Friday, February 14, 2014

The Eternal Jew (Der Ewige Jude)




The Eternal Jew is a 1940 German documentary on the Jews of Eastern Europe. Its title in German is Der ewige Jude. At the insistence of Germany's Minister for Public Enlightenment, Joseph Goebbels, the film was directed by Fritz Hippler. The screenplay is credited to Eberhard Taubert. The film consists of feature and documentary footage combined with materials filmed shortly after the occupation of Poland. At this time Poland's Jewish population was about three million, roughly ten percent of the total population. Actor Harry Giese (1903–1991) narrated.
  
The documentary shows Jewish ghettos, Jews in Palestine, Jewish Religious ceremonies, Jewish history, and kosher Jewish ritual slaughter. While the film is an in depth study of Jewish existence, it only glances for some aspects of Judaism. It says, "The bobbing motion is part of the jewish ritual for reading Jewish scriptures." However, it does not explain how they can read small letters with their head moving, which is near impossible and should cause motion sickness. The film helped promote kinder slaughter of animals after audiences witnessed the kosher method which requires animals to be conscious as they slowly bleed to death, which the film showed was a long and painful experience.

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