Summary: A history of Hitler, the Third Reich and the Second World War.
Description: The film is mainly concerned with Hitler as leader of the Nazis and Führer - only a small proportion of it is concerned with his youth and private life. The question, is posed "how was it all possible?" and the answer is sought in the German national character - the love of militarism and pervasive influence of Nordic myth, the frailty of the Weimar Republic, the anti-democratic opinions of industrialists and the officer corps, the apathy of 'The Masses' and foreign governments. The film provides a straightforward chronicle of the Nazi rise to power and successfully portrays the effects and final cost of Hitler's dictatorship. However, there is no satisfactory explanation of Hitler's early success and popularity - Nazism is dismissed as a "gigantic propaganda lie", Hitler and other prominent leaders are regarded as unoriginal and unintelligent, and their achievements produced "by lies, by blackmail, by bluff and by outright violence and murder, and none of it can last without a war." Explanation of the causes of the war is scant, but once begun it dominates the film, which becomes a conventional military history.
Alternative Title:
Colour:B&W
Digitised:
Object_Number:MGH 314
Sound:Sound
Access Conditions:NON-IWM
Featured Period:
Production Date:1961
Production Country: GB
Production Details: Real Film (Production company)
Rotha, Paul19071984British documantary film maker (Production individual)
Koppel, Walter (Production individual)
Rotha, Paul19071984British documantary film maker (Production individual)
Rotha, Paul19071984British documantary film maker (Production individual)
Kruger, Robert (Production individual)
Franz, Siegfried (Production individual)
Koppel, Helga (Production individual)
Neumann, Robert (Production individual)
Heiben, Helmut (Production individual)
Pohl, Werner (Production individual)
Ruete, Henning (Production individual)
Genn, Leo (Production cast)
Goring, Marius (Production cast)
Personalities, Units and Organisations:
Keywords: Germany (geography)
Physical Characteristics: Colour format: B&W
Sound format: Sound
Soundtrack language: English
Title language: English
Subtitle language: None
Technical Details: Format: 35mm
Number of items/reels/tapes: 6
Footage: 9151 ft; Running time: 102 mins
