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Richard Wagner
Triumph of the Will was released in 1935 and became a 5 Hitler's speeches
major example of film used as propaganda. Riefenstahl's
6 Response
techniques—such as moving cameras, aerial photography,
the use of long focus lenses to create a distorted 7 Controversy
perspective, and the revolutionary approach to the use of
music and cinematography—have earned Triumph of the 7.1 Wehrmacht objections
Will recognition as one of the greatest propaganda films in
8 Influences and legacy
history. Riefenstahl helped to stage the scenes, directing
and rehearsing some of them at least fifty times. 9 Copyright
Riefenstahl won several awards, not only in Germany but
also in the United States, France, Sweden and other 10 See also
countries. The film was popular in the Third Reich, and has
11 Notes
continued to influence films, documentaries and
commercials to this day.[2] In Germany, the film is not 12 References
censored but the courts commonly classify it as Nazi
propaganda which requires an educational context to 13 Further reading
public screenings.[3]
14 External links
Synopsis
An earlier film by Riefenstahl—The Victory of Faith (Der
The film begins with a prologue, the only commentary in
Sieg des Glaubens)—showed Hitler and SA leader Ernst
the film. It consists of the following text, shown
Röhm together at the 1933 Nazi party congress. After
sequentially, against a grey background:
Röhm's murder, the party attempted the destruction of all
copies, leaving only one known to have survived in Britain.
The direction and sequencing of images is almost the same
as that Riefenstahl used in Triumph of the Will a year later. Am 5. September 1934
2 Origins
19 Monate nach dem Beginn der deutschen Wiedergeburt
3 Production
[19 months after the beginning of the German rebirth]
4 Themes
4.1 Religion
flog Adolf Hitler wiederum nach Nürnberg, um Heerschau
4.2 Power
abzuhalten über seine Getreuen
[Adolf Hitler flew once again to Nuremberg to hold a to low-ranking party officials by torchlight,
military display] commemorating the first year since the Nazis took power
and declaring that the party and state are one entity.
Day 1: The film opens with shots of the clouds above the
city, and then moves through the clouds to float above the Day 4: The fourth day is the climax of the film, where the
assembling masses below, with the intention of portraying most memorable of the imagery is presented. Hitler,
beauty and majesty of the scene. The cruciform shadow of flanked by Heinrich Himmler and Viktor Lutze, walks
Hitler's plane is visible as it passes over the tiny figures through a long wide expanse with over 150,000 SA and SS
marching below, accompanied by an orchestral troops standing at attention, to lay a wreath at a First
arrangement of the Horst-Wessel-Lied. Upon arriving at World War memorial. Hitler then reviews the parading SA
the Nuremberg airport, Hitler and other Nazi leaders and SS men, following which Hitler and Lutze deliver a
emerge from his plane to thunderous applause and a speech where they discuss the Night of the Long Knives
cheering crowd. He is then driven into Nuremberg, through purge of the SA several months prior. Lutze reaffirms the
equally enthusiastic people, to his hotel where a night rally SA's loyalty to the regime, and Hitler absolves the SA of
is later held. any crimes committed by Ernst Röhm. New party flags are
consecrated by letting them touch the Blutfahne (the same
cloth flag said to have been carried by the fallen Nazis
Day 2: The second day begins with images of Nuremberg at during the Beer Hall Putsch) and, following a final parade
dawn, accompanied by an extract from the Act III Prelude in front of the Nuremberg Frauenkirche, Hitler delivers his
(Wach Auf!) of Richard Wagner's Die Meistersinger von closing speech. In it he reaffirms the primacy of the Nazi
Nürnberg. Following this is a montage of the attendees Party in Germany, declaring, "All loyal Germans will
preparing for the opening of the Reich Party Congress, and become National Socialists. Only the best National
footage of the top Nazi officials arriving at the Luitpold Socialists are party comrades!" Hess then leads the
Arena. The film then cuts to the opening ceremony, where assembled crowd in a final Sieg Heil salute for Hitler,
Rudolf Hess announces the start of the Congress. The marking the close of the party congress. The entire crowd
camera then introduces much of the Nazi hierarchy and sings the Horst-Wessel-Lied as the camera focuses on the
covers their opening speeches, including Joseph Goebbels, giant Swastika banner, which fades into a line of
Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, Fritz Todt, Robert Ley and silhouetted men in Nazi party uniforms, marching in
Julius Streicher. Then the film cuts to an outdoor rally for formation as the lyrics "Comrades shot by the Red Front
the Reichsarbeitsdienst (Labor Service), which is primarily and the Reactionaries march in spirit together in our
a series of quasi-military drills by men carrying spades. columns" are sung.
