DVD Review: “Führer” Cult And Megalomania

“Führer” Cult And Megalomania: The Nazi Party Rally Grounds In Nuremberg is an interesting documentary focusing on Adolf Hitler’s plans for Nuremberg and the Nazi party rallies that were held there. It’s interesting in part because the film deals mostly with the 1930s, before the war, a time when Hitler was concentrating on grandiose architectural plans rather than world conquest.

It actually opens with footage of American soldiers in Nuremberg in May of 1945, and then a shot of the grounds as they are now. One set of the overall layout plans from the Nazi era has survived and the film includes shots of it. It’s so interesting that certain structures were scheduled to be completed in the 1950s. A chilling thought, that: the Nazis rule extending into another decade.

The film then goes into the history of the Nazi Congress, with footage from 1927. During the 1920s, Nuremberg was considered the most anti-Semitic city in all of Europe. And the film does give some information on why the Nazi party was attractive to people early on. There is also interesting material about how two different newspapers gave completely contradicting accounts of an early rally, with one mentioning the violence.

The film includes information on how the rallies actually cost the city of Nuremberg a lot of money. Hitler’s people suggested he found a corporation to finance the building operations, and the city of Nuremberg actually became one of the partners in that venture.

There is a lot of period footage, including footage from 1933 of Hitler with Albert Speer as Hitler inspects a model for the Third Reich convention grounds, a model based on his own drawings. (There are stills of some of Hitler’s architectural drawings.) There is also footage of construction for the site of the next rally, and of Hitler inspecting the work in 1934, being cheered on by the workers. And there is footage from Triumph Of The Will, and some photos of Leni Riefenstahl, the woman who directed the film.

One thing I really appreciate about this film is that it includes an interview with Reinhold Schwiddessen, who was a participant at a big Nazi rally. He talks about how they were taught to march, and made to practice over and over. I also find it interesting that folks outside of the grounds weren’t all that interested in what the Nazis were doing. The film’s narrator tells us: “In 1938, a stormtrooper official complains that he could not follow the Fuhrer’s speech on the radio because the local stations were playing dance music and popular melodies.” It’s also interesting to learn that at those big rallies there was a lot of drinking, vandalism, fighting and prostitution. There were problems with sanitation and a lack of accommodations. It makes sense when you think about it, but it’s something that is not often mentioned.

“Führer” Cult And Megalomania was written and directed by Michael Kloft, and was released on DVD on August 26, 2014 through First Run Features.