''From Caligari to Hitler: A Psychological History of the German Film'' is a book by film critic and writer

Siegfried Kracauer Siegfried Kracauer (; ; February 8, 1889 – November 26, 1966) was a German writer, journalist, sociologist, cultural critic, and film theorist. He has sometimes been associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He is notable for ...

, published in 1947.

Background

This work of

film theory Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for unde ...

is one of the first major studies of

German film The film industry in Germany can be traced back to the late 19th century. German cinema made major technical and artistic contributions to early film, broadcasting and television technology. Babelsberg became a household synonym for the early 20 ...

between

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and is best known for proposing a link between the apolitical and escapist orientation of Weimar-era cinema and later German

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and reg ...

. Kracauer—known as an important film critic in Germany from the 1920s onward—moved from exile in France to the United States in 1941. Once settled in New York City, he received support from the Rockefeller and

Solomon R. Guggenheim Solomon Robert Guggenheim (February 2, 1861 – November 3, 1949) was an American businessman and art collector. He is best known for establishing the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Gugg ...

foundations to conduct research on Nazi film. His first publication from these investigations, ''Propaganda and the Nazi War Film'' (1942), examines visual themes in Nazi propaganda films as tools of psychologal influence. The second work Krakauer published from his research is ''From Caligari to Hitler'' in 1947.

Summary

The book identifies and examines four chronological phases of German film between the wars: The Archaic Period (1895–1918), The Postwar Period (1918–1924), The Stabilized Period (1924–1929) and The Pre-

Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

Period (1930–1933). The volume also reprints ''Propaganda and the Nazi War Film'', the author's critical and psychological analysis of

Nazi 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 ...

propaganda film. As a film critic, Kracauer reviewed many of the films discussed in the book at the time they were released. ''From Caligari to Hitler'' melds his understanding of trends in the film market with analysis of political tendencies of German social politics. Kracauer proposes that

Robert Wiene Robert Wiene (; 27 April 1873 – 17 July 1938) was a film director of the silent era of German cinema. He is particularly known for directing the German silent film ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' and a succession of other expressionist films. ...

's film ''

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (german: Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) is a 1920 German silent film, silent horror film, directed by Robert Wiene and written by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer. Considered the quintessential work of German Expressio ...

'' is an allegory for German social attitudes. Kracauer argued that Caligari symbolizes autocratic tendencies inherent in the German system, observing that the character "stands for an unlimited authority that idolizes power as such, and, to satisfy its lust for domination, ruthlessly violates all human rights and values."

Legacy

In ''Weimar Cinema and After'',

Thomas Elsaesser Thomas Elsaesser (22 June 1943 – 4 December 2019) was a German film historian and professor of Film and Television Studies at the University of Amsterdam. He was also the writer and director of ''The Sun Island'', a documentary essay film abou ...

describes the legacy of Kracauer's work as a "historical imaginary". Elsaesser argues that Kracauer had not studied enough films to make his thesis about the social mindset of Germany legitimate and that the discovery and publication of the original screenplay of ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' undermines his argument about the revolutionary intent of its writers. Elsaesser's alternative thesis is that the filmmakers adopted an Expressionist style as a method of product differentiation, establishing a distinct national product against the increasing importation of American films. Dietrich Scheunemann, somewhat in defense of Kracauer, noted that he did not have "the full range of materials at (his) disposal". However, that fact "has clearly and adversely affected the discussion of the film", referring to the fact that the script of ''Caligari'' was not rediscovered until 1977 and that Kracauer had not seen the film for around 20 years when he wrote the work. The 2014 documentary film ''From Caligari To Hitler: German Cinema In The Age Of The Masses'' by , drawn its title from the book and share some of Kracauer’s opinions on Weimar cinema.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:From Caligari To Hitler: A Psychological History Of The German Film Cinema of Germany Books of film criticism Books of film theory Books about propaganda 1947 non-fiction books Princeton University Press books