"Your job in Germany" - interesting old propaganda video for american GIs stationed in Germany.

[Smith_3]

The video is in english, so even if you don't understand the article that goes with it, this is interesting to watch.

http://einestages.spiegel.de/static/topicalbumbackground/1822/der_film_der_seinen_zweck_verfehlte.html

What intrigued me about it is the whole "be suspicious, be alert thing". Doesn't this film, made in 1944, quite remarkably resemble the type of propaganda we see on our TVs today?

[rusty_parts2001]

1. Good catch!

[datasuspect]

2. interesting that there is no discussion under the "Debatte" tab

questions and issues related to postwar german identity are very complex.

[Smith_3]

3. those german newspaper websites are pretty inefficient at debates imo.

lagely because it is so easy to lose track of your posts and sometimes extremely hard to find a certain article. also i think the germans need to catch onto that threaded-discussion style. could help improve things significantly.

[tomreedtoon]

4. Somebody needs to parody this film!

The central point of the parody: switch Bush's America for Nazi Germany.

Instead of Goebbels, Limbaugh and O'Reilly.
Instead of swastika banners, "Mission Accomplished" banners and every backdrop Bush ever stood against.
Instead of happy dances...NASCAR races, Merle Haggard concerts and "God Bless the USA." And films where the Americans destroy evil foreigners like "True Lies" and "Rambo" and "Superforce."

"Sure, there are some Americans you can trust. But which ones? Maybe someday America can be cured of the war disease...the phony peace disease...but until then, we remain on guard."

And the closing credit shows a picture of Chairman Mao standing in front of a Wal-Mart with..."A Presentation of the Chinese Government Occupation Forces."

[XemaSab]

5. That is a hell of a video... not just for modern corollaries, but for historical interest

According to Babelfish, the text reads:

Postwar propaganda: The film "Your job belonged in Germany" to a set of training course films, those OSCAR praemierte US-American director franc Capra ("the life is not beautiful?", "arsenic and Spitzenhaeubchen") for the US army turned. The film should warn the GIs used in Germany as crew power to trust Germans. Soon after the film had been finished in April 1945, the war was to end. Many the time stationed US soldier longer in Germany did not want to accept Capras thesis of the joint and several debt of all Germans.

The national socialists recognized early the enormous value of the medium film: Their seizure of power in January 1933 the Nazis right after created its own propaganda Ministry, which controlled each aspect of the German film production. With its work "triumph of the will" became Leni scoring steel the star of the Nazi propaganda machine. The answer from America let be long in coming not. The successful Hollywood director franc Capra soon already worked on a "Gegengift against the poisonous ideas of a gentleman race".

Capra, son of a obstpflueckers, had come 1903 as six-year one with its family from Italy to Los Angeles, since 1922 worked it in the film industry. When director had it 1926 first successes in Hollywood, the break-through succeeded it in the Dreissigern, when it won the desired OSCAR Trophaee several times. Its films were based on populist motives: A small, but upright man successfully sits down against corrupt politicians or other rogues to the resistance and carries last end the victory off, thus in "Mr. Smith Goes ton Washington" - the film, which made James Stewart 1939 the star.

During the Second World War Capra should become the key figure - with the attempt of the US government to mobilize the combat will of the people liable for military service drawn in since 1940.

(Yeah, it doesn't make that much sense to me either. :P )

And on edit: does the word obstpflueckers belong in a family newspaper? :shrug: :crazy:

[Karenina]

6. So many of those GIs

NEVER LEFT GERMANY. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[lovuian]

7. Awesome

and you can see the same propoganda