Star E-176 Nazi Cinema: The Art of Politics and Illusion Fall 2015 Professor Eric Rentschler Lectures online Barker Center 350 Tel. 617-496-4930 Weekly film screenings Please direct all course-related inquiries to Dr. Charlotte Szilagyi (szilagyi@fas.harvard.edu) Course Description: As thinking beings we consider the limits of human potential and wonder what is the worst. The Nazis obsess us because they were masters of extremity who brought to the world unprecedented violence, destruction, and murder. They were also masters of propaganda who engineered sophisticated techniques of mass manipulation; in this endeavor cinema and modern media assumed a seminal role. Why, this course asks, were films so essential to the Hitler regime and so captivating to German audiences of the Third Reich? What explains the continuing allure of what Susan Sontag once spoke of as "fascinating fascism"? Required Texts: Thomas Doherty. Projections of War. Jacques Ellul. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Siegfried Kracauer. From Caligari to Hitler. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Hitler and Nazi Germany. Other course readings to be posted on the course website (PDF). Course Grading: Weekly postings (ca. 250 words) + responses 30% (300 points) Midterm examination 20% (200 points) Short paper (4-6 pages) 20% (200 points) Final project (8-10 pages) 30% (300 points) 1
Course Schedule Lecture dates indicate when lectures will be posted online. When lecture dates fall on federal holidays, lecture videos will be posted on the previous business day. In most cases, films under discussion during a week will be posted on Fridays (the week prior to the discussion), to allow course members to view the films during the weekend. To facilitate note taking, outlines of each lecture can be found on the course website, as well as various handouts that elaborate and supplement class materials. Most of the films we will be studying will be made available via streaming video on the course website. In the case where copyright agreements stipulate that the rightholders to films must receive payment, films will have to be accessed from a commercial source (which will be identified below). Part One. Aesthetics and Politics: The Art of Propaganda Week I Film Marcel Schwierin: ETERNAL BEAUTY (2003) 09/02 (W) Lecture 1 Introduction: What Do They Have to Do with Us? Clips: TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (1935), HERE IS GERMANY (1945), IN THE SHADOW OF THE REICH (1997), MICHAEL: HISTORY ON FILM. VOLUME II Week II Film Leni Riefenstahl: TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (1935) Readings From Caligari to Hitler (v, 3-11, 61-87, 110-112, 251-272) Hitler and Nazi Germany (1-152) 09/07 (M) Lecture 2 09/09 (W) Lecture 3 From Caligari to Hitler Clips: THE BLUE LIGHT (1932), NOSFERATU (1922), THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI (1920), BERLIN, SYMPHONY OF A BIG CITY (1927), METROPOLIS (1927) Adolf Hitler Superstar Clips: OUR HITLER (1977), HITLER A GERMAN CAREER (1976), SCHTONK! (1991), DOWNFALL (2004), THE RISE AND FALL OF ADOLF HITLER (1995) 2
Week III Film Leni Riefenstahl: OLYMPIA I (1938) Readings Hitler and Nazi Germany (153-309) From Caligari to Hitler (275-307) Siegfried Kracauer, "The Mass Ornament" (PDF) 09/14 (M) Lecture 4 The Imagined Community Clips: THE ARCHITECTURE OF DOOM (1989), TRIUMPH OF THE WILL 1935), FOOTLIGHT PARADE (1933), IT'S MORNING AGAIN IN AMERICA (1984) 09/16 (W) Lecture 5 From the Nuremberg Rally (1934) to the Bitburg Commemoration (1985) Clips: THE WONDERFUL HORRIBLE LIFE OF LENI RIEFENSTAHL (1992), STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997), ABC NEWS COVERAGE OF BITBURG (1985), 2012 POLITICAL CONVENTIONS Week IV Film Leni Riefenstahl: OLYMPIA II (1938) Readings Umberto Eco, "Ur-Fascism" (PDF) Michael Mackenzie, From Athens to Berlin (PDF) Susan Sontag, "Fascinating Fascism" (PDF) 09/21 (M) Lecture 6 09/23 (W) Lecture 7 Beautiful Bodies/Degenerate Bodies Clips: OLYMPIA I & II (1938), THE WONDERFUL HORRIBLE LIFE OF LENI RIEFENSTAHL (1992), VICTIMS OF THE PAST (1937), 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS Keywords I: Fascism/Fascist Aesthetics Clips: RAMBO: FIRST BLOOD PART II (1985), THE COLORS OF 1939 (1998), AGE OF THE GODS (1992), DEGENERATE ART (1993), RECENT AMERICAN NEWS AND TALK SHOWS Part Two. How the Nazis Administered Entertainment Week V Film Hans Steinhoff: HITLER YOUTH QUEX (1933) Reading Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes (6-89) 3
