Triumph of the Will

Triumph of the Will is a propagandistic documentary film by the German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. It chronicles the 1934 Nazi Party Congress in Nuremberg. The film contains excerpts from speeches given by various Nazi leaders at the Congress, including portions of speeches by Adolf Hitler, interspersed with footage of massed party members. Hitler commissioned the film and served as an unofficial executive producer; his name appears in the opening titles. The overriding theme of the film is the return of Germany as a great power, with Hitler as the True German Leader who will bring glory to the nation.

Triumph of the Will in The Man With the Iron Heart
Most Americans' impressions of Nuremberg were based on having seen Triumph of the Will. By 1945, of course, after years of systematic bombing and continued warfare, the city was quite different.

Tom Schmidt had seen the film. Even after the end of World War II, he remembered how Adolf Hitler had his audience in the palm of his hand.