1. Leni Riefenstahl Film Maker or Propagandist? By S. Angelo Head Teacher History East Hills Girls Technology High School

2. LENI RIEFENSTAHL was born in Berlin in 1902. She studied painting and started her artistic career as a dancer. Leni Riefenstahl died on Monday 8 September 2003, in Poecking, Germany.

3. Women in Nazi Germany Opportunities for women to have a career became more limited under the Nazi regime Only two are known to have had careers in the film industry Thea von Harbou – scriptwriter for films, film director (relatively unsuccessful) Leni Riefenstahl – dancer, actress, film director – (very successful)

4. Main Achievements Dancer Actress Film Director Moving cameras Telephoto lenses Unusual camera angles Striking close ups New film stock – Kodak R stock 3 films Still photography in Africa – The Nuba Underwater photography

5. Leni - Filmography http://www.leni-riefenstahl.de/eng/film.html

6. Das blaue Licht – The Blue Light 1932 By 1931, she'd formed her own production company, Leni Riefenstahl-Produktion. In 1932 she produced, directed and starred in Das blaue Licht ("The Blue Light"). This film was her attempt to work within the mountain film genre, but with a woman as the central character and a more romantic presentation. Already, she showed her skill in editing and in the technical experimentation that was a hallmark of her work later in the decade. From http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_riefen stahl.htm http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_riefen stahl.htm

7. Triumph des Willens – Triumph of the Will 1934-5 This documentary of the 1934 Nazi Party convention in Nuremburg (Nürnberg) has been termed the best propaganda film ever made. Leni Riefenstahl always denied that it was propaganda -- preferring the term documentary -- and she has also been called the "mother of the documentary." But despite her denials that the film was anything but a work of art, evidence is strong that she was more than a passive observer with a camera. In 1935, Leni Riefenstahl wrote a book (with a ghostwriter) about the making of this film: Hinter den Kulissen des Reichsparteitag-Films, available in German. There, she asserts that she helped plan the the rally -- so that in fact the rally was staged in part with the purpose in mind of making a more effective film. From http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_riefenstahl.htm http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_riefenstahl.htm

8. Olympia 1936-8 For the 1936 Olympics, Hitler and the Nazis once again called on Leni Riefenstahl's skills. Giving her much latitude to try special techniques -- including digging pits next to the pole vaulting event, for instance, to get a better camera angle -- they expected a film that would once again show the glory of Germany. Leni Riefenstahl insisted on and got an agreement to give her much freedom in making the film; as an example of how she exercised the freedom, she was able to resist Goebbel's advice to diminish the emphasis on the African American athlete, Jesse Owens. She managed to give Owens a considerable amount of screen time though his strong presence was not exactly in line with the orthodox pro-Aryan Nazi position. The resulting two-part film, Olympische Spiele ("Olympia"), has also won both acclaim for its technical and artistic merit, and criticism for its "Nazi aesthetic." Some claim that the film was financed by the Nazis, but Leni Riefenstahl denied this connection. From http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_riefenstahl.htmhttp://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_riefenstahl.htm

9. How much control did she have? Director Editor Producer Selection of extracts from Hitler’s speech for use in Triumph des Willens Peter Nowotny claims that her choice demonstrated a ‘precise knowledge of the propagandistic intention of the party rally’

10. Consider Was Leni constructing propaganda Was she, as she claimed later, constructing film – images and recording history?

11. What is Propaganda? Systematic construction of a text Highlights, promotes, endorses political principles Images from http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters2.htmhttp://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters2.htm

12. Some Considerations The 1930s in Germany was not supportive of independent women Consider then how she was able to achieve her goals in this climate Consider – should you or could you speak up against a regime? Was she just politically naïve? Was her focus just film-making or did she intentionally create propaganda for Hitler?

13. CRITICISMS Critics have been divided in their evaluation of Riefenstahl's work. Some have hailed the films as cinematic masterpieces in formal terms Others have condemned them for their political content and clear espousal of Nazi ideology

14. What did she say? Riefenstahl attempted to play down the propagandistic nature of her film work and her involvement with the Nazi party Admitted she was fascinated by Hitler Denied having been a Nazi herself. Claimed to believe in an absolute distinction between art and politics, arguing that 'true art and real artists are unpolitical’ With specific regard to Triumph of the Will she asserted: I showed what was happening then in front of our eyes, what everyone heard about... It was, certainly, a film commissioned by Hitler... But you will notice, if you see the film today, that it doesn't contain a single reconstructed scene. Everything in it is real... It is history. A purely historical film.

15. Useful Resources http://www.leni-riefenstahl.de/eng/film.html http://www.websteruniv.edu/~barrettb/riefenst ahl.htm http://www.websteruniv.edu/~barrettb/riefenst ahl.htm http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/bl bio_riefenstahl.htm http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/bl bio_riefenstahl.htm http://www.riefenstahl.org/home.html http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ww2 era.htm - Nazi propaganda documents http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/ww2 era.htm