Your Job in Germany
| Your Job in Germany | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Frank Capra (uncredited) |
| Written by | Theodor S. Geisel (uncredited) |
| Running time | 12:49 |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
Your Job In Germany is a short film made for the United States War Department in 1945 just before Victory in Europe (VE) day. It was shown to U.S. soldiers about to go on occupation duty in Germany. The film was made by the military films unit commanded by Frank Capra, and was written by Theodor Geisel,[1] who is better known by his pen name Dr. Seuss.
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[edit] The movie
The movie was produced by the U.S. Army Signal corps, and was a "bitter and angry anti-German propaganda film", that characterized the German mind as "diseased".[2]
The film urged against fraternization with the German people, who are portrayed as thoroughly untrustworthy. It reminds its viewers of Germany's history of aggression, under "Führer Number 1" Otto von Bismarck, "Führer Number 2" Kaiser Wilhelm II and "Führer Number 3" Adolf Hitler. It argues that German youth were especially dangerous because they had spent their entire lives under the Nazi regime.
The policy of non-fraternisation (where U.S. soldiers were forbidden to speak even to small children) was first announced to the soldiers in this movie.[3]
- "The Nazi party may be gone, but Nazi thinking, Nazi training and Nazi trickery remains. The German lust for conquest is not dead.... You will not argue with them. You will not be friendly.... There will be no fraternization with any of the German people"[4]
The basic theme that the German people could not be trusted derived from the peace policy that emerged from the Second Quebec Conference.[5]
The movie was first screened to the top Generals, from General Dwight D. Eisenhower down. Reportedly General George Patton walked out of his screening, saying "Bullshit!"[6]
[edit] Hitler Lives
The head of Warner Brothers, Jack Warner, secured the rights to the movie and turned into a short documentary, titled "Hitler Lives?". It was released commercially on December 29, 1945 and won the 1946 Academy Award (Oscar award) for Short documentary.[7][8]
[edit] In popular culture
Numerous sentences from the movie's narration are incorporated verbatim as lyrics in the single "Don't Argue" by Cabaret Voltaire (from the album Code).[9]
[edit] See also
- Our Job in Japan (a companion film to Your Job In Germany that was also written by Geisel).
- Here Is Germany
- Death Mills
- List of Allied propaganda films of World War II
[edit] References
- ^ Morgan, Judith; Morgan, Neil (1995). Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel. Random House. pp. 110–113. ISBN 0679416862.
- ^ Robert Niemi, "History in the media: film and television history in the media", p.84
- ^ Judith Morgan, Neil Morgan, "Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: a biography", p.111
- ^ Judith Morgan, Neil Morgan, "Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: a biography", p.111
- ^ Judith Morgan, Neil Morgan, "Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: a biography", p.111
- ^ Judith Morgan, Neil Morgan, "Dr. Seuss & Mr. Geisel: a biography", p.113
- ^ Todd Peterson, "Theodor Seuss Geisel: author and illustrator", p47
- ^ Robert Niemi, "History in the media: film and television history in the media", p.84
- ^ Hollings, Ken (January 2002). "Cabaret Voltaire". The Wire (215). http://www.thewire.co.uk/articles/212/print.
[edit] External links
- The short film Your Job In Germany (1945) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
- Online version of film at Der Spiegel website.
