Hitler filmmaker
dies at 101
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Hitler filmmaker
dies at 101 |
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BERLIN, Germany -- Photographer and filmmaker
Leni Riefenstahl, best known for the Nazi propaganda films "Triumph of the
Will" and "Olympia," has died at the age of 101.
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Riefenstahl celebrated her 100th birthday last year amid renewed criticism of her work for the Third Reich.
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Leni Riefenstahl's real name was Berta Helene
Amalie Riefenstahl, born August 22, 1902, in Berlin. It was "Triumph of
the Will", a documentary about Adolf Hitler, that would haunt her life
after the atrocities of WWII. Despite her protests to the contrary,
Riefenstahl was considered an intricate part of the Third Reich's
propaganda machine. While fighting the ridicule of her past she made many a film
documentary of life in Africa where she made a famous photographic study
of the Nuba tribes in Sudan and came to America to receive an award at the
Telluride Film Festival in Colorado, where she was roundly booed by
Holocaust survivors. Criticism aside, as I have none for her. She
portrayed Hitler as what he was, a little man in the throws of
compensation. I often see the footage and never really knew the history of
the film, I never considered it the propaganda that it was. Over time we
all learn something. She was able to get a little footage that I have
recently seen on the History Channel, the footage was of Hitler during the
Olympics. This footage never got into any film, it featured Hitler rocking
in place. I often think of what she was thinking at that precise moment. I
have mixed feelings when I view these films. Especially the faces of the
young in the crowd during his speeches. These were his youth, the
Hitler youth. You come away thinking was it propaganda or was she seeking
the truth, that this was a true dictator and these were his brain washed
followers? It may have been optimistic then but now is generally viewed as
something completely different. Viewed as a Nazi I have never understood the ridicule of this woman. In fact I guess I am not alone in the feelings, Jodie Foster wanted to play her in a film. "I think it will be the most challenging film of my life, but it's something I've wanted to do for a long time. There is no other woman in the 20th century who has been so adored and so vilified simultaneously." said Foster(CNN) Of course any one would be ridiculed under the same light, be it her or anyone else taking to the camera of the period. But I feel that we owe her a debt for the footage we now have as a Historical reference. I am an avid Historian, everything I can get my hands on or learn from some source is my greatest reward. I am fascinated by the Hitler era. I am fascinated by some of the comparisons to things that happen in this day and age to those that happen in the past. Additionally film documentaries either propaganda or factual in nature are in either case a window into that past. Yes I feel that a debt is owed to Leni Riefenstahl for her contribution. -=topper=- September 10th 2003 |
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