Liberation marked a profound cultural shift. American and French films returned to cinemas, while German films made under the Nazis disappeared from the screens. The local audience was, of course, delighted to finally see the faces of stars who had been banned by the Nazis, such as Jean Gabin, Toni Rossi and Shirley Temple. However, in the meantime, cinema had changed. New actors had emerged, and the films being made did not quite match pre-war memories. This is why, initially, spectators often preferred to rewatch old films from before 1940 rather than discover recent productions.
German cinema had always been a fixture on screens in Alsace and Moselle, and audiences enjoyed these films. Now, however, it too found itself banned from movie theaters. This change particularly affected younger people, who had developed their taste in films during the war through German cinema, and the stars who had inspired their dreams suddenly disappeared from the screens. From 1948 onwards, certain films shown during the annexation by force were authorised for re-release in France, and therefore in Alsace and Moselle. Later, the German film industry produced remakes of several of these films, thereby stripping them of any visible connection to Nazism.
Other films adopt a cinematic aesthetic that is, ultimately, quite similar to the most popular films made under the Nazi regime. This is the case with Sissi – The Young Empress, released in 1956 and directed by Ernst Marischka, who also directed Sieben Jahre Pech and wrote the screenplay for Wiener Blood. The cast naturally includes Romy Schneider, daughter of the stars Wolf Albach-Retty and Magda Schneider, as well as Paul Hörbiger, who had made such a strong impression on local audiences. Furthermore, the colour film was shot in Agfacolor under the direction of cinematographer Bruno Mondi, who held the same position for Die goldene Stadt as well as for the antisemitic film Jud Süss.
As part of the Nazi project, which sought to use cinema, in part, as a weapon to reshape public consciousness and influence young people, cinemas paradoxically also offered an enchanted respite amidst the chaos. And audiences are adamant: the germanised cinema experience wasn’t synonymous with the Nazi regime. The public could thus hate the Nazis while still loving German films.
Photo 101 : Bibliothèque du cinéma François Truffaut – Lauren Bacall (actrice américaine, 1924-2014) on the cover of the magazine L’écran français n°46 (05/15/1946)
Photo 102 : DR – French poster for Sissi – The Young Empress.
Photo 103 : City’archives of Metz (15 Fi 54) – Destruction of Nazi symbols in Metz at the time of the Liberation; in the background: the Vox cinema.