Authentic documentary films of Nazi atrocities against Jews in the Warsaw ghetto are now being shown in Germany to the public for the first time since the fall of the Nazi regime, making a deep impression on thousands of Germans.
The films were taken by Nazi authorities in the Warsaw ghetto in 1942 for the enlightenment of Nazi officials, however, they were suppressed because it was feared that they might provoke pity for Jews even among Nazis. They are now incorporated in a two-hour documentary anti-Hitler picture which carries the title “Mein Kampf” and is attracting large audiences in West German theatres.
The producer of “Mein Kampf” is an expatriate of Berlin named Erwin Leiser. His film is a strictly commercial enterprise made with no subsidy from the West German Government. He assembled his material from cinema libraries in the archives of various countries. The film depicting the Nazi atrocities in the Warsaw ghetto–and the misery under which the Jews lived there–was discovered by the producer, who is now a Swedish citizen, in an East Berlin library.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