This is also where Hitler gives his first speech on the merits
of the Labour Service and praising them for their work in
rebuilding Germany. The day then ends with a torchlight Origins
SA parade in which Viktor Lutze speaks to the crowds.
Shortly after he came to power Hitler called me to see him
and explained that he wanted a film about a Party
Congress, and wanted me to make it. My first reaction was
Day 3: The third day starts with a Hitler Youth rally on the to say that I did not know anything about the way such a
parade ground. Again the camera covers the Nazi thing worked or the organisation of the Party, so that I
dignitaries arriving and the introduction of Hitler by Baldur would obviously photograph all the wrong things and
von Schirach. Hitler then addresses the Youth, describing in please nobody—even supposing that I could make a
militaristic terms how they must harden themselves and documentary, which I had never yet done. Hitler said that
prepare for sacrifice. Everyone present, including General this was exactly why he wanted me to do it: because
Werner von Blomberg, then assemble for a military pass anyone who knew all about the relative importance of the
and review, featuring Wehrmacht cavalry and various various people and groups and so on might make a film
armored vehicles. That night Hitler delivers another speech that would be pedantically accurate, but this was not what
he wanted. He wanted a film showing the Congress have the film released by the Propaganda Ministry. Though
through a non-expert eye, selecting just what was most Der Sieg des Glaubens apparently did well at the box
artistically satisfying—in terms of spectacle, I suppose you office, it later became a serious embarrassment to the
might say. He wanted a film which would move, appeal to, Nazis after SA Leader Ernst Röhm, who had a prominent
impress an audience which was not necessarily interested role in the film, was executed during the Night of the Long
in politics. Knives. All references to Röhm were ordered to be erased
from German history, which included the destruction of all
copies of Der Sieg des Glaubens. It was considered lost
— Leni Riefenstahl until a copy turned up in the 1990s in the United Kingdom.
Riefenstahl and her film crew in front of Hitler's car during Power
a parade in Nuremberg
It is our will that this state and this Reich shall endure
Themes through the coming millennia.
Religion
One of the best ways to gauge the response to Triumph of Riefenstahl also repeatedly defended herself against the
the Will was the instant and lasting international fame it charge that she was a Nazi propagandist, saying that
gave Riefenstahl. The Economist said it "sealed her Triumph of the Will focuses on images over ideas, and
reputation as the greatest female filmmaker of the 20th should therefore be viewed as a Gesamtkunstwerk (holistic
century."[18] For a director who made eight films, only work of art).[citation needed] In 1964, she returned to this
two of which received significant coverage outside of topic, saying:
Germany, Riefenstahl had unusually high name recognition
for the remainder of her life, most of it stemming from
Triumph of the Will. However, her career was also If you see this film again today you ascertain that it doesn't
permanently damaged by this association. After the war, contain a single reconstructed scene. Everything in it is
Riefenstahl was imprisoned by the Allies for four years for true. And it contains no tendentious commentary at all. It
allegedly being a Nazi sympathizer and was permanently is history. A pure historical film ... it is film-vérité. It reflects
blacklisted by the film industry. When she died in 2003 – the truth that was then in 1934, history. It is therefore a
sixty-eight years after the film's premiere – her obituary documentary. Not a propaganda film. Oh! I know very well
received significant coverage in many major publications, what propaganda is. That consists of recreating events in
including the Associated Press,[19] The Wall Street Journal, order to illustrate a thesis, or, in the face of certain events,
[20] The New York Times,[21] and The Guardian,[22] most to let one thing go in order to accentuate another. I found
of which reaffirmed the importance of Triumph of the Will. myself, me, at the heart of an event which was the reality
of a certain time and a certain place. My film is composed
of what stemmed from that.[24]
Controversy
However, Riefenstahl was an active participant in the rally, to consider if such a film should be seen as anything more
though in later years she downplayed her influence than a pedestrian effort. Like Rotha, he finds the film
significantly, claiming, "I just observed and tried to film it tedious, and believes anyone who takes the time to
well. The idea that I helped to plan it is downright absurd." analyze its structure will quickly agree.
