The Eternal Jew (1940 film)
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The Eternal Jew is a 1940 German National Socialist anti-Jewish propaganda documentary. The German title is Der Ewige Jude, which is the German term for the "Wandering Jew" in medieval folklore. It has been criticized for reasons such as various stated inaccuracies, simulated scenes, and use of actors who were performing under duress and without knowledge of how the footage would be employed.
Contents
History
At the insistence of Germany's Minister for Public Enlightenment, Joseph Goebbels, the film was directed by Fritz Hippler. The screenplay is credited to Eberhard Taubert. The film consists of feature and documentary footage combined with materials filmed shortly after the occupation of Poland. At this time Poland's Jewish population was about three million, roughly ten percent of the total population. Actor Harry Giese (1903–1991) narrated.
The documentary shows Jewish ghettos, Jews in Palestine, Jewish Religious ceremonies, Jewish history, and kosher Jewish ritual slaughter. While the film is an in depth study of Jewish existence, it only glances for some aspects of Judaism. It says, "The bobbing motion is part of the jewish ritual for reading Jewish scriptures." However, it does not explain how they can read small letters with their head moving, which is near impossible and should cause motion sickness. The film helped promote kinder slaughter of animals after audiences witnessed the kosher method which requires animals to be conscious as they slowly bleed to death, which the film showed was a long and painful experience.
- “The civilized Jews we know from Germany give us only an imperfect picture of their racial characteristics. This film shows original footage from the Polish ghettos, showing us the Jews as they really look before they hide behind the mask of civilized Europeans. The campaign in Poland gave us the opportunity to get to know Judaism at its roots. Almost four million Jews live here in Poland. However, you will look for them in vain among the farming population. They also did not suffer from the turmoil of the war like the native Polish population did. They sat like bystanders in the dark ghetto alleys of Polish cities and an hour after the Polish occupation they were doing their business again. We Germans had the opportunity to take a look into the Polish ghetto 25 years ago. This time, however, our perspective has been sharpened by the experiences of the last few decades. We no longer see, as we did in 1914, only the grotesque and comical aspects of these questionable figures in the ghetto..."[1]
The film had its grand opening in Munich, Germany, 8 November 1937 on the 14th anniversary of the ill-fated Munich Putsch. Dr. Julius Streicher and Minister Goebbels were in attendance. The film was less of a commercial success as Jud Süß.
Quotes
- For every 1000 Germans fighting amongst themselves, there are 10 jews working together to destroy the Germans.
- What does the ancient law of the Talmud teach? "Always be cunning when afraid; answer softly to calm the anger of the stranger, so that you'll be loved. Ally yourself with him of whom fate smiles at the moment."
