Censorship

One thing I found interesting in the chronology in Rentschler’s book was the guidelines for postwar censorship of German films at the end of the appendix. The guidelines bring up the question of free speech, and whether it is ok to censor something, even when it is obviously bad. One of the most interesting of the ten guidelines was number 5, which states that films would be banned that “ridicule, or seem derogatory or uncomplimentary of, Allied peoples, their governments, their political or national leaders.” Like the other guidelines on the list, one can easily see why the allies would have wanted to follow this policy. As they were engaged in a complicated and extensive process of reconstruction in Germany, the last thing they would have wanted was a film stirring up resentment of allied actions among the German population. However, the stipulation banning “uncomplimentary” works is something I find particularly intriguing. Not only does this seem like a loose term that can be applied to a lot of things, but rather than just preventing films glorifying Germany or the German Army or fascist ideals, it bans films that go against the allied cause. In other words, instead of defining censorship as an effort against a National Socialist past, it becomes an effort in support of a future under an Allied system. That the allies wanted to prescribe Germany’s political future is not surprising. After all, the BRD and DDR are examples of the direct influence of the western and Soviet powers respectively. However, it is interesting that this subtle guideline seems to suggest an awareness of the necessity of film to do so.