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Nazi Germany’s Lost Propaganda Film Resurfaces After Hitler Ordered Its Destruction
Leni Riefenstahl’s controversial documentary “The Victory of Faith” narrowly escaped complete destruction, emerging decades later as a crucial historical artifact of Nazi Germany’s early propaganda efforts.
Before directing her more famous works “Triumph of the Will” (1934) and “Olympia” (1938), Riefenstahl reluctantly agreed to document the Nazi Party’s 1933 Nuremberg rally in what became “Der Sieg des Glaubens” (The Victory of Faith). The film captured a critical moment in Nazi history—the fifth party congress, deliberately named the “Reichsparteitag des Sieges” (Party Rally of Victory) to celebrate Hitler’s rise to power and triumph over the Weimar Republic.
The 31-year-old Berlin native faced numerous challenges from the start. With merely days to prepare before the convention began, Riefenstahl found herself caught in bureaucratic crossfire. Despite Hitler’s direct instructions, officials at Goebbels’ Ministry of Propaganda hesitated to formalize her contract—she was neither a party member nor male, both significant obstacles in Nazi Germany.
Production disputes arose over whether the ministry or the party would be credited as producer. Eventually, the Nazi Party (NSDAP) took control of production, and Riefenstahl secured the assistance of Walter Frenz, a respected cameraman from UFA (Universum Film AG), Germany’s premier film studio that had launched the careers of Fritz Lang and Marlene Dietrich. Frenz was introduced to Riefenstahl by Albert Speer, the regime’s chief architect, beginning a professional partnership that would continue until 1938.
The hastily assembled documentary ran just one hour and lacked spoken dialogue, though it featured a musical score by composer Herbert Windt, who would collaborate with Riefenstahl on her subsequent films. The silent footage documented the arrival of Nazi leaders at Nuremberg station, Hitler and Rudolf Hess landing at the airport, meetings with Goebbels and Göring, rallies, and the signature goose-stepping parades of SA and SS troops.
What ultimately doomed the film was the prominent presence of Ernst Röhm, Chief of Staff of the Sturmabteilung (SA) and one of Hitler’s earliest allies. A World War I veteran who had participated in the failed 1923 Munich Putsch alongside Hitler, Röhm had accumulated considerable power within the party. By 1934, he had begun advocating for the integration of Germany’s armed forces into his SA brownshirts, which would have given him unprecedented military control.
Hitler, unwilling to cede such authority, orchestrated Röhm’s downfall. On June 30, 1934, in what became known as the “Night of the Long Knives,” Hitler’s SS forces purged Röhm and hundreds of SA officers. The official justification cited a conspiracy plot, while Röhm’s homosexuality provided additional pretext for his execution.
Following Röhm’s elimination, Nazi officials ordered the destruction of all copies of “The Victory of Faith” to erase the executed SA leader from public memory. Riefenstahl later claimed Hitler hadn’t ordered the film’s destruction, though this seems unlikely given the regime’s systematic efforts to expunge Röhm from its history.
The documentary might have vanished permanently if not for an unexpected twist of fate. Two months before the purge, Riefenstahl had visited Great Britain to deliver university lectures on propaganda techniques, bringing along a copy of the film. A duplicate was made and preserved in a British archive, where it remained forgotten until its rediscovery in the 1990s.
Hitler, determined to replace this compromised record, commissioned Riefenstahl to create a new documentary of the 1934 Nuremberg rally. Initially reluctant, she recommended her assistant Walter Ruttmann, but Hitler insisted on her involvement. The result—”Triumph of the Will”—received lavish resources, with 61 hours of footage condensed into 114 minutes. Despite its technical innovations, the film largely followed the same structure as “The Victory of Faith,” sometimes replicating minor details and reusing musical elements.
The recovery of “The Victory of Faith” provides historians with valuable insights into Nazi Germany’s evolving propaganda machinery and the regime’s willingness to rewrite history when convenient. It stands as a rare surviving document of a moment the Nazi leadership tried desperately to erase from public consciousness.
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8 Comments
Leni Riefenstahl’s Nazi propaganda films are a troubling part of history, but it’s important that they are preserved and studied. The fact that this particular film, “The Victory of Faith,” was nearly destroyed by Hitler’s orders makes it an even more compelling historical artifact.
Fascinating bit of Nazi history. Riefenstahl was a skilled filmmaker but her work was tainted by its propagandistic nature. I wonder what other lost Nazi films may still be out there waiting to be rediscovered.
You raise a good point. The destruction of these films was likely an attempt by the Nazis to erase their darker historical record. Preserving them, despite the troubling context, is important for understanding that period.
Fascinating bit of history. It’s remarkable that this lost Nazi propaganda film managed to survive despite Hitler’s orders for its destruction. It serves as an important historical record, even if the content itself is deeply troubling.
The Nazis were masters of propaganda, leveraging film and media to spread their toxic ideology. It’s chilling to think of how close this particular film came to being completely erased from history. Glad it was ultimately saved as a cautionary tale.
Absolutely. Preserving these artifacts, even the most abhorrent ones, is crucial so we can learn from the past and ensure such atrocities are never repeated. We must confront the darkness to prevent it from resurfacing.
I find it fascinating that this early Nazi propaganda film was nearly destroyed, only to reemerge decades later. While the content is undoubtedly disturbing, preserving these kinds of historical artifacts is crucial for understanding the rise of fascism and the tactics used to indoctrinate the masses.
Well said. These films, no matter how unsettling, provide invaluable insights into the mechanics of totalitarianism. Studying them, with appropriate historical context, can help us guard against the resurgence of such dangerous ideologies.