Post by Thomas Weber

‘Kolberg’ is a testament to Goebbels’ very modern conception of total war, according to which cognitive warfare was at least of equal importance to battles fought with traditional weapons. For the film, approximately 5,000 soldiers were temporarily withdrawn from the front to feature as extras in the film and thus produce epic early 19th century battle scenes. Indeed, Goebbels told his closest aide, Wilfred oven Oven, “that it is more important that the soldiers act in his film rather than fight at the front.” ✨ The story of the film (and of the city that gave its name to the film) is told supremely well in Kevin Prenger’s fascinating ‘Hitler’s Last Chance: Kolberg – The Propaganda Movie and the Rise and Fall of a German City’. ➡️ The Nazi regime put enormous resources into producing ‘Kolberg’ in 1943 and 1944, an early colour film with a gigantic budget, that finally was released in early 1945, more than a year after its anticipated release date and too late still to make a difference. The film depicts a famous episode from the Napoleonic wars: the siege of the city of Kolberg (today’s Kołobrzeg) close to the Baltic coast, during which all seemed lost, before the people rose together and overcame the invaders. ➡️ Even today, scenes from the film stir viewers eerily and scarily, such as when the townspeople and warriors of Kolberg rise up at the end of the film, marching through their town, chanting “Das Volk steht auf” to a rattling score, in response to the demand given to them: “Nun, Volk, steh auf und Sturm brich los’ (Now  people, stand up and storm erupt), the same slogan, originating in Napoleonic War era’s poet Theodor Körner, with which Goebbels had concluded his ‘Total War’ Sportpalast speech. 💥 Kevin Prenger’s final words of his book are well worth reading (as is of course his entire book): “Today, the story of Hitler’s last propaganda movie and the history of the city of the  same name may serve as a warning to politicians, opinion-makers and the trolls on social media alike who attempt to seduce people with half-truths and blatant lies. The responsibility it is important to see through modern propaganda and refute misleading chitchat and lies. Just like Goebbels’ movie then, in our time propaganda is beautifully wrapped but rotten from within. Seeing through this and guarding the truth is no less important today as it was then.” Here is a link to Kevin Prenger’s book: https://lnkd.in/eNwGBJmP On the way how Goebbels staged the film and used it as a weapon of cognitive warfare, you may also want to watch ‘Führer und Verführer’: https://lnkd.in/enS4grZJ The full film (i.e. Kolberg) is available here – but please read Prenger’s book first: https://lnkd.in/eJDsMrT2