Triumph Over Violence (1965) - full transcript

A documentary about the rise and fall of fascism and the effects of Nazism on German society.

Mosfilm

Film Studio 3

Ordinary fascism

The documentary uses trophy
documentary footage from the Film
Archive

of the German Ministry of Propaganda and
the personal photo archive of Adolf Hitler,

and also a variety of amateur photos taken
by Nazi officials and soldiers.

Ordinary Fascism

In our documentary, we certainly do not
intend to cover all aspects of such a
complex phenomenon as fascism.

This is simply impossible within the
constraints of a single documentary.

It is also impossible because many
important aspects of fascism were never
filmed, thus leaving no documentary
evidence.

From a vast amount of materials, we simply
selected those that impressed us the most
and those that,



in our opinion, allow us together with our
audience to ponder over this
phenomenon.

Chapter One

A merry cat.

A hungry cat.

A sly cat.

A bear.

An unhappy lion in the zoo.

Right from their first word and their first
step, children feel the need for creative
expression.

And how different these children are.

They contemplate the world and try to
express it any way they can.

A construction site.

The first snow.

A stadium.

The 20th century.



The 21 st century.

These people do not realize that we are
filming them...

...and, to a certain degree, we feel sorry for
this.

We came to one of Moscow's universities
during the entrance exams,

set up our camera in the yard and tried to
observe,

without being noticed, how people await
the results of the exams,

how differently they behaved and
expressed their innermost feelings.

Well, it is common knowledge that one has
to wear one's oldest pair of shoes during
the exams...

...and, of course, having a haircut on the
eve of the exam bodes certain failure.

And here is the announcement of the
results.

How amazingly diverse human beings are.

And someone is waiting for these people.

I think someone is.

Although the waiting can be different, as
well.

Probably, only love can make people
resemble each other in some way.

This is Moscow.

And here is Warsaw.

There are many people down below,

and all of them have their own personal
perception of the surrounding world,

and every one is a human being.

For every mother, her child is the best in
the world.

For every child, his mother is the best, the
most beautiful and unique.

"My mother is the most beautiful woman"
is the title of this series of children's
drawings.

My mother is a ballet dancer.

And my mother is a singer.

For this kid from Berlin, his Mom is the
most beautiful woman,

whereas for this kid from Moscow, his Mom
is the best.

"Deutchland uber alles" is written on this
post.

Germany is more important than anything.

Germany is above all.

Today, new museums replace former
concentration camps in Europe.

Wooden barracks have long been burnt
down; only ruined chimneys jut out from
the grass.

Skeletons of brick buildings are overgrown
with weeds and wild flowers.

We can enter this building.

The smell of human bodies has been gone
for decades.

Thousands died here.

And now the visitors leave their
inscriptions on the walls, as they do
everywhere.

These freshly painted furnaces cooled off a
long time ago,

and the bathtub built for the commandant
of the crematorium right next to them is
now useless.

Tons of women's hair lie behind a special
protective glass.

Matted and tightly packed, it does not look
like human hair anymore.

There are thousands of prosthetic devices
behind the glass.

There are children's chamber-pots in a
huge bunker.

Mothers who came here with their kids
thought they would live here.

This neat mound is piled up from ashes and
withered bones of a million of people.

Certainly, those are human beings too.

Well, they think they are.

And this is a crowd, the masses, as Hitler
used to call it.

A crowd.

Here, an individual carries no worth.

The strength is in numbers - dozens,
hundreds of thousands, millions.

One chair was left for the Fuehrer.

Just one. Just for him.

He is going to sit down now.

He sat.

Chapter Two. "Mein Kampf" or how to treat
calf's hides.

At approximately the same time a unique
copy of Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf,

the bible of German Fascism, was printed
in an ancient German city.

Calves of the best German breed were
chosen for the cover.

They were skinned,

and the hides were tanned on ancient
machines.

Here you see a tanning machine built in the
1 8th century.

Masters, who underwent background
checks as far as ten generations

made an especially durable parchment
from these hides.

A team of calligraphy experts re-wrote the
book by hand, using special ink,

unique quills and a unique typeface,

which had been approved by dozens of
officials.

This footage is taken from a Kulturfilm
called "Buch der Deutschen".

You can hear the voice of the announcer.

It is a long film, and, of course, we could
show you only a small portion of it.

As to the content of the book, it is a pity
that people did not read it carefully.

If the Germans had studied it thoroughly,

the fate of Germany might have been
different.

