Popular Cinema of the Third Reich

by Sabine Hake

Too often dismissed as escapist entertainment or vilified as mass manipulation, popular cinema in the Third Reich was in fact sustained by well-established generic conventions, cultural traditions, aesthetic sensibilities, social practices, and a highly developed star system—not unlike its Hollywood counterpart in the 1930s. This pathfinding study contributes to the ongoing reassessment of Third Reich cinema by examining it as a social, cultural, economic, and political practice that often conflicted with, contradicted, and compromised the intentions of the Propaganda Ministry. Nevertheless, by providing the illusion of a public sphere presumably free of politics, popular cinema helped to sustain the Nazi regime, especially during the war years. Rather than examining Third Reich cinema through overdetermined categories such as propaganda, ideology, or fascist aesthetics, Sabine Hake concentrates on the constituent elements shared by most popular famous stars, directors, and studios; movie audiences and exhibition practices; popular genres and new trends in set design; the reception of foreign films; the role of film criticism; and the representation of women. She pays special attention to the forced coordination of the industry in 1933, the changing demands on cinema during the war years, and the various ways of coming to terms with these filmic legacies after the war. Throughout, Hake's findings underscore the continuities among Weimar, Third Reich, and post-1945 West German cinema. They also emphasize the codevelopment of German and other national cinemas, especially the dominant Hollywood model.

Genres: Film

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2002

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the second-to-last page (229) of this book, the author says “my primary goal in this chapter had been to make a rather obvious but also somewhat more complicated point.” This actually sums up the whole book pretty well, although more than one point has been made. At the beginning of the book, Hake argues that previous scholarship on Nazi film has been dismissive of the more popular works, because of their lack of aesthetic value, their emphasis on melodrama, and their tendency towards escapism. Her book then proceeds to confirm all of these “rather obvious” points, but also succeeds in complicating them through closer examination.

Hake approaches her subject through the lens of contemporary film theory, taking Nazi-era cinema seriously but critically as other national cinemas of other periods have been. Those not familiar with current trends in cultural history and film theory may find some of her approaches obscure or unappetizing – feminism, Freud, and Marx are strongly represented here. However, these methodologies are used skillfully to present a detailed analysis of several case studies from the period, and to draw broader conclusions about the industry itself. The chapters are thematic, and arranged in roughly chronological order. I found the most interesting to be those on the study of film audiences, the annexation of the Austrian cinema and the myth of Vienna, and the representation of working women within the wartime cinema.

Because of the date of publication, it was impossible for Hake to take into account Dagmar Herzog’s analyses of sexuality and gender from Sex after Fascism: Memory and Morality in Twentieth-Century Germany (only a few of Herzog’s essays were available at the time, and she was not widely known). I’d really love to see a panel where the two of them discuss representations of women in the Third Reich. More generally, however, Hake seems to be somewhat uninformed about current political and historical theories about fascism and their representation within culture, which is too bad. For example, there are two interesting side-mentions of decadence as a trope which are not followed up by references to Roger Griffin or the “new consensus” on fascist meanings.

In all, this book is a very interesting contribution to scholarship, but probably of value primarily to serious film theorists and cultural historians. Its theoretical approach is strong, but likely to be off-putting to beginners to the topic of Third Reich culture, and perhaps less valuable to more traditional historians as well. I didn’t recognize very many of the films referenced, which was mostly a good thing to me, because now I have a list to work from for future viewing, but people hoping for analyses of familiar subjects will likely be disappointed. One other minor point, probably of interest only to me, was the very brief and un-helpful index, which only lists titles and names, and doesn’t even give references to names mentioned in the endnotes. I would hope that, if a second edition were ever produced, this flaw would be corrected.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hake's book is a challenging one for the neophyte reader on the subject, whether it be from the film history and theory angle, or from the perspective of cinema in the Third Reich. I would like to think that I have some insights into both areas, however for much of 'Popular Cinema of the Third Reich' Hake's prose and academic arguments were too dense for me to understand. That may be more my 'fault' as the reader rather than the author's mistake as a writer. However I am sure that if this book had been written with more accessible language it would've been far more engaging.

Putting aside my own difficulties in understanding many aspects of the book's theoretical and critical arguments, there are still several points of merit that should be highlighted. That Hake has compiled a very rigorously researched book on Nazi popular cinema with a logical structure and an emphasis on an area of Third Reich film which has perhaps been undervalued is to be commended. Nazi cinema is often spoken of in terms of the more overt propaganda films, such as 'The Eternal Jew', 'The Jew Suss' and of course the works of Leni Riefenstahl. Whilst these were important examples of how German cinema was influenced or underpinned by Nazi ideology during the Third Reich, there were a significant number of lighter genres movies that are perhaps less easy to decode. Hake does a good job in highlighting these 'forgotten' films.

The application of case studies as a structure to produce a critical and theoretical understanding of Nazi cinema is also of value, though some of the studies are less effective than others. I was particularly taken by the account of German-American film relations with its detailed approach to how Hollywood film culture interacted with Germany and vice-versa. The study of notable German actor Heinz Rühmann was also worthy of attention as was the chapter on how working women were represented in Nazi film. The study of Austrian/Viennese films was one that added breadth and complexity to Hake's text, with its discussion of how these movies were integrated in or alien to the greater Third Reich cinema culture.

Where Hake was on her best footing was, in my opinion, where she applied her theoretical and critical arguments to specific films and those movies' constructs. The author's more obtuse criticisms are given the necessary illumination when she speaks to how a specific film informs the theory or illustrates contemporary German thought. Of course it would be better if these movies were readily accessible with English subtitles so one can refer to them outside the reading of this text. However that is not a major problem.

In summary 'Popular Cinema of the Third Reich' by Sabine Hake is a very worthy academic text on a subject that will be of interest to film theorists, historians, or anyone who wishes to understand Nazi popular culture. The complexity of the academic theories and by association Hake's language will restrict this book's audience. I would not recommend it to anyone bar those who have sufficient background in one or both of the areas that Hake has focused her case studies on.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the first couple essays. The next essay that came up I actually could obtain a copy of one of the films referenced (Viktor and Vikoria), which derailed my progress.

The writing style is a bit academic and dense, which makes it a harder sell as a leisure read than research piece.