Television Under the Swastika

Television Under the Swastika
144 ratings
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Format:  DVD
item number:  JKG6
on most orders of $75+
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DVD Details

  • Rated: Not Rated
  • Run Time: 54 minutes
  • Video: Black & White / Color
  • Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
  • Released: August 19, 2008
  • Originally Released: 1999
  • Label: First Run Features

Performers, Cast and Crew:

Directed by

Entertainment Reviews:

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AUDIENCE SCORE
User Ratings: 10
Rating: C+ -- The target audience, World War II history buffs like me, will appreciate the effort to bring to new light a piece of the hitherto unknown technological past. Full Review
Reeling Reviews
Aug 8, 2008
Rating: 3.5/5 -- Interesting documentary on the Nazi experiments in television broadcasting.
Film Threat
Aug 16, 2009

Product Description:

Essential for TV junkies and WWII buffs, this fascinating documentary reveals that the first revolution in television occurred in Nazi Germany. Footage long-buried in East German archives reveals that from 1935 to 1944, Berlin studios churned out evening news shows, sports coverage, racial programs, and interviews with Nazi officials. Despite impressive technical achievements--including near instantaneous broadcasts of the 1936 Olympic Games--the Third Reich did not experience the propagandistic breakthrough it wanted, and its official support for television waned after 1939. This treasure trove of remarkable footage opens up a surprising chapter in media history.

Description by First Run Features Home Video:

Legend has it that the triumphal march of television began in the United States in the 1950s but in reality its origins hark back much further. Nazi leaders, determined to beat Great Britain and the U.S. to be the world's first television broadcaster, began Greater German Television in March 1935. German viewers enjoyed their TV broadcasts until September 1944, as Allied troops closed in.
Making use of 285 reels of film discovered in the catacombs of the Berlin Federal Film Archive, TELEVISION UNDER THE SWASTIKA is a fascinating look at the world's first television broadcast network. It explores both the technology behind this new medium, and the programming the Nazis chose to put on it. Interviews with high-ranking Nazis as well as "ordinary' people on the street, cooking shows, sporting events, cabaret acts and teleplays are some of the stunning finds seen here - all of it propaganda, but some of it quite entertaining.
A rare and intriguing look into the Third Reich, TELEVISION UNDER THE SWASTIKA is required viewing for anyone interested in the history of television, the intersection of media and propaganda, and the inside story of Nazi Germany.

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Product Info

  • UPC: 720229913379
  • Shipping Weight: 0.25/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 1 item

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