Memory & history—mémoire & histoire

Abstract

Third Reich feature films on historical subjects usually expressed a perspective on history which suited official Nazi views. How could such expressions of German memory be allowed to reappear on the market in post‐war western Germany? Allied and West German censors subjected these films to a process of denazification. Cuts and changes were made, as part of a more general effort to ensure that West German society and its media broke with the Nazi past and with historical traditions upon which Nazism was built, such as militarism and authoritarianism. Cold War developments caused some modifications in censorship practices.