Nazi Cinema as Enchantment

The Nazi regime did not merely terrorize its citizens into submission; it also seduced them by offering many of the things they wanted: stability, a traditional value system, a sense of belonging, and the hope of a better standard of living. Nazi cinema's popularity rested on its ability to express positive social fantasies and promote the enchantment of reality, creating a place so delightful that one wanted to share in the dream at any price. Nazi Cinema as Enchantment: The Politics of Entertainment in the Third Reich is an interdisciplinary study written for scholars in the fields of film studies, German studies, history, critical studies, and political science. It explores how cinema participated in the larger framework of everyday fascism. This book examines how five film genres - the historical musical, the foreign adventure film, the home-front film, the melodrama, and the problem film - enchanted audiences and enacted shared stories that can tell us much about how family, community, history, the nation, and the war were imagined in Nazi Germany. ~~ The book analyzes thirteen motion pictures including the blockbusters Wunschkonzert and Die grosse Liebe; star vehicles for Gustaf Grundgens (Tanz auf dem Vulkan), Zarah Leander (Damals), and Heinrich George (Die Degenhardts); landmark films by prominent directors Veit Harlan (Opfergang), Eduard von Borsody (Kautschuk), Hans H. Zerlett (Robert und Bertram), and Viktor Tourjansky (Verklungene Melodie); and extraordinary and little known films such as Frauen fur Golden Hill, Das Leben kann so schon sein, Der verzauberte Tag, and Via Mala). None of the films analyzed are available with English subtitles. ~~ Based on exhaustive research in German archives, Nazi Cinema as Enchantment examines, in addition to the films themselves, articles from the propaganda ministry's official organ, Der deutsche Film, daily trade sheets such as Licht-Bild-Buhne and Film-Kurier, fan magazines, and even studio press packages for individual stars and films. ~~~~~~~ MARY-ELIZABETH O'BRIEN is Professor of German at Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York.