The following is a list of German National Socialist propaganda films. Before and during the Second World War, the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda under Joseph Goebbels produced several propaganda films designed for the general public. Production of films made to serve a propaganda purpose was not limited to the Axis powers, but was produced by both sides, such as the Allies' production of propaganda films.
The list of films may contain films concerning several different subjects or genres, but who all functioned as propaganda films of the Third Reich.
Release date: The date of the film's release (or premiere)
Original title: The film's original German title
English title: English language title (titles in italic marks official English title)
Running time: Length of the film as released
Type: Genre and function
Producer: The producer(s) of the film
Director: The director(s) of the film
Cast: Leading actors and actresses
Notes: Additional comments and notes, such as propaganda use and post-war history.
| Release date | Original title | English title | Running time | Type | Producer | Director | Cast | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | Eine Symphonie des Kampfwillens | A Symphony of the Will to Fight | 30 min (ca.) | Adolf Hitler NSDAP members Nuremberg Rally attendants | First documentary of a Nuremberg Rally. | ||||
| 1929 | Der Nürnberger Parteitag der NSDAP | The Nuremberg Convention of the NSDAP | 90 min (ca.) | NSDAP | Documents the 4th party convention of the NSDAP, which occurred at Nuremberg 2 August 1929 | ||||
| June 14, 1933 | S.A.-Mann Brand | Storm Trooper Brand | 94 min | Franz Seitz | |||||
| September 19, 1933 | Hitler Youth Quex Our Flag Leads Us Forward (US) | 95 min | Karl Ritter | Hans Steinhoff | Today classified as a in Germany | ||||
| 1 December 1933 | Der Sieg des Glaubens | The Victory of Faith | 64 min | Leni Riefenstahl | First propaganda film directed by Riefenstahl. Recounts the Fifth Party Rally of the Nazi Party, which occurred in Nuremberg from 30 August to 3 September 1933. | ||||
| 8 December 1933 | Flüchtlinge | "Refugees" | 87 min | Feature film | |||||
| 13 December 1933 | Hans Westmar. Einer von vielen. Ein deutsches Schicksal aus dem Jahre 1929 | "Hans Westmar. One of many. A German Fate from the Year 1929" | 132 min | Feature film | Robert Ernst | Franz Wenzler | |||
| 28 December 1934 | Um das Menschenrecht. Ein Filmwerk aus der Freikorpszeit | "About human rights" | Hans Zöberlein (executive) | Hans Zöberlein Ludwig Schmid-Wildy | Released as Sturmtage 1919 in Austria | ||||
| 24 January 1935 | Nur nicht weich werden, Susanne! Eine Groteske aus vergangener Zeit | Don't Lose Heart, Suzanne! | Jessie Vihrog Veit Harlan Willi Schur Hilde Krüger, etc. | ||||||
| 29 January 1935 | Der alte und der junge König | The Old and the Young King | 100 min | Deka-Film GmbH | |||||
| 28 March 1935 | Triumph des Willens | Triumph of the Will | 114 min | Leni Riefenstahl | Leni Riefenstahl | Adolf Hitler Heinrich Himmler Viktor Lutze other NSDAP leaders | Riefenstahl won several awards, not only in Germany but also in the United States, France, Sweden and other countries | ||
| 26 April 1935 | Das Mädchen Johanna | Joan of Arc | 87 min | First female personification of the Führer | |||||
| 19 November 1935 | Friesennot | Frisions in Distress | 97 min | Alfred Bittins Dr. Scheunemann Hermann Schmidt | Peter Hagen | Reissued as Dorf im roten Sturm in Germany | |||
| 30 December 1935 | Der höhere Befehl | The Higher Command | 93 min | Historical film | Bruno Duday | Gerhard Lamprecht | Lil Dagover Karl Ludwig Diehl Heli Finkenzeller Friedrich Kayßler | Highlights German-British historical relations in an attempt to ensure an alliance with Great Britain. | |
| 30 December 1935 | Day of Freedom: Our Armed Forces | 28 min | Documentary film | Leni Riefenstahl | Leni Riefenstahl | Adolf Hitler Hermann Göring Rudolf Hess Heinrich Himmler | Recounts the Seventh Party Rally of the Nazi Party, which occurred in Nuremberg on 10–16 September 1935. | ||
| 1935 | Das Erbe | The Inheritance | 12 min | Short film | Harold Mayer | Carl Hartmann | |||
| 16 June 1936 | Traumulus | The Dreamer | 100 min | Drama film | Carl Froelich | Emil Jannings Hilde Weissner Harald Paulsen Hildegard Barko | |||