A team of mine workers descended an old
German mine and extracted ore.

The ore was smelted in special kilns.

Binder plates were made out of the ore.

These were stainless, refractory steel
plates.

Here, they are being forged.

Now they are going to be affixed,

and the book will be ready.

It is supposed to last for a thousand years
in a perfect condition, without getting
tarnished or rusty,

because the Reich of Adolf Hitler, the Third
Reich was supposed to last for a thousand
years.

Now, the book is going to be placed in a
special sarcophagus.

Here.

Later, it will be buried in a special
mausoleum.

Chapter Three. A few words about the
author.

Adolf Hitler was known to the police since
1 91 2.

Here is his police record card.

A son of a petty bureaucrat and a mediocre
painter,

he reached the rank of corporal during
World War I.

After the war, he became a paid
Reichswehr informer.

A frequent customer of beer halls, he was
sent as a spy...

...to the national-socialist German Worker's
Party formed shortly after the war.

You can judge by yourself to what extend it
can be called a socialist and worker's
party...

...while watching this old newsreel
showing a procession of party activists and
those who reviewed the parade.

Hitler liked the party, though.

He signed up under Number 7 and set
upon a task of becoming a Number One.

A petty bourgeois, an ordinary citizen, he
understood very well the mentality of the
masses.

A skillful demagogue, he soon became the
principal speaker for the party...

...and was later to become the Fuehrer of
the Nazi party.

By then, young men in uniform and
swastika signs had started to appear on
the streets of German towns.

Storm troopers - the backbone of the party
- are marching here.

The ranks of storm troopers were formed
from petty bourgeoisie

(here goes a butcher, and there is a baker),

from petty officials and lumpen proletariat.

Party officials did not mind recruiting even
common criminals.

As Hitler once said:

"I need people with strong fists...

...whose principles will not prevent them
from taking human life if necessary."

Here you see these people with strong
fists.

"And if on occasion they swipe a watch or a
jewel, I don't care a tinker's damn."

Commoners peered at this new party and
new uniforms with open interest.

They were impressed by the music bands,
uniforms and swastikas.

Initially, Hitler lacked the appearance of a
leader.

You will see it now.

But he practiced, and practiced hard.

Here, you see him practicing his speech in
front of a mirror.

Those are pictures from a photo album
kept by his personal photographer.

And now you will see how he applies his
skills in practice.

He delivered speeches frequently and
promised a lot.

He promised prosperity for everyone,
promised to return German lands annexed
by the Treaty of Versailles.

He promised tenants lower rents, and
landlords the opportunity to raise rents.

He promised department store owners that
he would eliminate competition,

and owners of small shops that he would
destroy department stores.

In short, he was scattering promises
generously to left and right.

"Sieg Heil!"

Rallies and parades of storm troopers were
becoming more and more immense in
scale.

They cost a lot of money,

although the party received generous
subsidies from unknown sources.

For instance, at one of the rallies, the
participants consumed about a million or a
million and two hundred thousand
sausages.

And in 1934, the amount of sausages
consumed reached two and a half million
per rally.

The connection with the Reichswehr is
seen in every frame.

Great importance was attached to
traditions and uniforms -

starting from the ritual of banner
consecration. Just look at Hitler's face.

He certainly"grew up,"figuratively
speaking.

Parades in the cities assumed frightening
proportions and resembled state
ceremonies,

although the future Nazi party did not yet
hold the reigns of power.

In order to seize this power, the fascists
needed Hindenburg. Here he is.

An old Imperial General, a close supporter
of Kaiser Wilhelm II,

Hindenburg became President of German
republic by a twist of fate.

Respect for the institution of the Kaiser
and a thirst for revenge played an
important role.

He probably did not even realize what the
notion "republic" meant,

but...Sorry, it seems he is lost...Ah, that's
all right, he is going to find the way...
There he goes...

He did it!

So, I was saying that probably did not even
know what the republic was; but
nevertheless, he became its president.

An old aristocrat, he despised Hitler and
called him a corporal.

However, in 1 933, he received a letter from
a group of the most influential German
industrialists, the owners of monopolies.

To the letter was attached two billion
German marks,

and those two billion demanded that
Hindenburg appointed Hitler to the post of
German Reichschancellor.

Large business needed a dictator.

Hindenburg did not want to appoint Hitler,

but two billion marks...

You will see now how he parts with twenty
pfennig and understand what two billion
marks meant to him.

There it goes!

Gone!

