Triumph Over Violence (1965) - full transcript

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