By every definition of the word propaganda, this is a propaganda film. At first, this might surprise a lot of viewers who are used to the idea that america can do no wrong and is an exception to history, but things like this show how the allies were guilty of slander as well. This short film details how in the wake of the second world war's conclusion in europe, germany is not only to be punished, but turned into a shadow of its former self. The country is split in half, occupied by four other nations, and obviously, no buildings or monuments honoring nazis are to exist anymore. Just like after the previous world war, germany was paying the price, but this time, rules would actually be enforced. The film is only 17 minutes, so you can't expect much, but the condescending tone of the narrator and cheesy script are what kill it for me. They go on to say how despite nazi germany being no more, ideas of racism still exist in america and elsewhere. Many americans after the war (believe it or not) felt the world would have been better off with an axis victory. A nazi dominated europe strictly controlling everything that happens on the continent and america cowering on the other side of the atlantic. Hitler Lives also makes use of footage taken from Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, the tried and true, time honored way to make a nazi movie. It just seems to me like this short was produced with the most casual of people in mind. People that want to be fed very entry level history and learn about how everyone from a certain country is automatically evil because they're from there. I remember reading about this short in a book I own on Frank Capra and other directors on their activities during the war, and the book says Dr. Seuss was actually the scriptwriter for this. Surprisingly, it doesn't mention the one event that was so unrelenting in its violence and scale that it formed an entirely new and horrific chapter in the book of human crime (the holocaust), and instead shows some crematoriums. There's no mention of how the nazis singled out certain races for extinction. Finally, the film talks about the possible rise of fascism in the US and how people back home have to be ready to combat it. Before america's entry into world war 2, there was actually an organization of german americans who followed nazi ideology. Led by Fritz Kuhn, a former world war 1 veteran, they held a rally for nazi supporters in Madison Square Garden in 1939. Kuhn was an outspoken critic of president Roosevelt and called him president "Rosenfeld", so the rise of fascism was definitely a possibility in america. However, the type of snarky attitude this film has doesn't get anything accomplished, since it says how germans are not to be trusted, even with the war over. Hitler Lives was also awarded an Oscar for best documentary, which is just kind of baffling to me. It demonstrates how the crimes of Hitler's Reich had to be paid for, and it was the average person who paid.
14 Reviews
Propaganda Tells Us About the Propagandists
jeremy_shops25 February 2007
As has been noted, this is unmitigated propaganda. As with all good propaganda, there are elements of truth sprinkled throughout.
Fact is, there is a part of the German character that (not unlike "patriotic" Americans) believes in racial or societal or cultural superiority.
Totally unaware of the irony, this film attributes to Germans many of the same threats to society that 1930s Nazi propaganda assigned to Jews, gypsies, and gays. This film was made a decade before Brown v. Board of Education, two decades before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, more than half a century before 9/11.
"Others" are to blame, you know. They always are.
Fact is, there is a part of the German character that (not unlike "patriotic" Americans) believes in racial or societal or cultural superiority.
Totally unaware of the irony, this film attributes to Germans many of the same threats to society that 1930s Nazi propaganda assigned to Jews, gypsies, and gays. This film was made a decade before Brown v. Board of Education, two decades before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, more than half a century before 9/11.
"Others" are to blame, you know. They always are.
Propaganda wasn't just a German thing
Horst_In_Translation14 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
"Hitler Lives" is an American documentary in the English language from 1945, so this one is already way over 70 years old. As most other (somewhat known) films from around this time, it is in black-and-white, but it has sound already. Lots of sound actually. Fittingly with the year, this is a documentary that still deals with the events of World War II, the German crimes in particular, but it is also about the look into the future. But this is where the film really comes short. It is okay from a documentary perspective in terms of telling us the horrible crimes of the Nazi regime, but it basically also says that even with the ones responsible gone, the German people is still downright evil. This may be true to some extent as they voted the Nazis into power, but it is still not really acceptable. The documentary's title is also not to my liking telling people that Hitler lives on in the German people and that it is just a matter of (short) time until the next Hitler will arise. Luckily, this documentary was wrong. I think many documentaries do a good job in reporting accurately and fact-based about the years of WWII and Nazi Germany, but this one here does not succeed at all to that regard. Quite in contrast, it is propaganda on the level of Nazi Germany at times, with the only difference that it lacks the antisemitic messages, subtle or not. I am a bit shocked the Academy honored this movie, but I guess it also shows how Germany was seen around that time, especially by Americans. It is an interesting piece of history, to some extent, but content-wise (and not message-wise) it delivers almost nothing of quality. I give it a thumbs-down.
