Becky

Cribbs
Nazi Culture
April 30, 2016
Final Paper

Representations of Women in Popular III Reich Entertainment Film

When Hitler came to power, his goal was to make almost every aspect of German life to

reflect the ideologies of the Nazi Regime. Under the leadership of Joseph Goebbels, the
Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda held a very powerful role in German culture
from 1933 to 1945. One particularly interesting aspect of German film during the III Reich was
its portrayal of women. Under the Nazi Regime, there were very clear, strict expectations for
women. The women portrayed in different forms of German film ultimately reflect many of
these values, some in more noticeable ways than others. This analysis will focus on two films,
one of which was made just prior to the Ministrys establishment and the other made when the
regime was in full swing in 1941. Both films represent women in different lights, but common
themes can be extracted. Das Blaue Licht and Ich Klage An reflect dominant Nazi ideologies
concerning a womans role in life.

During the III Reich, Hitlers government set out very clear guidelines of the roles of

women within German life. Women were not encouraged to work outside of their houses.
Before the outbreak of World War II, those women with jobs were essentially forced to leave to
go home with their families. The ideal German woman was domestic, obedient, and motherly.
Hitler believed that a more racially pure German race would create a stronger, more efficient
army. For that reason, much of his ideologies focused on home life. In order to create the
Volkheimenschaft, Hitler needed to ensure the best common people he could. The Ministry of
Public Enlightenment and Propaganda encouraged women to focus their attention on their

roles as wives and mothers instead of as workers (Women in the Third Reich). Their duty to
their country was not to work to build the economy, it was to build a Volk of true Germans.

In terms of women in film, women were the main focus of the majority of Nazi

entertainment films. The terms Frauen (women) and Liebe (love) were among the most
common words used in film titles during the III Reich (Heins 45). Women in Nazi films held
several different roles that served a plethora of purposes for women to identify with. Women
in Nazi entertainment often find themselves in scandalous love triangles, positions of isolation,
and as trophies to be won. Some of these roles will be discussed later in this paper as they
appeared in both of the films in question.
Juntas Role in Das Blaue Licht

Das Blaue Licht was produced by Leni Riefenstahl and Bela Balazs in 1932, a year prior to

the establishment of the III Reich. The films depiction of nature particularly caught Hitlers eye.
As the film is rumored to be Hitlers favorite movie, Hitler asked Riefenstahl to help him create
propaganda pieces in later years (Rentschler 45). Riefenstahl claims, however, that her films
were in no way intended to be Nazi propaganda and denied any association with the party. As
Eric Rentschler explains in his book, The Ministry of Illusion, he considers this film to be
unaffected by Hitlers party. The film was created before Riefenstahl met Hitler and before she
has even heard of Mein Kampf (29). Given that this film was created prior to the Ministrys
creation, she had fewer restrictions in themes portrayed in the film. This is not to say that
themes associated with III Reich ideologies are not present--- they certainly are. The
representation of woman as something mysterious to be chased and a return to nature can
be seen in several films later produced under Hitlers control.

Das Blaue Licht tells the legend of a mystical woman of nature. Junta lives in a cave far
away from the small village, seldom coming down into town. The townspeople believe Junta to
be a witch because of a strange phenomena that occurs every time a full moon comes around.
Junta lives up on the mountainside near a cave filled with beautiful, shining crystals. On a full
moon, the moons light casts off of the crystals, causing a vibrant blue light to cast upon the
village. When young men see the light, they are compelled to climb the steep mountain to
Juntas home. No man has ever survived the climb--- sculptures have been carved into the
mountainside to commemorate those men who have died in the trek. When a painter comes
into town and learns of Junta, he successfully climbs to her and promises to care for her.

When the full moon approaches, Junta begins to act differently. One night, the painter

finds Junta in the crystal cave in what seems to be a trance. He startles her, braking her trance
and upsetting her deeply. He decides that the crystals are no longer safe for her or the villagers
who keep dying trying to reach them. He goes into town and gives the villagers a detailed map
of how to safely reach the crystals and Juntas home. Unbeknownst to Junta, the villagers
empty out the cave and become rich on her crystals. When she discovers that her oasis has
been rummaged, she becomes extremely distraught and falls to her own death off of the cliff
side.

