Understanding how the Nazis use the film industry will provide very important information about the flow of history. Throughout the ages, states tried to impose their thoughts on their people by using various ways. Communication tools were used as propaganda material. Pictures, banners, newspapers, and radios were effective propaganda tools before the 1930s. Thanks to the developing technology, states have started to use the film industry to make their voices heard. The state that benefited the most from this situation was undoubtedly Nazi Germany. They deceived millions of people into following a brutal policy. Millions of Germans came under the influence of propaganda films. They spread their feelings of hate to the world. The Nazis concealed their actions with propaganda films. This was the best way to convince the German people to fight. Thanks to their propaganda films, they raised a fascist generation. So how did they do this and how did they use the film industry? In general, to better understand how the Nazis used the film industry, it is necessary to analyze well why the Nazis entered the film industry, the content of the films they produced, and the rise of the Nazis in the film industry.

The main reason Nazis wanted to use the film industry is that they thought films are the most effective and quick way to reach the public. The Nazis made all the necessary investments in the film industry to spread their ideology quickly. Also, Hitler was a big fan of the cinema. Therefore, on March 11, 1933, Hitler established the Ministry of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda (Karen Kennealy, 2013). Joseph Goebbels, one of Hitler's most trusted men, became a propaganda minister. He is undoubtedly one of the biggest shareholders of the rise of Nazi Germany in the film industry. He played an important role in propaganda films. The movies were checked by Joseph Goebbels before they were released and the movies were not released without his approval. Besides, he met with filmmakers every day and exchanged ideas (William K. Boland, 2010). Goebbels saw himself as the passionate lover of cinematic art (Karen Kennealy, 2013). On the other hand, the importance of propaganda films for the Nazis is understood by the investments made between 1933 and 1937. Hitler was willing to invest a large amount of financial investment in movies. For this purpose, it was planned to finance the new films deemed appropriate by the Nazi regime by establishing the film credit bank. In this way, the cost of film productions increased from 250,000 RM to 537,000 RM in 4 years (Karen Kennealy, 2013). Thus, the Nazis took over the film industry using their economic power. To sum up, the Nazi government's skillful management of the entry process into the film industry made the public trust them.

When the content of the films is analyzed, racist and aggressive policies stand out. Besides, it can be said that the purpose of the films is to impose the greatness of Hitler in public. There are many concrete examples of this. It will be useful to talk about the filmmakers before the content of the films. One of the most important filmmakers is Leni Riefenstahl. She was chosen by Hitler as the person responsible for the production of German propaganda films. Although she did not want it at first, he made many films for the Nazis after Hitler provided him with unlimited resources and state-of-the-art film equipment. Leni made one of her most important films, "The Triumph of the Will" in 1935. The greatness of Adolf Hitler was mentioned in every frame of the film. For example, it can be deduced from Rudolf Hess's speech that Germany needs Hitler too much. This documentary propaganda film had an unprecedented effect. If we look at the effects of the movie, many people watched and were impressed. For example, participation in the Hitler youth grew rapidly, and the ideology of Nazism spread in the country sooner than expected. Racist rhetoric in the film allowed the German people to meet Nazi ideology. When we look at the Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph des Willens, we can easily notice the similarity of Fritz Lang with the Metropolis movie (1927). Both films dealt with the subject of revolution, and the camera angles used in the film are similar. However, there is a difference; Leni Riefenstahl turned the ideology advocated in the Metropolis movie into the propaganda of the Nazis in his movie (William K. Boland, 2010). The main theme of the film creates the impression that the class difference must be eliminated. This is showed as an important concrete reason for people to remain loyal to Hitler. It is also recommended that young people work hard and be obedient to Reich's decisions in the film. We can understand this from the speech of General Alfred Rosenberg. In his speech, he states that young people should work disciplined and that the third Reich will grow thanks to young people. On the other hand, entertainment films also played a big role. However, they controlled by the regime (Joachen Kurten, 2017). For instance, films such as “Two in a big city” (1942) are propaganda films made to reduce people's stress during the second world war. Also, many films were made about Jews and Communists. For example, in the films "Rothschilds" and "Jud Süß" in 1940, there is anti-Semitism. The purpose of these films was to reveal the hatred of the German people and spread the idea of a pure race to the country. According to Joseph Goebbels, it made sense to use cinema to hide the torture of SS officers in concentration camps, because they were committing a crime against humanity. If this was heard, the public's trust in the Nazi government would have decreased. For this, the Theresienstadt movie was shot to create the impression that the Jews were happy and healthy in the concentration camps. For example, the movie shows that Jews played football with each other and were in a cheerful mood. However, the photographs and witnesses brought out the truth and when the war ended, they could not prevent the German people from being dragged into the cliff. Furthermore, censorship was an important practice that helped the Nazis control the content of the films. After the Nazis came to power, they wanted to take control of the film industry. They knew that it was possible to achieve this with various bans. Opinions that threaten Nazi beliefs or the regime were either censored or removed from the media. Joseph Goebbels thought that German cinema should be more attached to National Socialism in the future, so he issued a decision stating that the Government had the right to intervene in films. On November 27, 1935, all movie criticisms removed by Joseph Goebbels (Karen Kennealy, 2013). In this way, no film was against Nazi ideology, and Hitler was increasing his strength through censorship.

