Movies as a Propaganda- and Disinformation-Tool in World War I and II Movies produced in Hollywood in 1918/19 were mainly anti-German. They had some influence but the bigger effect was reached in World War II-movies. The first propaganda movie of World War II was British. At that time all films had to pass censoring. Most beloved were entertaining movies with propaganda messages. The enemy was shown as a beast, an animal-like creature, a brutal person without soul and as an idiot. Whereas the own people were the heroes. That was the new form of atrocity. Leni Riefenstahl was a genius in this respect. Her movies still have an incredible power, while the majority of the other movies of that time look ridiculous today. The combination of light and shadow, the dramatic music and the mass-scenes that resembled ballet, had its effect and political consequences. Some of the German movies of that period still are on the index. U.S.-President Theodore Roosevelt considered movies the best propaganda-instrument, as they are more subtle than other tools. In the late twenties, movies got more and more important, in the USSR, too, like Sergei Eisenstein demonstrated with his movies. Historic events were changed into symbolism, exactly the way propaganda should function. It was disinformation - but in its most artistic form, especially in comparison to most U.S.- and European movies of that time.

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SOA The U.S.-Army School of Americas (= SOA) is based in Fort Benning (Georgia); it trains Latin American and U.S. soldiers in the working-field of counter-insurgency. Some of the nearly 60.000 SOA-Graduates have been responsible for many of the worst human rights abuses and crimes in Latin America. The list of famous dictators and murderers who went through the education of that institution is tremendous. In 1996 the U.S.-Government that always tried to deny the tasks of SOA, had to admit its work - but never closed it. For more information see the website of SOA-Watch: http://www.soaw.org http://www.soaw.org/

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