He meticulously closes his wallet.

Nevertheless, he appointed Hitler as
Reichschancellor.

Hitler was greeted with the fascist salute.

Later Hitler stated, "We managed to
persuade the old man in three weeks.

He thanked Hindenburg in kind.

And now Hitler is finally in his office.

In the beginning, he maintains a collegiate
attitude; he even refuses to be the first to
sit down and offers a seat to his colleagues.

The members of his Cabinet included
Goering, von Papen, von Blomberg, Frick,
Hugenberg - his party comrades and large
industrialists.

Hitler sits down.

From that moment, the fate of Germany
took a drastic turn.

Chapter Four. Meanwhile...

Chapter Four. Meanwhile...

Let's see find out what interested western
moviemakers during that period,

the years of Hitler's rise to power.

This is video footage from the World In
Review newsreel.

Here is the King of England.

He was, incidentally, a cousin of Nicolas II.
As you can see, he was still alive and
kicking then.

And here is the former King of Spain. He
was also filmed.

Look at his face. Does it strike you as a face
of an intellectual person?

The King of Norway apparently attending a
ship launching ceremony.

The Dutch Queen descends a ladder
accompanying her own yacht.

The Swedish King plays tennis.

Not bad for a man of his age.

Former German Emperor Wilhelm II.

He feeds ducks.

France, Briand.

Hero of World War I Clemenceau,
nicknamed The Tiger.

French President Lebrun with his family.

Important political figures in the West
assumed that after coming to power Hitler
would introduce a moderate policy.

Look at this man!

None of the European rulers could imagine
the role this man would play in their
destinies.

Hitler and his entourage visit an opera
theater.

This event is also considered important
enough to be included in the newsreel.

A short speech honoring Hindenburg.

A seal. It slightly resembles Hindenburg.

However, seals are not included in the
footage just because of that.

They are shown here simply because
viewers had been always fascinated by the
fact that animals often behave like human
beings.

So, here they are, appearing in the same
program as royalty and Hitler.

The 20th century continued its course.

It was only the end of its first third.

The population of the planet had barely
surpassed two billion.

This car race reduced it a fraction.

It is not 1 964. It is 1934.

Looks the same, though.

And here is another phenomenon of the
20th century.

Cab Calloway - famous jazz singer, the
legend of the 1930s.

And here is the trendiest song of the 1930s.

It was performed in all world capitals.

This is New York.

It is either London, or Paris.

Everything looked normal.

Only Marlene Dietrich refused to return to
Germany.

For political reasons. She is giving an
interview.

Meanwhile, she is working as a model in
Hollywood waiting for her lucky break.

And there is a Venus Measurement contest
nearby.

Sorry, you are not quite a Venus type.

Well, that is more like it!

These"Venuses" earn their living by
"alternative" methods, so to speak.

After all, they need to eat somehow.

New York, of course.

Even this evokes the 20th century.

And that, too.

Police practicing on dummies - a great
show!

The reality is almost the same, though.

And here is London.

There were particular causes of street
disturbances here.

The focus is the leader of British fascists -
Oswald Mosley -

here he walks in the middle, here, near the
sign, this is Mosley.

He heads to a meeting. He plans to deliver
a speech.

The Londoners are trying to beat him up.
The police have to come to his rescue.

Marseilles.

King Alexander of Yugoslavia arrives in
France by invitation of the French Foreign
Minister Barthou.

Mr. Barthou feared Germany.

He was a proponent of closer ties with the
Soviet Union...

...and tried to establish friendly relations
with Balkan states, as well.

Both Barthou and King Alexander were
assassinated in the car.

The killer was killed at the scene, killed by
the police.

This assassination bears a striking
resemblance to the Kennedy assassination.

Later, it was revealed that the
assassination was plotted by Berlin,

although nobody knew it then.

Pierre Laval became Barthou's successor.

He favored Germany. He was later charged
with treason.

The French policy drastically changed,
though.

Well, let us go back to Germany, though,
and see what is going on there.

Chapter Five.
The Culture of the Third Reich.
"Any corporal can become a teacher; not
every teacher can become a corporal,
though."Adolf Hitler

Chapter Five.
The Culture of the Third Reich.
"Any corporal can become a teacher; not
every teacher can become a corporal,
though."Adolf Hitler

These torch-marches - Fackelzuge -
continued for three days in a row after
Hitler's coming to power.

I look at this river of fire and try to
understand the real,

deep meaning behind these fire shows.

