Order in the Ant Colony
"Kulturfilm" in the Third Reich

20. bis 23. November 2003

Starting in imperial times and continuing up into the Nazi era and beyond, the so-called "Kulturfilm" was one of the principal tools of ideological state propaganda in Germany and Austria. Short films which were shown before the main feature in cinemas everywhere were intended to inculcate in the population ostensibly ideal perceptions of nation, homeland, family, health, and order in society. The social-political theories were frequently derived from the animal or plant worlds, most crudely and perfidiously so during the Nazi era. Talented figures in film such as Walther Ruttmann or Svend Noldan who had made names for themselves as avantgarde artists in the 1920s later participated in the creation of such propagandistic "Kulturfilms".
 

For one weekend, an event/symposium conceived by Ramón Reichert will devote its attention to the Kulturfilms of the Third Reich. Several programmes of films, prominent lecturers on the topic, as well as films about Kulturfilms (such as Vom Hirschkäfer zum Hakenkreuz ["From the Stag-Beetle to the Swastika"]) will offer rare glimpses into a genre which continues to leave subtle and not-so-subtle traces in today's media landscape.
 

In cooperation with SYNEMA – Society for Film and Media.