Berlin, Germany – September 9th: The photographer and filmmaker made famous
by her Nazi propaganda films “Triumph of the Will” and “Olympia”, Leni
Riefenstahl, died after a bought of cancer as she slept in her Munich
home. Riefenstahl has endured continued criticism for her work throughout
her life including charges of Holocaust denial (a crime in Germany), and
using Gypsies as extras in her film “Lowlands”, and then failing to prevent
their internment in a Nazi prison camp. The filmmaker later issued a statement
saying she regretted the Nazi persecution of Gypsies, and defended her
work saying it was a representation of what was happening in Germany at the time.
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