THE <i>INDIANERFILME</i>: DETAILING EAST GERMANY'S REACTIONARY CONSTRUCTION OF NATIONAL IDENTITY THROUGH PROPAGANDA FILMS

This thesis examines the role that the Indianerfilme played in the construction of the East German national identity, explains their usefulness as an illustration of the state’s propaganda narrative, and analyzes what the films indicate about racism, masculinity, international relations, and the legacy of National Socialism in East Germany. Contextualizing the Indianerfilme within East Germany’s socioeconomic and geopolitical realities and analyzing the themes and tropes within the films reveals the Socialist Unity Party’s (SED) reactionary and contradictory characteristics. These films exemplify how the SED used the state-owned film studio, Deutsche Film-Aktiengesellschaft (DEFA), to reeducate East Germans, propagate its anti-capitalist and anti-fascist narrative, and garner international recognition for East Germany. The films’ use of the Western genre indicates the SED’s failure to control the media and information in East Germany, and the inversion of the Western genre reveals the aspects necessary for a film to be classified as a Western. As the most successful films produced by DEFA, the Indianerfilme represent the furthest extent of East Germany’s cultural imperialism project in the Eastern Bloc. As international co-productions, the films and their transnational star, Gojko Mitić, are evidence for East Germany’s attempts to use film to exhibit international solidarity with Communist and Marxist-Leninist states during the Cold War, including Cuba and Vietnam. The objectification of Gojko Mitić and the star culture surrounding him signify his characters in the films as the masculine ideal in East Germany. The films also illustrate the importance of Native Americans to Germans, and are evidence for Indianthusiasm, the use of Native American images to foster national identity in Germany.