Riefenstahl

[Stephen Kobrin <kobrins@wharton.upenn.edu>]

I am afraid that I find it impossible to separate Frau Riefenstahl's
photography from her politics.  She is both unrepentant and disingenuous
when it comes to her involvement with the Nazis.  She told a New York Times
reporter that "I absolutely cannot imagine that I did something
unjust...What crime did I commit?"  She said -- I assume with a straight
face -- that she broke with Hitler in 1937 because they disagreed over art.

Her claim that she shot "Triumph of the Will" as just film and it is not
her fault that it was used as propaganda is silly.  Riefenstahl stands
apart from the vast majority of Germans, and certainly from Germany as a
body politic, who have tried to come to grips with their country's actions
during the 1930s and 40s.  While one can admire the art and despise the
artist -- I like Wagner's operas -- one cannot pretend that there is no
connection between the two.

I disagree with those who argue that this thread has no place on the list.
While all photography is not political, when it is, it needs to be
discussed. We can all think of a large number of will know photographs that
would lose most of their meaning if their context was ignored. Perhaps more
important is the fact that we can discuss an emotionally charged topic
relatively calmly and in a manner that respects others opinions.  The LUG
is very unusual in that regard.

Steve