Hitler Loved Mickey


It’s only a brief mention in this New York Times article, but Hitler was a fan of Mickey Mouse.

Harlan became an effective instrument for (WWII Nazi propagandist) Goebbels’s beliefs in the power of cinema. A film enthusiast, Goebbels is said to have watched at least one movie a day and once gave Hitler 18 Mickey Mouse films as a Christmas present, along with 30 other titles. (The Führer, Goebbels wrote in his diaries, was “very pleased.”) In his valuable history “The Ministry of Illusion: Nazi Cinema and Its Afterlife,” Eric Rentschler argues that Goebbels, who saw Hollywood as his leading competition, envisioned himself as a German David O. Selznick. To that end, Mr. Rentschler explains, under the Reich, “film was to be artful and accessible, not intellectual or esoteric.” Directors would function as facilitators rather than auteurs.

The full story can be read here.


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