What Hitler Wants

Cartoons Go To War

April 1996 •English

This remarkable documentary dedicates itself to an extraordinary chapter of the second World War – the psychological warfare of the USA. America’s trusted cartoon darlings from the studios of Warner Bros., Paramount, and the “big animals” of the Disney family were supposed to give courage to the people at the homefront, to educate them, but also to simultaneously entertain them. Out of this mixture grew a genre of its own kind – political cartoons. Insightful Interviews with the animators and producers from back then elucidate in an amusing and astonishing way under which bizarre circumstances these films partially came into existence.

Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss

October 2008 •German

Though almost forgotten today, Veit Harlan was one of Nazi Germany's most notorious filmmakers. His most perfidious film was the treacherous anti-Semitic propaganda film Jud Süß - required viewing for all SS members. This documentary is an eye-opening examination of World War II film history as well as the story of a German family from the Third Reich to the present; one that is marked by reckoning, denial and liberation.

A Letter From Bataan

September 1942 •English

An American soldier pleads to the folks at home to conserve scarce wartime resources.

Toybox Series, Episode 3: Picturebook of 1936

April 1934 •Japanese

Peaceful citizens (one of whom resembles Felix the Cat) are dancing to music before their island is being invaded by a gigantic rodent that resembles Mickey Mouse. The islanders contact legendary folk-hero Momotaro from a giant book to battle Mickey.

The Sailor and the Seagull

January 1949 •English

The Sailor and the Seagull was released by the U.S. Navy in 1949 with a simple goal: encouraging servicemen to re-enlist. In the film, a disgruntled sailor named McGinty complains about the raw deal he believes he is receiving by serving in the Navy. As luck would have it, a seagull comes to release him from service so that he can experience the freedom of civilian life. McGinty soon learns, however, that civilian life means less freedom and less money than he had imagined and quickly jumps at the chance to re-enlist. (cont. http://blogs.archives.gov/unwritten-record/2013/09/26/sailor-and-the-seagull/)

Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors

March 1945 •Japanese

The first Japanese feature-length animated film. It was directed by Mitsuyo Seo, who was ordered to make a propaganda film for the war by the Japanese Naval Ministry. Shochiku Moving Picture Laboratory shot the 74-minute film in 1944 and screened it on April 12, 1945. It is a sequel to Momotarō no Umiwashi, a 37-minute film released in 1943 by the same director. It is black and white. The whole movie also depicts the Japanese "liberation of Asia", as proclaimed by the Government at the time. Seo tried to give dreams to children, as well as to instill the hope for peace, with hidden movie's hints of dreams and hopes, under the appearance of war propaganda.

The Rear Gunner

April 1943 •English

Documentary-style drama on training of aerial rear gunners in World War II. Private PeeWee Williams, a Kansas farm boy, transforms his home-grown shooting skills into those necessary to an aerial gunner in the tail turret of an American bomber. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

The Great Victory, Wilson or the Kaiser? The Fall of the Hohenzollerns

January 1919 •English

After a prologue where we are shown the backgrounds of Wilhelm II and Woodrow Wilson, we see the story of Conrad Le Brett from Alsace-Lorraine. Forced to fight for Germany Conrad, sees soldiers taking girls into a church to rape them and kills one who murders a baby. Shot in the encounter he is taken to a Brussels hospital run by nurse Edith Cavell where he falls in love with American nurse, Amy Gordon. After Edith Cavell assassination and the murder of Conrad’s sister Vilma by the evil Lieutenant Ober Conrad honors her dying request that he go to America and defend Alsace-Lorraine's reputation. Once there he convinces President Wilson that Alsatians should be allowed to enlist. Fighting with the "doughboys," Conrad kills Ober, and after the armistice, returns to Amy.

Убить Скорпиона

February 1991 •Russian

Hotsunlight

August 2021 •Russian

Propaganda movie about the fictional Novozhilov family, by chance, which finds itself in the thick of events in Lugansk. Vlad Novozhilov is a former participant in the invasion of Afghanistan. In a situation, he sees only one way out - to leave the country, but the border is already closed. To save his family, he will have to make difficult moral choices.

The Battle of San Pietro

May 1945 •English

This documentary movie is about the battle of San Pietro, a small village in Italy. Over 1,100 US soldiers were killed while trying to take this location, that blocked the way for the Allied forces from the Germans. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.

Parvana

January 1970 •Armenian

The stunning princess desires an inextinguishable fair of love as proof of true feelings. Brave suitors fly to the four corners of the world to look for it.

Escape in the Desert

May 1945 •English

Escaped Nazi POWs hold the denizens of a California resort hostage.

Fighting Soldiers

January 1939 •Japanese

Documentary of an Imperial Japanese Army regiment's advance from Shanghai to Wuhan in 1938. This film was shelved before submission to Home Ministry censors amid rumors that Fumio was a Communist.

Here Is Germany

December 1945 •English

A "know-your-enemy" propaganda film similar to "Know Your Enemy: Japan" and "My Japan", films about Japan with the same objective. It contains a history of the prelude to WW II, the death camps and other Nazi war crimes, and commentary on the character of the German people. Directed by Frank Capra, this film is in essentially the same format as his "Why We Fight" series. It was intended to be shown to American troops participating in the invasion and occupation of Germany. But by the time it was ready, events had overtaken it -- Germany was already well on its way to falling -- so the film was shelved. Although it is readily available for public-domain viewing on the Internet, it has never been widely distributed or shown.

The Mystical Laws

August 2012 •Japanese

In 202X, Tathagata Killer, a mysterious military leader armed with extraterrestrial technology, stages a coup and becomes the new emperor of the world superpower of Asia. Sho Shishimaru, gifted with prophetic powers, may be the only one standing in the way of Killer’s take-over of the entire world. The future of humankind is at stake in this epic struggle, but in its midst, we learn about the mystical laws that rule the world around us.

Colonel Kato's Falcon Squadron

March 1944 •Japanese

A 1944 propaganda film that depicts the fictionalised career of IJAAF pilot Tateo Kato, who led the 64th Sentai during the early months of the Pacific War. The film has scenes featuring Ki-43 fighters escorting Ki-21 bombers to attack Rangoon, where they are attacked by P-40 Warhawk and Brewster Buffalo fighters.

Know Your Ally: Britain

January 1944 •English

Know Your Ally: Britain was a 45-minute propaganda film made in 1944. It was narrated by Walter Huston and produced by the United States War Department and Signal Corp to solidify Anglo-American solidarity within the ranks as well as counter Nazi propaganda aimed at weakening the Alliance.

A Very Animated War

August 2021 •German

From 1945 to 1989, after the capitulation of Nazi Germany, two rival ideologies, communism and capitalism, faced each other in a merciless battle. On one side of the Iron Curtain and on the other, throughout the Cold War, the USSR and the United States sought to shape children’s imaginations through their magazines and films. Never in the history of mankind have so many comic books been published and so many cartoons produced for young people. In November 1989, communism collapsed with the Berlin Wall; capitalism was left to decide the future of the world. What if this victory had been prepared for a long time, and our thinking conditioned, from our early childhood, to ensure this absolute triumph?

Life Goes On

October 2002 •English

The absurd and often surrealistic story of the last propaganda film of the Third Reich.