“Popular media have an immediate effect on an audience of millions. they are the base of social learning through the times. therefore they deserve greater attention from professionals. the nazi propaganda for example created an elaborate system, which made use of new technologies of the twentieth century, especially radio broadcasting and the movies. escapism should be produced. up to now those movies are shown on tv or in the cinema often without reference to their origin and intention which were later on regarded as harmless. as a consequence,”propaganda” is maintained in a very distinguished way. in 1945, the allies first banned the showing of films made during the nazi era and confiscated important documents. those films regarded as”harmless” were soon released to the public again, but in the 1950s some 250 politically dubious films were still under lock and key. interestingly, they often can be received via the internet from other countries especially the usa. it only became clear over time that the propagandistic aims that found expression in some 1,100 films needed to be examined more carefully. © 2011 springer-verlag.”