| 16 June 1936 | Ewiger Wald | Enchanted Forest | 75 min | Hanns Springer Rolf von Sonjevski-Jamrowski | Albert Graf von Pestalozza | ||||
| 9 September 1936 | Verräter | The Traitor | 92 min | War drama film | Hans Ritter | Lída Baarová Willy Birgel Irene von Meyendorff | |||
| 1936 | Erbkrank | The Hereditary Defective | 25 min | ||||||
| 5 January 1937 | Battleship Sevastopol: "White Slaves" | 111 min | War drama film | Karl Anton | Theodor Loos Gabriele Hoffmann Camilla Horn Karl John | Rereleased as Rote Bestien (Red Beasts) | |||
| 17 March 1937 | Der Herrscher | The Master | 103 min | Drama film | Veit Harlan | Emil Jannings Paul Wagner Hannes Stelzer | Propagandistic demonstration of the Führerprinzip of Nazi Germany.[1] | ||
| 1937 | Alles Leben ist Kampf | All Life is Struggle | 27 min | Herbert Gerdes W. Hüttig | |||||
| 1937 | Victims of the Past: The Sin against Blood and Race | 25 min | Kurt Mühlhardt Trude Haefelin Max Lohmann | ||||||
| 1937 | Festliches Nürnberg | Festive Nuremberg | 21 min | Adolf Hitler Hermann Göring other NSDAP leaders | |||||
| 11 January 1938 | Urlaub auf Ehrenwort | Leave on Word of Honour | 87 min | War drama film | Karl Ritter | Karl Ritter | Rolf Moebius Fritz Kampers Rene Deltgen Otto Graf | ||
| 28 March 1938 | Wort und Tat | Words and Deeds | 10 min | ||||||
| 20 April 1938 | Olympia | Olympia | 226 min | Leni Riefenstahl | Leni Riefenstahl | Documenting the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. | |||
| 22 December 1938 | Pour le Mérite | Pour le Mérite | 121 min | Karl Ritter | |||||
| 8 March 1939 | Aufruhr in Damaskus | Uproar in Damascus | 103 min | Gustav Ucicky | |||||
| 7 July 1939 | Robert und Bertram | Robert and Bertram | 86 min | ||||||
| 10 August 1939 | Der Westwall | "The Westwall" | 46 min | Fritz Hippler | |||||
| 5 September 1939 | Kadetten | Cadets | 94 min | Karl Ritter | Karl Ritter | General release was 2 December 1941 due to its anti-Russian theme following the Nazi-Soviet Pact. |
| Release date | Original title | English title | Running time | Type | Producer | Director | Cast | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 October 1939 | Leinen aus Irland | Linen from Ireland | 98 min | Heinz Helbig | |||||
| 26 October 1939 | D III 88 | D III 88 | 109 min | Fred Lyssa | Herbert Maisch Hans Bertram | Christian Kayßler Otto Wernicke; Heinz Welzel Hermann Braun | |||
| 8 February 1940 | Feldzug in Polen | The Campaign in Poland | 69 min | ||||||
| February 1940 | Der Marsch zum Führer | The March to the Führer | 45 min | Documents the nationwide march of Hitler Youth to Nuremberg for the Nazi Party Rally. | |||||
| 5 April 1940 | Feuertaufe | Baptism by Fire | 90 min | Herbert Gernot Hermann Göring Adolf Hitler | Showed to ambassadors from the Scandinavian countries on the eve of Operation Weserübung. Documents the destruction of Polish cities by the Luftwaffe. | ||||
| 24 April 1940 | Der Fuchs von Glenarvon | The Fox of Glenarvon | 91 min | Herbert Engelsing | Max W. Kimmich | Olga Chekhova Karl Ludwig Diehl Ferdinand Marian Elisabeth Flickenschildt | |||
| 24 April 1940 | Der Postmeister | The Postmaster/The Station Master | 92 min | ||||||
| 17 July 1940 | Die Rothschilds | The Rothschilds | 97 min | C.M. Köhn | Erich Ponto Carl Kuhlmann Herbert Hübner | ||||
| 24 September 1940 | Jud Süß | Süss the Jew | 98 min | Otto Lehmann | |||||
| 1 November 1940 | Das Herz der Königin | The Heart of the Queen | 112 min | Historical film | Carl Froelich | ||||
| 28 November 1940 | Der Ewige Jude | The Eternal Jew | 62 min | Deutsche Film Gesellschaft | Fritz Hippler | Harry Giese | |||
| 6 December 1940 | Bismarck | Bismarck | 118 min | Historical film | Heinrich Jonen Willi Wiesner | Wolfgang Liebeneiner | Paul Hartmann Friedrich Kayßler Lil Dagover | ||
| 30 December 1940 | Wunschkonzert | Request Concert | 103 min | Drama film | Felix Pfitzner | Eduard von Borsody | Ilse Werner Carl Raddatz Joachim Brennecke | ||
| 1940 | Vom Bäumlein, das andere Blätter hat gewollt | "Of the little tree which wished for different leaves" | 7 min | Hubert Schonger | Heinz Tischmeyer | ||||
| 1940 | Kampf um Norwegen – Feldzug 1940 | Battle for Norway - 1940 Campaign | 81 min | Documentary film | Martin Rikli Werner Buhre | Never screened. Assumed lost until copy resurfaced in 2006. | |||
