Nina Gladitz

Leni Riefenstahl - The End of a Myth

Countless people around the world know the pictures from Leni Riefenstahl's films, even if they have not seen them in their entirety. The work of the German director has burned itself into the collective memory. Even decades after the end of the Nazi era, she showed no remorse and presented herself as an apolitical, naive follower of the Nazi criminal regime. Her artistic service for the cinema was always recognized. But book author Nina Gladitz shows after decades of research that Hitler's favorite filmmaker was not only a follower, but also a perpetrator during the Third Reich, who instrumentalized other filmmakers such as the brilliant cinematographer Willy Zielke in order to gain fame for herself.

Time of Darkness and Silence

An investigation of Leni Riefenstahl’s infamous film production of “Tiefland” during the Holocaust, one which used Sinti extras under forced labor conditions. After filming finished in 1944, these extras were sent to Auschwitz. Nina Gladitz interviews the survivors and perpetrators, wondering if Riefenstahl knew this would happen at the end of production. Tiefland was filmed from 1940-1944 but was not released until 1954. Leni Riefenstahl sued Gladitz over the documentary.

Leni Riefenstahl - The End of a Myth

Countless people around the world know the pictures from Leni Riefenstahl's films, even if they have not seen them in their entirety. The work of the German director has burned itself into the collective memory. Even decades after the end of the Nazi era, she showed no remorse and presented herself as an apolitical, naive follower of the Nazi criminal regime. Her artistic service for the cinema was always recognized. But book author Nina Gladitz shows after decades of research that Hitler's favorite filmmaker was not only a follower, but also a perpetrator during the Third Reich, who instrumentalized other filmmakers such as the brilliant cinematographer Willy Zielke in order to gain fame for herself.

Time of Darkness and Silence

An investigation of Leni Riefenstahl’s infamous film production of “Tiefland” during the Holocaust, one which used Sinti extras under forced labor conditions. After filming finished in 1944, these extras were sent to Auschwitz. Nina Gladitz interviews the survivors and perpetrators, wondering if Riefenstahl knew this would happen at the end of production. Tiefland was filmed from 1940-1944 but was not released until 1954. Leni Riefenstahl sued Gladitz over the documentary.