Alexander Zöller

The Reichsfilmarchiv & its holdings in the context of the development of an audiovisual culture of remembrance

The Reichsfilmarchiv (1934-1945) existed until the German surrender in May 1945. Initially conceived as a film collection, its work became increasingly professional, with current aspects of film archiving – such as the concept of a mandatory fee – being implemented to this day. Subordinated to the Propaganda Ministry in 1939, the archive was increasingly integrated into National Socialist cultural policy. Its holdings served as a source of inspiration for filmmakers who were also able to see films that were not publicly permitted in Germany. Not least because of the looting of films in the areas occupied by Germany, the stocks grew by leaps and bounds during the Second World War. The dissertation project examines the history of this media archive in the international context of state-organized film archiving, the fate of its holdings, which are still not fully restituted as spoils of war, and the role of this cinematic tradition for today’s culture of remembrance.

Research focus

Collection of the former Reichsfilmarchiv, visual German propaganda in the Second World War, culture of remembrance

Bio

Alexander Zöller, born 1979. Studied archive and information science at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences. Master’s thesis on a collection of the former Reichsfilmarchiv. Publications and conference contributions on German visual propaganda in World War II.

Articles

Alt, Dirk; Stamm, Karl; Zöller, Alexander: “Flucht in die Filmkunst. Schlaglichter zum Schaffen von Rudolf Werner Kipp 1942-1951”. In: Tagungsband der GFS Hannover/Peter Stettner 2017.

Zöller, Alexander: “Versprengtes Erbe. Das Reichsfilmarchiv (1934-1945) und seine Hinterlassenschaften”. In: Rolf Aurich, Ralf Forster (Hg.): Wie der Film unsterblich wurde. Vorakademische Filmwissenschaft in Deutschland. München 2015, S. 62-71.

Lectures

“From the Battlefield to the Archives: German Propaganda Films During and After World War One”. Colloque International “Naissance des cinémas militaires (1914-1939)”, Bruxelles – Namur, 29. November bis 1. Dezember 2017.

“Film Propaganda, the Revolution and the Archives of Germany. A Fragmentary Legacy”. VGIK, Moskau, 15. bis 17. November 2017.

“1942 Warsaw Ghetto Footage: Contextualization and the Question of Authenticity”. Beim EHRI-Workshop Standing up to Scrutiny: Authenticating Holocaust Documentation, im United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C., 23. Oktober 2017.

“Alfred Greven, die Filme der Continental und das Reichsfilmarchiv”. Im Zeughauskino, Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin, 3. Juni 2017. Filmeinführung in der Reihe Tarnname Continental. Filme für das besetzte Frankreich.

“Transfer – Acquisition – Restitution. The Dynamics of Collection-Building in German Film Archives, 1943 until Today”. Workshop Dynamic Archives. Film, History, Heritage, Hebrew University Jerusalem, 25. Juni 2017.

“Das Reichsfilmarchiv (1934-1945). Eine Institution der nationalsozialistischen Filmpolitik”. Potsdamer Tag der Wissenschaften, Potsdam, 13. Mai 2017.

“The Second Life of German Propaganda Images from World War II”. AFRHC, Kolloquium La migration des images en Europe: des premiers temps aux années 1990, Paris, 29. November 2016.