How a racist film helped the Ku Klux Klan grow for generations
Lynchings rose fivefold after “The Birth of a Nation” came to town
“TRIUMPH OF THE WILL”, a Nazi propaganda film, proved how cinematographic innovation could spread evil. Yet long before Leni Riefenstahl filmed Hitler’s troops, an American motion picture tested the toxic power of the new medium.
This article appeared in the Graphic detail section of the print edition under the headline “A tarnished silver screen”
From the March 27th 2021 edition
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