National Geographic - Hitlers Battle Against the Press (2018)

The documentary tells the story of the courageous journalists of the “Munchener Post”, the social-democratic Munich daily newspaper, and their fight against Hitler with historical reenactments and contemporary archive material. Until 1933 they wrote consistently and fearlessly about National Socialism and its editors bravely campaigned for press freedom against Hitler. An emboldening story a story about moral courage and resistance. The editors, including Eugen Kirchpfennig, who later founded the Suddeutsche Zeitung, Edmund Goldschagg, and Julius Zerfass, recognized the Hitler phenomenon as early as the 1920s of the Weimar Republic and warned against the young, unknown agitator from Austria. Hitler called them “Munchener Pest” or “Poison kitchen” and threatened the editorial office with his thugs. Despite personal persecution, they did not allow themselves to be intimidated and fought for freedom of the press by exposing and denouncing the dark machinations of the Nazis until the traditional newspaper was closed in 1933. The brave editors and their newspaper are almost forgotten today. Only a single book has been published about the events – in Brazil. “Amazingly, the story of the courageous journalists is largely unknown. The Munich Post articles painted a portrait of Hitler long before he came to power and refuted the widespread post-war myth that no one knew who Hitler really was or what his plans were,” explains Jasmin Gravenhorst, producer of doc.station. The four experts Gunther Gerstenberger, painter and historian, freelance artist, book author and exhibition organizer on historical topics, Dr. Markus Schmalzl, historian and archivist, Silvia Bittencourt, author of the only book so far about the “Munchener Post” and Paul Hoser, member of the board of trustees of the Institute for Bavarian History at the University of Munich, roll up the story of the courageous newspaper in 45 gripping minutes. “For me, 'Hitler's Battle Against the Press' stands in the tradition of great journalistic heroic stories. The documentary shows that decades before the Spiegel affair or Watergate there were courageous reporters who were not intimidated by menacing threats to life. That is still today just as relevant as it was almost a hundred years ago. I am proud that we as National Geographic in Germany are telling this tragic, but also very inspiring story in this way for the first time ”, says Axel Gundolf, TV Director of National Geographic.

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