting I think when observed now. After the atrocities the nazi party committed it’s simply bizarre seeing the soldiers portrayed like this. None of the boys seem like soldiers and the whole scene makes it seem like they are instead at a Summer camp. Hitler appears to the soldiers and gives another impressive speech. It’s made clear here that Hitler visits his troops regularly, his troops love him and he is able to inspire them like no other person can. These people are happy to die for him and their country and Hitler wants them admired across the

• -For the emptiness of racial separation and labeling, I feel like he is explaining the quality of missing meaning or honesty in the different race. He was dividing the races