Hollywood's influence on the transmission of historical images. Lars Kraumes' Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer

The author discusses the concept of historical images and how storytelling conventions pioneered in early twentieth-century Hollywood became global practices. His contribution uses the film Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer (2015) as a case study for the creation and transmission of historical images on film. The film, a dramatization of Fritz Bauer’s involvement with the capture of Adolf Eichmann, explores the Attorney General’s life before he served as lead prosecutor at the Frankfurt Auschwitz Trials (1963-1965). He analyzes the ways that Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer utilizes storytelling techniques pioneered in Hollywood to construct historical images of the Hessian Attorney General while simultaneously perpetuating well-worn myths about Bauer’s private life. For the author, the film exemplifies our current globalized film culture, where differences in national filmmaking styles have largely fallen by the wayside in favor of films that appeal to more global, transnational audiences connected to streaming services and no longer dependent on the theatrical distribution model. (DIPF/Orig.)