This is the infamous propaganda film by Leni Reifenstall (A. Hitler, executive producer) of the 1934 Nazi Party Congress and rally in Nuremberg, Germany. After the war, Reifenstall called it a mere documentary, but this was hagiography, pure and simple; and there was nothing “mere” about it. It is one of the greatest political propaganda pieces ever made. Certainly there was nothing like it in its day. Despite the irrefutable evil wrought by Hitler, the Nazi movement and the German people generally, some of which was already widespread at the time this picture was made, and notwithstanding the subsequent horrors of the holocaust and the Second World War, I have to admit “Triumph” is an impressive, powerful cinematic work. And, despite its high level of manipulation, it is still a documentary of great interest. More than seventy-five years later, it is still mesmerizing. And chilling, knowing what we know.
Hitler hired Reifenstall to make a propaganda film of this four day political rally, and the event was planned and staged with this in mind. From the beginning, the priority and latitude given to the director and her crew is evident.
The movie commences with a prologue that simultaneously expresses appreciation for Hitler’s agenda and of the historical nature of the film's contents :
On September 5, 1934
20 years after the outbreak of the Great War
16 years after the beginning of German suffering
19 months after the beginning of the German rebirth
Adolph Hitler flew again to Nuremberg to review the columns of his faithful followers.
This is followed by an aerial view of lovely white, puffy clouds, presumably as seen from Hitler’s plane as he approaches the Nuremberg airfield. Then the Fuehrer’s plane lands and he exits, smiling. There’s a motorcade into the old, medieval city, with cheering crowds, beaming German faces, etc.
The rest of the film glowingly documents the speeches and mammoth gatherings of the next three days: tens of thousands of uniformed farmers and laborers (the Labor Service [Reichsarbeitsdienst ]) in military formation, presenting arms with spades , rather than rifles; thousands more Hitler Youth; and a final mass gathering of at least 150,000 SA and SS troops on the final day. It is estimated that over a million Germans participated or attended this Nazi rally.
After all the negative press of the last seventy years, after all the focus on the fear, degradation, and oppression visited on the victims of the Nazis, it is easy to overlook the fact that for the majority of German citizens, the Nazi movement was very popular. Recalling all they’d been through - military defeat, government collapse, humiliating reparations, hyperinflation, the evaporation of economic security, a great depression, social tumult, paramilitary street battles, red scares, and a dysfunctional democracy - helps us understand how and why the National Socialists came to power in the first place, and thereafter stayed in power, despite their excesses and eccentricities, and how they were later able to sustain the war effort for as long as they did. The crowd loved what these Nazis were doing for Germany. They were “faithful followers” indeed. We see this in every frame of this movie.
Of course, power is another theme of the film, which attempts to glorify the growing strength of the new Reich, with the usual shots of tanks, guns, marching troops, uniformed brass, flags and the iconic and still powerful symbol of all this, the swastika. All of this, of couse, against a well known backdrop of Brown Shirt terrorism which helped bring the Nazis to power in the first place.
And there is Hitler and his cohort. There’s Rudolph Hess, Herman Goerring, Joseph Goebbels, and the rest, and short excerpts from their speeches. Mostly, though there is Hitler, the Leader. Hitler smiling at the children, Hitler saluting from his motorcar, or rather, acknowledging the salutes and acclamation of his people, Hitler speaking – preaching really – to the crowd in front of his hotel and to the tens and hundreds of thousands on the parade grounds, sternly, passionately exhorting the soldiers and the nation to follow him into the glorious future. Curiously, my reaction to seeing all this footage of Hitler and his high command was surprise at how unimpressive they appeared. They seemed so ordinary, lackluster even. How, I kept asking myself did they fool so many people into thinking they were superhuman. The banality of terror … .Another fascination of “Triumph”, for me at least, is how the cinematography works to further the propagandistic aims of the work. For its day, Riefenstahl’s techniques were state of the art. Aerial photography, swooping shots of the crowds on the street and the massed military on the parade grounds, moving cameras in vehicles, long shots juxtaposed with close-ups, military pomp side by side with intimate personal moments, exalted leaders immediately followed by the faces of rapt listeners. There is also effective use of patriotic iconography: soldiers, flags, torches, mass salutes, swastika banners, swastika monuments, swastikas everywhere. And then there’s the pairing of music with these images. Music is omnipresent, operating as a thematic and emotional soundtrack throughout the film - again, for its day an innovation. The opening starts with Wagner’s Die Meistersinger (of Nuremberg)which transforms into the infamous (and creepy) Horst-Wessel Song, which was the Nazi anthem. Later, we get military marches and other martial material, and more Wagner (Götterdämmerung) and , following the immense crowd’s rousing , repeated Sieg Heil salutes to Hitler, a close with the Horst-Wessel song again, sung by the multitude:
Clear the streets for the brownshirts,
Clear the streets for the stormtroopers!
Millions are filled with hope, when they see the swastika,
The day of freedom and bread is dawning!
The film does not mention Jews or Hitler’s anti-semitic theories. In fact there is little reference to racial politics at all; other than an allusion in one or two speech excerpts to the German ‘race” and to ridding the nation of ‘elements’ that are bad. I imagine that any anti-Jew diatribes were left on the cutting room floor. They might not play well in the West. I’ve no doubt everyone present knew all about the Nazi themes of anti-semitism and racial purification.
“Triumph” was released commercially in Germany and was a big hit. It was thereafter shown internationally to a mixed reception.
My mother, a German Jew, was born in Nuremberg and was about 15 years old when the events depicted took place there. What must she have felt as a million people converged on her town to cheer on a regime that stood against her and her family, her right to participate in her own society, her right to exist? My paternal grandparents were murdered by the protagonists a few years later in Auschwitz. Needless to say, I have no sympathy for the people or the Movement depicted in Triumph of the Will. But perhaps because of my family history, I’ve always been interested in how the Nazi brutes and ideologues came to power, and how the German people reacted to them. This film does not really answer the “how” question, but it certainly captures the mood of a time and place.
If all this sounds interesting, you should check it out. The film is a bit long at 114 minutes, but watch as much as you like.
Available on Amazon, Vudu, AppleTV, YouTube, and other services.
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