Rassenpolitik in National Socialist Cinema

"Rassenpolitik in National Socialist Cinema" emphasizes the alacrity of the German film industry's compliance with Adolf Hitler's genocidal policies and its position as Nazi Germany's most effective propaganda device in the state's effort to win popular approval of its destruction of "life undeserving of life." In so doing, the article refutes notions of the "marginal" nature of racial slurs routinely inserted in Nazi feature films compared to the corrosive effect of the infamous Nazi cinema subgenre of antisemitic film. Far from innocuous, these snippets were an important part of the industry's design to vilify people slated for eventual destruction. The article explores the industry's ploy of justifying its activities as its timely response to popular mandates when in fact no such mandates had been granted. Far from exculpating the movie-going public from having supported the industry's relentless propagandistic assault, however, the article closes with a brief discussion of the continued success of directors, actors, and actresses most prominently engaged in this shameful enterprise.