Certainly, they demonstrated the might of
the new order; they frightened and excited
simple souls.

Although, I think their major purpose was
to turn a human being into a beast...

...in a course of a solemn ceremony,

so that while being dehumanized, people
would feel like they were becoming heroes.

And we all know too well that the Third
Reich desperately needed barbarians
ready for anything.

Germany needed barbarians primarily to
destroy anything that stood in the way of
Nazism.

Communists were the first targets.

They were sent to concentration camps and
prisons.

Then came the turn of social-democrats,

union leaders, labor activists,

editors of magazines, newspapers, radio
stations

- all those who dared to think differently
from Hitler.

I look at this fiery swastika...

...and cannot but wonder how could it
happen that in Germany,

a country with great cultural traditions, a
mass of semi-literate,

self-complacent and narrow-minded
people that made every effort to turn
human beings into raging barbarians had
come to power.

They are burning books.

At that time, books were burnt in the yards
of all universities.

Goebbels addressed crowds in front of the
Berlin University.

He delivered exultant and elaborate
speeches.

He spoke of the triumph of German spirit,
of the new German culture.

Meanwhile, students, together with
Goebbels' SS troopers,

threw books onto bonfires.

Which books do you think were burnt?

Those authored by Tolstoy and
Mayakovsky, Voltaire and Anatole France,

Romain Rolland and Jack London.

Goebells kept speaking and they kept
burning books written by the best German
authors:

Heine, Thomas and Heinrich Mann,
Feuchtwanger, Remarque, Berthold Brecht,

and, of course, works of Marx, Engels and
Lenin.

They burnt the works of the greatest
non-Arian scientists.

Pearls of human thought were consumed
by fire.

So, what was left in the end?

That's what was left.

Here is how the German Academy of
Sciences gradually began to appear.

Goebbels again is making a speech. He is
presenting the new president of the
Academy, Seyss-Inquart.

He is given a document confirming his
authority as president.

Seyss-Inquart - the Gauleiter of Austria, a
common murderer in short, is delivering
his inauguration address.

Pay attention to the listening crowd. Quite
an interesting bunch...

And here is the Academy of Law.

Frank is speaking.

The crowd looks strikingly familiar.

The Academy of Law, incidentally, passed a
resolution establishing that the love to
Fuehrer is a legal notion;

therefore, those who dislike him could be
prosecuted according to the Criminal Code.

And here is a meeting of large farm
owners. Do not confuse this with the
meeting of the Academy of Law.

The Agricultural Minister Walter Darre is
speaking.

In attendance is the farmer elite of the new
type,

the so-called "ploughmen" of the Third
Reich.

And here is the command of the Empire.

Please, meet Mr. Hitler.

We could not find a single person person
wearing civilian clothes among the crowd,

or at least a coat or a hat.

Chapter Six. The great nationalist idea in
action.

Hitler once stated,

"If someone finds a scull somewhere, do not
say it belongs to our ancestors.

I insist that Neanderthal was not our
ancestor.

We descend directly from the Ancient
Greeks."

In general, scull proportions were an
integral part of the Nazi racial theory.

Here you see a lecturer.

He shows the world map with the locations
of areas where the "right sculls" reside,

those of the Nordic type, pure Aryan, pure
German.

He holds the right scull in one hand, and
the wrong one - in another.

One hand holds the Nordic scull, and
another - a non-Nordic scull.

These are people with the right kind of
scull. This one.

And this one.

And that one.

Here is an entire row with the right kind of
scull.

And here is the wrong kind of scull -
Alexander Pushkin, a Slav with mixture of
Negro blood.

Or Leo Tolstoy, for instance. He has the
wrong kind of scull, too.

Karl Marx is certainly out of the question.

And Anton Chekhov.

And Mayakovsky.

Einstein's scull is even less appropriate,
can't you see?

And here we finally have a man with the
right scull - Martin Bormann.

They say he is still hiding his scull
somewhere in the Argentinean selva.

Or Ernst Roehm, for instance. Such a nice
scull.

Julius Streicher - the main Nazi "preacher"
of racism, obscurantism and anti-semitism.

He probably also believes his scull has the
perfect proportions.

This is Die Deutsche Wochenschau
newsreel edition of the Nazi period.

We found it in the Goebbels'archives.

The announcer says, "Look at the Jews
dividing the Soviet riches among
themselves."

And whom do you think we see? It is
Alexander Dovzhenko giving the Stalin
Award to Ivan Pyryev.

