31 October 2018

1938 Pogrom. On the 80th Anniversary
Film screening and discussion: Hitler's Hollywood. German Cinema in the Age of Propaganda, 1933-1945
Saturday, 10 November 2018, 7 pm, Pariser Platz

More than 1000 feature films were made in Germany between 1933 and 1945. Only very few of them were open propaganda. But, by the same token, they were not harmless entertainment either. Nazi cinema was a state-controlled industry. At the same time, it aspired to be "Great Cinema" – a German dream factory. Hitler's Hollywood tells the story of one of the darkest and most dramatic periods in the history of German cinema, remembering the Ufa films and their stars: Hans Albers, Heinz Rühmann, Zarah Leander, Ilse Werner, Marianne Hoppe, Gustav Gründgens and many others. The Nazi films were not only technically perfect, they were also emotional; they satisfied longings, allowed audiences to dream, offered refuge. These films were industrially prefabricated and manipulative. Perhaps the emotions evoked by these films were often feelings of self-delusion. But they were emotions. It is only in this vein that the impact of Nazi cinema can be understood. In its day, millions of people flocked to the cinema. What dreams did Germans dream in their own Germanic dream factory? What were they supposed to be dreaming of according to the authorities? How does propaganda work?

On the 80th anniversary of the November pogroms, the Akademie der Künste is showing the 2017 documentary, Hitler's Hollywood, by Rüdiger Suchsland. The discussion afterwards between filmmaker and Academy President Jeanine Meerapfel and the director will be moderated by film critic Andreas Kilb.

Part of the 1938 Pogrom book and event project.
With the kind support of the Gesellschaft der Freunde der Akademie der Künste

Event Information
1938 Pogrom. Hitler's Hollywood. German Cinema in the Age of Propaganda, 1933-1945 / Film Screening and Talk
Saturday, 10 November 2018, 7 pm, € 6/4
Discussion in German language
Akademie der Künste, Pariser Platz 4, 10117 Berlin
Documentary by Rüdiger Suchsland, D 2017, 100 min.
Ticket reservations: Tel. +49 (0)30 200 57-1000, ticket@adk.de
Press photos and tickets: Tel. +49 (0)30 200 57-1514, presse@adk.de