After Mein Kampf?: The Story of Adolph Hitler

After Mein Kampf (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Before WWII there were many documentaries, all from Germany, that showed Adolph Hitler as a great man doing great deeds to try and make a better world. Everyone knows TRIUMPH OF THE WILL but this British made documentary was actually one of the first to truly show Hitler for what he was and that was a madman and monster. At 53-minutes, this uses stock footage, news footage and re-enactments to tell the life story of Hitler from his early days to his WWI days and his eventual rise of the Nazi party. This documentary ends with the narrator asking if Hitler is going to pretty much be your ruler and it starts off with such strong words as "rape of Poland." There's no question that the men behind this documentary wanted to warn everyone of what Hitler was and what he was capable of doing. There's no question that this is a pretty entertaining documentary but the biggest problem is that like so many other "documentaries" of this era, propaganda is a major problem. I'm sure at the time it was a good move to preach and go so dramatic because many people might not have known what they were dealing with. When viewed today a lot of this stuff just seems so preachy that it's as if the filmmakers are beating you over the head with the information. That's pretty much the only weak spot as we get all sorts of good stuff. What I enjoyed most was being able to see some of the stuff passed out in Germany to try and make people trust Hitler. This included all sorts of posters and even Hitler's face on packs of cigarettes. Being able to see this stuff was rather fascinating as was hearing the backstory on what turned Hitler to what he became. Needless to say, time has given us more information and those wanting more detail on the subject are going to find it in other documentaries. With that said, this here still contains some good stuff that makes it worth watching.