How the Nazis are Portrayed in Films
Uploaded by Svejk on Apr 11, 2006
The Nazi Party has been filmed and chronicled since its creation and since the defeat of fascism in the Second World War; the Nazis have been portrayed in many different films and remain today a subject of criticism. The Nazis instigated a program of genocide against the Jews, Slavs and many other groups such as gypsies and homosexuals as well as removing, imprisoning and executing German opposition to their policies. Since the defeat of the Nazis, Western cinema, upholding the rights of the individual and freedom of speech, has used Nazism as its adversary.
The following four scenes from films all show the Nazis in a different way:
ÒTRIUMPH DES WILLENSÓ - This monochrome film was made for the Nuremburg rally in 1934, while the Nazis were in power. It is a German film directed by the very talented Leni Riefenstahl. It glorifies Hitler, the new Germany and the Nazi policies by use of symbolism and imagery, cinematography, association and propaganda so as to convince the German public that Adolf Hitler was worthy of their leadership. It does this by only showing the happy people in the crowd and the well-disciplined Wehrmacht but not the groups of people deemed to be in opposition with Hitler and the Nazi Party. When this film came out, five years before the war, Germany and Britain were on fairly peaceful terms. In fact, in the film you can see the representatives from Britain sitting watching Hitler inspire his people. Some people in Britain at this time liked Hitler and thought that some of his policies had a point to them.
The filmÕs title refers to the German philosopher Nietzsche and his book called ÔThe Will to PowerÕ, which explains that living things are not just driven by the need to stay alive, but by the need to use power, to dominate others, and to make them weaker. This subtle information reveals much about HitlerÕs goals for the German ÔVolkÕ.
The film starts with a few words introducing the film. It begins ÒOn September 5th 1934, 20 years after the outbreak of the World War, 16 years after the beginning of our suffering, 19 months after the beginning of the German renaissance, Adolf Hitler flew again to Nuremberg to review the columns of his faithful followersÓ. This introduction explains a great deal about HitlerÕs views. The third sentence Ò16 yearsÉÓ (talking about the Treaty of Versailles in...