''Mein Kampf'' is a 1959 Swedish documentary film about the rise and fall 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 ...

directed by

Erwin Leiser Erwin Leiser (May 16, 1923 – August 22, 1996) was a German-born Jew and director, writer, and actor. Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden at the age of 15 to escape the Nazi Party. He graduated from the University of Lund and worked as a ...

. Distribution of the film began in 1959 and the film was a large commercial success.

US release

It was admired by

George Seaton George Seaton (April 17, 1911 – July 28, 1979) was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theatre director. Life and career Early life Seaton was born George Edward Stenius in South Bend, Indiana, of Swedish des ...

and

William Perlberg William Perlberg (October 22, 1900 in Łódź, Poland – October 31, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) was an American film producer. William Perlberg was born Wolf Perelberg, son of Israel Jakob Perelberg (later: Perlberg), a fur manufacturer ...

who saw it in Copenhagen and they suggested

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

buy it. The studio refused and instead the film was bought by Columbia for distribution in the United States for $50,000. It became a surprise hit in the US where it grossed an estimated $1.45 million.

German release

The film used footage from ''

Triumph of the Will ''Triumph of the Will'' (german: Triumph des Willens) is a 1935 German Nazi propaganda film directed, produced, edited and co-written by Leni Riefenstahl. Adolf Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his na ...

''. It was seen in a Munich cinema by

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...

who recalled she was "rendered speechless by what I saw on the screen" and considered it "a gross infringement of copyright and also intellectual theft." She sued for copyright infringement and accepted a financial settlement. Another company took over the case on Riefenstahl's behalf but lost in what was known as the "Minerva decision" which ruled that copyright in ''Triumph of the Will'' was not owned by Riefenstahl.

References

External links

Mein Kampf
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Mein Kampf
at Letterbox DVD
Mein Kampf
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

* * Swedish documentary films Swedish black-and-white films 1960s Swedish films 1960 films 1960 documentary films {{documentary-film-stub