March of Time: Inside Nazi Germany
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March of Time: Inside Nazi Germany
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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1993.
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Inside Nazi Germany is a 1938 short documentary film about Nazi Germany, directed by Jack Glenn. It's a significant episode, volume IV, number 6, of the newsreel series, The March of Time.
Why It Rocks
- While most newsreels of The March of Time cover several stories within a single episode over multiple segments, this installment of the series is notably the first time they've gone over a single story, being labeled as a "single subject" or a "special issue" episode. In this case, it concentrates solely on Nazi Germany and its corruption on its youth. As a result of the reel having a single topic, it's a lot more detailed that most of its previous episodes.
- This is believed to be the first uncensored film, ever brought out of Nazi Germany, and it really shows, with a lot of the dark material, shown in the short.
- Since no film back in the late 1930's could portray all of the darker aspects of Nazism, the newsreel has evened the score, with vigorously pro-democratic commentary. It tells the truth about Germany, in a highly effective way. It starts with pictures of an innocent Germany, with happy citizens, captured travelogue-style, in cafés, and amusement parks. Gradually, a darker element is introduced: the loss of religious freedom, discrimination against Jews, the increasing militarization of the country, efforts to indoctrinate youth to the Nazi cause.
- While the initial footage seems harmless, the voice-over provides deeper meaning. The narration defines the images, which otherwise could've had a different impact, or told a different story. Though the newsreel persuasively criticizes the regime, it often does so through unethical methods not uncommon at the time: stock footage was edited out of context, events were re-enacted, or fabricated, and voice-overs misrepresented the images depicted. However, it continues to be very effective, and doesn't take away from the overall message of the short.
- Inside Nazi Germany was one of the first films to investigate the political regime, and for millions, it served as irrefutable proof, that something terrible was happening in Europe. There's even a direct connection, between Nazi Germany, and the German-American Bund.
The Only Bad Quality
- Even though its methods were bold and impressive for its time, a lot of them, such as re-enacting, or fabricating events, would be considered irresponsible, today.