Mein Kampf

"Mein Kampf" is a very good historical documentary film made by the Italian film company, Minerva Film, in 1960. Other biographical and documentary films have been made about Adolf Hitler and the rise of Naziism. But this is the first film made after World War II that delves into the very films that the Nazis themselves were made during Hitler's reign. Scenes and film clips are taken from the German films that had been captured or obtained after the fall of Germany.

All of the scenes were shot by Nazis. A great deal of the film is about the German conquest and occupation of Poland, with some riveting scenes of the Warsaw Ghetto. The film has close-ups of Hitler and Eva Braun, most of the Nazi leaders, and battle scenes. And, leading up to all that are earlier film clips of the years of discord in Germany before the rise of Hitler and Naziism. The film has close-up scenes of German people, soldiers and officers at various rallies and trials, that are very daunting and revealing. In some, one senses the people don't believe what they are hearing; but the next moment we see them smiling and raising their hands in the Nazi salute and shouting "Heil, Hitler." This is a good historical film to have.

A bonus came with the DVD of this film that I obtained. It's entitled, "Adolf Hitler." It's a bio-documentary on Hitler's origin, youth, and rise to power. The film quality of this bonus collection of news clips is very poor. It's especially very dark to the point of not being able to see faces and details throughout much of the film. An enhancement project could do much to make this an interesting film of record.

I highly recommend this bio-documentary film for students and anyone interested in World War II, Naziism, and history in general.