09/28 (M) Lecture 8 09/30 (W) Lecture 9 Keywords II: Propaganda Clips: SA-MANN BRAND (1933), HANS WESTMAR (1933), GOEBBELS, THE PROPAGANDA MINISTER (1998), GERMANY, AWAKE (1968), FRONTLINE: THE GULF WAR (1996) The New Man Clips: M (1931), BOYS TOWN (1938), SWING KIDS (1993) Week VI Films Luis Trenker: THE EMPEROR OF CALIFORNIA (1936) Readings Tobias Hochscherf, "Nazis on the Ranch?" (PDF) Jeffrey Herf, from Reactionary Modernism (PDF) 10/05 (M) Lecture 10 American Connections Clips: FINAL ACCORD (1937) ***Midterm Examination due by 11 a.m. (EST)*** 10/07 (W) Lecture 11 Luis Trenker s Bizarrolands Clips: STEEL ANIMAL (1936) and SAN FRANCISCO (1936) Week VII Films Paul Martin: LUCKY KIDS (1936) Detlef Sierck: LA HABANERA (1937) Readings Eric Rentschler: Hollywood Made in Germany (PDF) Siegfried Kracauer, "Cult of Distraction" (PDF) 10/12 (M) Lecture 12 10/14 (W) Lecture 13 The Discipline of Distraction Clips: MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954), GOEBBELS: MASTER OF PROPAGANDA (1998), HOMECOMING (1941) The (Impossible) Place of Woman Clips: HEIMAT (1984) 4
Week VIII Film Veit Harlan: JEW SÜSS (1940) Readings Linda Schulte-Sasse, from Entertaining the Third Reich (PDF) Alexander Bein, The Jewish Parasite (PDF) 10/19 (M) Lecture 14 Mass Culture and Mass Murder Clips: NOSFERATU (1922), ROTATION (1949), JEW SÜSS (1934) 10/21 (W) no lecture Week IX Films Fritz Hippler: THE ETERNAL JEW (1940) Hanus Burger: THE DEATH MILLS (1945) Yael Hersonski: A FILM UNFINISHED (2010) Readings Stig Hornshøj-Møller and David Culbert, "Der ewige Jude (1940)" (PDF) Karel Margry, "Theresienstadt (1944-1945)" (PDF) 10/26 (M) Lecture 15 10/28 (W) Lecture 16 The Filmic Shapes of Nazi Anti-Semitism Clips: NOSFERATU (1922), SCHINDLER S LIST (1993), THE ETERNAL JEW (1940) Selling Murder Clips: WAYS TO STRENGTH AND BEAUTY (1925), HOMO SAPIENS (1999), HEREDITARILY ILL (1937), I ACCUSE (1942) Week X Film Josef von Baky: MÜNCHHAUSEN (1943) Readings Linda Schulte-Sasse, from Entertaining the Reich PDF) Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe and Jean-Luc Nancy, "The Nazi Myth" (PDF) 11/02 (M) Lecture 17 War and Cinema Clip: THE GREAT LOVE (1942), STUKAS (1941), FRONTLINE: THE GULF WAR (1996), KOLBERG (1945) 5
11/04 (W) Lecture 18 Aryan Self-Fashioning Clips: IMAGES OF GERMANY (1982), SIEGFRIED S DEATH (1924), ROMANCE IN A MINOR KEY (1943) Part Three. The Testament of Dr. Goebbels Week XI Film Readings 11/09 (M) Lecture 19 11/11 (W) Lecture 20 William Wyler: MRS. MINIVER (1942) - available online for $2.99 from Youtube or Amazon.com Projections of War (selections to be announced) Sarah Kozloff, Wyler s Wars (PDF) Hollywood vs. the Nazis Clips: MAN HUNT (1941), CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY (1939), WHY WE FIGHT: THE NAZIS STRIKE (1942), CARTOONS GO TO WAR (1996) America s Enemy Others Clips: THE PURPLE HEART (1944), GUADALCANAL DIARY (1943), HANGMEN ALSO DIE! (1943), HITLER S CHILDREN (1944), OBJECTIVE, BURMA! (1945), GUNG HO! (1943), SINCE YOU WENT AWAY (1944) Week XII Films Readings 11/16 (M) Lecture 21 Music videos by Rammstein, Laibach, Lady Gaga, and others Quentin Tarantino: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009) - available online for $2.99 from Youtube or Amazon.com Valerie Weinstein, Reading Rammstein, Remembering Riefenstahl (PDF) Daniel Lukes, Rammstein are Laibach for Adolescents (PDF) Nazi Pop: Hitler s Hit Parade Clips: Rammstein, Stripped ; Laibach, Geburt einer Nation"; Lady Gaga, "Alejandro" ***Short paper due by 11 a.m. (EST)*** 6
11/18 (W) Lecture 22 Is There an Anti-Fascist Aesthetics? Clips: NIGHT AND FOG (1955), PROFESSION NEONAZI (1993), THE HIMMLER PROJECT (2000), INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009) Week XIII Readings Tony Barta, "Film Nazis: The Great Escape" (PDF) Marcus Stiglegger, Cinema beyond Good and Evil? (PDF) Sharon Willis, Fire! in a Crowded Theater (PDF) 11/23 (M) Surprise Screening 11/25 (W) Thanksgiving Vacation Week XIV Reading: 11/30 (M) Lecture 23 Don DeLillo, Silhouette City (PDF) Conclusion: Haunted by Hitler Clips: FROM STAG BEETLE TO SWASTIKA (2001), DEAD SNOW (2009), IRON SKY (2012) Examination Period 12/14 (M) ***Final Project due by 11 a.m. (EST)*** 7