In the film, we see Junta completely isolated from society. She is categorized as other

in a number of ways throughout the film. Most obviously, she is physically separated from
society. A treacherous mountain stands between her and the village people. Secondly, she is
ostracized from the general public because she is thought to be a witch. She is a sympathetic
character. The audience is compelled to pity this lonely woman who is betrayed by the painter

and the villagers when she meant no harm. This film may have been appealing to Hitler
because it portrayed this woman as a mystic and fascinating character. One particular scene
where we see this woman detached from society is when she comes to town as the
townspeople mourn the death of Silvio, a man who had attempted to climb the mountain the
previous night. The townspeople turn to see Junta, and chase her out of the village. At one
point, a villager pulls her into a dark corner, and it is assumed he assaults her in some manner.
This woman is singled out for her strangeness. Her identification as other characterizes her
as an object of enchanting desire when a full moon rises.
Junta dresses in torn up clothing, but still somehow has a radiant beauty to her. Camera
shots and angles identify her as a woman of nature. Several establishing shots throughout the
film show Junta in the foreground of a vast, serene nature shot. Grassy fields and rocky
mountains highlight her natural glow. In the scene where the painter finds Juntas dead body
after falling from the cliff, she is lying in a bed of healthy grass. A very common theme in
artwork under Hitlers Reich was nature scenes. Junta becomes synonymous with nature, as
the townspeople are associated with the destruction of nature and thus become the villains in
the film. When her crystal garden is robbed, what had once been a place of exquisite natural
beauty had died, and Juntas subsequent death resulted.
As discussed in Nazi Film Melodrama, the melodrama genre sought to tell stories of
reintegration. Those who were somehow deviating from the path of normalcy were somehow
reigned back in by means of several different cinematic techniques (Heins 15). In this case, this
mysterious other experienced her fate as a result of deviating from society. The end result of
most melodramas during the III Reich was the reestablishment of harmony, as can be seen in

the framing scenes where the couple learns of Juntas story form a history book. The audience
assumes that once this witch met her fate, normalcy ensued. Junta dies because her dream
world and ideals have been destroyed (Rentschler 47). The townspeople lived on with their
newfound riches, and the legend of Junta lived on only as a memorial of the men who died
trying to reach her.
Female Representations in Ich Klage An

Produced by Wolfgang Liebeneiner in 1941, Ich Klage An subtly promotes several

Nazi ideologies including euthanasia practices and appropriate roles for women. The film
was commissioned by Goebbels to persuade the public that euthanasia practices were
humane and socially justified. The film itself was released in the same month that the
Action T4 euthanasia program ended. The program was projected to complete its goal by
July 1941, so the public response to the horrific practices probably had no bearing on
Hitlers decision to end it (Euthanasia in Nazi Germany). Euthanasia was considered the
foundation for creating the perfect race, as discussed previously discussed. Ich Klage An
uses a romantic melodrama to address this ethical question.
Ich Klage An tells the story of Hanna Heyt, the beautiful, vibrant wife of a successful
medical researcher, Thomas Heyt. Thomas runs a research lab with two assistants, one of
which is a woman. When Hanna sees Bernhard, a family friend who happens to be a doctor,
Bernhard diagnoses her pain as Multiple Sclerosis. When Bernhard informs Thomas of his
discovery, Thomas vows to devote his research to finding a cure for his wife. When Thomas
and his team think they have a lead on a possible cause for her illness, Hannas health rapidly
declines. On the day that Thomas realizes his research is inconclusive, Hanna pleads him to

help her end the suffering. Thomas gives Hanna a lethal dose of her medication and she passes
peacefully. Thomas admits to poisoning Hanna to Bernhard, and the two fight over who acted
in the best interest of Hanna. Bernhard claimed that he refused to help her because he loved
her, and Thomas retorted that he did it because he loved her more.
The second half of the film shows the court hearing deciding whether or not Thomas is
guilty of murdering his wife. Several testimonies from witnesses suggest that he has in fact
committed murder, but the last witness, Bernhard is late to arrive. As the jury awaits
Bernhards testimony, several of the expert witnesses discuss the ethical question of assisted
suicide. The general consensus is that it is a just, humane practice to end suffering. When
Bernhard arrives and testifies that Hanna had in fact asked both he and her husband to assist
her, Thomas stands to argue with the court to make a decision. The film ends with Thomas
monologue pleading the jury to make a decision, a gesture that suggests a devotion to the
benefit of the people and a self-sacrifice to ones country, both of which were prominent Nazi
ideals.
Hanna exemplifies true German female values. Even until her dying moments, she
remains happy, hopeful, and alive. She can no longer move any of her limbs, but the promise of
a cure keeps her going. She is blindly loyal to her husband and makes the decision to die before
the disease takes her life to make her husbands pain go away. Hanna stood out as a beautiful,
cultured woman who played the piano and hosted parties to celebrate her husband. In the
dinner party scene, a fellow doctor proposes a toast to the Heyt couple. In his speech, the
doctor exclaims, Here in this house, Hanna has the arsenal of life. By this, he means that
Hanna has made a life for her and her husband while he was away doing his research. He

