''Sieg im Westen'' (''Victory in the West'') is a 1941

Nazi propaganda The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation o ...

film. It was produced by the

Oberkommando des Heeres The (; abbreviated OKH) was the Command (military formation), high command of the German Army (1935–1945), Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's German rearmament, rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' t ...

, the German Army High Command, rather than the Propaganda Ministry of

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

.Robert Edwin Hertzstein, ''The War That Hitler Won'' p281 Goebbels indeed sabotaged its release in minor ways, delaying its premiere and telling propagandists not to promote it.

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel () (15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944) was a German field marshal during World War II. Popularly known as the Desert Fox (, ), he served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as servi ...

has been described as ''enthusiastically'' helping to direct it.Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942-43, page 166 Bruce Allen Watson 2007 French prisoners of war were used during its making. The prologue consists of the Nazi version of European history and the origins of World War II, and the rest deals with the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, a

Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air su ...

in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

(10 May – 22 June 1940). The movie was made largely from newsreel footage recut into a documentary. The programme provided states that it is to show the audacity of the German offensive and the superiority of German arms, required because they will not be permitted to live in peace. It did not give Hitler or the Nazi party a central role, thus ensuring its disfavor with Goebbels. The Nazi journal "Der deutsche Film" called ''Sieg im Westen'' "the greatest of all German newsreels." Unlike many other German propaganda films, ''Sieg im Westen'' does not belittle the enemy, instead admitting that the

French soldiers French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...

fought gallantly. The war is presented "from above"; the battles are depicted as smooth forward advances on the map, with results from reports at the front. The "encirclement" of Germany is depicted by showing prisoners of war from far-off countries. During the shooting of the movie Black French soldiers who were prisoners of war were forced to take part in its making, at the end of the movie Germans forced them to carry out "exotic dance", most likely to underline their exotic "otherness" and as act of humiliation. On 14 August 1940, more than a dozen German Generals who had (three weeks ago) been appointed

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

after the successful Westfeldzug were in Berlin to be presented with their ceremonial batons. While in Berlin, they were shown 'Sieg im Westen'.An American journalist watched it, too, and made that public. Charles Messenger (1991/ reprint 2012), ''The Last Prussian: A Biography of Field Marshal Gerd Von Rundstedt'', p
127
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References

External links

* {{IMDb title, 197879, Sieg im Westen
Information at International Historic FilmsPicture
of a program
Free access to the film at the Internet Archive
1941 films 1941 documentary films Black-and-white documentary films German documentary films Films of Nazi Germany Nazi World War II propaganda films German black-and-white films 1940s German-language films

See also

References

Further reading

External links