What did he say when no one listened to him?

This paragraph serves as a reference, not a supplement, to understand why film libraries contain kilometers and kilometers of footage recorded by the Nazis before and during World War II. And a good part of it, silent. Films in which the senior leaders of the Third Reich paraded in front of the camera talking among themselves made it certain that no one could understand what they were saying… at least until today. Almost nine decades after the NSDAP stood down at the Nuremberg Congress, and on the eve of the eightieth anniversary of the Normandy landings, the ‘Documaster’ program on RTVE’s La 2 has broadcast a documentary that reveals what the thugs said during those conversations.

How he did it is the core of the work. And the French-Canadian filmmaker Emmanuelle Amara, author of several other documentaries about World War II, such as ‘Hitler’s Last Secrets’, has achieved it through the use of artificial intelligence specialized in lip reading. That, and a series of German translators and historians who have helped contextualize the various videos collected. The result is four 52-minute episodes – at the moment only the first two can be seen on the RTVE website – in which it tells of the rise of Nazism, the first conquests, the total war and the fall from grace of the Third Reich.

The Amara production company specifies on its website, “This series gives new life to silent files.” In their words, the four chapters of the documentary “shed new light on the Second World War and the years that followed, revealing what the Reich’s masters and their henchmen were really saying to each other while they were filmed thinking that no one could hear them.” Somewhat trivial, some conclusive, the directors are convinced that “the words, now deciphered, give a new perspective to the story and bring us closer to the harsh reality of these tragic moments.” What they do not reveal is the technique used to bring them into the present; the secret of the good magician…

whispering

The first chapter of the series begins with recordings that the Germans made during their rise to power to show their power to society. And they were not trivial. To bring himself to power, Hitler broke with the techniques used by traditional groups. Their architects were Goebbels himself and workers at the ‘Reichspropagandelitung’ or RPL, the central propaganda office of the NSDAP. The base, young people between their twenties and thirties, who, in addition to providing an image of freshness to the outside world, fled from a more classic vision of politics. Historian Thomas Childers confirms this in his comprehensive work ‘The Third Reich’. History of Nazi Germany’.

The RPL experienced its peak period starting with the January 1932 election campaign for the presidency of Germany. A difficult test, because the opponent was the revered von Hindenburg. While the elderly military and political leader attended only two public events, the NSDAP organized more than 30,000 events, distributed eight million leaflets and covered city walls with hundreds and hundreds of posters. And not only that, but they paid for about 50,000 phonograph records that were small enough to fit in mailboxes. All of them contained speeches from their “big stars.”

A large part of those events were recorded in silent films. For example, in one of the Nuremberg Congress, you can see how Hitler organized the route of the parade in front of the camera: “Everything is in order, but that turn is too sharp.” During that time, the filming also showed members of the SA – the paramilitary organization of the NSDAP – in crowded meetings. This was intended to demonstrate to society that they were not only dedicated to spreading violence in the streets. According to artificial intelligence, one of its top leaders said, “Go ahead, let’s pretend we are working for the camera.” In them, you can see a young Heinrich Himmler giving reports to his superiors.

Hundreds of such curiosities are hidden in the documentary. However, the recording also makes clear Hitler’s intentions during the election: “The best thing for our interests is confrontation. The victory will be ours in any case. This turned out to be good, because in July 1932 he received 30 delegates. However, the documentary also shows that the Nazi leader, at least in theory, had to put aside his strong anti-Semitism in order to gain social support. You can see that in some of the images taken during the 1930s. How citizens criticize SA members for preventing them from shopping at businesses run by Jews.

The conversation also reveals Hitler’s forceful character, who did not allow anyone to dominate him. Not by his political opponents, not by his teacher Benito Mussolini. “We will fight and overcome all obstacles.” He once said, “I want it all, it’s that simple.” However it also reveals, as was already known, that he did not have a good relationship with sex. In 1934, during a visit to Italy, the ‘Duce’ pointed to a girl during a speech. “Look at her, she is very pretty, she is not bad at all.” As he always did, he ignored the comment and changed the subject.

But not all are official recordings. The first chapter also analyses the filming that Hitler’s lover Eva Braun made at the Berghof, the alpine residence of the ‘Führer’. And in them you can see how she lived in a sort of golden prison: surrounded by money and thugs, but subjugated and condemned to not being able to get out of there. Besides the fact they also highlight the dictator’s arrogance. “It’s true that I come across better when I read speeches. Why are you recording an old man? “I should be recording you,” he said.

In that sense, the director has in turn analyzed the images that show the ‘Fuhrer’ and what was one of his ideas: a descendant of Wagner. And the conversation reveals that they may have had a secret romance.