Films on 'euthanasia' under the National Socialist government. Socio-historical and film-historical background of National Socialist propaganda fflmsdesigned to make murder seem acceptable

This paper surveys the film propaganda used in the Third Reich to provide a justification for sterilisation and euthanasia on the basis of the social- Darwinistic paradigm in the period 1933-1945. Relevant aspects of film hist ory are described, including the conflict between the use of documentaries and feature films in propaganda. Special reference is made to documentary f ilm projects in 1940-1943.