The Party Rallies of the NSDAP had such a tremendous impact on the audience and spectators, that the Allied Forces after World War Second used of all places Nuremberg to execute the heads of the Nazi-regime. The Party Rallies of Nuremberg made such a powerful impression that today, the name of Nuremberg has become a symbol for a trial of crime against humanity. There is no doubt, the Party Rallies of Nuremberg were the most powerful nation branding ever. What made these Party Rallies so powerful and unforgettable that we even today can get under its spell?
I interpret the fascination of the Party Rallies in Nuremberg as a fascination of movement of military parades and Tattoos. My main question is - what impact have structured and rhythmically arranged movement formations on the audience? Fundamentally, this is a philosophically question. We do not perceive the world out of our free will. The world is physiological and materially structured. These structures have an impact on us. How we regard and perceive the world is dependent on the structures of what we perceive. For example, rhythmically structures have a different impact on us than visual structures. The one can intensify and amplify the other. That happened in Nuremberg.
At the Party Rallies at Nuremberg, the rhythmical structure was the music of marches. The function of marches is to regulate and unite the marching of troops and the movement of great mass formations. A perfect unified movement is a marching machine. All human actions are instinctively driven into a rhythmically participation. The underlying rhythmical pattern of marches was at Nuremberg a uniting force. The coordinated and nearly supernatural conducted movement of hundred thousand of people had a tremendous impact on the audience. Seeing these masses moving in rhythmically regular drum beats with a sudden silence in between is even today a hypnotically experience. Why?
A military parade and a Tattoo is a choreographically arranged show. I interpret a choreographically arranged movement as a dance. However, the main question is not the definition of dance, but the perception of dance. Why are we fascinated of a dance show? Why can a military defilation and Tattoo thrill us? Why can the mass arrangement of a hundred thousand of people carry us away?
Table of Contents
Summary
Historical context of the war of propaganda in Germany
Agent
Agenda - the ideology of the Nazi-regime
Vehicle – the Party Rallies at Nuremberg – historical background
Dance – a definition
The fascination of coordinated movement
Seduction of movement on screen
Creating dramatic tension with choreographed movement
Ethical evaluation of beauty
Conclusion
Research Objectives and Core Themes
This work examines the powerful impact of structured, rhythmically arranged mass movements, specifically focusing on the Nazi Party Rallies in Nuremberg. The primary research question explores how such choreographically arranged spectacles function as a mechanism of emotional seduction and "nation branding," and whether these aesthetic experiences can be evaluated through an ethical framework.
- The philosophy and psychology of coordinated mass movement.
- The historical role of the NSDAP and its propaganda machinery.
- The transformation of political propaganda into an aesthetic, choreographed "dance."
- Riefenstahl’s cinematic techniques used in "Triumph of the Will" to create hypnotic dramatic tension.
- The ethical tension between the beauty of movement and the disastrous ideological consequences of the Nazi regime.
Excerpt from the Book
The fascination of coordinated movement
The fascination of coordinated movement is philosophically an existential problem. To be a living being is a transformation process. If I am in the centre of this transformation, I exist only in transformation. I am the transformation. Dance is a transformation process of time and space. If I am a unity with this transformation, if I am a unity with the movement, I am the movement; I am only transformation without any reflection. At the Military Tattoo in Oslo 2004, there were a Swedish group, the “Malmö flickan”, that means the girls from Malmö. These girls were dancing in a rhythmically dance with balls and ribbons. Her trainer called it dance gymnastics. The agenda was, to create a complete harmony out of the feeling of the body. The girls had to concentrate insides themselves to mediate this feeling to the audience. (Norwegian Military Tattoo, DVD 2004)
Heinrich von Kleist wrote about this totally concentration of a movement inside a body. He regarded it as the highest degree of beauty. „Jede Bewegung, sagte er, hätte einen Schwerpunkt; es wäre genug, diesen, in dem Innern der Figur, zu regieren; die Glieder, welche nichts als Pendel wären, folgten, ohne irgend ein Zutun, auf eine mechanische Weise von selbst“. (Kleist, Über das Marionetten Theater, 1970, 339) That means every single movement has a centre of gravity. If we are dancing out of this centre of gravity, the movement of the whole body is following automatically.
