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The Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation classifies propaganda films from the National Socialist (Nazi) era as Vorbehaltsfilme (Restricted films), the content of which glorifies war, racism, or sedition among the people. Since 1966, these films have been in the collection of the Foundation and under the discretion of the Board of Trustees not released for public distribution. These “Restricted films” can only be displayed under the conditions and consent of the Foundation. In all cases, the Foundation requires a historical introduction and a discussion with an expert director. For academic purposes, viewing of the films is only possible within the rooms of the Foundation.

In the case of propaganda films which are not part of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau Foundation's collection (such as Heimkehr, Der ewige Jude, or Hans Westmar), it is up to the respective license owners to ensure responsible handling of the films within the legal framework.

Historical Background
After the fall of the Third Reich, about two-thirds of the 1933-1945 German film production were screened by the Allied military governments. These films were divided into three categories: to be released without conditions, to be released with revisions, or not to be released at all. Of approximately 1,150 full length films produced  over 300 were banned outright. However, the exact number depends on how one categorizes the films based on factors such as production dates or co-productions with other countries. An easily accessible, though not definitive, list of these titles is provided by the British Catalogue of Forbidden German Feature and Short film Productions, compiled by John F. Kelson in 1951 and reprinted by the Imperial War Museum in 1996. It contains both an (incomplete) grouping of films based on various propaganda themes with brief assessments and, in the appendix, a version of the 1952 banned list.

Since its founding in 1949, potential distributors have been able to submit applications to the FSK, a German institution that gives film ratings for the German film industry, to have films removed from the banned list, causing the list to dwindle considerably for the first few years. Until the Paris Agreements came into effect on May 5, 1995, the Allies had to agree for a film to be removed from the list, which only lost its legal binding force when Germany became sovereign.

When it was founded in 1966, the Murnau Foundation received the rights to a total of around 6,000 films produced between 1920 and 1960, including around 60% of the feature-length films produced between 1933 and 1945. Since the rights portfolio primarily includes the films of the major companies Ufa, Terra, Tobis, Berlin-Film and Bavaria (which were nationalized in 1937/38), and because the largest number of propaganda films were made between 1940 and 1942, a very large proportion of the Nazi propaganda films are in the possession of the Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation. However, this does not include the films of Wien-Film, Prag-Film or other smaller producers.

Between 1979 and 1985, numerous propaganda films from the former list were then submitted to the FSK, most were released (possibly with editing restrictions) and some were commercially distributed as VHS. Only a little more than a dozen films, such as Stukas, did not receive approval from the FSK.

The Current Version of the List
Today's restricted film list is made up as follows: 12-15 films that were rejected by the FSK; 20-25 films from the former banned list that were never resubmitted to the FSK (including Jud Süß); and lastly, some films that were withdrawn from distribution despite receiving FSK approval. These include, for example, the anti-Semitic Robert and Bertram (rated 6+), and the film drama Der Herrscher, (rated ages 12+). Since the Murnau Foundation has held the rights, the films have reportedly been reviewed occasionally, and decisions are made at irregular intervals as to whether they should remain blocked. As of 2012, the last review is said to have taken place in 1995/96.

Criticism
The Murnau Foundation's treatment of restricted films is often viewed critically. Critics accuse the foundation of using copyrights as a means of film censorship without having legal means to do so. Unlike the FSK, the foundation's Board of Trustee's are not governed by any legal standards and their decisions are exempt from legal recourse.

Moreover, the exact compilation of the list is not disclosed to the public, and there is no information about the reasons why individual films are rated as restricted films and why others are not. Also, the restricted films that are banned are particularly eye-catching examples of Nazi propaganda, while numerous more subtly propagandistic films are cleared, such as the monumental film Der große König or the biographic film Bismarck.

The concept of "restricted films" is not “restricted” in its original sense anyway, because due to the countless pirated copies distributed on the Internet or abroad, the films are widely accessible.

List of Restricted Films
About 40 film titles are still on the list:

Film Documentation
On March 6, 2014, the documentary Verbotene Filme (Banned Films) by Felix Moeller was released in theaters. In it, Moeller first presents the most important restricted films. He then discusses how the films, which are kept by the Murnau Foundation, are dealt with today. Participants in the discussion include Oskar Roehler, Moshe Zimmermann, Rainer Rother, Margarethe von Trotta, Jörg Jannings, Sonja M. Schultz, Thomas Koebner, and Götz Aly.