Propaganda was present, but its reach was limited.
Entertainment films should not obscure the fact that genuine cinematic propaganda was present on screens in Alsace and Moselle, even if it remained the minority. The annexed territories were neither spared nor particularly exposed to it.
Films directly funded by the state (the Staatsauftragsfilme) provided a means of quantifying the scope of what might be termed ‘political cinema’, as they were commissioned by the Nazis. These films were often the subject of intensive promotion in the local press, well in advance of their screenings, with explicit announcements such as: ‘The greatest German film ever made’; ‘The greatest film of our time’. At the start of the annexation, some were selected for grand preview screenings in the most prestigious cinemas. In Metz, Trenck, der Pandur was thus presented with great fanfare for the reopening of the Rex on September 22, 1940. But after ten days’ run at the Palace, it would only be shown twice more in the city. This spectacular historical film, with its anti-French undertones, portrayed the Austrian Baron Franz von der Trenck as a courageous and disciplined military leader. The film extoled the values of courage, obedience and dedication to the community.
The anti-British film Ohm Krüger, which followed the recit of the former Boer president Paul Kruger recounting his state’s struggle against the British in the early 20th century, was also revealing. Named ‘Film of the Nation’ in 1941 and heavily promoted in the local press, its initial run lasted three weeks in Strasbourg, but this led to only a few subsequent screenings in cinemas. In Metz, it was shown only twice, in 1941 and then in 1943. The strong institutional promotion did not, therefore, necessarily translate into sustained public demand. On the other hand, via the Tonfilmwagen (‘cinema lorries’), this film flooded Alsatian villages, reaching even the smallest hamlets, throughout 1941. This historical film also provided the Nazis with an opportunity to portray the British as the ‘inventors’ of concentration camps.
As these two examples, state-funded films were indeed shown in cinemas. However, unlike major blockbusters, their run in cinemas petered out quickly and they were rarely re-released, even though some may had left a lasting impression on audiences.
Some major films from the Nazi propaganda cinema were even missing from the program, such as Olympia or Hitlerjunge Quex. As for antisemitic propaganda, whilst Die Rothschilds appeared on screens in Strasbourg only once, Jud Süß was heavily featured upon its release at the end of 1940, but subsequently reappeared only sporadically after 1941, and in small cinemas. The documentary Der ewige Jude, meanwhile, was shown very rarely due to the extreme violence it contained. The other films were screened in Alsace and Moselle without ever being over-represented, even though the Alsatian cinema program had begun in Strasbourg with Leinen aus Irland – a film in which, for the first time, Jewishness was identifiable on screen, but which was also an anti-British film.
This relative prevalence of propaganda films could be explained both by the authorities’ desire not to offend local sensibilities, and by the tastes of an audience that didn’t necessarily shown a lasting interest in the most overtly ideological films.
Not all politically oriented films, however, took the form of overt propaganda films. Some closely combine entertainment with the conveyance of a political message. Ich klage an, for instance, depicted the case of a woman suffering from an incurable illness who asked first her friend, then her husband – both of whom were doctors – to put an end to her suffering by ending her life. This film, constructed as a plea in favour of euthanasia, is intended to prepare public opinion in the context of the Nazi program to murder disabled and sick people, known as ‘Aktion T4’. In Die große Liebe, the approach was different. The film was, above all, a grand musical melodrama, carried by Zarah Leander and a series of songs that became popular hits. But its love story between a singer and a Luftwaffe pilot also framed the war in a positive light: military duty, sacrifice and romantic longing were presented as normal and valued realities. Entertainment and ideology were therefore never entirely separate, and this was the very ambiguity of Nazi cinema: under the regime’s control, it remained a tool for disseminating the representations and values the regime sought to impose, whilst at the same time seeking to captivate and entertain.
Propaganda was therefore very much present in cinemas. But its visibility shouldn’t be confused with its lasting success.
Box-office figures offered a way of assessing, 80 years on, what was screened, what remained in the program, and therefore what enjoyed lasting success. But they didn’t, on their own, tell us what audiences thought of these films and of Nazi cinema.
We must now let them have their say.
Photo 69 : Coll. part. William Gillespsie – Poster of the propaganda and anti-British movie Ohm Krüger (1941, Hans Steinhoff).
Photo 70 : City Archives of Metz – Article from the Metzer Zeitung on September 19, 1940 announcing the preview screening of the film Trenck, der Pandur (1940, Herbert Selpin) at the Rex in Metz.
The reopening of the Rex was scheduled to take place on the day Gauleiter Josef Bürckel came to power in Metz. Following a day marked by political speeches, the authorities pulled out all the stops: the regional representative of the Reichsfilmkammer was in attendance, there was a concert by the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler, and speeches were given by numerous Nazi officials. The actor Hans Albers was even due to attend, though he ultimately cancelled. The actress Sybille Schmitz, however, did take part in the event. This was a veritable show of force, blending culture with politics. Yet events of this kind were rarely repeated in the months that followed.
Photo 71 : Coll. part. William Gillespsie – First version of the French poster for the propaganda film Ich klage an (1941, Wolfgang Liebeneiner) before the title was changed to ‘Am I a Criminal?’. This version of the poster was not circulated in the Alsace-Moselle territories during the annexation. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the French translation chosen reinforces the original message of this propaganda film justifying euthanasia.