Foul Propaganda
Bolesroor9 February 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I woke up this morning and turned on Turner Classic Movies
I was assaulted with "Hitler Lives," a blunt and charmless piece of US propaganda stronger than any cup of coffee.
The premise here is that Americans should be wary of Germans- in spite of the fact that Allied Forces have triumphed and Hitler has died. Yes, it seems every German is still considered a threat and potential Nazi at heart, so it's best to play it safe and just hate the lot of them. Dead bodies and wounded children are flashed on screen, along with hung corpses and mass graves... all haunting images of WWII, but a rather manipulative way of angering an audience and praising the military machine.
The greatest fault of this short film, however, is its objectiveness- or lack thereof. Our emotional narrator throws statistics to the wind and arrives at most of his conclusions by answering his own questions. ("Is every German a Nazi? No, but the bad outweigh the good!") These arbitrary statements give the movie a broad, reactionary feel, much too irresponsible for a topic of such importance. If the subject matter wasn't so horrifying the film might play as a comedy... as is it's just a horrifying reminder of Hitler and his army.
The premise here is that Americans should be wary of Germans- in spite of the fact that Allied Forces have triumphed and Hitler has died. Yes, it seems every German is still considered a threat and potential Nazi at heart, so it's best to play it safe and just hate the lot of them. Dead bodies and wounded children are flashed on screen, along with hung corpses and mass graves... all haunting images of WWII, but a rather manipulative way of angering an audience and praising the military machine.
The greatest fault of this short film, however, is its objectiveness- or lack thereof. Our emotional narrator throws statistics to the wind and arrives at most of his conclusions by answering his own questions. ("Is every German a Nazi? No, but the bad outweigh the good!") These arbitrary statements give the movie a broad, reactionary feel, much too irresponsible for a topic of such importance. If the subject matter wasn't so horrifying the film might play as a comedy... as is it's just a horrifying reminder of Hitler and his army.
Awful film about German attitudes in Late 1945
jimderrick25 February 2004
This film won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short in 1945, and I believe it is the worst film ever nominated for an Oscar. This was a War Department film produced for our occupation troops in Germany, at a time when they were not allowed to even speak to a German. The premise is that there are still thousands (millions?) of Nazis out in the population, and we must keep them from letting another Hitler lead Germany. With a message like that for our troops, it's a wonder that the(West)Germans were our allies in the cold war. The film is available on videotape, under the title "Your Job in Germany", from International Historic Films in Chicago and is very rarely shown on Turner Classic Movies..
"A republic -- if you can keep it"
boblipton8 August 2020
That's Benjamin Franklin's response to people who asked him, as he left the Constitutional Convention, what sort of government we had. In the same way, this short subject at the end of 1945, answers the question about what's the state of the world: a peace, if you can keep it.
Of course this short focuses on Germany, warning its audience that Germany had been a threat before, and could be a threat again, if we weren't careful. There's a tendency for people to see the past repeating itself.
As Mark Twain noted, history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Two months after this short was released, Churchill made his "Iron curtain" speech and the Cold War was on.
Of course this short focuses on Germany, warning its audience that Germany had been a threat before, and could be a threat again, if we weren't careful. There's a tendency for people to see the past repeating itself.
As Mark Twain noted, history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Two months after this short was released, Churchill made his "Iron curtain" speech and the Cold War was on.
