The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife

by Rentschler

German cinema of the Third Reich, even a half-century after Hitler's demise, still provokes extreme reactions. "Never before and in no other country," observes director Wim Wenders, "have images and language been abused so unscrupulously as here, never before and nowhere else have they been debased so deeply as vehicles to transmit lies." More than a thousand German feature films that premiered during the reign of National Socialism survive as mementoes of what many regard as film history's darkest hour.

As Eric Rentschler argues, however, cinema in the Third Reich emanated from a Ministry of Illusion and not from a Ministry of Fear. Party vehicles such as Hitler Youth Quex and anti-Semitic hate films such as Jew Süss may warrant the epithet "Nazi propaganda," but they amount to a mere fraction of the productions from this era. The vast majority of the epoch's films seemed to be "unpolitical"--melodramas, biopix, and frothy entertainments set in cozy urbane surroundings, places where one rarely sees a swastika or hears a "Sieg Heil."

Minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels, Rentschler shows, endeavored to maximize film's seductive potential, to cloak party priorities in alluring cinematic shapes. Hitler and Goebbels were master showmen enamored of their media images, the Third Reich was a grand production, the Second World War a continuing movie of the week. The Nazis were movie mad, and the Third Reich was movie made. Rentschler's analysis of the sophisticated media culture of this period demonstrates in an unprecedented way the potent and destructive powers of fascination and fantasy. Nazi feature films--both as entities that unreeled in moviehouses during the regime and as productions that continue to enjoy wide attention today--show that entertainment is often much more than innocent pleasure.

Genres: History, Film, Nonfiction

477 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Nat · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is basically the book on Nazi cinema, and it provides an excellent survey of a variety of films, ranging from straight propaganda to bizarre fantasy. More importantly, it gives readers a set of tools for understanding how Nazi ideology works within films that aren't overt propaganda.

A few of Rentschler's bigger/broader claims:

1) "It is common to reduce all Nazi films to hate pamphlets, party hagiography, or mindless escapism....In the process, the reliance of the era's cinema on classical Hollywood conventions goes unnoticed, as does the recourse of so many productions and so much of Nazi film culture to American techniques and popular genres" (p. 23).

2) "Only a minority of Nazi features displayed what one might speak of as overt propaganda....Ideology more often than not came sugar-coated, in gripping, engaging, and pleasant packages of entertainment which coexisted with other emanations of everyday culture" (p. 217).

The big takeaway:
3) "Despite the postwar claims of filmmakers and revisionist critics, one finds very few examples of open resistance to the party and state in films of this era....Nonetheless, not all meaning could be controlled and various films lent themselves to alternative appropriations. To a large degree, such responses did not really run counter to official designs. Goebbels and his coworkers allowed films on occasion to transgress borders, exploring seemingly resistant potential and apparent exceptions to the rule, even subversive contents and oppositional positions, all the better to discipline distraction" (p. 218).

Bref: some Nazi films are lighthearted, removed entirely from the context of WWII Germany, apparently apolitical, even fun to watch...but even these films, and in fact especially these films, delivered Nazi ideology to viewers. Be careful out there.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read from the Introduction through Chapter 6 of "The Ministry of Illusion," and it's a useful book on film history. Trying to read it for leisure when the world itself is getting more fascist was a poor life choice, however, which is why I didn't read it to completion.

[Ann Repetto · Rating 2 out of 5]

skimmed

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably would have like a more conventional book - there
was not much mention of Willy Fritsch, reportedly Hitler's
favourite actor, only a footnote about Renate Muller whose
movies were constantly the highest grossing movies of the year
or why an actress like Paula Wessley whole heartedly embraced
the Nazi ideology. But it was still excellently done with each
chapter devoted to one movie that seemed to encapsulate it's
time.
Chapter One - "The Blue Light" (1932), of course directed by
Leni Riefenstahl and by the last re-editing in 1951 she had
erased all the Jewish names who had had a prominent role
(Henrich Sokal, Carl Mayer etc) in the initially released movie.
Chapter Two - "Hitler Youth Quex" (1933) - perhaps the most
controversial film ever made. In Hitler's newly formed
government movies were initially seen as bringing the public
around to the Nazi ideology and what better way than to make
a movie glorifying a young boy who, in 1930, had been killed
while handing out Nazi pamphlets in the Communist part of the
city. The film was blatant propaganda but one of the stars,
Heinrich George, had been a Communist but was swayed around
to the National Socialist way of thinking.
Chapter 3 - dealt with Luis Trenker's "The Prodigal Son" (1934)
and showed how Trenker, through charisma and vitality, could
have a foot in both camps. There was a lot of controversy, after
the war, whether he was an opportunist or a genuine artist.
According to the book the question has yet to be answered.
Chapter 4 examines "Lucky Kids" (1934) with Willie Fritsch and
Lillian Harvey, a screen team of the early German musicals. It
was one of the first Nazi films to try to embrace and copy the
American style of cinema. Apparently Hitler loved "It Happened
One Night" and was eager for Germany to have it's own "screwball
comedy" style. It also explained in a way why all Europe was
embracing American characters, talk, even occupations. Even
"Gangway" (1937) a Jessie Matthew film, introduced gangsters,
reporters and prize fights.
Chapter 5 - "La Habanera" (1937) - proved how a director (Douglas
Sirk) who was very soon to leave for America and Germany's most
popular star, Zarah Leander (who was disliked by Hitler) could
come together and make one of the most critically acclaimed films
of the year.
Chapter 6 is about the most hated and reviled movie of all time
- "Jew Suss" (1940).
Chapter 7 - "Paracelcus" (1943) was a resounding flop but the
chapter is more about G.W. Pabst and why he returned to Germany
when the politics of the National Socialists was so hateful to
him. The book ends with the film "Munchausen" (1943), a glorious
colour triumph and poses the question - how a film made to celebrate
UFA's 25th anniversary and with an open cheque book could
have been handed to a cast of workers who were definitely not
party followers (Erich Kastner, the scenarist and author of
"Emil and the Detectives" had been forbidden to publish in
Germany for many years) and all were involved in making Germany's
biggest hit at the box office.
There is also 90 pages of notes which I read adjacent to the book
and together they fill you in on just what was going on in
German fan magazines etc (one bizarre article had a fan magazine
taking the German public to task for writing to their favourite
stars for autographs etc, when they knew the stars were kept busy
writing to soldiers!!!). On top of that there is a year by year
summary of all the films released, which were banned by the
Nazis and also which were then banned by the Allies.
Rivetting reading.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting!