Berlin, Germany. January 4, 1935.
Wikimedia Commons Director Leni Riefenstahl, the woman behind some of Nazi Germany's most successful propaganda films, films the Berlin Olympics.1936.
Wikimedia Commons Adolf Hitler and director Leni Riefenstahl wave to the crowd.Nuremberg, Germany. 1934.
Library of Congress The premiere of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will.Berlin, Germany. March 28, 1935.
Austrian Archives/Imagno/Getty Images Adolf Hitler hands Leni Riefenstahl a bouquet of flowers.Rumors abounded throughout Riefenstahl's life that she and Hitler were having an affair — or that, at the very least, Riefenstahl was in love with Hitler.
Berlin, Germany. 1934.
Wikimedia Commons A shot from Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, showing a massive Nazi rally.Nuremberg, Germany. 1935.
Breve Storia del Cinema/Flickr The weapons of the Third Reich — the cannon and the camera — working in unison.Location unspecified. January 21, 1941.
Wikimedia Commons Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels sits in a movie theater, eager to show off his ministry's latest film.Berlin, Germany. January 19, 1938.
Wikimedia Commons Nazi film star Marika Rökk shows off the piles of fan mail she gets every day.Germany. 1940.
Wikimedia Commons Director Leni Riefenstahl stands next to a large Nazi eagle at a stadium.Nuremberg, Germany. 1934.
Library of Congress Joseph Goebbels oversees the production of an Italian propaganda film being directed by Benito Mussolini's son Vittorio.Italy. 1938.
Breve Storia del Cinema/Flickr Leni Riefenstahl and her film crew gather into place to film Hitler speaking at a Nazi rally.Nuremberg, Germany. September 1934.
Wikimedia Commons Leni Riefenstahl, bent down at the front of a crowd of Nazi soldiers, directs her cameraman. One of the Nazi soldiers next to her, excited about being in the movies, snaps a photograph to send home to his parents.Warsaw, Poland. May 10, 1939.
Wikimedia Commons Leni Riefenstahl films a Nazi rally in Nuremberg with a long focus lens, using a technique she pioneered and that modern filmmakers still copy today.Nuremberg, Germany. 1934.
Library of Congress Director Karl Ritter films a tank battle scene for the movie The Traitors. Ritter's specialty was movies about the dangers of communism.Germany. 1936.
ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images Karl Ritter, still making films after the fall of the Nazi regime.Ritter took a brief break from the film industry when Nazi Germany fell, but went back at it in 1950, saying that he wanted to "restore the strength of the German cinema."
Germany. 1954.
Wikimedia Commons Leni Riefenstahl and her crew film a column of marching Nazi storm troopers.Nuremberg, Germany. September 1934.
Wikimedia Commons Leni Riefenstahl directs Heinrich Himmler, giving the director of the Holocaust his opportunity to be a star.Nuremberg, Germany. September 9, 1934.
Wikimedia Commons Joseph Goebbels speaks to Leni Riefenstahl about her plans for the movie Olympia.Goebbels had control over every part of Nazi cinema. He and his propaganda ministry monitored every idea, script, and casting choice for every film created in Nazi Germany.
Berlin, Germany. November 25, 1937.
Wikimedia Commons As the war carries on and the Germany army moves into enemy territory, the propaganda film crews move with them.Here, Hitler waves at a passing column of soldiers as part of a film made to celebrate the invasion of Poland.
Warsaw, Poland. April 2, 1940.
Wikimedia Commons A group of Polish Jews escape the death camps by agreeing to appear in the Nazi propaganda film Homecoming.The film was created to justify the invasion and extermination of the Polish people. These actors were forced to portray their nation as hateful, violent oppressors and help persuade German viewers that invading Poland was morally right.
Poland. 1941.
Wikimedia Commons An advertisement for The Eternal Jew, a propaganda exhibition of art and film commissioned by Goebbels to spread anti-Semitism and hatred across Germany.Munich, Germany. 1937.
Wikimedia Commons Star of the Nazi silver screen Zarah Leander is mobbed by fans at the premiere of a film.Hanover, Germany. Date unspecified.
Wikimedia Commons Joseph Goebbels talks to actress Lida Baarova. Behind the camera, Baarova was Goebbels' mistress.Hitler ordered Goebbels to call the affair off and banned Baarova from appearing in any more films. When her last film made it to the theaters, the crowd chanted, "Get out, minister's whore!" throughout the film. Baarova had a nervous breakdown and, unable to go on in Germany, risked her life to flee the country.
Germany. 1936.
ullstein bild via Getty Images Nazi film star Marika Rökk smiles for the camera with a gaggle of other actresses.Hungary. 1939.
Wikimedia Commons Heinz Rühmann behind the camera, directing a film.Rühmann was listed as an "indispensable" actor by the Nazis, who gave orders to cast him in every film possible.
Germany. 1942.
Wikimedia Commons TV cameras are set up to film the Olympic Games in Berlin.1936.
Wikimedia Commons Leni Riefenstahl, suspended up near a Nazi flag, films Hitler speaking.Germany. January 1, 1934.
Ur Cameras/Flickr Adolf Hitler speaks to a crowd as he stands on a carefully crafted set designed for a propaganda film.Nuremberg, Germany. 1934.
Wikimedia Commons
29 Photos Taken Behind The Cameras Of The Nazi Propaganda Machine View GalleryCinema was one of the most important pieces of the Nazi propaganda machine. It fostered hatred and helped lead the path toward war. It helped push the German people to believe in their own racial superiority and thus ultimately helped make atrocities like the Holocaust possible.
And yet, Nazi propaganda films still hold a strange place in history — because, politics completely aside, some of these films of hatred and evil were among the greatest purely technical achievements of their time.
Every film in Nazi Germany was controlled by the party and Reich Minister of Propaganda Joseph Goebbels. He believed that films were essential to controlling the people, and he wanted complete control over their messages.
The Nazi propaganda ministry weighed in on every movie script and casting choice, carefully crafting every moment of cinema in order to make sure that it fit the party's message.
Many, however, refused to be a part of the Nazi propaganda films machine. In fact, some of Germany’s greatest actors and filmmakers fled the country as soon as the Nazis took power, then headed to Hollywood or some other place where they wouldn’t be forced to push the Nazi agenda.
But many other actors and filmmakers stayed behind and became the new stars of the Nazi silver screen. These Nazi propaganda celebrities’ faces adorned magazine covers nationwide, and even around the world. Their mailboxes were full of fan letters from every country. They were stars unlike any Germany had ever seen — not just among their own people, but all around the world.
Furthermore, on a strictly technical level, some Nazi propaganda films were legitimate works of art. Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will, a film created solely to celebrate Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, has been celebrated as one of the greatest works of cinematography of its time and is still cited as an influence by filmmakers from George Lucas to Peter Jackson.
And yet the film was undeniably created to glorify one of history’s most reviled figures and to give him the power to commit terrible atrocities — as were other films with even darker messages and titles, like The Eternal Jew, a film created at Goebbels' request solely to spread anti-Semitism.
It is, of course, troubling that filmmakers with such talent would use it for such evil purposes. Most of these filmmakers and actors claim, though, that they were simply like so many other Germans – swept up in the Nazis' ascent.
“I am one of millions who thought Hitler had all the answers,” Leni Riefenstahl has said. “We saw only the good things. We didn't know bad things were to come.”
After this look at Nazi propaganda films, check out these photos of everyday life in Nazi Germany, Then, see what life was like inside the Hitler Youth.
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