Proving that Germans are just plain evil!
planktonrules8 March 2012
Considering that this film was made just after WWII, the virulence of this documentary isn't all that surprising. The folks who made this truly hated the German people and don't want the audience to forget that this nation is just plain evil!! The problem is that to do this, they must twist history to make their point--such as ridiculously claiming WWI was all Germany's fault and that Allied leaders apparently had nothing to do with it! You also are told that 'they' are ALL born liars, manipulators and underneath their nice exterior, they are ALL uncivilized monsters! Again, considering the millions that were butchered by the Nazis in WWII, this outright hatred isn't surprising--but it is pretty disturbing when seen today. Overall, a nasty little film that won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short! Had it simply stuck with the facts, it would have been a very potent film, but the tone and style of the film is very problematic.
"...the problem isn't the FEW but the MANY" and "...they ALL have the conquest disease"--need I say more?!
"...the problem isn't the FEW but the MANY" and "...they ALL have the conquest disease"--need I say more?!
Prejudicial and biased.
Rodrigo_Amaro8 June 2012
Narrow minded and positively worthless, the short "Hitler Lives" is the kind of piece of filmmaking that shouldn't exist at all, and not even get an Oscar with such miserable remarks.
End of WWII, Germany defeated and it's all quiet on the front, right? Wrong, according to this documentary. The danger now is the countless Nazists hidden amidst the German people, painted here as evil people, everybody had the same goal. It's too easy to beat up someone who's down and this thing makes it perfectly by quoting that Germans are a line of people who always needs blood and conquer lands, from Bismarck to Hitler. Sure, their leader at the time said things about them being of a superior race but that didn't mean all Germans agreed with such statement and his politics.
Often sarcastic and extremely filled with some prejudice, this propaganda made by the American government isn't different than the one famously known in the world in "Triumph of the Will". Its purpose is to explain why U.S. forces had reasons to stay in Germany to make it a safer place and to impeach that new radical movements rise up to surface to cause more damage to the world, that's the idea the film promotes by stating that Germans never know how to be and stay peaceful ("War. Phoney peace. War. Phoney peace." says the narrator). One can argue that the film's message of alerting people about the possibilities of a Nazi threat born again is useful, relevant but the problem is that it does that by generalizing that all Germans were favorable, supported the regime and they're all evil.
Good and informative archive footage is intertwined with some poor segments with actors. Thankfully this is short, never getting near the epic, boring yet important Riefenstahl film and those long marches and speeches. Worths a view for the presentation, the images and the way they sell an idea. The picture as a whole it's ridiculous. 4/10
End of WWII, Germany defeated and it's all quiet on the front, right? Wrong, according to this documentary. The danger now is the countless Nazists hidden amidst the German people, painted here as evil people, everybody had the same goal. It's too easy to beat up someone who's down and this thing makes it perfectly by quoting that Germans are a line of people who always needs blood and conquer lands, from Bismarck to Hitler. Sure, their leader at the time said things about them being of a superior race but that didn't mean all Germans agreed with such statement and his politics.
Often sarcastic and extremely filled with some prejudice, this propaganda made by the American government isn't different than the one famously known in the world in "Triumph of the Will". Its purpose is to explain why U.S. forces had reasons to stay in Germany to make it a safer place and to impeach that new radical movements rise up to surface to cause more damage to the world, that's the idea the film promotes by stating that Germans never know how to be and stay peaceful ("War. Phoney peace. War. Phoney peace." says the narrator). One can argue that the film's message of alerting people about the possibilities of a Nazi threat born again is useful, relevant but the problem is that it does that by generalizing that all Germans were favorable, supported the regime and they're all evil.
