Der Fuehrer's Face
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Der Fuehrer's Face is a 1943 animated cartoon by Walt Disney Studios starring Donald Duck, as well as a song from that short. Both mock Adolf Hitler.
It was directed by Jack Kinney and released on January 1, 1943 as an anti-Nazi propaganda piece for the American war effort. It won the 1943 Academy Award for Animated Short Film.
In the film, a German band (including Hirohito on sousaphone and Mussolini on bass drum) marches through a small town, singing the virtues of the Nazi doctrine. Donald is awakened by the noise and taken by the musicians to an ammunition factory. As one long day of forced work passes, he becomes little more than another slave of the totalitarian system, with no choice but obeying till he falls, suffering a nervous breakdown. However, he finds out that it has all been a nightmare and he is still living in the United States. Before the film's release, the popular band Spike Jones and His City Slickers, noted for their parodies of hot songs of the time, released a version of Oliver Wallace's theme song, "Der Fuehrer's Face" (also known informally as "The Nazi Song"). Unlike the version in the cartoon, some Spike Jones versions contain the rude sound effect of rubber razzers (aka the Bronx Cheer) with each "HEIL!" to show contempt for Hitler. The underlying implication of passing gas in Hitler's face, a very risque theme for that time period, illustrates how normal censorship of the public media tends to be relaxed when the subject is an enemy. The success of Jones' record prompted Disney to change the short's title, originally Donald Duck In Nutzi Land, to match the song.
Due to the propagandistic nature of the short, and the depiction of Donald Duck as a Nazi, Disney has kept it out of general circulation since its original release. Der Fuehrer's Face finally received an official U.S. video release in 2004, when it was included in the Walt Disney Treasures limited edition DVD set Walt Disney: On the Front Lines. It also appeared in another Walt Disney Treasures set; The Chronological Donald Volume Two (released in December 2005).
Lyrics
- When der Fuehrer says, "We ist der master race,"
- We HEIL! HEIL! Right in der Fuehrer's face!
- Not to love der Fuehrer is a great disgrace,
- So we HEIL! HEIL! Right in der Fuehrer's face!
- When Herr Goebbels says, "We own die world und space,"
- We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Herr Goebbels' face!
- When Herr Göring says, "They'll never bomb this place,"
- We HEIL! HEIL! Right in Herr Göring's face!
- Ist we not der super men?
- Aryan pure super men?
- Ja, we ist der super men!
- [Prissy voice] Super duper super men!
- Ist dies Nazi Land so good?
- Would you leave it if you could?
- Ja, dies Nazi Land ist good!
- We would leave it if we could!
- We bring the world new order;
- Heil Hitler's new world order!
- Everyone of foreign race
- Will love der Fuehrer's face
- When we bring to the world dis-order!
- When der Fuehrer says, "We ist der master race,"
- We HEIL! HEIL! Right in der Fuehrer's face!
- Not to love der Fuehrer is a great disgrace,
- So we HEIL! HEIL! Right in der Fuehrer's face!
Version in the Cartoon
The song in the cartoon includes 2 additional verses that appear nowhere else:
- When der Fuehrer says, we never will be slaves
- We HEIL! HEIL! But still we work like slaves.
- While der Fuehrer brags and lies and rants and raves
- We HEIL! HEIL! And work into our graves.
- When der Fuehrer yells "I got to have more shells"
- We HEIL! HEIL! For him we make more shells
- If one little shell should blow him right to [hell] [actually the sound of Donald's head clanging off a shell; the word "hell" is only implied and thus censored]
- We HEIL! HEIL! And wouldn’t that be swell?
Other versions
Harry Turtledove adapted the song in one of his Colonization novels, in tune with the novels' theme. See the page on The Race for the lyrics.
External links
- http://www.steakandcheese.com/content/downloader.asp?file=/downloads/der_fuehrers_face.wmv
- [Disney Archives: Donald Duck Character History]
- [The Encyclopedia of Disney Animated Shorts]
- [Walt Disney Home Video: Walt Disney: On the Front Lines]
- [Song lyrics - Der Fuehrer's Face, by Spike Jones and the City Slickers]
- [Banned Cartoons, including Fuehrer]
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