Ebert states that Triumph of the Will is "by general consent
[one] of the best documentaries ever made", but added
that because it reflects the ideology of a movement Wehrmacht objections
regarded by many as evil, it poses "a classic question of the
contest between art and morality: Is there such a thing as The first controversy over Triumph of the Will occurred
pure art, or does all art make a political statement?"[23] even before its release, when several generals in the
When reviewing the film for his "Great Movies" collection, Wehrmacht protested over the minimal army presence in
Ebert reversed his opinion, characterizing his earlier the film. Only one scene—the review of the German
conclusion as "the received opinion that the film is great cavalry—actually involved the German military. The other
but evil" and calling it "a terrible film, paralyzingly dull, formations were party organizations that were not part of
simpleminded, overlong and not even 'manipulative', the military.
because it is too clumsy to manipulate anyone but a true
believer".[25]
The opposition of the generals was not simply out of
personalized pique or vanity. As produced by Riefenstahl,
Susan Sontag considers Triumph of the Will the "most Triumph of the Will posits Germany as a leaderless mass of
successful, most purely propagandistic film ever made, lost souls without any organizing institutions, or
whose very conception negates the possibility of the antecedent institutional leaders. And that the "new order"
filmmaker's having an aesthetic or visual conception embodied by the Nazi Party and Hitler provides both a new
independent of propaganda." Sontag points to and a singular/saving leader and institutional framework
Riefenstahl's involvement in the planning and design of the for the whole of the German nation.
Nuremberg ceremonies as evidence that Riefenstahl was
working as a propagandist, rather than as an artist in any
sense of the word. With some 30 cameras and a crew of However, the Army had been, and had seen itself as being,
150, the marches, parades, speeches, and processions an institution that held shared responsibility for the
were orchestrated like a movie set for Riefenstahl's film. leadership of the nation and state since at least the time of
Further, this was not the first political film made by Fredrick the Great. The leaders of that Army had also been
Riefenstahl for the Third Reich (there was Victory of Faith, viewed throughout the history of the German-speaking
1933), nor was it the last (Day of Freedom, 1935, and peoples as an integral part of the leadership cadre. By
Olympia, 1938). "Anyone who defends Riefenstahl's films omitting the Army (along with other institutions, e.g., the
as documentary", Sontag states, "if documentary is to be nobility, the Church, academia, business), the film
distinguished from propaganda, is being disingenuous. In demonstrated that the Army, as well as its leaders, had
Triumph of Will, the document (the image) is no longer "disappeared" from what the Army considered to be its
simply the record of reality; 'reality' has been constructed shared leadership role in the state, National Socialist or
to serve the image."[10] otherwise. The Army's leaders vehemently disagreed with
this implied assertion of the film.
In 1942, Charles A. Ridley of the British Ministry of Since the death of Leni Riefenstahl the federally owned
Information made a short propaganda film, Lambeth Walk Transit Film GmbH holds the exclusive right of use to all
– Nazi Style, which edited footage of Hitler and German rights of the film. The respective contractual agreements
soldiers from the film to make it appear they were had previously provided, to a certain extent, for the joint
marching and dancing to the song "The Lambeth Walk". management of rights.
