Wanting a lavish production to mark the 25th anniversary of UFA, the German film studio, Joseph Goebbels, director of the Nazi propaganda machine, commissioned an adaptation of Baron von Münchhausen‘s “autobiographical” stories. Baron von Münchhausen (1720-97) was an eccentric figure in European history, whose tall tales about his adventures rival anything to be found in the legends of Paul Bunyan or classic figures like Odysseus.
At Bodenwerder Castle in Münchhausen, the young Baroness von Riedesel confesses her love to the charis-matic Baron Münchhausen. Her fiancé, Baron von Hartenfeld, on the other hand, is more interested in his leg-endary supposed ancestors. In the 18th century, he and his faithful servant Kuchenreutter experienced all kinds of fantastic adventures: from the famous ride on a cannonball, to being captured by a sultan, to a balloon trip to the moon. Joseph Goebbels commissioned the star-studded spectacle for Ufa’s 25th anniversary in 1943. It was intended to demonstrate the efficiency of the isolated German film industry. The author Erich Kästner, who was banned by the Nazi regime, got a special permission to write the script under a pseudonym. While the Wehrmacht suffered the decisive defeat at Stalingrad at the beginning of 1943, the premiere on March 5th celebrated the battle of material MÜNCHHAUSEN: The strict cost-cutting measures imposed during the war did not apply to this prestige film - trick specialist Konstantin Irmen-Tschet was able to develop just as freely as the outfitters for thousands of splendid historical costumes. MÜNCHHAUSEN still is the most discussed Nazi entertainment film.