Do you hear the announcer? Right now.

And here is Pirogov.

Serafimovich.

This trick is characteristic of Goebbels'
propaganda methods.

Here is Tarkhanov.

Meanwhile, Streicher continues with his
speech.

He demands that Germany should be rid of
the wrong kind of scull.

So Germany started a meticulous clean-up
operation.

Those with the wrong kind of scull who
were wise enough to flee the country
before it was too late were saved.

See, they have special tags; they leave a
ship somewhere abroad.

The fate of those who did not want or
could not decide to leave was much worse.

Here is footage from a propaganda film
commissioned by the National-Socialist
party.

The film describes a perfect procedure for a
truly Arian marriage.

A doctor asks, "Are documents ready?"-
"They are."

"Is the bride present?"- "She is."- "Then
send her in."

Here are the bride and groom.

The bride enters the doctor's office.

The groom has to wait outside.

He is a bit nervous.

"Freulein,"the doctor says,

"when two young people are joined in
matrimony, they assume a great
responsibility."

We will, however, not translate the doctor's
monologue any further.

We would rather refer to a higher authority
on the subject.

In one of his speeches, Kaltenbrunner
announced,

"We should demand that all married and
single German women who have less than
four children...

...must conceive from men with an
immaculate racial background.

Whether these men are married or not is
irrelevant.

Each family that already has four children
must loan a man for this purpose."

Look at how attentive the bride is.

We are not sure whether the groom is
ready to accept Kaltenbrunner's statement.
Or this new visitor.

Let us continue with the quotes, though.

Once Hitler said, "I wanted to do
something for the local residents of
Berchtesgaden.

The population here is not quite pure
racially, it is rather weak I should say.

However, after a Leibstandart regiment
had been stationed in the area for a year,

many vivacious, healthy and strong kids
appeared in the neighborhood.

We must offer similar help to the
population of Bavaria and Eastern Prussia,

and send elite troops there to enhance the
local breed of the population."

On other occasion, he stated, "Generally
speaking, in a hundred years,

the elite part of the German nation will be
a product of SS activity."

He meant, of course, a special activity,

a highly effective activity, so to speak,
aimed at provoking the reproduction of
purebred Aryan children.

Well, the inquiry and check-up seem to be
over.

Everything is apparently in order. The bride
comes out of the office.

"Many congratulations,"the doctor says.

The groom is exultant. "Thank you, thank
you so much, doctor!"

"Do not thank me,"says the doctor. "Thank
Freulein's ancestors. You can get married
now."

A few years later, during the war,

the Nazis had found another practical way
of exploiting the nationalist idea.

Soldiers going home on leave received a
special sectional cradle. There it is.

Soldiers were supposed to give these
cradles to their women.

They also received an official document
stating that if their girlfriends or wives
became pregnant it would be considered a
patriotic act.

Here is a soldier equipped with a cradle.

Himmler even issued a special directive, an
elaborate directive.

It basically ordered women to submit to
the sexual advances of soldiers.

This woman, as you can see, followed the
order.

Here, the officials came to her apartment
with a bouquet of flowers.

They are going to give her a certificate
(look, he is going to take it from his
pocket).

The certificate confirms that both the
woman and the baby are authentic Aryans.

They called such babies"Gifts from the
Fuehrer."

However, let jump back several years.

In the 1 930s, the so-called "mass
processions" became very popular in
Germany.

The processions, apparently, were meant
to prove that 2,000 years of German
history were only a prelude to the Third
Reich.

It appears that fascism starts with a certain
nationalist self-importance,

when people start to believe that they are
better than others just because they are
Germans.

Looking at these peaceful parades, it is
hard to imagine, though, that they were a
prelude to the extermination of other
nations.

Unfortunately, that's what it was.

Let us have another look into the future.

What you see is the report of Warsaw police
chief Jurgen Stroop

dealing with the destruction of the Warsaw
Jewish ghetto.

To prove the authenticity and correctness
of the report, it was accompanied by these
pictures,

of people who had been singled out for
elimination and had been eliminated,
down to the last person.

This picture was attached to the report.

These people are ready to die.

They are waiting for a shot.

They are waiting.

The report is signed, "Brigadenfuehrer,
Major General of Police Jurgen Stroop."

Chapter Seven. Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein
Feuhrer.

"One people, one Reich, one Feuhrer,"
referring to the unity of the nation.

