The Gleiwitz Case

This 1961 DEFA drama tells of the ‘surprise attack’ by a Nazi unit on the radio station at Gleiwitz on the Polish border in 1939 that was blamed on Polish forces and used by Hitler as grounds for invading Poland. It also deals with the possibilities of provocation and shows how facts and opinions can be manipulated. Using a visual language to describe fascism - groups of people assembled into ornaments, in which the individual is suppressed by the masses - the film is considered today as one of the most modern and experimental films in DEFA's history.