Summary of Chapters
Summary: Provides an overview of the work's central thesis, which interprets the Nuremberg Party Rallies as a powerful manifestation of choreographed movement and emotional seduction.
Historical context of the war of propaganda in Germany: Outlines the political instability and social climate of the Weimar Republic that facilitated the rise of the NSDAP and its propaganda efforts.
Agent: Discusses the role of Joseph Goebbels and the NSDAP in centralizing propaganda and controlling culture to enforce ideological conformity.
Agenda - the ideology of the Nazi-regime: Analyzes the core Nazi ideology of "Volksgemeinschaft," racial superiority, and the dehumanization of the individual.
Vehicle – the Party Rallies at Nuremberg – historical background: Details the evolution of the Nuremberg Rallies into massive demonstrations of military and paramilitary power.
Dance – a definition: Explores the theoretical definition of dance as a conventionalized, arranged movement system and a sign system with a specific message.
The fascination of coordinated movement: Investigates the existential and philosophical allure of mass movement and harmony, referencing Kleist’s concept of the "machinist."
Seduction of movement on screen: Examines Leni Riefenstahl’s cinematic techniques and how film editing transforms military events into artificial, aesthetic experiences.
Creating dramatic tension with choreographed movement: Describes the specific technical methods—such as the "one sheep - two sheep-principle"—used to induce psychological states in the audience.
Ethical evaluation of beauty: Critically evaluates whether the aesthetic perfection of the Rallies can be separated from the horrific ethical implications of the Nazi regime.
Conclusion: Summarizes the argument that while physical beauty can exist independently, its use for ideological and dictatorial purposes demands ethical responsibility.
Keywords
Nuremberg Party Rallies, NSDAP, Propaganda, Leni Riefenstahl, Triumph of the Will, Coordinated Movement, Aesthetics, Nazi Ideology, Volksgemeinschaft, Choreography, Psychological Seduction, Ethics, Mass Assemblies, Nation Branding, Joseph Goebbels
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this work?
The work focuses on the intersection of aesthetics, political propaganda, and mass psychology, specifically how choreographed movement was utilized by the Nazi regime to influence and seduce the public.
What are the central themes explored?
The central themes include the manipulation of mass perception, the mechanics of "nation branding," the role of the individual versus the collective, and the ethical evaluation of aesthetic beauty in a political context.
What is the primary research question?
The work asks what impact structured, rhythmically arranged movement formations have on an audience and whether these aesthetic experiences can be ethically justified when used for propaganda.
Which scientific method is employed?
The author employs an analytical approach, combining film theory, dance research, historical context, and philosophical inquiries into the nature of movement and the ethics of beauty.
What does the main body of the text address?
It addresses the historical background of the Rallies, the theoretical definition of dance, the technical analysis of Leni Riefenstahl’s film editing, and the transformation of mass movement into a theatrical "drama."
Which keywords characterize this analysis?
Key terms include Nuremberg Party Rallies, Propaganda, Coordinated Movement, Aesthetics, Psychological Seduction, and the Ethics of Beauty.
How does the author interpret the role of Riefenstahl in this context?
The author views Riefenstahl as the "machinist" of the spectacle, using film editing as a form of choreography to construct a hypnotic reality that bypassed critical thinking in the audience.
What is the "one sheep – two sheep-principle" mentioned in the text?
It is a term coined by the author to describe a cinematic method of using repetitive, slow, or accelerating visual patterns to induce a state of lethargy, boredom, or confusion in the viewer, thereby making them more susceptible to the message.
What does the author conclude about the relationship between beauty and ethics?
The author concludes that while beauty is a physical phenomenon that exists independently, the intent behind its use—especially by dictators to advance propaganda—is subject to ethical judgment and moral responsibility.
- Quote paper
- Dr. phil. MA Heide Marie Herstad (Author), 2015, Fascination of Movement. Military Parades and Tattoos, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/301843