In order to demonstrate this unity, the
whole of Germany would on certain days
eat soup at charity soup kitchens.

It was part of the Winter Aid campaign.

Germany ate soup to the marches played
by military bands.

Ein Topf - a pot.

Huge vats, soup and coins disappearing
through the slot in a tin box. Just Like that.

It was not just about coins and soup
though.

It was all for the sake of showing loyalty to
the regime.

You shared soup with the crowd and
therefore exhibited solidarity with the
events organized by the Nazi party and
governments.

As simple as that -just eat soup and drop a
few coins.

Charity soup events were common even at
the chambers of the Reich.

The crowd here was more refined, though.

Even Hitler attended the eating ceremony.

Yet I doubt he ate the soup because he was
a vegetarian, strange as it might seem.

Nevertheless, he did dole out coins.

Here, he puts one in, and now, maybe a
second.

Let's wait and see. Definitely worth
waiting.

Still waiting.

Well, too bad, cannot wait any longer, but
that's all right.

Swaying is also a peculiar symbol of unity.
It is an old German tradition, though.

There is indeed a feel of a common action
in swaying.

Besides, it helped the commoners to cast
away the anxiety that, probably, swept
over them once in a while.

You swayed with a group of other people,
and immediately felt better.

Swaying took place on a massive scale in
those years.

To demonstrate unity, the party leaders -
here is Goering - frequently attended
public festivities.

Archery competitions are a tradition in
Germany.

Goering shoots.

Goering hits the target. I do not know how
he fared in real life, but in the film he
scored highly.

He is served a traditional mug of beer.

Where you want it or not, you have to drink
it. For the sake of solidarity.

Heil!, the Reichsmarshal drinks beer!

He finishes the mug and wipes his mouth
with the back of his hand, just like the rest
of common folk to show again solidarity
with people.

And here is real solidarity - Goering again
but this time with Krupp von Bohlen und
Halbach -

yes, the one who was commonly known as
the king of guns, the king of tanks, the
king of everything that kills.

On the anniversary of Krupp's industrial
empire, the entire Nazi ruling elite paid a
visit to this industrial mogul.

The Nazi leaders promised to hold back the
greedy German capital once.

Now, they are queuing for a handshake.

Himmler, the Gestapo chief is in the line, as
well. Here comes his turn, finally. He
obviously does not hold back this time.

A short embrace. Another one.

These celebrations clearly showed the real
essence of the economic program of Nazi
Germany

(this is Hess, Hitler's deputy in the Nazi
party leadership).

Here is the Krupp family.

Krupp junior - the owner of Krupp
industries in today's Germany will appear
in an minute from the right.

The speaker is Krupp senior, the father.

Aren't you curious as to how he is going to
end the speech? Krupp's speech.

"Heil Hitler!"- that's how he ends it.

And here is another exhibition of
solidarity, this time - on the basis of
Autobahns, or highways.

The construction of highways is not a big
deal, you might say,

but those were strategic highways, the first
steps to war.

Hitler is going to deliver a speech in a
moment.

He will do it in his usual excitably manner.

He starts fairly hesitantly and gradually
works himself up to a crescendo of
shouting and gesticulation.

There we go. He is raging.

He is raging, incidentally, about fairly
mundane matters. We must work, we must
work hard, and we must build highways.

In short, workers - to work! Obviously, one
could have announced the same things in a
much calmer way.

Yet his style appealed to the public.

Achtung! Fuehrer starts digging. Loose soil
goes down from a special car.

Let's roll back the frame. Look at this man
behind Hitler.

Here we go.

Like this.

And like that.

And like that.

Goering opens the construction of the
second highway,

Rudolf Hess - the third.

A fuehrer of a lower rank opens the
construction of a smaller highway.

He does not look too excited about
digging, does he?

Am I done, yet! Thank Goodness, I can go
now!

Here is an industrial exhibition.

It clearly demonstrates where Germany
was heading.

Submarines.

Tanks.

Planes. Bombs. And a portrait of Fuehrer
hanging above it all.

Chapter Eight. About myself.

Chapter Eight. About myself.

"My mother was an ordinary woman, but
she gave Germany an extraordinary son."
Adolf Hitler.

My uniform cap en face.

My uniform cap half-face.

I am against a mountain background.

I am against a sea background.

I am with a squirrel.

I am with a girl.

I am with lions.

And here I am with my fans.

This is my birthday cake.

The bakers were searched, just in case.

Here is another present.

Socks that German women knitted
specially for me.

