Press Statement
January
10th 2004, several persons, amongst them also members of the
Förderverein Roma, tried to
prevent the presentation of the Riefenstahl film “Olympia” in the German
Film Museum. With a banner and the distribution of information sheets in
front of the cinema´s entrance they demonstrated against the lie, that
Riefenstahl cooperated without intention and internal conviction with the
nazis.
The passive resistance of the opponents was besieged by mebers of the
audience, who obviously longed for watching the film. The heading of the
German Film Museum decided in the end to abide by the uncritical reception
of a definite nazi director and enforced the showing of the film with
police power. Several members of the demonstration are going to be
sentenced for their involvement to prevent the denial of nazi crimes and
nazi criminals.
Background:
From January 2nd to January 10th 2004 the German
Film Museum presented “In memoriam Leni Riefenstahl” with several films.
In the announcement is writtten:
“About Germany´s most hatred, most adored and most imitated director
everything seems to be said. In January we will show amongst others one of
Leni Riefenstahl´s two main works and a documentary film about her life
and work.” The documentary film from 1993 was “especially as a self
testimonial of Riefenstahl, who reports here fully about herself and her
work, of high value.”
With this event the German Film Museum belongs to those, who, since
several years, as Leni Riefenstahl herself, try to deny her close
connection to the nazi dictatorship.
Her special position Leni Riefenstahl used for her film “Tiefland” (1942).
For this film the Riefenstahl-Film
GmbH asked for Sinti and Romany people from the nazi camps Max
Glahn at Salzburg and Marzahn. They were used as extras and
supernumeraries without being paid. After their transportation back to the
camps, these people were deported to concentration camps, especially
Auschwitz, a few months after the end of the shooting. Only a few people
returned from there.
Still in 2002 Riefenstahl declared in a interview with a Frankfurt
newspaper:
“We have seen all of the gipsies, who played in the film
Tiefland, after the end of the
war. Nothing happened to one of them.”
Against this representation, declared against better knowledge, a
surviving sintezza prosecuted and forced Riefenstahl to announce a
declaration of omission.
Riefenstahl is different to the many opportunists, who dealed with the
nazi regime because of their career. She used the nazi camp system
directtly. This doing is a proof of criminal energy. To hush this up, Leni
Riefenstahl played down and denied the forced labour and the later
assassination of her “Zigeuner-extras”. She tried to take away from these
men and women, who do not even have a grave, their place in memory, too.
Förderverein Roma e.V.,
Frankfurt am Main, 12.01.2004
|
