Nazi Cinema's New Women

This Book Examines The Careers Of Three Of Nazi CinemaS Preeminent Movie Actresses Painting A Unique Portrait Of Mass Entertainment And Stardom Under Nazi Rule. Bruns Uses Undiscovered Sources And A New Approach Which Integrates Visual Analysis Within A Thorough Political And Social Context To Trace How The Nazis Tried To Use Films And Stars To Build National Socialism. This Analysis Focuses On Female Stars An Important But Largely Unexplored Area Because They Were Mostly Responsible For Nazi CinemaS Spectacular Commercial Success And Political Failure. Challenging Earlier Studies Which View Nazi Cinema As An Effective Propaganda Instrument That Helped Turn Germans Into Devoted Aryan Mothers And Tough Warriors The Book Shows That The Nazi RegimeS Liaison With The Cinema Was Ambivalent. Films Failed To Disseminate A Coherent Political Message And To Nazify German Society. However They Helped The Regime Maintain Power By Diverting PeopleS Attention From The Brutality Of HitlerS Rule And Eventually From Impending Defeat.