"Me and Siegfried"- a painting by an
unknown author.

A pity, I am peeking from under his armpit.
I would prefer the other way round.

I am in a good mood.

I am in a bad mood. I Cannot remember
what was wrong.

Here I am in a good mood again. Mussolini
is in the background, but you do not have
to pay attention to him for now.

Wow! An autograph! Well, there is always
an obliging back available.

I crossed my arms over my chest.

Later, I found a better place to stick them.

A rare occasion - I am wearing a tuxedo
while reviewing the guards of honor
detachment.

The tailor was paid in kind. True, the fit is
perfect!

I am going to leave now.

I am delivering a speech.

By the way, in this speech, Hitler
announced that he had achieved
everything in his life, imagine, by pure
dedication and hard work.

He complained about the hard times he
went through in his childhood and youth,
including even starvation, but,
nevertheless,

he had stubbornly pursued his glorious
goal, had overcome"unimaginable"
obstacles and had finally reached it.

"No, it was not intelligentsia that gave me
strength,"

Hitler continued and stated that he had
always found support among the workers
and peasants.

No wonder, it was the 20th century; who
else he could lean on, after all?

Even Erhard had to count on workers and
peasants.

Hitler delivered a great variety of
speeches.

They are all rather banal in terms of
context, but he certainly delivered them
with a lot of fanfare.

In addition, all his conversations at various
events have been recorded. It is a true
treasure-trove of"wisdom."

Hitler stated that only the Germans
represent a true nation of rulers called
upon to dominate the entire world.

In his opinion, Slavs were the innate race of
slaves;

it was necessary to eliminate the majority
of Russians and the remaining ones should
not be educated.

Ukrainians should wear beads, like all
colonized nations;

Arabs were"lacquered monkeys," Italians
were lazy

and there was only one decent person
among Romanians - Antonescu, for that
matter.

Switzerland was a "pimple on the face of
Europe,"

and if the Swiss-germans had not shown
such strength of spirit, it should have been
eliminated as well.

"In general," Hitler announced, "I alone have
the right to decide which nation will exist
and which nation must be exterminated."

For instance, in this speech, Hitler said,

"Some people claim: the Fuehrer is "a Gift
of God", but the party is something else."

"No, my friends,"he continued, "I am the
party."

The announcement provoked an
overwhelming response and he had to wait
for the loud applause to subside.

"And as long as I am part of the Party,"
Hitler continued,

"the Party is part of me."

Just think about it - the Nazi party is part
of Adolf Hitler himself.

It is a pity he was not specific about what
part he was talking about.

He concluded his speech in the following
manner,

"And if I ever die, my spirit will live
forever!"

"Sieg Heil!"

Many great historical figures had a habit of
keeping their arms crossed.

Yet Hitler finally discovered another place
to keep them

- to put it delicately - below his waist.

He stubbornly kept them in this position.

If his right hand was occupied, he would
put his left arm there.

People started to imitate his gesture.

The number of imitators was growing.

The first to follow Hitler's example was
chief of the Gestapo Himmler.

Hitler used to call him "my loyal Heinrich."

It was more difficult for Goering because of
his beer-belly.

But Roehm and Hess also followed this
example.

Hess is on the right, Roehm is on the left.

Roehm was the commander of storm
troopers and one of Hitler's closest
supporters.

However, during one parade of storm
troopers, he made a grave mistake.

Hitler invited him to join him in the car, just
to be polite, but Roehm took it seriously
and jumped in the car.

Apparently, he did not read Mein Kampf
thoroughly.

In the book, Hitler clearly stated that the
party must have a single leader, not two.

Besides, Roehm certainly did not hold any
great popularity among the military brass
who feared the storm troopers.

In short, they had to shoot him, and Hitler's
personal photographer had to spoil several
photos.

Well, enough about Hitler.

Why do we keep talking about him? We
should say a few words about Mussolini,
instead. Here he is.

After all, he was Hitler's predecessor and
the word "fascism" has Italian origins.

Mussolini had invented this gesture, and
Hitler simply mimicked it.

Mussolini was the first to swing a pickaxe
while digging ground,

and Hitler just followed suit with a shovel.

And, of course, Mussolini sometimes could
handle a threshing machine, and Hitler
simply would never dare to attempt such a
feat.

As for self-promotion (you can see DUCE
written everywhere.

Il Duce in Italian means the Leader, the
Fuehrer)

...So, as to self-promotion. Mussolini
surpassed even Hitler himself.

