Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/08/22
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Hi Marc,
now we are leaving the frame of this list maybe - so this will be my last
post to this thread - but I still we reply personaly.
>The lady was and is a superb photographer. She did what was necessary at
If you like this kind of archaic, simple and monotone photography - we can
not argue about this - I'm not very impressed by her work.
>the time to have her work published. She was never a Nazi, in any regard,
>though she was a long-time lover of Albrecht Speer, Hitler's architect, and
>a favorite of Joseph Goebbels.
>
I'm living in Cologne and I face some of the buildings of Speer here. His
buildings proof, as does the work of Riefenstahl, that both realy got a
feeling for the facist ideology. Facism is allways initiated by some
intellectual people but to bring the masses behind the leader, the works of
Riefenstahl and Speer were very important. Did you you see Rienstahl movie
about the olympics? This is not a great art work but pure propaganda for
the ideals of the nazis.
>Are we to condemn people because of the regime under which they must work?
>Let's not jump to any conclusions here -- there are documented US war
>atrocities in the Second Imbroglio, and I haven't heard a bit of
>condemnation of, say, Carl Mydans for photographing the war in detail.
>
A lot of photographers (with and without Leica) refused to work for the
facist and many had to leave their home country. Riefenstahl not - but she
should have payed her bill after 45. But until today she still denies any
sympathies for the nazis wich is a bad joke IMO.
>No, Leni did the best in troubled times.
Realy - think about what you write here. It's like spitting in the face of
the photographers (and other people) killed by the facist or even
imigrating because of the regime.
>Riefenstahl's "Nazi" work was at an early period, before the Camps, before
>Crystal Night, before the true nature of totalitarian rule was revealed.
Stupid and not true. Facism does not start with KZs. I don't think this is
a good place to teach you in history.
>No, give MS Riefenstahl a rest. She is a magnificent photographer with a
>magnificent ouevre developed over seventy years of active work.
>
She was and she is a willing tool of Goebbels - not more and not less.
Detlef
Detlef Beyer * Volksgartenstr. 34 * 50677 Cologne * Germany
phone: 49.221.93 18 700 * fax: 49.221.32 42 45
( ask for my PGP-Key if needed )
(ask for CoolTalk or QuickTime Conferencing Video)
URLs: http://www.hermes.de/priv/detpriv/detbey.html
http://www.hermes.de/KITE/
http://www.hermes.de/chile/
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"Wir sind nichts.
Was wir suchen,
ist alles."
(Friedrich H=F6lderlin)
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