Good and informative archive footage is intertwined with some poor segments with actors. Thankfully this is short, never getting near the epic, boring yet important Riefenstahl film and those long marches and speeches. Worths a view for the presentation, the images and the way they sell an idea. The picture as a whole it's ridiculous. 4/10
intended one way, it turns out to be something else
lee_eisenberg20 January 2016
The 1945 winner of Best Documentary Short Subject is intended as an indictment of Nazism, but goes overboard in demonizing Germany. "Hitler Lives" would have been better had it looked at the roots of Hitler's rise to power. I will give the documentary credit for noting that there were people in the US who wanted to use racism as a wedge issue, and that there were those who wanted to have even more wars (it's worth noting that Franklin Roosevelt was negotiating with the Soviet Union to ensure that there would be no future wars, but then he died and Harry Truman ditched that prospect; as a result we've had a near continuous state of war ever since). The documentary also says to beware of people who don't believe in the American ideals of freedom (i.e., it predicted McCarthyism).
So, "Hitler Lives" is OK but very much an example of wartime propaganda. The director was Don Siegel, later the director of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "Dirty Harry".
So, "Hitler Lives" is OK but very much an example of wartime propaganda. The director was Don Siegel, later the director of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and "Dirty Harry".
Dated today, but excellent within the context of its time.
llltdesq25 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This short won the Academy Award. There will be spoilers ahead:
This short is clearly propaganda, is very dated today by the passage of time but was very well done and an excellent piece of propaganda within the time frame of its production and release. While it's rather easy to judge this from the luxury of 60 years+ of history since 1945, it's best to bear the following in mind: In December of 1945, when this was released, the war had been over for less than eight months. Anyone over 26 years old was over 18 in 1938 and could very easily remember Munich, had lived through the war and had seen what Germany did during the war and what things were like. Malmedy and the camps were very fresh in the minds of the people involved in making this.
It wasn't that hard to remember, if you were old enough, just how Germans were convinced between 1918 and 1933, that Germany should have won WWI and would have if it had not been "stabbed in the back" by its enemies. It wasn't all that hard, in 1945, to see the potential for the same attitudes in place on the ground then, which is part of the reason that there were still Allied troops on the ground occupying Germany. There WERE millions of former Nazi officials still around even if they weren't in charge at the moment. There were already voices saying we should just re-arm the Germans and point them at the Russians, to fight the Russians while we still had troops in place.
It may be hard to realize now, but there were people in the US who were still sympathetic to the Nazis, thought we should have been on their side and were active and making noise. This short is as much aimed at those voices in the US as it is at the Germans.
In 1945, a repeat of the history between 1918 1nd 1933 was a far more realistic possibility to people than what actually did happen from 1946 on. Remember, all they had to draw on was their memory of past history, whereas people in 2014 are looking back over a much more successful period-successful at least in part because the Allies had more success in "winning the peace" after WWII than they did after WWI.
The makers of this short should be judged by what they knew and what history they had to draw on, not the 60+ years of history which has taken place since this short was released. Excellent example of its type and well worth watching even as you realize that its pessimism and alarm have been superseded by the march of time. Most recommended.
This short is clearly propaganda, is very dated today by the passage of time but was very well done and an excellent piece of propaganda within the time frame of its production and release. While it's rather easy to judge this from the luxury of 60 years+ of history since 1945, it's best to bear the following in mind: In December of 1945, when this was released, the war had been over for less than eight months. Anyone over 26 years old was over 18 in 1938 and could very easily remember Munich, had lived through the war and had seen what Germany did during the war and what things were like. Malmedy and the camps were very fresh in the minds of the people involved in making this.
It wasn't that hard to remember, if you were old enough, just how Germans were convinced between 1918 and 1933, that Germany should have won WWI and would have if it had not been "stabbed in the back" by its enemies. It wasn't all that hard, in 1945, to see the potential for the same attitudes in place on the ground then, which is part of the reason that there were still Allied troops on the ground occupying Germany. There WERE millions of former Nazi officials still around even if they weren't in charge at the moment. There were already voices saying we should just re-arm the Germans and point them at the Russians, to fight the Russians while we still had troops in place.
