Pour le Mérite (film)
| Pour le Mérite | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Karl Ritter |
| Written by | Fred Hildenbrandt Karl Ritter |
| Produced by | Karl Ritter |
| Starring | Paul Hartmann Herbert A.E. Böhme Albert Hehn Paul Otto Fritz Kampers |
| Cinematography | Günther Anders Heinz von Jaworsky (aerial photography) |
| Edited by | Gottfried Ritter |
| Music by | Herbert Windt Otto Dobrindt (music editor) |
Production company | Universum Film (UFA) |
| Distributed by | Ufa Film Company (USA) |
Release date |
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Running time | 121 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | Silent (English intertitles) |
| Budget | 1.076 million ℛℳ |
| Box office | 3.7 million ℛℳ |
Pour le Mérite (original title in French, lit. For Merit) is a 1938 propaganda film produced and directed by Karl Ritter for Nazi Germany. The film follows the story of officers of the Luftstreitkräfte (German Air Force) in the First World War who were later involved in the formation of the Luftwaffe. Pour le Mérite propagates the "stab legend", which blames the German military defeat in World War I on an alleged treason in the homeland. At the same time, Ritter also glorifies the former fighter pilots as heroes of National Socialism.