Nazi propaganda film about people with disabilities

Identifier
irn1003457
Language of Description
English
Alt. Identifiers
  • 2004.740.1
  • RG-60.4051
Dates
1 Jan 1935 - 31 Dec 1935
Level of Description
Item
Languages
  • Silent
Source
EHRI Partner

Creator(s)

Scope and Content

A propaganda film which laments the waste of money and other resources spent on caring for the mentally disabled and ill, at the expense of the "healthy" population. German intertitles describe the scenes. Film opens with busy street scenes, people going about their daily lives in the city. Switch to rural scenes, people farming, manual labor. Scenes of a Nazi parade and crowds at a huge outdoor rally. Flags flying, people saluting. A shot of the entrance to the "Silberhammer" mental institution; camera pans briefly around the surrounding countryside. The exterior of the institution, which appears neat and well-cared for. Male residents of the institution are shown harvesting potatoes. Interior with women holding hands. More shots of the large, comfortable institution contrasted with dirty, crowded street where "healthy" people are forced to live. Ragged clothing hangs on a line, group of children look down from an open window. More shots of disabled men and women, accompanied by nurses. Doctors attend to disabled patients. Disabled people drinking milk and eating bread. Medical personnel fastening straitjackets around patients. Shots of individuals; more nurses attending to patients. An adult woman cries and looks into the camera. Interior of the institution's kitchen; more feeding scenes and close-ups. Patients restrained in their beds. Shots of members of the same families, to illustrate heredity. Last shots show "healthy" Germans engaging in various activities. Hitler Youth, SS, others in various uniforms of the Nazi party.

Note(s)

  • Translations of the titles in the film can be found in departmental files.

  • Conditions of Use and/or Copyright updated. Correspondence from Bundesarchiv in May 2023, initially sent to Leslie Swift states: Public Domain. However, since copyright law may differ between the U.S. and Germany, Use statement U3 is being applied.

Subjects

Places

Genre

This description is derived directly from structured data provided to EHRI by a partner institution. This collection holding institution considers this description as an accurate reflection of the archival holdings to which it refers at the moment of data transfer.