It may be hard to realize now, but there were people in the US who were still sympathetic to the Nazis, thought we should have been on their side and were active and making noise. This short is as much aimed at those voices in the US as it is at the Germans.
In 1945, a repeat of the history between 1918 1nd 1933 was a far more realistic possibility to people than what actually did happen from 1946 on. Remember, all they had to draw on was their memory of past history, whereas people in 2014 are looking back over a much more successful period-successful at least in part because the Allies had more success in "winning the peace" after WWII than they did after WWI.
The makers of this short should be judged by what they knew and what history they had to draw on, not the 60+ years of history which has taken place since this short was released. Excellent example of its type and well worth watching even as you realize that its pessimism and alarm have been superseded by the march of time. Most recommended.
All About Those Bad Germans, But ..........
redryan6420 May 2018
...........Nothing About The Versailles Treaty.
OKAY, WE GET it. The War in Europe was over. "The Fuhrer", Adolf Hitler was now history. But we all must be vigilant in seeing that the ideas promulgated by the German Nazi Party, the Italian Fascist Party, the Imperial Japanese or any of the other groups advocating such political systems anywhere and everywhere are held in check. The film gets on to that idea very early on and continues so for the duration of the approximately 17 minutes on the screen.
WHEREAS WE DO understand that we must view a picture like this through the prism of time that was another period. The autocratically crafted narration by then famed newsman, Knox Manning, was appropriate at this time; what with World War II in Europe now just ended and Japan still fanatically fighting for the Land of the Rising Sun and their Emperor.
BUT STILL WE find that the story line (scenario or plot if you will) was just a little too heavy handed with its indictment of the German people as being inherently warlike. While we concede that the militarism of the Kingdom of Prussia was solely responsible for so many past wars.
THIS CONVENTIONAL WISDOM about the cause of World War I was the fault of Germany is flawed and biasedly thought out at best. Although the Imperial German government of Kaiser Wilhelm II would share in the blame, the other major powers of Austria-Hungary, Italy, France, Great Britain and Russia were certainly far from innocent. And we mustn't forget Serbia, whose people had a widespread case of nationalism; which led to the April 28, 1914 assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which in turn was the start of the First World War.
AND THAT EVENT brings us down to the end of hostilities on the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month or November 11, 1918. In turn, the Treaty of Versailles was negotiated between the Allied Powers and Germany on June 28, 1919. But rather than restoring a true state of peace, the aim was to punish Germany; as the Versailles agreement would testify to. With about 420 ordnances in the document, 400 were designed to punish Germany.
SUCH A DOCUMENT would surely lead to widespread suffering and resentment among the German people. In turn, one would expect that a radical political party and leader would emerge seeking revenge.
AND WASN'T THAT just what Hitler and thed Nazi Party were ?
OKAY, WE GET it. The War in Europe was over. "The Fuhrer", Adolf Hitler was now history. But we all must be vigilant in seeing that the ideas promulgated by the German Nazi Party, the Italian Fascist Party, the Imperial Japanese or any of the other groups advocating such political systems anywhere and everywhere are held in check. The film gets on to that idea very early on and continues so for the duration of the approximately 17 minutes on the screen.
WHEREAS WE DO understand that we must view a picture like this through the prism of time that was another period. The autocratically crafted narration by then famed newsman, Knox Manning, was appropriate at this time; what with World War II in Europe now just ended and Japan still fanatically fighting for the Land of the Rising Sun and their Emperor.
BUT STILL WE find that the story line (scenario or plot if you will) was just a little too heavy handed with its indictment of the German people as being inherently warlike. While we concede that the militarism of the Kingdom of Prussia was solely responsible for so many past wars.
THIS CONVENTIONAL WISDOM about the cause of World War I was the fault of Germany is flawed and biasedly thought out at best. Although the Imperial German government of Kaiser Wilhelm II would share in the blame, the other major powers of Austria-Hungary, Italy, France, Great Britain and Russia were certainly far from innocent. And we mustn't forget Serbia, whose people had a widespread case of nationalism; which led to the April 28, 1914 assassination of Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which in turn was the start of the First World War.
