Leni Riefenstahl was a German director, actress, dancer, and photographer. She made a Nazi propaganda film for Hitler titled Triumph of the Will, but also filmed the 1936 Berlin Olympics, ignoring Nazi requests to reduce the prominence of non-white athletes. Her film career ended when she was accused of being a Nazi, but she was cleared of all charges due to lack of evidence. After her film career, she worked as a photographer and died in 2003 at the age of 101.
Leni Riefenstahl was a German director, as well as an actress, dancer and photographer. She was born on August 22, 1902 as Helene Bertha Amalie Riefenstahl. She had a career as a dancer at Max Reinhard’s Deutsches Theater, but when a knee injury prevented her from pursuing her career in dance, she became an actress who also ran her own film production company. Riefenstahl is recognized as one of the first female film directors and her innovative camera techniques have been acclaimed. However, Leni Riefenstahl was best known for her connection to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
Leni Riefenstahl made a Nazi propaganda film for Hitler titled Triumph of the Will which was released in 1936. Hitler created the title and the film includes the 1934 rally of the Nazi party. Triumph of the Will features large swastikas and hundreds of thousands of uniformed Nazi fighters filling a huge stadium. The effect was done to portray Nazi power and Hitler was shown as he dramatically descended into the arena from the sky. Leni Riefenstahl has often been criticized for promoting the power of Nazism by making the film.
He referred to Hitler as “a very important person” but did not follow every Nazi request. For example, Hitler asked Leni Riefenstahl to film the 1936 Berlin Olympics and she agreed, but when the Nazis asked her to reduce the prominence of non-white athletes, she ignored this and filmed all of the Olympic victories. Jesse Owens, a black American sprinter who had won four gold medals and set two world records, featured heavily in her film of the Olympics which was released in 1936 as Olympia. Although Olympia has been praised for her incredible shots of athletes in innovative cinematic techniques, Leni Riefenstahl’s film career ended when she was accused of being a Nazi.
Leni Riefenstahl was cleared of all charges due to lack of evidence and was still accused of war crimes as late as 2002. She was always suspected of knowing that people from concentration camps were used in her Nazi propaganda films, but she could prove nothing to support her allegations. She also denied knowing that those films were Nazi propaganda films.
After her film career ended, Leni Riefenstahl worked as a photographer and photographed the Nuba people of Sudan, Africa. Her book of photographs entitled Die Nuba was critically acclaimed. She has also photographed celebrities such as Mick Jagger and she covered the 1972 Munich Olympics. In 2002 she published a book of photographs she had taken while scuba diving. Leni Riefenstahl died in September 2003 at the age of 101.
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