| 1940–1945 | Die Deutsche Wochenschau | The German Weekly Review | Unified newsreel series | ||||||
| 17 February 1941 | Mein Leben für Irland | My Life for Ireland | 90 min | Max W. Kimmich | Anna Dammann René Deltgen Paul Wegener Werner Hinz | ||||
| 28 February 1941 | Kampfgeschwader Lützow | Fighting Squadron Lützow | 109 min | Hans Bertram | Christian Kayßler Hermann Braun Heinz Welzel | Classified as a Vorbehaltsfilm today in Germany | |||
| 21 March 1941 | Über alles in der Welt | Above All Else in the World | 85 min | Drama film | Karl Ritter | Paul Hartmann Hannes Stelzer Fritz Kampers | |||
| 21 March 1941 | Carl Peters | Carl Peters | 110 min | Historical drama film | |||||
| 23 March 1941 | Sieg im Westen | Victory in the West | 114 min | Documentary film | Fritz Hippler | Svend Noldan | Erwin Rommel Adolf Hitler | ||
| 4 April 1941 | Ohm Krüger | Uncle Krüger | 135 min | Biographical film | Emil Jannings | Hans Steinhoff | Emil Jannings Lucie Höflich Werner Hinz | ||
| 17 April 1941 | Liebe ist zollfrei | Love is Duty Free | Comedy film | Emerich Walter Emo | Hans Moser Susi Peter Theodor Danegger | ||||
| 27 June 1941 | Stukas | Stukas | 101 min | Karl Ritter | Carl Raddatz Hannes Stelzer Ernst von Klipstein | Staatsauftragsfilm | |||
| 9 May 1941 | U-Boote westwärts! | U-boat Westward! | 98 min | Günther Rittau | Herbert Wilk | ||||
| 4 June 1941 | Venus vor Gericht | Venus on Trial | 90 min | Drama film | Ottmar Ostermayr | Hans H. Zerlett | Hannes Stelzer Hansi Knoteck Paul Dahlke Siegfried Breuer | ||
| 29 August 1941 | Ich klage an | I Accuse | 125 min | Drama film | Wolfgang Liebeneiner | Heidemarie Hatheyer Paul Hartmann Mathias Wieman | |||
| 31 August 1941 | Heimkehr | Homecoming | 94 min | Drama film | Karl Hartl | Gustav Ucicky | Paula Wessely Attila Hörbiger Carl Raddatz | ||
| 19 December 1941 | Menschen im Sturm | People in the Storm | 80 min | Drama film | Fritz Peter Buch | Gustav Diessl Olga Chekhova Hannelore Schroth | Propaganda to justify an invasion of Slovenia | ||
| 3 March 1942 | Der große König | The Great King | 118 min | Drama film | Otto Gebühr | ||||
| 12 June 1942 | Die große Liebe | The Great Love | 100 min | Drama film | The most commercially successful film in the history of the Third Reich. | ||||
| 14 August 1942 | G.P.U. | The Red Terror | 99 min | Karl Ritter | Karl Ritter | ||||
| 25 August 1942 | Anschlag auf Baku | Attack on Baku | 91 min | Thriller film | |||||
| 25 August 1942 | Der 5. Juni | 5 June | 99 min | War film | |||||
| 3 September 1942 | Die goldene Stadt | "The Golden City" | 110 min | Drama film | Veit Harlan | ||||
| 9 September 1941 | Annelie | Annelie | 99 min | Drama film | Portrays the National Socialist woman | ||||
| 6 October 1942 | Die Entlassung | Bismarck's Dismissal | 110 min | Biographical film | Emil Jannings Fritz Klotsch | Emil Jannings Margarete Schön Christian Kayßler | Also known as Schicksalswende (West German rerun title) and Wilhelm II. und Bismarck (new West German title) | ||
| 3 March 1943 | Münchhausen | Münchhausen | 105 min | Fantasy comedy film | Eberhard Schmidt | ||||
| 26 August 1943 | Wien 1910 | Vienna 1910 | 92 min | Biographical film | Emerich Walter Emo | Rudolf Forster Heinrich George Lil Dagover | |||
| 10 November 1943 | Titanic | Titanic | 85 min | Drama film | |||||
| November 1943 | Besatzung Dora | The Crew of the Dora | 91 min | Drama war film | Karl Ritter | ||||
| 6 July 1944 | Die Degenhardts | The Degenhardts | 93 min | Drama film | Heinrich George | Werner Klingler | |||
| 8 December 1944 | Opfergang | Rite of Sacrifice | 98 min | Drama film | Veit Harlan | Kristina Söderbaum Carl Raddatz Irene von Meyendorff | |||
| 1944 | Theresienstadt. Ein Dokumentarfilm aus dem jüdischen Siedlungsgebiet | Theresienstadt: A Documentary Film from the Jewish Settlement Area | 90 min (ca.) | Documentary short film | Karel Pečený (Aktualita Prag) for the SS-Central Office for the Settlement of the Jewish Question in Bohemia and Moravia | Kurt Gerron (under Hans Günther & Karl Rahm) | Only 22 minutes of footage extant. | ||
| 1944 | Panorama | Panorama | Newsreel series | Quarterly colour newsreel series | |||||
| 30 January 1945 | Kolberg | Kolberg | 110 min | Historical film | Veit Harlan | Veit Harlan | Kristina Söderbaum Heinrich George Paul Wegener Horst Caspar |