Re: Riefenstahl (last time).

[Gerard Captijn <captyng@vtx.ch>]

At 12:56 PM 21/08/1997 -0400, you wrote:
>The lady was and is a superb photographer.  She did what was necessary at
>the time to have her work published.  She was never a Nazi, in any regard,
>though she was a long-time lover of Albrecht Speer, Hitler's architect, and
>a favorite of Joseph Goebbels.
>
>Are we to condemn people because of the regime under which they must work?
>Let's not jump to any conclusions here  -- there are documented US war
>atrocities in the Second Imbroglio, and I haven't heard a bit of
>condemnation of, say, Carl Mydans for photographing the war in detail.
>
>No, Leni did the best in troubled times.  I doubt if any of us would have
>done much differently, given the tenor of the times in which she worked.
>Riefenstahl's "Nazi" work was at an early period, before the Camps, before
>Crystal Night, before the true nature of totalitarian rule was revealed.
>(A warning to those of us who worry in the night about the 'there oughta be
>a law' mentality which afflicts the US public:  that was precisely how the
>Nazi's got started.)
>
>No, give MS Riefenstahl a rest.  She is a magnificent photographer with a
>magnificent ouevre developed over seventy years of active work.  
>
>Marc
>
>
>msmall@roanoke.infi.net  FAX:  +540/343-7315
>Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!
>
> 
Marc, with all respect, I don't think that Riefenstahl was and is a great
photographer. She was a second rate photographer that produced images that
were seen before (Rodchenko, Bauhaus photographers). You are perfectly
entitled to your opinions but there were many photographers that produced
far more powerful images than Riefenstahl. Just compare Riefenstahl's and
George Rodger's Nuba pictures or look at her mediocre underwater
photography. Germany had very stong photographers before and after the war
(Sander, Hausser, Luethi, Koelbl, etc.); Riefenstahl's body of work is
definitively not in this ligue.

Riefenstahl was not obliged to work under the Nazi regime. She choose to
make herself useful to the new peope in power while other photographers
left the country. She was instrumental in advancing the case of nazism,
like Goebbels was, and made a series of nazi propaganda movies. The final
result of all this was 40 million deaths in Europe. Something must have
been wrong with her views but she never stopped defending them.

The statement that "she is a magnificent photographer with a magnificent
oeuvre developed over seventy years of active work" is complete nonsense.

Nobody on the LUG ever discussed the right of Riefenstahl to show her
pictures. Nobody on the LUG stated that there should be laws against
Riefenstahl exhibitions. I am of the opinion that Riefenstahl should be
able to show her pictures, even if second rate and boring.

Riefenstahl is no credit to the Leica photography, basically uninteresting
and not worth further time and effort. This is my last message on the
subject. Next time more interesting subject matter (hopefully).

Gerard Captijn.