They're Onto You, Mr. Goebbels

Germany’s extensive use of film as propaganda during WW II was no secret to the Allies, who recognized the role cinema played in generating desired perceptions of the war and of the world at the time. I found it very interesting to read that by August 1, 1943, the Allies’ bombings had destroyed 237 cinemas within Germany. For some reason, I tend to think of either residential or industrial areas as common targets for bombings, and had never thought about buildings such as cinemas being affected by wars. Although more than 6,000 cinemas still stood at the end of the year, the loss of hundreds of cinemas must have nevertheless made it increasingly difficult to spread propaganda. On a related note, I also found it interesting that between 1933 and 1940 Germany released more than 80 feature films every year, a quantity that was never reached between 1941 and 1945. In 1945, for instance, only 12 feature films were premiered in Germany. This fact, combined with the decreased number of cinemas in Germany as a result of bombings, indicates that Germany was much more successful at generating and distributing propaganda while leading the war, and was unable to maintain the same level of production and distribution once the tables had turned.

To carry on with the topic of the Allied understanding of the threat of German propaganda, I found it very interesting to read that MGM was ordered in August of 1940 to close its German offices. This is a clear indication that the non-German film industry was starting to understand how works were being used for manipulative purposes. This brings me to the last point I wanted to touch on. On September 28, 1945, the Allies met to decide how German films were to be censored following the war, which shows very clearly that films were viewed as potentially dangerous. The result was that German films were not allowed to be shown in German cinemas that met certain criteria. I thought this was especially intriguing because I had never previously considered how a cinema can influence an audience’s political views. It is obvious how films can do such things, but it had never occurred to me that certain atmospheres can project specified political messages. This is likely due to the fact that modern American cinemas generally consist of neon lights and lots of bright colors advertising whatever food and drinks are available, which all the more displays the stark contrast between what is now the “normal” cinematic experience in America and what the experience was in Germany 65 years ago.