You could not find such a giant wall in the
Third Reich.

Mussolini's torch marches, in contrast,
were poorly organized, though.

It seems as if they are going to set the
whole of Rome on fire.

Hitler once commented that Mussolini was
undoubtedly a descendant of Caesar.

Maybe so.

Look there, in the background. His portrait
will to appear over the crowd in a second.
Pretty amusing, isn't it?

And here is the Duce delivering a speech.

His gestures, his facial expressions are
rather peculiar.

Just look at him. What is curious, though, is
the fact that the right side of the picture is
blackened out.

Apparently, there is someone there who
irritates Mussolini,

and the Nazi filmmakers decided to cover
that part of the picture.

It is probably Victor Immanuel, the Italian
king.

Mussolini despised him for being short,
and in general disliked and envied.

Look.

The content of the speech is irrelevant.

You must see his face rather than listen to
what he is saying.

Look at the Duce.

His facial expressions are rather funny.

Great stuff!

He is great, isn't he?

There!

And here he definitely shows some
similarities with Hitler.

All right, we are done with Mussolini.

We are going to show you some of his
sculptures, instead.

Besides, we move to the topic of Nazi art.

Chapter Nine. Nazi Art.
"Once in a while we should wag a finger at
our actors and artists"Adolf Hitler.

You might think it is another parade. You
are wrong.

It is Hitler attending an exhibition of
sculpture and fine art.

Incidentally, Hitler chose the artwork for
the exhibition himself.

Look closely at the face of this soldier.

Here is Hitler again.

And again.

And again.

At least some space left for Goering.

"What can I do?"the statue seems to
complain.

And here is what was not shown at the
exhibition, and actually could not be
shown.

This is the art studio of Joseph Torak, the
leading sculptor of the Third Reich.

Hitler once said, "When we walk
representatives of conquered peoples
through Berlin,

they must be both impressed and
dispirited by the grandeur of our
monuments."

True, there is certainly a lot of material
here.

Huge bundles of muscle and the total
absence of thought.

Only horses represent the animal world.

And here is a special case - a monument to
a warrior-conqueror.

Such monuments, 30-meters high, were
supposed to be installed along the borders
of the New Reich -

in the Urals, at the White Sea, at the Black
Sea, and in the Caucasus.

The statue of a slave - that was our destiny
- has been carved, as well.

And here is the sculptured head of a
conqueror. Do not expect mercy from
someone like that.

Let us move to literature, though.

Goethe and Schiller between two
swastikas.

A book fair was held in this house in
Weimar.

Goebbels was among the visitors. Of
course, his books were assigned a special
place.

A lot of work went into it.

The author is pleased.

As to the contents of other sections of the
book fair, you can judge by these stands.

Hitler is here. Hitler is there.

Hitler is in Italy. Hitler is at his birthplace.
Just like that.

And here are the writers.They are led by a
moderate protection detail to breakfast.

The food is pretty good.

As to writers themselves, well, do not ask
for more - what's left, is left.

Later, they listen to Goebbels' instructions
- what to write and how to write.

They take note. They discuss their creative
plans.

And this is the world of performing arts,
theater and cinema.

After all, common people need to relax
once in a while, enjoy the"beautiful life."

Nice, very nice.

The difference between these girls and,
let's say, American girls, or French and
British girls

is the size of their thighs.

The girls of the Third Reich had to have
robust thighs.

And here is Marika Roekk - the superstar of
German cinema.

A little bit of sex.

After all, the life of common citizens of the
Third Reich was not easy;

they had to work hard and put in long
hours;

there was shortage of food supplies.

Goering insisted that butter was fattening
and had to be replaced by something else
in daily rations.

Here is a decent replacement for you.

And people loved it! They still love it.

I am afraid people will always love it.

A comic duet.

The size of the thighs is the same,
standard.

This standard is different, though.

This is a vamp, and a vamp must be skinny
by definition.

You fantasize about her, and go back to
your official wife and boring job.

Yet this performance was considered the
most important type of art in the Third
Reich.

A parade - that was the true form of art.

It is here where imagination could really let
fly and creative inspiration brought
excellent results.

It became immensely popular among
masses.

Here is a first-class solo performer!

Just look at the inspired performance of
this virtuoso.

Guess, who this man is. It is von
Richthofen, the commander of the Condor
Legion.

It was he who bombed Guernika, Madrid,
and later - Stalingrad.

Bravo! Encore!

End of Part I