Abstract
Has the history of film digitization ever been incorporated in questions of evidence and knowledge production? The digitization of thousands of films from the former Institute for Scientific Film (IWF) that is currently underway gives an occasion to think about the provenance and reuses of filmic images as well as the ways in which they claim to produce scientific (or in this case, historical) evidence. In the years between 1956 and 1960, the German Social Democrat, historian and filmmaker Friedrich “Fritz” Terveen initiated a film series that used historical found film footage in order to educate university students about contemporary history. The first small series of films was entitled Airship Aviation in Germany which consisted of four short films using found footage of zeppelin flights, of which the earliest images stem from around 1904 and the latest from 1937, the moment of the “Hindenburg disaster.” This article explores how Terveen sought to shape the political landscape of history teaching in the new Federal Republic of Germany by first setting up nation-wide visual archives to host historical film documents, and secondly by seeking to improve the political education of a new generation of young Germans with the aid of the moving image.
Highlights
“Why do I have to bother watching this, even today”? This is the title of a reader’s commentary on a book review of the recent publication Visual History of National Socialism by Gerhard Paul in the German daily newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), implying that perpetuating and re-editing visual material of former Nazi propaganda only leads to new problems with regard to thecirculation andidolation of these images (Zimmermann )
Not many studies have looked at historical film footage that was reedited for scientific purposes and that was intended to produce knowledge within the discipline of history and the history of science and technology (e.g., Boon ; Acland & Wasson )
Central to this text is the question of how early undertakings in visual history were implemented within school and university curricula and how film footage could offer a way to critically look at the recent past
Summary
This article explores how Terveen sought to shape the political landscape of history teaching in the new Federal Republic of Germany by first setting up nation-wide visual archives to host historical film documents, and secondly by seeking to improve the political education of a new generation of young Germans with the aid of the moving image. In den Jahren von 1956 bis etwa 1960 initiierte der deutsche Sozialdemokrat, Historiker und Filmemacher Friedrich „Fritz“ Terveen Filmreihen, die mit vorgefundenem Filmmaterial Hochschulstudent*innen über Zeitgeschichte aufklären sollten. In diesem Artikel soll gezeigt werden, wie Terveen die politische Landschaft des Geschichtsunterrichts in der neu gegründeten Bundesrepublik Deutschland zu gestalten suchte, indem er erstens danach strebte, ein bundesweites Bildarchiv mit historischen Filmdokumenten einzurichten und zweitens die politische Bildung einer neuen Generation junger Deutscher mithilfe des bewegten Bildes verbessern wollte. Schlüsselwörter: Visual History, Wissenschaftlicher Film, Forschungsfilm, Filmprovenienz, Reuse, Politische Bildung
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
