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The Film Clip

Cabaret was released in 1972. It is important to stress to pupils that the clip that they see was not made during the Nazi Era. It is an interpretation of life in late Weimar Germany, based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood (Goodbye to Berlin) and made by Hollywood.

As the film is set in Weimar Germany during the early part of the 1930s it shows the rise in influence of the Nazis after the Wall Street Crash.

It would however be inappropriate to show much of the film and this lesson concentrates on just one scene - a festival scene. The clip concentrates upon the effect that a young Hitler Youth has on the gathered crowd as he sings 'Tomorrow Belongs To Me."

Relevance

This clip could be used to reinforce a study of The Hitler Youth, the influence of Nazi ideas on society and what makes effective propaganda.

The lesson should help students to understand the ways in which the Nazis affected the lives of many people within Germany. By considering how the film could have been used as effective propaganda had it been made by the Nazis, students could also explore the purpose and effect of propaganda. This could lead into a discussion centred on interpretations. Pupils will also learn of the emphasis on the community and the 'loss of individuality', and how the Nazi's appealed to German citizens through references to what they saw as an idyllic and heroic past. Pupils will hopefully be able to make links between the songs...