Brutality in Stone (german: Brutalität in Stein) is a 1961 German documentary film directed by

Alexander Kluge Alexander Kluge (born 14 February 1932) is a German author, philosopher, academic and film director. Early life, education and early career Kluge was born in Halberstadt, Province of Saxony (now Saxony-Anhalt), Germany. After growing up durin ...

and

Peter Schamoni Peter Schamoni (27 March 1934 – 14 June 2011) was a German film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 35 films between 1957 and 2011. His 1966 film '' No Shooting Time for Foxes'' was entered into the 16th Berlin Internation ...

. Produced at a time when German cinema preferred to forget the nation's Nazi past, the black and white film recalls the speeches and rallies of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

in a largely motionless setting.

Background

Visually, the film focuses on the architecture of the ruined

Nazi party rally grounds The Nazi party rally grounds (german: Reichsparteitagsgelände, literally: ''Reich Party Congress Grounds'') covered about 11 square kilometres in the southeast of Nuremberg, Germany. Six Nuremberg Rally, Nazi party rallies were held there betwe ...

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

. The film draws connection between the design of these structures and the ideology of

National Socialism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

. Repetitive motifs, such as pillars and sharp corners, have particular visual prominence in the film. Art historian Hans-Ernst Mittig refers to the combative angles and lockstep orderliness of the structures as "architectural militarism" (German: ''architektonischer Militarismus''), which reverberates in the film's audio of cheering crowds at Hitler's rallies. ''Brutality in Stone'' premiered at what is now known as the

International Short Film Festival Oberhausen The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen, founded in 1954, is one of the oldest short film festivals in the world. Held in Oberhausen, it is one of the major international platforms for the short form. The festival holds an International C ...

in 1961 as an inaugural film of a "

new generation "New Generation" is the third and final single from the album ''Dog Man Star'' by English rock band Suede, released on 30 January 1995 through Nude Records. It is the first single to feature music by new guitarist Richard Oakes. Though the tit ...

" of German cinema.

References

{{reflist 1961 short films 1961 films 1961 documentary films German short documentary films 1960s short documentary films West German films Films directed by Alexander Kluge Films directed by Peter Schamoni

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

1960s German-language films 1960s German films