As one of the most famous propaganda films, Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (1935) succeeds in illustrating both Hitler’s ability to manipulate German minds and the eagerness the Germans had in hoping that Hitler was sent to save them. The film is eerily able to capture these images and make them intimidating even for audiences today. Riefenstahl’s use of camera angles, lenses, and music enhance the emotions felt during the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. She designed this film with intent of influencing German minds. As stated in Frank Tomasulo’s “The Mass Psychology of Fascist Cinema,” the film portrays Hitler as a religious and father figure. Germans were to look to him for guidance and have faith in his mission.
Throughout Triumph of the Will the masses look to Hitler as their father. His actions and speeches are strong. He never shows weakness on camera. Tomasulo says, “feeling at one with the authoritarian father figure makes a person feel at one with the fatherland.” Hitler epitomizes all things German and comes to represent more than just the German people. He becomes the entire nation.
The German people look to him for guidance like children looking to their father. This situation enhances their emotional attachment to him. In the scene of Hitler’s Youth, the camera is low and looking up to Hitler to give the viewpoint of a child gazing up to his father. The children in this scene also stand on their tiptoes to catch a glimpse of Hitler. These children seek their father’s approval. Also, in the parade scene Hitler is fixed in position, rarely moving. However, the troops are moving in the background, but they are blurred. They looked to him as a clear way to escape their confusion and troubled past.
There are also religious undertones throughout the film. In various scenes Riefenstahl places a light behind Hitler to give him a godlike and “mystical aura” around his head. This also lightens his hair to tie in with his idea of the perfect race being blond and blue eyed. In the opening scene, the camera films Hitler’s plane descending to the ground. The plane parts the clouds and lands. This compares to the predictions of the second coming found in the Book of Revelations. Tomasulo states that this scene casts Hitler as a “German Messiah” coming to save his people. Many of Hitler’s speeches also have religious references. For example, when speaking to the youth Hitler says, “you are flesh from our flesh and blood from our blood.” This parallels with Jesus’ last supper. Jesus gives the bread and wine telling the disciples that the bread is his body and the wine is his blood.
The religious and paternal undertones are very manipulative in the film. In times of turmoil, people commonly confide in their religion or family for guidance. In Triumph of the Will Hitler holds both of these positions. Interestingly, Tomasulo points out that in the Reich “our idea of God is identical with our idea of father.” The German people saw this displayed on film and trusted Hitler’s vision. They believed he would lead their country to success and were blinded by his corrupt ideas of achieving triumph.