Baptism of Fire
This film was released Friday 5 April at a fashionable opening night in Berlin. Among the invited were ambassadors, military attachés from the Nordic Countries - Denmark, Norway and Sweden. At least the Danish Ambassador reported back to his Government and his report was discussed in the Cabinet over the coming days. These are all relatively well-known facts. What is less known is that Feuertaufe was released in the capitals of Denmark, Norway and Sweden on the same Friday evening, arranged by the German Embassies (of course). It is not clear whether people from the Danish Government were present at the show in Copenhagen, but enough officers and officials would had been there for the Cabinet to know. Those whose duty it was to make the decision whether to go to war with Germany had seen what Germany would do to those who stood firm against her. The purpose of the show was, of course, to intimidate political decision-makers not to take action against the German troops when they invaded Denmark and Norway the following Tuesday, 9 April. The plan worked with Denmark, and well enough with Norway.,Featured in The Biter Bit (1943),Bomben auf Engelland
Wilhelm Stöppler,While the majority of films in the German Nazi era are relatively benign and apolitical there are decidedly some that fully warrant the reputation of being nothing more than propagandistic fever dreams designed to benefit the corrupt 'ideals' of a despicable regime, and Feuertaufe (aka Baptism of Fire]) (1940) is certainly one of the latter. It tells the story of the Luftwaffe's decisive efforts in the attack on Poland done as a documentary, unlike Stukas from 1941 which did something similar although done as a narrative story rather than as a 'historical' record. Both films do however frame the heroic imagery of the boys of the Air Corp amidst rousing songs and glorious battle, something that seems to be a bit of a constant in German films from the '30s and '40s.

That said, it's hard to overlook the revisionist history that springs virtually from the opening frames that assert there was simply no choice for Germany to retaliate against the warmongering Polish aggressors who had designs on the whole of Germany. What is even more striking is that while director/writer Hans Bertram, and almost certainly the Luftwaffe who seemed to be a major sponsor of the production and the rest of the German high command truly want to convey is that England and France are next and they, and the people of Germany, better get used to the idea. The level of venom spewed at England, and PM Neville Chamberlain in particular, is a astonishing.

Unfortunately the copy I viewed was dubbed - everybody knows these sorts of things sound better in the original German - but the translation appeared to be authentic. This front of WWII was new for me as I don't recall ever seeing footage of the battle of Poland and, despite the exhortations of the narrators, it's clear from the footage presented that this was never going to be anything other than a rout.,