The annexation of cinematographic leisure
In September 1939, as soon as the evacuation order is given and with the beginning of the war stopped the screening in the “red” zone between the Maginot line and the German border. In the remaining three departments, general closure was initially decided upon but then cancelled, as the risk of fighting was still very limited.
The screening continued in Saverne or in Sélestat. Despite the context, German films continued to be projected. In spring 1940, following the German offensive, the closure of the cinemas was finally ordered. In Moselle, a prefectural decree on May 15th, 1940, put a stop to all performances, including cinemas.
The Wehrmacht’s troops entered Metz on June 14th, 1940, and made the Nazi flag float on the cathedral. A part of the population had run away in the countryside, but most of the population stayed and observed the situation apprehensively. It is clear, then, that the military authorities were keen to get everyday life back on track for the people of Metz as quickly as possible, as if this invasion were a “return to normal”.
Cinemas were no exception, and an initial official announcement stated that two cinemas were set to reopen on June 20, at 3.00 pm. Cinema screenings, just like bus routes and train timetables, were markers of everyday life. The sooner they are back in place, the stronger the sense of normality will become.
Photo 35 : Moselle Departmental Archives – Notice announcing the reopening of the Rex and Palace cinemas in Metz on June 20, 1940
Photo 36 : BNUS – Newspaper, Les Dernières Nouvelles de Strasbourg, 12/23/1939. For the Christmas weekend of 1939, the movie theater Parisien in Sélestat is showing a double program featuring The Tiger of Eschnapur (Der Tiger von Eschnapur, 1938) followed by The Indian Tomb (Das indische Grabmal, 1938), both directed by Richard Eichberg and starring the actress La Jana.
Photo 37 : Bibliothèques-Médiathèques de Metz, fonds De Busson – Serpenoise street with a Nazi flag hanging from it (1941).