explains that Thomas would not have gotten the prestigious professorship position in Munich
had he not had Hanna to take care of his home. This reflects the Nazi ideology of a woman
devoting her life to being a wife and caregiver. Hanna is praised for her efforts to tend to her
husband as he made great strides in the medical field.
Prior to her diagnosis, Hanna suspects she has fallen pregnant. She cannot contain her
excitement as she believes she will be fulfilling her role as mother for her husband. Her
excitement highlights yet another very dominant theme in Nazi ideologies. Along with their
role as wife, women were expected to bear children. This role was considered crucial to the
creation of the pure Aryan race. Hannas crushing disappointment when she learns that what
she thought was a pregnancy turned out to be an incurable disease shows just how important
child-bearing was to the ideal German woman. Racial breeding was a topic specifically targeted
at German women during the Nazi Regime, as they were the ones to bear the children (Fox
164). For this reason, this plotline appealed to women in effort to encourage the production of
suitable offspring.
When Hanna visited Bernhard, a very close friend who agreed to diagnose her foot and
hand pain, she refused to allow him to examine her for a possible pregnancy because they had
almost gotten married before she fell for Thomas. This becomes important later on in the film
when Bernhard and Thomas argue over who loved Hanna more. This love triangle involving
two men and one woman was common in Nazi films including Hansens Die Grosse Liebe and
Sirks La Habanera. This struggle for a womans affection painted women as incredibly
important aspects of a German mans life. The love triangle plotline in this instance
represented the differing views on euthanasia practices. As a result, the opposing sides of the

love triangle also reflected Nazi ideologies versus non-Nazi ideas. The film ends without a
verdict, but the film favors the pro-euthanasia side, thus compelling the audience to agree.
Another character that represents traditional female gender norms in the film is Dr.
Barbara Burkhart. Amongst her colleagues, Barbaras expert opinion is considered lesser than
her male counterparts. During the trial testimonies, one doctor states that Barbara is smart
for being a woman. During the Nazi regime, women were not expected to work. Barbaras
judgment is clouded in her clinical research practice by compassion. One particular scene
where we see the idea of a woman as weak and driven more by emotion than logic occurs
when the research team attempts to infect lab mice with Multiple Sclerosis. After weeks of
failed attempts, one mouse finally becomes paralyzed. As she can clearly see how much pain
she has caused the small creature, Barbara expresses sympathy. The male doctors dismiss her
pitying the mouse and scoff at her. The reinforces the ideology that women were simply unfit
for certain positions in society and that she would be better off in a less objective role.
Ich Klage An generally supports several Nazi ideologies concerning both euthanasia
practices and expectations of females. As Hanna and Barbara are represented in different
positions but with similar values and beliefs, audiences were not-so-subtly shown the right
way to live. Traditional family values are supported through Hannas devotion to her home
and husband and her desire to mother his children, while Barbaras character supports the
notion that females belong away from the workforce because they are overly emotional and
should channel those feelings into nurturing children. Barbara is accused of attempting to show
a nonexistent strength in women, while Hanna assumed the role of domesticity leading up to
her diagnosis.

Conclusion

Film in the III Reich represented women in ways that generally supported Nazi

ideologies. Even as seen in the case of Das Blaue Licht, a film that was created sans Hitlers
influence, common themes concerning women can be found throughout entertainment films
created in this era. Junta was an object to be won, as portrayed by the numerous men who
died trying to reach her on the mountaintop. She essentially met her lethal fate as a result of
her reluctance to assimilate into society. Being that it was heavily influenced by the Ministry of
Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, Ich Klage An presented ideologies in a much more overt
manner. The female characters represented traditional female expectations through their
actions and the reactions of their peers in the film.

Works Cited
Das Blaue Licht. Dir. Leni Riefenstahl. Perf. Leni Riefenstahl. 1932. DVD.
Euthanasia in Nazi Germany The T4 Programme. Life. The Life Resources Charitable Trust,
2011. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
Fox, Jo. Filming Women in the Third Reich. Oxford: Berg, 2000. Print.
Heins, Laura. Nazi Film Melodrama. N.p.: U of Illinois, 2013. Print.
Ich Klage An. Dir. Wolfgang Liebeneiner. 1941. DVD.
Rentschler, Eric. The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
UP, 1996. Print.
Women in the Third Reich. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States
Holocaust Memorial Council, 29 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.