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D A S B L A U E L I C H T |
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LENI Riefenstahl Remberance A brief look at moments of transitions in her life
1902/2003 |
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Leni (Hélène Bertha Amelia) Riefenstahl, filmmaker, born August 22 1902; died September 8 2003 |
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"Through my optimism I naturally prefer and capture the beauty in life." Leni Riefenstahl
Leni Riefenstahl's death did not escape the torrent of controversy that defined her life after World War II, though, as usual there was confusion by the media on how best to approach it. Some coverage moved towards neutrality, the German media giant Deutsche Welle simply stated "Germany’s seemingly invincible filmmaker and photographer, who donned scuba gear even on her 100th birthday to snap shots of sharks in turquoise waters, succumbed to a prolonged illness at her home in southern Germany on Monday night. She had just turned 101." An Indian news source took the opposing approach and entitled their article "The Nazi That Would Not Die." Reuters news reported at approximately 10:50 pm Monday September 8, 2003 "filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, the last of Germany's famous Nazi-era figures", had died just weeks after turning 101.This was later confirmed in a brief press conference outside her home, in which her personal assistant, Gisela Jahn stated "Frau Riefenstahl died without pain, she fell asleep in her bed..." At her side was her long time companion, Horst Kettner. Kettner was quoted in Bunte as relating, "her heart simply stopped." Headlines
continued to alternate, between
National Public Radio's
"The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl Has Ended", to
the Conscientious
magazine's vile "Frau
Riefenstahl Finally is Dead." That not being enough they go on to say
"she was a talented photographer and film This frenzy of how to best pin the headline on the death of Riefenstahl, seemed in keeping with the frustration that Riefenstahl faced in life as well. It was in an interview with the Associated Press just before her 100th birthday in 2002, that Riefenstahl "apologized for ever being born." Though at the same time she insisted that she should not be criticized for her artistic efforts in film. Yet, on her demise, German Culture Minister Christina Weiss said ''her career shows that ... art is never unpolitical, and that form and content cannot be separated from one another.''
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As reported on the AP, about 500 mourners attended the funeral of Leni Riefenstahl the Friday after her death. "What she wanted she could do" said Antje-Katrin Kuehnemann television host and friend to Riefenstahl. Others who remembered her in eulogy included tycoon Leo Kirch and her assistant of many years, Gisela Jahn. A chamber orchestra played music including that from Richard Wagner's opera, Tannhaeuser. And although former Goethe Institut president, Hilmer Hoffman honored Riefenstahl and predicted that "now that she is dead, we can distinguish between the aesthetic Leni Riefenstahl and her political entanglements", that certainly would take more than just the event of her passing. The New York Times appeared to be the most perplexed on what was politically correct in that the print edition headline of "Leni Riefenstahl, 101, Dies; Film Innovator Tied to Hitler" was decidedly toned down from the online version: "Leni Riefenstahl, Filmmaker and Nazi Propagandist, Dies at 101".Editorials began to occur in the weeks following Riefenstahl's death. The Guardian, UK's online media source related Riefenstahl's "films remain as a challenge to historians and cinephiles alike, posing difficult questions between the 20th century's greatest tragedy and its most powerful art form". Struggling with the "cinematic genius" and artist held in "contempt as a propagandist for Hitler" was a recurrent theme. CNN related through an interview with University of Westminster scholar, Brian Wilson, "Riefenstahl represents the big lie... She was extremely close to the regime and her only defense is that she wasn't a party member." Perhaps stating the obvious was best. NPR related that Leni Riefenstahl was simultaneously "renowned and despised." An editorial by a BBC reporter who had interviewed Riefenstahl in 2000, stated "in a moment of resignation, Leni Riefenstahl admitted to me, rather movingly, her regret that she would be judged by what amounted to a fleeting moment in a long and full life." This controversy would persist through the next year as the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences took notice to honor Riefenstahl the filmmaker at the Oscars in 2004. As one unhappy pundit noted "the entertainment industry’s liberal elite [honors] Nazi filmmaker..." click here
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CENTENARY 100TH BIRTHDAY FOR LENI RIEFENSTAHL ! August 22, 2002 All accounts were that the Leni Riefenstahl 100th birthday celebration held in a luxury hotel in Feldafing, near her home at Lake Starnberg in the Bavarian province of Germany, was a great success. A fantastic party ensued with many recalling her five lives throughout the last 10 decades.
Leni Riefenstahl at her 100th Birthday with fans Siegfried and Roy Unfortunately, in addition to the celebrations at Leni's party, there was an onslaught of embittered press reports. These stories and the ensuing public announcement made on August 22, 2002 of a revived investigation regarding the use of Gypsy labor during the Third Reich era, certainly cast something of a shadow over the celebrations.
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