After 1945, the motorways were frequently regarded uncritically as being a benefit of National Socialism. In REICHSAUTOBAHN (West Germany 1984) Hartmut Bitomsky shows how the Nazis monopolized the project, staging it and leaving their mark on it in equal measure. The film was created as the second part of Bitomsky’s German Trilogy and unearthed points of view and insights relatively new at the time. Today, this form of historical documentary has more or less disappeared from television screens at least: no hastily edited together muddle of images, no murmurings of horror and sensation, no non-professional actors in Nazi uniforms. What we see instead is a calm, patient essay based on both historical material and current footage. We are showing REICHSAUTOBAHN on Hartmut Bitomsky’s 75 birthday on May 10th (gym). An event by CineGraph Babelsberg in collaboration with the Bundesarchiv-Filmarchiv and the Deutsche Kinemathek. (15.5.)
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