Although Hitler spoke only German and his understanding of films relied on plot descriptions handed to him by his adjutants over dinner, he had a fascination with films. Up until September 1939, when he invaded Poland, Hitler spent every night watching feature films and newsreels. He sometimes watched two, even three films, either at his mountain residence in the Bavarian Alps, the Berghof, or in Berlin at the Reich Chancellery. His viewing habits were eclectic: whatever the Propaganda Ministry was able to provide, he watched. Not just German films, but also French, American and British films, in the original language. He not only kept up to speed with the current German film production, but also explicitly asked to be shown films from the supposedly corrupt Weimar Republic and films directed by Jews, with Jewish actors. On June 21 1938, he watched the Laurel and Hardy classic Swiss Miss (Hitler was a fan of the duo’s films) which starred the Jewish actress Grete Natzler, who had fled Germany in 1933. Later that evening, Hitler attended a private celebration of the summer solstice. The Nazis encouraged the welcoming of the winter and summer solstice in an attempt to revive Germanic customs. Hitler, it seems, moved easily from enjoying a product of ‘Jewish’ Hollywood to celebrating a Nazi ritual.
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| Hitler watching a film |
The German population during the Third Reich were occasionally informed in newspapers and books of Hitler’s viewing habits, but no reference was made to the inconsistent nature of his tastes. Initially, Adolf Hitler wasn’t a film fan at all. Hitler was shocked by one of his first experiences in a movie theater in Linz at the age of 16 or 17 when he saw an Enlightenment film -- including scenes about syphilis and prostitution. He was still talking about how it shocked him years later, in the middle of the war, in 1943.
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| Hitler watching more films |
I can’t believe how Hitler could go from appreciating the talent on Jewish actress Grete Natzler to celebrating Germanic customs, which excluded everyone with even a little bit of Jewish heritage, only a few hours later. How can Hitler proclaim the Jewish World Conspiracy that Jews are everything wrong with the world, but also celebrate certain Jewish people when it is convenient for him? This highlights the many contradictions in Nazi ideology, and this is why the Nazis didn’t want the Germans questioning anything, why they burned deviant books, why they promoted a simple style of art that didn’t promote deeper analysis, and why they banned speaking out against the Nazi Party. Once you start poking holes in Nazi ideology, everything crumbles.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite fascinating to learn about the more personal side of Hitler. Many think of him as a symbol, rather than a human being. A symbol for genocide, destruction, and an orchestrator for one of the biggest systematic murders in history. Though this is all true, its easy to forget that he was a person too, just like you or me. Learning about how he loved films makes him seem like a normal person. It's hard to wrap your head around the fact that Hitler had both good and bad sides, the people around him loved him, he was charming. For many of us it's impossible to imagine Hitler in an everyday setting, but knowing the fact that he was an avid film fan makes you wonder what he was like when he was not committing mass murders, and tragedy. This is not to say that he was a good/normal person, but it simply makes you wonder how a human being can commit such horrendous acts.
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