Brigitte Braun

Politik im Kino: Deutsche und französische Filmpolitik und Filmpropaganda im besetzten Rheinland, 1918-1925

Following World War I (1914-1918) the Rhineland was occupied (1918-1930) by Allied troops and governed by the Allied Rhineland High Commission under French command. By a politics of “peaceful penetration” French authorities in the occupied territories tried to revive historical sympathies for the French nation and antipathies against Prussia. Furthermore, they wanted to promote their culture and open new markets for their film industry.

German authorities tried to thwart these French attempts. They refused to accept especially that the French occupying forces consisted partly of colonial troops, deployed for the purpose to Europe, because they refused being controlled and dominated by black soldiers.

Censorship as a Political Instrument

The Allied Rhineland High Commission and the local French authorities installed their own censorship to control the cinema screens of the occupied Rhineland. In addition, a German censorship was also valid, if not for films of French origin.

French Film Politics and Propaganda

In order to foster the screenings of French films and to endorse the French film industry in general, the French occupants attempted to buy cinemas in the Rhineland. Moreover, screenings in schools and institutions of continuous education were to call attention to the devastations in France, which had been brought about by German troops. Furthermore, French films were also to advertise among Germans the French culture.

German Film Politics and Propaganda

German authorities and patriotic associations fought against the „foreign infiltration of German cinemas“. Several ministries and private film companies attempted to produce their own films which were to show the sorrows and burdens of the foreign occupation and to promote a German Rhineland with all its beauties.

The German Campaign against the "Black Horror on the Rhine'

In the beginning of the1920’s Germany started a propaganda campaign against the 'Black horror on the Rhine’ to discredit internationally France and the occupation and to get rid of the French colonial troops. However, films like DIE SCHWARZE SCHMACH (D 1921) and DIE SCHWARZE PEST (D 1921) were soon banned by both German and French censorship.

 

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