Rathausausstellung 2026 - Tafel 22: Filme als Unterhaltung und als Propaganda | Town-hall Exhibition 2026 - Panel 22: Film as entertainment and propaganda

Cinema in Nazi Hamburg The new medium of film was extremely popular and, as such, an effective propaganda tool for the Nazi regime. In 1937, there were 104 cinemas in Hamburg, many of them previously in Jewish ownership. From 1933 onwards, working in film and cinema was possible only with the permission of the Reich Chamber of Film. Before the main feature film, cinemas screened Wochenschau newsreels with a censored overview of the news. Feature films throughout the Reich were also subject to censorship, which in Hamburg was exercised by the Gaufilmstelle [Gau film office]. Films were not allowed to contradict Nazi ideology, which is why many entertainment films contained veiled Nazi content. Around a tenth of all films were propaganda films commissioned by the state, with the entertainment value serving to exert political influence.