[note 1] The targeted-at-Nazis parody of "The Lambeth
Walk" (a British dance that had been popular in swing
clubs in Germany which the Nazis denounced as "Jewish See also
mischief and animalistic hopping"[28]) so enraged Joseph
Goebbels that reportedly he ran out of the screening room The Birth of a Nation (1915 American film), which inspired
the "second" KKK's formation
kicking chairs and screaming profanities.[29] The
propaganda film was distributed uncredited to newsreel List of German films 1933–1945
companies, who would supply their own narration.[29]
Nazism and cinema
Notes
Charlie Chaplin's satire The Great Dictator (1940) was
inspired in large part by Triumph of the Will.[30] Frank See § External links for video
Capra used significant footage, with a mocking narration in
References
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the United States Army Why We Fight as an exposure of Barsam, Richard M (1975). Filmguide to Triumph of the
Nazi militarism and totalitarianism to American soldiers Will. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. p. 21.
Hinton, David B. (1975). "Triumph of the Will: Document Video. Wayne State University Press. p. 104. ISBN
or Artifice?". Cinema Journal. University of Texas Press. 15 9780814326398.
(1): 48–57. doi:10.2307/1225104. JSTOR 1225104.
Williams, Val (10 September 2003). "Leni Riefenstahl".
Julia Jacobs, Philipp Schepp: "Triumph des Willens". In: Obituaries. The Independent. p. xx. Archived from the
Thomas Hoeren, Lena Meyer: Verbotene Filme. Berlin original on 30 August 2009.
2007, p. 177. (In German.)
Capra, Frank (1977). The Name above the Title: An
Hagopian, Kevin Jack. "Triumph of the Will – Film Notes". Autobiography. Da Capo Press. p. 328. ISBN 0-306-80771-8.
New York Writers Institute. University of Albany."When Retrieved 6 May 2012.
director Frank Capra was commissioned by the U.S.
"Lambeth Walk – Nazi Style (1942)". The Public Domain
government to make what became the Why We Fight
series of propaganda films in World War II, he screened a Review. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
copy of Triumph of the Will which had been seized by the Barrow, Erik (1993). Documentary: A History of Non-fiction
U.S. Customs office." Films. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 151. ISBN 0-19-
507898-5.
Hitler, Adolph (2000). "War Propaganda". In Marwick, A;
Simpson, W (eds.). Primary Sources 2: Interwar and World "Leni Riefenstahl: Hand-held history". The Economist. 11
War II. Milton Keynes, The Open University. pp. 79–82. September 2003.
ISBN 0-7492-8559-1.
Rising, David (9 September 2003). "Hitler's filmmaker Leni
Kula, S (1985). "Theatres of War:Propaganda 1918–45". Riefenstahl, revered and reviled for her work, dies at 101".
Archivaria. 20: 172. Associated Press.
Starkman, R (1998). "Mother of All Spectacles: Ray Petropolous, Jonathan (11 September 2003). "Leni
Müller's "The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, Coy Propagandist of the Nazi Era". Wall Street
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Bjorkman, James, "Leni Riefenstahl, Enigmatic Auteur," Times.
Filminspector.com, Retrieved February 2, 2019.
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Barsam, Richard. "Filmguide to Triumph of the Will" (PDF). Hitler's favourite film propagandist, dies at 101". The
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Sontag, Susan (6 February 1975). "Fascinating Fascism". Ebert, Roger (24 June 1994). "The Wonderful Horrible Life
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many photographs (in German)
"Nazis Hold Lambeth Walk is 'Animalistic Hopping'", New
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Archived from the original on 20 February 2002. (Complete Navigation menu
screenplay.)
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Welch, David (1993). The Third Reich Politics and inArticleTalkReadEditView historySearch
Propaganda. New Fetter Lane, London: Routledge. pp. 65–
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