The visual “texts” I have chosen for this study vary both in their production standards, target audience, resources, both in human effort and money spent, and in their presentation. What ties them all together however, is that they are all, in one form or another, an attempt by the Nazi authorities to influence the hearts and minds of the German, and foreign public. That is to say they are all works of Nazi propaganda. The most famous is undoubtedly Triumph of the Will, a visual catalogue of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg. This work, directed by Lena Riefenstahl has been acclaimed as a wonderfully directed and produced piece of art, and at the same time revered as disgusting Nazi Propaganda. The other works I have chosen are Olympia, also by Leni Riefenstahl, and Labour Camps, and extract from a series of films shown to German primary and secondary school children. Olympia is another stunning piece of visual imagery, from the 1936 Olympic Games in Munich, and is not unlike what we would see on television during modern Olympic games, but does incorporate the Nazi message. Labour Camps is a short extract, aimed at the young, attempting to teach them the Nazi message of physical fitness, hard work and arms training. It is virtually no-budget when compared to the spectacular Triumph of the Will and Olympia, but nevertheless would have been just as important as part of the Nazi propaganda machine.
“Labour Camps” is a silent piece of film, first shown in German schools in 1937. As the preceding writing tells us, it is made for the “Creation of military tradition amongst boys, an insight in the birth of the concentration camp system.” It is reasonable to assume that this film would have been made by the Nazi Propaganda ministry. The film itself is of a reasonable quality, clearly visible and not grainy, however Olympia and Triumph of the Will are markedly better. This is because the same investment would not be made on this type of film. We are also informed that this film is silent because it was state policy that only silent films were shown in German schools at this time. This too was probably for economic reasons. The film shows us young adults, possibly in their late teens, marching in two lines and collecting their shovels and spades and going to work the land. They carry their tools and march in military fashion. They all appear to be happy at their work, and the impression is given that they are working for each other, and also for the Reich. The works commander is in military uniform, and the workers begin and finish on his command. They work in unison, with military precision, and this theme is carried on through the film. This would have a powerful effect on adolescents, who would undoubtedly be attracted to the comradeship and order. The film goes on to show other aspects of military training that young people could expect at these labour camps. They perform rifle drill with their tools, and even have a ceremonial guard. The Nazi salute it shown many times in the film, and shows us that obedience to Hitler is unquestioned, by both the trainees and the senior officers. The end of the film shows what looks like a passing out parade, and the men receive awards and medals for their service to Germany. The young men stand tall, and look proud to have served. I suspect they will now go on for full military training. This film would have been used as a recruitment tool in German schools, and would have been very successful. Children would be attracted to the uniforms and the medals. For the historian, this piece shows us many things about National Socialist propaganda. Firstly, although this film was low-budget, and did not contain sound, it was of a high technological standard. It would have been viewed by its creators as a cheap, yet effective method of presenting the Aryan ideal. Secondly, as its title suggests, it is preparation for young men to enter military service. This shows us that the German society at this time was fixated with military prowess, and we can see that the propaganda was in some part responsible for this.