AND THAT EVENT brings us down to the end of hostilities on the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month or November 11, 1918. In turn, the Treaty of Versailles was negotiated between the Allied Powers and Germany on June 28, 1919. But rather than restoring a true state of peace, the aim was to punish Germany; as the Versailles agreement would testify to. With about 420 ordnances in the document, 400 were designed to punish Germany.
SUCH A DOCUMENT would surely lead to widespread suffering and resentment among the German people. In turn, one would expect that a radical political party and leader would emerge seeking revenge.
AND WASN'T THAT just what Hitler and thed Nazi Party were ?
Bitterness motivated this movie.
jimmy484410 February 2011
After years of war and deaths, feelings were strong against Germany and Japan. For most people, at that time, this film was not too graphic and it's likely children were not permitted to see it. Thousands and thousands of families lost sons and daughters in that war and the many refugees coming from Europe lived there to see these things first hand. Fear that the Germans would resort to a warlike stance again were well founded, like they say, you can't teach an old dog a new trick. In 1945 there still were many Nazi adherents in Germany and right here in the USA too, as there are even today. If there's fault in this presentation it is due to the profound bitterness generated by the atrocities witnessed by our fighting men. Especially notice, the curious fact, that with all those bodies shown, and the ovens too, none were identified as Jews.
Powerful Condemnation and Warning
jlthornb5118 May 2018
An extraordinarily powerful and deeply moving condemnation of Nazism and the threat it still represented among the German population following WWII. Beautifully directed by Don Siegal and featuring a stunning script by Theordore Geisel, this short film delivers a profound message in our own time. It is a sharp warning indeed to our own republic as it endures leadership that is pure demagoguery, authoritarianism, and dishonesty. The Germans bought the Big Lie Hitler was selling and now, an incredible number of Americans are doing the same. This film is a must see and should be shown in every theater and on television nightly for the next few years.
Dumb Short
Michael_Elliott26 April 2009
Hitler Lives (1945)
** (out of 4)
Stupid yet very strong propaganda film made by the War Department warning U.S. soldiers still in Germany not to trust their people even though the war is over. The documentary short tells us why German's are such evil people without holding back any punches. This type of thing certainly isn't going to sit well when viewed today but I suppose it did have a purpose in 1945 but even then this thing just goes way too far. The film preaches a lot of hatred while at the same time telling us that German people are wrong because they hate others. This film preaches that Americans are better yet it puts Germans down because they think they are better. This film preaches that German's hate other races and that American's "can love all races" yet I guess that didn't includes blacks considering how they were treated in our country in 1945. This film goes even further about shaking hands of German people because those same hands are the ones that killed women and children. We get some very graphic photos of various dead bodies being burned, buried or hung. There are some really ugly images here that many are going to turn their head away from but in the end it's all to throw fear at Americans. While this film is rather unpleasant to watch there's no doubt it's rather original as I can't recall too much preaching this much hatred.
** (out of 4)
Stupid yet very strong propaganda film made by the War Department warning U.S. soldiers still in Germany not to trust their people even though the war is over. The documentary short tells us why German's are such evil people without holding back any punches. This type of thing certainly isn't going to sit well when viewed today but I suppose it did have a purpose in 1945 but even then this thing just goes way too far. The film preaches a lot of hatred while at the same time telling us that German people are wrong because they hate others. This film preaches that Americans are better yet it puts Germans down because they think they are better. This film preaches that German's hate other races and that American's "can love all races" yet I guess that didn't includes blacks considering how they were treated in our country in 1945. This film goes even further about shaking hands of German people because those same hands are the ones that killed women and children. We get some very graphic photos of various dead bodies being burned, buried or hung. There are some really ugly images here that many are going to turn their head away from but in the end it's all to throw fear at Americans. While this film is rather unpleasant to watch there's no doubt it's rather original as I can't recall too much preaching this much hatred.
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