Helene Amalia Bertha Riefenstahl
was born on august 22, 1902 in berlin.

She started taking ballet lessons at the age of 16.
as a young lady, she took art lessions at the 'staatliche kunstgewerbeschule für zeichnen und malen' and she
studied at the russian ballet school in berlin.

soon she was choreographing her own performances
and designing her own costumes. by 1924,
she was appearing in performances in major cities
throughout europe.

in the same year, riefenstahl began appearing in films.
she began her acting career in the films of dr. arnold fanck
, a geologist who made 'mountain movies' that glorified rural
german life.

riefenstahl gave up dancing all together (she had an accident which left her unable to dance anymore) and dedicated herself to acting.

from 1924 to 1933 she was a daredevil actress in many films
by fanck.

-'the holy mountain' (der heilige berg)
- 'the big bound' (der grosse sprung)...
her last film under fanck's direction was
- 'sos iceberg' (s.o.s. eisberg)..

in 1932, she became internationally famous as a woman producer, director and leading actress with her first feature film 'the blue light' (das blaue licht).

leni riefenstahl then founded her own film production company,
'riefenstahl-studiofilm gmbh' in 1933, and throughout the period of the third reich, riefenstahl's ideals were supported by adolf hitler.

He requested that she make a film about the National Socialist party congress. Riefenstahl agreed and the film was entitled 'the triumph of belief' Documentary film about the NSDAP's 5th Reich Party Congress, which was held in Nuremberg from August 30th until September 3rd 1933.

The Propaganda Ministry through the central film hire services had lent the film. Since the end of the war, it had been impossible to get hold of a copy of it. Yet, there might be one in the archives of the former GDR or the former Soviet Union.

'the triumph of will' (triumph des willens), her most famous documentary film about the NSDAP's 6th Reich Party Congress in Nuremberg from September 4th until September 10th 1934.

in 1935 she was awarded the german national film prize for 'triumph of will'. The film is still considered a masterpiece even by jewish film makers. It is still required viewing at most of the world's film schools. This film has become unbelievably influential. T t is perhaps second only to THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN as the most visually quoted film in history.

Many current Hollywood Producers have Stolen images the film: The closing scene in STAR WARS, "Be Prepared" from THE LION KING, and especially the entrance of Commodus into Rome from GLADIATOR are all from TRIUMPH.

When hitler was voted control of the government and began to outlaw communist and other opposition parties, many jewish film makers left germany. The cleansing of the film industry made it easier for leni riefenstahl to rise to the top. Some crew members refused to work for her. But Adolf Hitler loved her efforts and continued to give her artistic freedom and financial support.

one of her most prized films was about the berlin olympics held in 1936. Never before had a filmmaker attempted to shoot athletic events the way she had. She used balloons, catapults and rubber rafts to get the angles she needed. Riefenstahl even dug a hole on the side of the field so that the pole
vaulters could be seen in the air. At the venice film festival,
it won 'the coppa mussolini', first prize. the runner-up was ' snow white' by walt disney.

when she went to hollywood to try to promote her film, she was snubbed. Hollywood was already firmly in the hand of the jews with every movie studio except Disney controlled by jews.

after the war, the film industry was in shambles due to allied air raids. she was blacklisted by the allied occupation forces who decided whom was allowed to work in the film industry in germany.

From 1945-48 she was accused having been a member of the national socialist party and was jailed for three years in different prisons and for three months in an insane asylum.

riefenstahl always seemed unconcerned and unaware of the propagandist effects of her films. she insisted that her involvement with the nazi party was never political.

in 1949 she was "denazified" by the court in frieburg on the 16th of december.

Blacklisted by the jewish film Studios Leni was shut out of making movies for several decades.

Her next film came at the At the age of 71.
Leni Riefenstahl attended a diving course to be able to work as an underwater photographer. Soon she became a master in this profession too.

With her two illustrated books, The coral gardens and The wonders under water she had caused a worldwide sensation and got further honours and awards for them.

In 1987, Leni Riefenstahl published her Memoirs which meanwhile have come out in 13 countries and reached a high circulation mainly in Japan and in the USA.

In 1992, the documentary film Die Macht der Bilder was produced over several months at original scenes where she herself could express her opinion about her life and her artistic work. This film too got several international awards - among them the Emmy Award in the USA and in Japan the special price of the film critics.

Leni Riefenstahl died on Monday 8 September 2003,
in Poecking, Germany.

She passed just a few weeks after her 101st birthday.

As National Socialists we salute this great Lady
and her service to the Reich.