Leni Riefenstahl A Propagandist

Leni Riefenstahl was one of the most controversial female figures in history, and maintains a reputation as the most famous female film director of all time. With all her fame, she had endured much critique upon her artistic work, in which mainly revolved around the Nazi party, being led by Adolf Hitler. People often question whether she was an “honorable witness”, however, evidence suggests that she was a propagandist for the Nazi’s.

The relationship between Riefenstahl and Hitler was seen as controversial and suspecting. Riefenstahl had admitted that she greatly admired Hitler until the end of the war and maintained that his policies, in regards to the Depression and restoring German national pride, were worth supporting. She regularly met
When Riefenstahl first met Hitler in 1932, she had stated that it would be difficult to direct a film if she didn’t have a ‘very personal relationship with the subject matter’ as it would deprive any creativeness. Once ‘Triumph of the Will’ was released, it was then considered one of the most propagandistic films of all time, with the structure of the film suggesting that she did indeed maintain a ‘very personal relationship with the subject’. Riefenstahl also clarifies that she felt ‘Triumph of the Will’ was a recording of an event, and not a propagandistic film. However, Historian LJ Wasson opposes this saying: “The film [Triumph of the Will] created the event rather than recorded it”. In spite of this, it has been widely accepted that the Nuremberg Rally of 1934 was staged in order to create a propaganda film. The way the film was edited, for example in the way the choreographed images in line with the climax of the music when Hitler takes the stage, shows how this intentional shaping of emotion turns this ‘documentary’ into a well-disguised propaganda
The massive budget allowed the film to gain high ratings, however it has been criticized for the propagandistic view of the Aryan men it displays. The film focuses on the physiques of the Aryan men, rather than revolving around the athletic achievements. This shows how she placed the cameras in positions that focused on the shots that Hitler requested. For the film, she had used incredible cinematic technology, that had never been introduced so openly to the public before. This film however was heavily criticized on whether it was created to document history, or to promote propaganda. Historians Welch and Kershaw both agree that this film presents the perfect example of why Riefenstahl is a “blatant propagandist”. Although the film captured an event, the content is not political, unlike ‘Triumph of the Will’, and as a result ‘propaganda’ cannot be so easily affiliated with it. However, it does portray Hitler’s belief in the perfect German race, by only displaying the ‘perfect’ people in the society. Additionally, by showing these men, it supports Hitler’s ideology of a ‘perfect’ Germany, and by aiming this film at youth, it aspires them to exercise and work hard to achieve the Aryan look. Furthermore, the Nazi emblems shot on flags and shirts creates a nationalistic film, which makes ‘Olympia’ a propaganda film rather than a