Cinema became a political affair. In Moselle, a directive from the Chef der Zivilverwaltung Gebiet Lothringen (‘Head of Civil Administration for the Lorraine Region’), Gauleiter Josef Bürckel, on October 10, 1940, stipulated that cinemas in Metz were to be run by individuals recognised for their professional and political competence. The appointment of Heinrich Meisenzahl as head of Lothringer Lichtspieltheater GmbH in 1943 to manage eleven cinemas in the Moselle department was evidence of that process. In correspondence between the mayor of Metz, who was concerned about this choice, and the propaganda department of the Gau Westmark, he was reassured that Meisenzahl had been chosen for his professional calibre and his long-standing involvement in this sector. Indeed, Heinrich Meisenzahl had settled in the Moselle region before the annexation and was well acquainted with the local context.
In Alsace, cinemas whose owners were regarded as ‘enemies of the People and the Reich’ were confiscated and placed under German administration. The Referent für Film (‘head of the cinema department attached to the head of the civil administration’) replied to a request for authorisation to take over a cinema belonging to a Jew, stating that: ‘It goes without saying that only trustworthy Alsatians were considered and that, due to the large number of applications received […], it was decided to appoint two native Alsatians to run a cinema’.
Thereby, unlike in Moselle, new operators weren’t expected to have professional expertise. Only four out of ten of the new cinema operators had worked in the film industry, including Sepp Allgeier, who was the regular cameraman for the Bergfilme (mountain film) specialist Arnold Franck and for Leni Riefenstahl on her first two documentary films commissioned by Hitler to film the Nazi Party Congresses (Reichsparteitag) in Nuremberg: Der Sieg des Glaubens (1933) and Triumph des Willens (1935).
Photo 45 : Metz city archives (2 Z30)– Letter from the Propaganda Department of Gau Westmark on June 18,1943 attesting to Heinrich Meisenzahl’s professional competence.
Photo 46 : Metz city archives (2 Z30)- Letter from the Metz branch of the NSDAP on June 28, 1943, informing the mayor of Metz that Heinrich Meisenzahl was a ‘politically reliable’ individual.
Photo 47 : Droits réservés – Sepp Allgeier (2nd on the left under the camera) during the filming of Triumph des Willens (1934/1935) with Leni Riefensthal.