The Triumph of Propaganda: Film and National Socialism 1933-1945

by Hilmar Hoffmann

Overview

The Nazis saw film as a major vehicle for both indoctrination and escapist pacification of the "masses"; in fact, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels tried to create a German counter-Hollywood. This highly acclaimed study, by one of Germany's leading commentators and authors on cultural policy, analyses the pictorial and spoken language of the various film genres in the Third Reich, including news reels, documentaries, feature and "cultural" films. It shows how a powerful and sinister propaganda machine emerged which, by deploying a wide range of psychological techniques, exerted a strong fascination on the masses. These methods were so successful that they continue to serve as models for totalitarian régimes to this day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781571811226
Publisher:	Berghahn Books
Publication date:	08/01/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.58(d)
Lexile:	1420L (what's this?)

About the Author

Hilmar Hoffmann is the founder of the Oberhausen International Film Festival and of the German Film Museum in Frankfurt. He is Honorary Professor of Film Studies at Marburg University, an Honorary Member of Tel Aviv University, and a member of the panels of judges for the Moscow, Karlsbad, Locarno, and Cannes film festivals. For twenty years he served on the City Council of Frankfurt, where he as responsible for cultural affairs. He has been President of the Goethe Institutes since 1993.

Table of Contents

Preface

Chapter 1. The Symbolic Value of Flags and Banners
Chapter 2. The Flag in Feature Films
Chapter 3. Reasons for the Rise of Hitler
Chapter 4. Film and Propaganda in the Third Reich

Chapter 5. The Nonfictional Genres of Nazi Film Propaganda

• The Cultural and Educational Film
• The Documentary
• The Compilation Film
• The Newsreel

Select Bibliography
Index of Names
Index of Film Titles

Editorial Reviews

"This book has no scholarly equivalent in English."  · Choice

From the Publisher

Seeing German film during the Third Reich as a powerful and sinister tool for both indoctrination and escapist pacification, analyses the pictorial and spoken language to identify the psychological techniques used in the various genres, including news reels, documentaries, features, and cultural films. Two chapters focus on the role of flags, and another explains the rise of Hitler. Not illustrated. No subject index. First published as Und die Fahne fuhrt uns in die Ewigkeit in 1988 by Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag in Frankfurt am Main. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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