Ich klage an
Encyclopedia
Ich klage an is a 1941 German pro-euthanasia
propaganda
film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner
.
It was banned by Allied powers after the war.
Ich klage an (Eng: I Accuse) is a 1941 German pro-euthanasia
propaganda
film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner
.
It was banned by Allied powers after the war.
Ich klage an (Eng: I Accuse) is a 1941 German pro-euthanasia
propaganda
film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner
.
It was banned by Allied powers after the war.Cinzia Romani, Tainted Goddesses: Female Film Stars of the Third Reich p108 ISBN 0-9627613-1-1
, Nazi Cinema p70 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 Her husband gives her a fatal overdose, and is put on trial, where arguments are put forth that prolonging life is sometimes contrary to nature, and that death is a right as well as a duty.Erwin Leiser
, Nazi Cinema p70-1 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 It culminates in the husband's declaration that he is accusing them of cruelty for trying to prevent such deaths.Robert Edwin Hertzstein, The War That Hitler Won p308 ISBN 399-11845-4
were in fact killed without their consent, in the absence of their families.Erwin Leiser
, Nazi Cinema p69 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 Indeed, one cinema goer compared it to the program and asked how abuses could be prevented from creeping in.Richard Grunberger
, The 12-Year Reich, p 385, ISBN 03-076435-1
SS reported that the churches were uniformly negative on the movie, with Catholics expressing it more strongly but Protestants being equally negative.Erwin Leiser
, Nazi Cinema p146-7 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 Opinion in medical circles was rather positive, though bringing up cases where patients thought to be incurable had recovered.Erwin Leiser
, Nazi Cinema p147 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 Legal professions were anxious that it be placed on legal ground, and the general population was supportive.Erwin Leiser
, Nazi Cinema p148 ISBN 0-02-570230-0
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner was a German actor, film director and theater director.He was born in Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the director of the Munich Kammerspiele, in acting and directing...
.
It was banned by Allied powers after the war.
Ich klage an (Eng: I Accuse) is a 1941 German pro-euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner was a German actor, film director and theater director.He was born in Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the director of the Munich Kammerspiele, in acting and directing...
.
It was banned by Allied powers after the war.
Ich klage an (Eng: I Accuse) is a 1941 German pro-euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
film directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Wolfgang Liebeneiner
Wolfgang Georg Louis Liebeneiner was a German actor, film director and theater director.He was born in Liebau in Prussian Silesia. In 1928, he was taught by Otto Falckenberg, the director of the Munich Kammerspiele, in acting and directing...
.
It was banned by Allied powers after the war.Cinzia Romani, Tainted Goddesses: Female Film Stars of the Third Reich p108 ISBN 0-9627613-1-1
Plot
A woman suffering from multiple sclerosis pleads with doctors to kill her.Erwin LeiserErwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser was a German-born director, writer, and actor.Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden when 15 to escape the Nazis...
, Nazi Cinema p70 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 Her husband gives her a fatal overdose, and is put on trial, where arguments are put forth that prolonging life is sometimes contrary to nature, and that death is a right as well as a duty.Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser was a German-born director, writer, and actor.Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden when 15 to escape the Nazis...
, Nazi Cinema p70-1 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 It culminates in the husband's declaration that he is accusing them of cruelty for trying to prevent such deaths.Robert Edwin Hertzstein, The War That Hitler Won p308 ISBN 399-11845-4
Propaganda elements
This film was commissioned by Goebbels at the suggestion of Karl Brandt to make the public more supportive of the Reich's T4 euthanasia program, and presented simultaneously with the practice of euthanasia in Nazi Germany.Pierre Aycoberry The Nazi Question, p11 Pantheon Books New York 1981 The actual victims of the Nazi euthanasia program Action T4Action T4
Action T4 was the name used after World War II for Nazi Germany's eugenics-based "euthanasia" program during which physicians killed thousands of people who were "judged incurably sick, by critical medical examination"...
were in fact killed without their consent, in the absence of their families.Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser was a German-born director, writer, and actor.Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden when 15 to escape the Nazis...
, Nazi Cinema p69 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 Indeed, one cinema goer compared it to the program and asked how abuses could be prevented from creeping in.Richard Grunberger
Richard Grunberger
Richard Grunberger was a British historian, who specialised in study of the Third Reich.He was born in Austria to Jewish parents. After the 1938 Anschluss with Hitler's Germany, he was put on the first Kindertransport train to leave Vienna. He was initially housed in a refugee camp at Lowestoft in...
, The 12-Year Reich, p 385, ISBN 03-076435-1
SS reported that the churches were uniformly negative on the movie, with Catholics expressing it more strongly but Protestants being equally negative.Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser was a German-born director, writer, and actor.Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden when 15 to escape the Nazis...
, Nazi Cinema p146-7 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 Opinion in medical circles was rather positive, though bringing up cases where patients thought to be incurable had recovered.Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser was a German-born director, writer, and actor.Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden when 15 to escape the Nazis...
, Nazi Cinema p147 ISBN 0-02-570230-0 Legal professions were anxious that it be placed on legal ground, and the general population was supportive.Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser
Erwin Leiser was a German-born director, writer, and actor.Born and raised in Berlin, he fled to Sweden when 15 to escape the Nazis...
, Nazi Cinema p148 ISBN 0-02-570230-0