Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (known more commonly as Leni Riefenstahl; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German actress, dancer, and director best known for her films Triumph of the Will and Olympia. Her involvement in Nazi propaganda has made her a controversial figure though film historians can not deny that her work as a director was pioneering. She died childless and single as a long time member of Greenpeace at 101 years of age in 2003 from cancer a year after releasing her last film; Impressions Under Water- a documentary of which she had this to say; "Impressionen Unterwasser certainly isn't a 'comeback'. I was always active and continue to be so. My film shows the beauty of the underwater world. I hope it will touch the viewer's conscience as it illustrates just what the world will lose when nothing is done to stop the destruction of our oceans. I once said that I am fascinated by the beautiful and the living. I seek harmony and, under water, I have found it." [1]
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Dancing[]
Acting[]
Pre-War Directing[]
Triumph of the Wills & Olympia
World War II[]
When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939 Leni accompanied them in a military uniform as a war correspondent. In the 12th of September she was present at the town of Konskie where 30 civilians where executed for an alleged attack on German soldiers. According to Leni's memoir she tried to intervene but an angry officer threatened to shoot her if she did and his threats where enough. A photographer who was part of the correspondence crew took photos of her in that moment, and those distraught photos survive today. After the filming of Hitler's Victory Parade in Warsaw Leni vowed never to make another Nazi film.
When Germany took Paris, France on the 14th of June in the year 1940 Leni like so many at the time felt the war was near to an end and sent a heartfelt Telegram to Hitler; "With indescribable joy, deeply moved and filled with burning gratitude, we share with you, my Führer, your and Germany's greatest victory, the entry of German troops into Paris. You exceed anything human imagination has the power to conceive, achieving deeds without parallel in the history of mankind. How can we ever thank you?" Leni had known Hitler since directing her first film and correspondence between them was not uncommon.
In keeping with her conviction she began work on directing Tiefland, an operatic drama set in Spain where the peasant Pedro competes with Don Sebastian for the affections of Amelia. The film needed extras though, and a cast resembling Hispanics which where hard to find in Germany. When word of this difficulty was heard several people of Sinti and Roma ethnicity where procured from a nearby concentration camp to serve as extras in 1942. Leni felt very personally about the film and had stated of it that she had met several of the extras after the war and that they did not, at it was rumored, die in the camps. She even went so far as to sue Gladitz- a man who in making a documentary claimed that Leni had personally chose the extras herself. The case was taken into court where, thanks to a survivor found by Gladitz, it was proven that while Leni knew where the extras came from she was not aware that they where sent to Auschwitz after filming. The film wouldn't be completed till 1944 and not released till 1954 after the war due partially to the films lack of German culture.
Hitler attended her wedding to Peter Jacob in 1944, the same year that her brother died on the Russian front. The wedding was the last time Leni saw Hitler. In 1946 she divorced Peter Jacob.
After the War[]
Detention and Trial[]
"It was the biggest catastrophe of my life. Until the day I die people will keep saying, 'Leni is a Nazi', and I'll keep saying, 'But what did she do?'"
Leni was among the many Germans taken to see the camps when the Allies took Germany. This was done after her arrest by the OSS. She was noted as declaring her self 'misunderstood' and 'not political' in response to her arrest. The aim of taking her into custody was to have her identify Nazi war criminals in footage captured by the Allied forces. During her trial it was determined that she was 'politically naive' and no more then a follower.
After[]
In 2002 the fate of the Gypsies who acted in the film Tiefland came up again, this time in a case brought up by the Romanian government who demanded that Leni apologize for denying the fate of the Gypsies. This was after the Gladitz case and to it she had to say; "I regret that Sinti and Roma had to suffer during the period of National Socialism. It is known today that many of them were murdered in concentration camps"
Filmography[]
(List currently incomplete)
- 1932: Das Blaue Licht ("The Blue Light") - Acted in and Directed
- 1933: S.O.S Eisberg ("S.O.S. Iceberg)
- 1935: Tag der Freiheit: Unsere Wehrmacht (Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces)
- 1937: Wilde Wasser ("Wild Water")
- 1938: Olympia
- 1954: Tiefland ("Lowlands") - Acted in and Directed
- 1965: Allein unter den Nuba ("Alone Among the Nuba") (Unreleased)
- 2002: Impressionen unter Wasser ("Impressions under Water")
Portrayals in Media[]
- Race (2016 film)
Sources[]
- In the Shadow of the Swastika; an article published in The Guardian on the 23rd of August 2002