Year: 1940
Director: Fritz Hippler
Country: Germany
Language: German
Piss on It's main writer Michael Carlisle is no stranger to controversial and/or propaganda film. Reviews have been written about Nazi documentary film-maker Leni Riefenstahl and her works Olympia and Triumph of the Will. While they were horrific pieces expressing Nazi love, they ultimately had very good technical qualities and were historically important. Can the same be said of The Eternal Jew? A film so vile that it helped in the destruction of 6 million European Jews. Lets find out.
In the film, the Jews of Poland, invaded by Germany in 1939. are depicted as filthy, evil, corrupt, and intent on world domination. Street scenes are shown prejudicial, along with clips from Jewish cinema of the day and photos of Jewish celebrities, while the narrator "explains" the Jewish problem. The climax and resolution of the film is Hitler's 1939 announcement that the Jewish race will meet its "annihilation"
The Eternal Jew is a film that made me shudder out of fear. In 2013 it feels more like a horror film considering that everything about Hippler's presentation was dead serious. Its incredibly upsetting that most of the German people could by into this film and it's shocking that this is how people felt about the Jewish community during this time period. The ending of Hippler's documentary is perhaps the most powerful ending in the history of cinema; a claim that Jews will be annihilated. Hitler was true to his word, he would try to kill them off during the Shoah, but thankfully he ultimately failed.
The picture is built upon lie after lie; it's conniving and brutal. However, it must be a well executed piece of propaganda, a terribly made picture wouldn't receive as many believers as this did. Unfortunately it's easy to make-up lies about another's culture if few non-Jewish people actually know about Jewish traditions. In the modern era The Eternal Jew is not watchable in any entertaining sense. It is now a warning about about the evils of propaganda and reliance on government controlled media in regards to information. It is a reminder that we should get to know other cultures, rather seeing them as outsiders.
In conclusion, The Eternal Jew is ultimately a heartbreaking film that contributed to mass genocide. Though I wonder if the historical importance and its new purpose as a warning against genocide can make fully make up for that? Luckily overtime the power of this Nazi picture has faded and now can be seen as fiction based on real attitudes. I don't recommend watching this film for pleasure, infact if you are at all entertained by Hippler's views then I suggest you check yourself into a mental ward. Piss on it! 2/5
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