SKU 5955
Availability

SWASTIKA (1974)

Philippe Mora Writers: Lutz Becker, Philippe Mora Stars: Eva Braun, Galeazzo Ciano, Albert Einstein Eva Braun ... Herself (archive footage) Galeazzo Ciano Galeazzo Ciano ... Himself (archive footage) Albert Einstein Albert Einstein ... Himself (archive footage) Joseph Goebbels Joseph Goebbels ... Himself (archive footage) (as Josef Goebbels) Hermann Göring Hermann Göring ... Himself (archive footage) Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Himmler ... Himself (archive footage) Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler ... Himself (archive footage) Benito Mussolini Benito Mussolini ... Himself (archive footage) Jesse Owens Jesse Owens ... Himself (archive footage) Joachim von Ribbentrop Joachim von Ribbentrop ... Himself (archive footage)
$13.99

Swastika is the most controversial documentary about Hitler ever made. Utilizing intimate color home movie footage shot by Eva Braun, the film presents the private life of a dictator going on picnics and joking with friends; displaying a banal face to the man labeled as the devil incarnate by history. The film interweaves rare propaganda films, which presented Hitler as he wanted to be seen (consoling war widows and frolicking with young children). Director Philippe Mora combines these materials together to form a revelatory autobiography of Hitler's rise and fall, from the formation of the Nazi state through the end of WWII. After a tumultuous reception in Cannes in 1973, the film was banned in Germany for 37 years until 2010, when it opened to reviews acknowledging its significant contribution to understanding Nazism. As the opening credits state, "If Hitler is dehumanized and shown only as a devil, any future Hitler may not be recognized, simply because he is a human being."

DVD-R is in German, sometimes with English subtitles; but the work itself is meant to convey the idea(s) without necessary dialogues or their translation. Approx. 95 mins. See film sample for audio and video quality!

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