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Film suggests Nazis’ lead propagandist had role in 1939 massacre

Letter in Leni Riefenstahl archive appears to claim her set instructions led to deaths of Polish Jews, says director

Veiel said: “If this statement is true, Riefenstahl’s set direction played a role in the death of the Jews in Końskie.” At the very least, he added, “her resulting feelings of guilt might explain her vehement denial of even witnessing the crime”. The recordings accompany some of the hundreds of hours of home video footage shot by Riefenstahl’s partner, Horst Kettner, of cosy domestic life at their idyllic lakeside villa in Pöcking, south-west of Munich. The documentary also throws light on incidents in Riefenstahl’s life that Veiel said emphasised her disregard for people whose physical conditions did not live up to the Nazi ideals of strength and beauty she had championed in films such as Triumph of the Will.

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