The German Film Industry was reorganized ideologically and modernly after the Nazis came to power in 1933. Hitler and Joseph Goebbels led reforms never before seen. The latest technology was used for movies. Moreover, they surpassed the most prestigious American films of the period with their films. Besides, the German Film Academy of Babelsberg founded by Joseph Goebbels to provide professional film education. The establishment of this school was of great importance in competition with Hollywood cinema. This academy aimed to produce film producers that would benefit the country. Thus, Germany's foreign dependency would decrease. To register in the school, it was necessary to be of Aryan origin. Also, students had to shoot at least one short film to graduate. There is a fact that the censorship and boycott practices of the Nazis led many filmmakers to flee the country in the 1930s. This event was noticed by other countries. Thus, film exports were decreasing. Joseph Goebbels had decided to restructure the film industry. For this purpose, he established the Film Credit Bank and planned to finance new films that the Nazi regime would deem suitable. In this way, over 1000 propaganda films were produced during the Nazi period (Joachen Kurten, 2017). It is an undeniable fact that the Nazis carried the cinema industry forward with the technology and the artistic value of the films they used. Therefore, they changed people's perspective on film art and created a lot of awareness.

Knowing the process of Nazis entering the film industry, the content of the films they produce, and how they rose in the film industry demonstrates the effort and successes of the Nazis in pushing propaganda through film. Also, another point to note that is the results of the propaganda films. Every country suffered greatly from World War II. 75 million people died. 10 million of them were German. Many of them became victims of fascist ideology because of these propaganda films, they had no other choice, because oppressive government policies were brainwashing people. The policies implemented by a racist and aggressive government dragged a country into a huge disaster. Many Germans continued to suffer after the war. Young people who have grown up with fascist feelings since childhood were disappointed. They, who were ready to sacrifice everything for Hitler in 1940, were stateless in 1945. We are all aware of the importance of communication tools for our age. We use them to communicate and get information every day, so are we aware of how we're being guided? With what ideologies are power owners trying to wash our brains? As I mentioned in the lines above, the German people lived this painfully in the second world war. Who's next?

1.    Boland, W. K. (2010). "Hitler's Use of Film in Germany, Leading up to and During World War II." Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse, 2(03). Retrieved from 

2.     Kenneally, K. (2013, May 14). "The German Film Industry in the early stages of Nazi rule: consolidation and co-ordination" Karen Kenneally Personal Blog Retrieved from https://kenneallykaren.wordpress.com/2013/05/14/the-german-film-industry-in-the-early-stages-of-nazi-rule-consolidation-and-co-ordination

3.  Kürten, J. (2017, Feb, 22)."Movies under Hitler: between propaganda and distraction" Deutsche Welle:Top Stories. Deutsche Welle Web Site Retrieved from https://p.dw.com/p/2Y0XG

4.  Çakı, Caner; Gazi, Mehmet Ali; Çakı, Gül; Almaz, Fulya (2019). "The Propaganda Cinema under Goebbels' Leadership in The Nazi Germany". s.150-163. Retrieved from https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/913364