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Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.G3 L3813 1974
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.G3 L3813 1974
Call#: Van Pelt Library PN1993.5.G3 L3813 1974
This chapter explains the role of propaganda, specifically Joseph Goebbels' administration of it; Goebbels was minister of propaganda. Hitler defined the primary goal of propaganda as educating the masses on “the essence and function of the State” (Leiser 11). Hitler wanted film’s only purpose to be propaganda, but Goebbels disagreed, using subtler methods of propaganda. Goebbels was moved by film. He specifically admired Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. Goebbels made his films non-political so that audiences would not suspect political motives, but in reality every film was embedded with political propaganda. Goebbels preferred “people…to be manipulated without being shown the direction in which they were being led” (Leiser 12). This method of manipulation was thought to be more effective. He used different storylines to indirectly parallel it to the Nazi agenda. Goebbels was an ever-present force in film. He influenced basically every film made in Nazi Germany. His great influence was often resented by directors such as Viet Harlan. In general, Nazi films reaffirmed stereotypes and morals deemed important to the Nazis. These morals were enough for some “non-political” films to be passable by Goebbels as a form of propaganda since they were promoting a unified culture approved by the Nazi Party.
Goebbels recognized the effectiveness of film as a tool for propaganda and manipulation. He realized that film was necesary in keeping Germany unified culturally and politically. He was ultimately the man behind the whole propaganda campaign, meaning the he can be credited for all its successes as well as all its downfalls. This means that Goebbels can be blamed for the wasteful film productions at the end of the war. Kolberg is one of the feature films produced at the end of the war that did not have an overt political message and served no purpose because it could not inspire the German citizens to win the war when they were two months away from defeat. Ultimately, as minister of propaganda and being entrusted with so much power Goebbels becam too absorbed in film production and did not think rationally about the purpose of each film produced. The chapter describes how Goebbels had a fascination with film. Goebbels cites several films that "made an 'indelible impression' on him" (Leiser 10). This passion for film may have clouded Goebbels' jugement in the determination of the importance of film production at the end of the war; this film production conflicted with the war effort.
tagged adolph_hitler cine_101 film film_history germany joseph_goebbels nazi_cinema propaganda by lcuzz ...on 02-DEC-08
Call#: Ctr for Adv Judaic Studies Lib, 4th & Walnut Sts. CJS PN1993.5.G3 K7 1942
Kracauer, Siegfried. From Caligari to Hitler, a psychological history of the German Film. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1947.
“Nazi Views And Measures”
All films in Nazi Germany were propaganda films. Newsreels and features were the two forms of propaganda. Newsreels were a means of propaganda not information. The purpose of newsreels was to give the German people skewed world views. The production of newsreels greatly increased at the onset of WWII. While newsreels portrayed falsified messages, the scenes shown were never faked—they were always actual footage taken on site. This element made these propaganda newsreels more believable. The Nazis prided themselves on the fact that the cameramen for newsreels were like “regular soldiers, doing a soldier’s full duty, always in the first lines…” (Kracauer 276). The deaths of these cameramen and reporters at the front lines were emphasized to the public to reiterate the fact that the reporters were, indeed, amongst the soldiers on the war front. These newsreels were considerably long, so that the propaganda techniques could be repeated for increased effectiveness. While newsreels were long, unlike feature films, newsreels were produced rapidly so that the information was timely and viewed as actual news.
While in my thesis I use the broad term film, I only consider the term to describe feature films. This chapter highlights the importance of the newsreel. The newsreel is a form of film propaganda that I really should not have ignored. Because of the newsreel’s entirely different nature, its inclusion would have given my thesis more depth. The newsreel did not have the same production costs or length of time needed for production because all the footage is filmed live at the scene. Considering these facts, newsreels as film propaganda were much more cost effective than feature films. While newsreels directly told Germans what to believe, newsreels still were subtle forms of propaganda because they were being portrayed in documentary style as fact. In my thesis I argued that film was overvalued by the Nazis at times because of its great cost when resources were needed badly for the war effort. Newsreels, though, would have served as a good compromise. Still, though, when the situation with the war became very dire, resources should never have been diverted from the war effort.
tagged book cine_101 film germany nazi nazi_cinema newsreels propaganda war wwii by lcuzz ...on 02-DEC-08
