Hitler Nonfictional: On Didacticism and Exploitation in Recent Documentary Films

Abstract

This essay investigates the development of the changing representations of the Third Reich and the figure of Adolf Hitler in German documentaries of the post-war period. Beginning with an examination of the role of German film in the initial years after World War II, which proved to be a defining era both for the development of documentary film and for cinematic depictions of Hitler, the chapter suggests that the genre’s treatment of the Third Reich was largely shaped by its didactic function. It then goes on to outline certain developments which have occurred in the genre over the past few decades, before finally discussing the presentation of Hitler in contemporary documentary film through an analysis of recent productions.