Post-WW2 Anti-Fascist Educational Film | Don't Be a Sucker | 1947

Don't Be a Sucker! is a short educational film produced by the U.S. War Department in 1943 and re-released in 1947. The film depicts the rise of Nazism in Germany and warns Americans against repeating the mistakes of intolerance made in Nazi Germany. It emphasizes that Americans will lose their country if they let themselves be turned into "suckers" by the forces of fanaticism and hatred. The film was made to make the case for the desegregation of the United States armed forces by simply revealing the connection between prejudice and fascism.

This film is not propaganda. To the contrary, it teaches how to recognize and reject propaganda, as was used by the Nazis to promote to bigotry and intimidation. It shows how prejudice can be used to divide the population to gain power. Far more significantly, it then shows how such tactics can be defanged by friendly persuasion; that protection of liberty is a unifying and practical way to live peacefully.

Plot:
A young American Free Mason is taken in by the message of a soap-box orator who asserts that all good jobs in the United States are being taken by the so-called minorities, domestic and foreign. He falls into a conversation with Hungarian professor who witnessed the rise of Nazism in Berlin and who tells him of the pattern of events that brought Hitler to power in Germany and how Germany's anti-democratic groups split the country into helpless minorities, each hating the other. The professor concludes by pointing out that America is composed of many minorities, but all are united as Americans.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND / CONTEXT

Nazi Germany is the common English name for the period in German history from 1933 to 1945, when Germany was governed by a dictatorship under the control of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP). Under Hitler's rule, Germany was transformed into a fascist state in which the Nazi Party took totalitarian control over nearly all aspects of life. The official name of the state was Deutsches Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Großdeutsches Reich ("Greater German Reich") from 1943 to 1945. The period is also known under the names the Third Reich (German: Drittes Reich) and the National Socialist Period (German: Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, abbreviated as NS-Zeit). The Nazi regime came to an end after the Allied Powers defeated Germany in May 1945, ending World War 2 in Europe.

Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the President of the Weimar Republic Paul von Hindenburg on 30 January 1933. The Nazi Party then began to eliminate all political opposition and consolidate its power. Hindenburg died on 2 August 1934, and Hitler became dictator of Germany by merging the powers and offices of the Chancellery and Presidency. A national referendum held 19 August 1934 confirmed Hitler as sole Führer (leader) of Germany. All power was centralized in Hitler's person, and his word became above all laws.

Racism, especially antisemitism, was a central feature of the regime. The Germanic peoples (the Nordic race) were considered by the Nazis to be the purest branch of the Aryan race, and were therefore viewed as the master race. Millions of Jews and other peoples deemed undesirable by the state were murdered in the Holocaust. Opposition to Hitler's rule was ruthlessly suppressed. Members of the liberal, socialist, and communist opposition were killed, imprisoned, or exiled. The Christian churches were also oppressed, with many leaders imprisoned. Education focused on racial biology, population policy, and fitness for military service. Career and educational opportunities for women were curtailed. Propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels made effective use of film, mass rallies, and Hitler's hypnotizing oratory to control public opinion. The government controlled artistic expression, promoting specific art forms and banning or discouraging others.

Following the Allied invasion of Normandy (6 June, 1944), Germany was conquered by the Soviet Union from the east and the other Allied powers from the west and capitulated within a year. The victorious Allies initiated a policy of denazification and put many of the surviving Nazi leadership on trial for war crimes at the Nuremberg trials.

Post-WW2 Anti-Fascist Educational Film | Don't Be a Sucker | 1947

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NOTE: THE VIDEO REPRESENTS HISTORICAL EVENTS. SINCE IT WAS PRODUCED DECADES AGO, IT HAS HISTORICAL VALUES AND CAN BE CONSIDERED AS A VALUABLE HISTORICAL DOCUMENT. THE VIDEO HAS BEEN UPLOADED WITH EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. ITS TOPIC IS REPRESENTED WITHIN HISTORICAL CONTEXT. THE VIDEO DOES NOT CONTAIN SENSITIVE SCENES AT ALL!

[quantumshock]

"Hey, that fella is talking about...ME"
"And that makes a difference, doesn't it" - Truer words have hardly been spoken.

[oliverschlesinger]

“History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.” - Mark Twain

[jakelilevjen]

“I’ve heard this sort of talk before, but I never expected to hear it in America.” It is telling how this video reflects on us today.

[esporev]

“Here we have liberty, personal freedom. These are not just fancy words, they are a practical and priceless way of living“

[tingnews]

The only thing we learned from history is we learned nothing from history

[redrust]

In 2024, this 1947 film still speaks to me.

[averongodoffire]

Chad teacher roasting the shit out of the Nazi leadership lmao

[snakerattleroll]

It's interesting how human they made Hans. He's shown laughing, smiling, kissing his wife. They don't demonize him in the slightest. He's treated, at worst, as a man who's been conned.

[cknowledge]

"He is talking about me.."
"Then that is making the difference?"

What a powerful moment which can happen to everyone.

[KneeJerkish]

"We human beings are not born with prejudices. They are made for us. Made by someone who wants something."

[josorr]

Pay attention, people. Many of the comments indicate that the division is happening again.

[yusaki]

I just met someone who proudly claimed to be a Nazi. I sent them this video. Hopefully they aren’t too far gone.

[vogonp]

This film honestly aged really well. It's almost as if it was produced yesterday.

[JokerFace]

I wrote a paper in highschool, early 2000s, about how Hitler and Mussolini subverted their governments to take power. I closed the essay out with a paragraph about it makes one think how we could lose our democracy in America. My teacher wrote underneath, "That can never happen in America, we have checks and balances!" with a smiley face. I'm pretty sure she didn't read the paper, I think she just checked to see if we wrote the citations correctly and used at least 3 different books and one newspaper article. Pretty sure she told us everything on the internet is made up too.

[madisons]

Im not saying all propaganda is cool, but we would've greatly benefitted as a society if they made us all watch this in school.

[dreameater]

I about came to tears when the man started ripping up the pamphlet. Very powerful. We must all stay together as one. We will never be a minority if we remember this..

[livethefuture]

3:31
"Hey! He's talking about...ME!"
"And that makes a difference, doesnt it?" - And that is the moment when it really hit me like a brick wall...

This should be shown in every school in America. I have never seen a more powerful retelling of the dangers of division and prejudice as this short film.

Bravo to whoever made this and to wheoever posted it here. This is history that needs to be preserved and im grateful its here for the world to see.

[freakishuproar]

_"You see, we human beings are not born with prejudices. Always they are made for us, made by someone who wants something. Remember that when you hear this kind of talk. Somebody's going to get something out of it, and it isn't going to be you."_

Hot Damn. Way to call-out 21st century bullshit, 1947.

[skidart]

This is why Nazism was dispised by the majority of people back then. Cause they just lived through it. This is the best anti Nazi film I've seen. It sucks how history is trying to repeat itself. It's easier to point the finger at someone else for your problems then to take responsibility for them yourself.

[kennypowers]

Everyone wants to think of people from the past as dumb and racist but this is oneof the nicest things ive seen