Who used to go to movie theaters?
In Alsace and Moselle, movie theaters weren’t frequented by one uniform type of audience.
- Alsatians and Mosellans
Of course, the local population continued to go to the movie theater. But the composition of the population in the three departments was itself profoundly altered by the annexation: some of the evacuated residents didn’t return, and more than 100,000 people from the Moselle and 45,000 from Alsace, deemed ‘undesirable’, were expelled in the first few months following the annexation.
- German settlers
Thousands of German settlers moved into the annexed territories, particularly in the major cities, where they took up posts as civil servants, amongst other roles. The 1941 census in Alsace recorded 51,750 Reichsdeutsche. In 1943, when the cinema industry was at its peak, official statistics recorded 52,687 Reichsdeutsche in Moselle.
- Wehrmacht soldiers
Particularly numerous in certain garrison towns such as Metz, their presence was especially noticeable in movie theaters. Soldiers were able to attend the same screenings as civilian audiences at a reduced rate. In 1943, Wehrmacht soldiers are said to have accounted for 40% of tickets sold in Metz.
- The case of young people
Not all films were suitable for minors. Looking at the programs in Metz and Strasbourg, we can see that around 60% of films were restricted to those aged 18 and over, 20% to those aged 14 and over, and therefore 20% were suitable for all ages. These proportions vary depending on the city, the movie theater and the time of year. Frequent checks were carried out to prevent young people from accessing films that might offend their sensibilities or undermine their morals. In practice, however, teenagers often get round the rules by choosing movie theaters where checks were less stringent or by dressing in an adult style. In addition, numerous screenings of Märchenfilme (fairy-tale films) are organised for young audiences. Screenings were also organised in schools and within the party’s youth organisations.
Photo 54 : Archives départementales de Moselle – NSZ Westmark of 04/04/1941. Announcement of this week’s cinema listings in Metz. The announcements always specify whether the film is suitable for young people (Jugendliche zugelassen) or not (Jugendliche nicht zugelassen).
Photo 55 : Archives municipales de Thionville (83Fi20) – Photograph of the Place du Marché in Thionville (1940–1944); on the left is the Scala cinema. Civilians and military personnel can be seen in front of it.