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Leni Riefenstahl was one of the few high-profile women in the NAZI era. She died in 2003 at age 101. She was undoubtedly an outstanding filmmaker. Her film "Olympia" about the Olympic Games in Berlin 1936 is one of the best sports films ever made. Also her propaganda films like "Der Marsch zum Führer" were the best in this field. Of course she will be ever linked with Hitler and the NAZIs. A Dutch reader writes, "I think that she should have gotten an Oscar for her work. They did mention her name in 2004 at the Oscar awards ceremony together with other people in the movies who had passed away. But that was as far as Hollywood wanted to go in recognition of her achievements. I have seen "Der Marsch zum Führer". I had the impression that it was made before WWII, perhaps in 1937-38? I agree with your commentary." Here our reader raises some interesting issues. How do you evaluate a brilliant film maker (or for that matter artist, writer, scientist, and others, and for that matter military commanders) who promoted an evil system? While it is true that there was no directly blood on her hands, it is also true that she help legitmize and strengthen perhaps the most evil regime in modetn history. Is it really possible to totally separate an individual's talents from how that person utilized those talents? Her best known propaganda film was "Triumph des Willens/Triumph of the Will" (1934). She also made "Der Marsch zum Führer" when much more was known about the NAZIs. I am not sure just what she knew and when, but my understanding is that she never rejected Hitler and the NAZIs. This requires further research. Another important issue raised is an element of the NAZI era that is not poorly understood. Many of the Hitler Youth boys were extremely idealistic. They were a better Germany and a better world. These were for the most part not boys who dreamed of killing Jews ans Slavs. It was Hitler and the NAZIs who took their idealism and used it for evil purposes. Riefenstahl's films brilliantly captures their commitment to Germany anf the Führer. The great tragedy is that the boys did not know at the time how their commitment and devotion would be used.
Leni Riefenstahl was one of the few high-profile women in the NAZI era. The Nazis did not approve of women in public affairs, seeing their role primarily with the children, kitchen, and church, as the Germans said--"Kinder, Küche, Kirche". Of course this was a general view in Europe and America at the time. It was especially stringly felt by the NAZIs. The trend line in the 1930s was a slowly evolving expanded role for women. The NAZIs attempted to reverse this role. One step they took was to cut back on university places for women. The NAZIs aversion to women working is one of the reason during the war they turned to slave labor from occupied countries. Of course the NAZIs did not approve of the church (Kirche) either. Leni Riefenstahl was an exception. Another was Hanna Reitsch. Beyond these two women, it is difficult to think of an important woman in the NAZI regime. Reitsch was a noted aviator who tried to cretate a Luftwaffe suiside unit. She flew the last plane out of Berlin (May 1945). She tried to rescue her beloved Führer from his bunker. Interestingly two well-known women in the Third Reich were British-born: Lillian Harvey, a popular movie star, who appeared in lots of song and dance films, and Winifred (Williams) Wagnerwho married Richard Wagner's son Siegfried. She became an ardent NAZI and presided over the Bayreuth Festspiele with Hitler as a welcome visitor. The famous Elisabeth Schwarzkopf started her career there during the War. Another famous German woman was the artist Kàthe Kollwitz who made paintings, etchings and drawings of her favorite subjects: poor mothers and children. Her work ended up on Hitler's list of degenerated art and Kollwitz died in the winter of 1945 while fleeing for the Russians.
She was quite a daredevil.
She was undoubtedly an outstanding filmmaker. Her film "Olympia" about the Olympic Games in Berlin 1936 is one of the best sports films ever made. Also her propaganda films like "Der Marsch zum Führer" were the best in this field. Of course she will be ever linked with Hitler and the NAZIs. A Dutch reader writes, "I think that she should have gotten an Oscar for her work. They did mention her name in 2004 at the Oscar awards ceremony together with other people in the movies who had passed away. But that was as far as Hollywood wanted to go in recognition of her achievements. I have seen "Der Marsch zum Führer". I had the impression that it was made before WWII, perhaps in 1937-38? I agree with your commentary."
Here our reader raises some interesting issues. How do you evaluate a brilliant film maker (or for that matter artist, writer, scientist, and others, and for that matter military commanders) who promoted an evil system? While it is true that there was no directly blood on her hands, it is also true that she help legitmize and strengthen perhaps the most evil regime in modetn history. Is it really possible to totally separate an individual's talents from how that person utilized those talents? Her best known propaganda film was "Triumph des Willens/Triumph of the Will" (1934). She also made "Der Marsch zum Führer" when much more was known about the NAZIs. I am not sure just what she knew and when. Our reader writes, "As far as artists, writers, actors, etc. are concerned who promoted an evil system ("the most evil system in
history" as you write) , the NAZI regime did not look so evil in the beginning, although everybody should have been alerted when right away in 1933 Dachau and other concentration camps were opened and Jews were fired from their jobs, even university professors. But it became sort of fashionable for a lot of people to visit Hitler, like the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Charles Lindbergh, and several other dignitaries. At that time something
like Auschwitz was unthinkable. To be a member of the Hitler Jugend or the NSDAP was not despicable. Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands joined the NAZI Party before he married Princess Juliana, Pope Benedict XVI was a member of the HJ, so were countless other decent Germans. Many turned against the regime when it got more and more intolerant, others just looked the other way, and were later called "Mitläufer" ("going alongs") during the denazification after World War II." It is true that many people were either fooled by the NAZIs or (like Lindburg) were not particularly offended by the anti-Semitism. The reason we bring up Riefenstahl is not only that she tolerated them, but she used her considerable talents to avtively promote the regime. We do not maitain that Hitler Youth boys were resonsible for the NAZI attrocities. Our pont is that the people who managed and legitimized the HJ carry responsibility for what those boys did when they entered military service in the name of Germany. It is true that when "Triumph des Willens" (1934) was made, it was very early in the NAZI era. This is not true for "Der Marsch zum Führer" (1940). In viewing the two films, I can't see that her point of view had changed one iota.
It was kind of amazing that in the German entertainment industry things did not change that much after the NAZI take over. Of course, Jews were dismissed, but it was a fact that the UFA attracted a lot of foreign actors, who played in German movies all through the war until the collapse of the Third Reich. Stars like Swedish Zarah Leander, Hungarian
Marika Rökk, Chilean Rosita Serrano, Russian Olga Tschechowa (Goebbels' favorite) and Dutchman Johannes Heesters, (who is now 100 years old and still performing in movies and tv) were very popular with German moviegoers. So was the opera singer Maria Cebotari from Romania.
Another important issue raised is an element of the NAZI era that is not poorly understood. Many of the Hitler Youth boys were extremely idealistic. They were a better Germany and a better world. These were for the most part not boys who dreamed of killing Jews ans Slavs. It was Hitler and the NAZIs who took their idealism and used it for evil purposes. Riefenstahl's films brilliantly captures their commitment to Germany anf the Führer. The great tragedy is that the boys did not know at the time how their commitment and devotion would be used.
My understanding is that she never rejected Hitler and the NAZIs. This requires further research. She apparently lobbied Hilter in order to protect some of her Jewish friends. Before the NAZI takeover, many Jews had prominent roles in the German film industry. I think they were able to leave Germany with her help.
Leni pretended later that she had no idea that there was any discrimenation against the
Jews and other people who opposed the regime or simply were declared enemies of the Reich. Of course, nobody believed her. She died in 2003 at age 101.
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