Leni Riefensthal film, Triumph of the Will, depicts the rise of the Nazi party in 1934. The film portrays different excepts of speeches by various Nazi leaders to promote the goals and objectives of Nazism. The film was intended as propaganda to the German public.
Hitler, along with other Nazi leaders, have power over all the other party members. They use words of threat, but also powerful words and goals to make both the adults and youths be a part of the Nazi party and join the “working force”. There was a huge amount of supporters at each speech Hitler made. The youths in particular were a very interesting group that Hitler addressed. Hitler knew that the youths were the future of Germany. He knew exactly what to say and educate them to train them to be the best Nazi’s. Hitler stressed that he did not want class divisions, instead wanted them to come together as one. The youths had to be selfless, loyal to Germany, and strong in order to survive. Hitler told the youths exactly how to act, so that his dream would live on.
After the film came out was there greater support for the Nazi party? Did Hitler’s power on the youths work so that they came together as one?
This is an interesting interpretation of the role of the youth in this film. I found the scenes in which the mobs of children were doing the Nazi salute to be especially haunting, as it shows how the regime attempted to brainwash its ideals upon the people at such a young age. The Hitler youth certainly played a large role in the spreading of Nazi ideology.
I think that Hitler’s speeches probably had more of an effect on children than adults because their brains are malleable. As for the older generations who saw this film, I think they were probably less effected because they understood what was really going on. I think that, in the end, Hitler did not have as much of an impact on the youth as he would have liked to. For example, the last Pope, I think, admitted to being in the Hitler Youth and apologized to the Jewish community. I also think that the treatment of Nazis officials following WWII disillusioned German children and reversed the effects of Nazi propaganda to a certain extent.
Based on the cinematography of the film, I agree that children would be more accepting of the thematic content of this film. Because of how the camera is setup, Hitler is deified because of the low-angle aiming up. Because many children want acceptance, this would definitely click with them. This has been proven time and time again, especially with the Third Wave experiment.