German cinema under Nazism: a propaganda and entertainment tool
From Weimar to Hitler: Spotlight on German cinema
In its early years (≈1895-1900), cinema in Germany is mainly a fairground thing, as in other countries where it is emerging. It developed slowly at the beginning of the 20th century but remained less organised from an industrial perspective than French or Italian cinema. The outbreak of the First World War marked a turning point. Governments realized that cinema could be a useful propaganda tool to influence the public. Germany fell behind other nations, and its propaganda efforts were therefore far less effective than those of the French or the Americans.
In 1917, it was decided to set up a major company to carry out these tasks: Universum Film AG (U.F.A). Created by members of the military, industrialists and politicians, its primary aim was to support the war effort. After the war, it became a major player in the German film industry, producing films and later newsreels, and developing a network of modern movie theaters, known as “palaces of cinema”, such as the legendary Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berlin (with over 2,000 seats). At the same time, German cinema saw the emergence of one of the most significant cinematic movements in the history of cinema: Expressionism.
The horrors of war, and the trauma associated with them, had a significant influence on artistic representations. The Expressionists created works that conveyed a dark, strange and sometimes disturbing vision of the world. Expressionism made its mark on cinema with Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The sets were highly stylized, and the lighting was high-contrast, creating oppressive atmospheres. Although few in number, these Expressionist films brought German cinema international recognition and left a lasting mark on the history of cinema.
Photo 1 :National Archives of Netherlands – Night view of the movie theater Ufa Palast am Zoo from the metro station Zoologische Garten in Berlin.
Photo 2 : Archives cinématographiques de l’est – Drawing of a movie theater in 1896 in Germany at the beginning of the sound film. Drawing from the book Vom werden deutscher filmkunst : Der Tonfilm by Oskar Kalbus.
Photo 3 : National Archives of Netherlands / Spaarnestad Photo – The movie studios of U.F.A in 1928. The sets from Fritz Lang’s films can be seen: the Nibelungen Castle (1924) on the right, and the buildings from Metropolis (1926) at the bottom.