cygnata A rare cartoon that I agree should definitely be shown to history and psychology classes, perhaps even current events.I've shown this cartoon to friends on occasion, to discuss it with them, and they usually find it fascinating. It's disturbing, true, but sometimes, such things need to be examined and understood.First a bit of trivia: On the right hand side of the Verboten list, look at the top name. "Winston", for old Winston Churchill. Joseph (as in Stalin) and Franklin (Roosevelt) also appear.I, keep remembering the image of Hans marching, growing older, then finally becoming a nameless cross. It's hard to not look away for a moment after the end, and think on all those lives wasted, who could have been caring, empathetic individuals if not taught such filth. In many similar ways are psychopaths created "by accident." The lack of loving parental care, the constant humiliation, the feeling that the strong must rule.Contrary to most of the reviews I've seen so far on it, I do not believe that Hans just suddenly begins to hate the rabbit. The teacher's intent, and the result of the humiliation, and the empathic replies of the other boys, saying that cowards must die, is for Hans to see himself as the rabbit for a brief moment. He MUST prove himself to be a fox, strong and not to be trifled with, or he fears he will find himself dead or worse because he showed weakness.In short, Hans learns that lambs must become lions, or else be devoured. True hatred comes in time.All in all, I feel sorry for those children who were molded by this process. Even though the regime didn't last long enough for children molded from birth to grow up fully affected with it, enough were affected to hold onto some of those ideals. Case in point being the fact that Neo-Nazism started soon after the war, and sadly, still thrives today.I hope people who watch this film come away having learned something, about how insidious such propaganda and brainwashing can be.

Angel Meiru Whenever you think of Disney, you think of sweetness, syrup on sugar and other senemental stuff. Not so with this short nor any of the other shorts that were featured on "Disney's on the Front Lines"."Education for Death" deals with a child named Hans, whom is pure Aryan, growing up on Nazi idealogy. When he shows sympathy, he is immediately punished. Later, he grows up into a Nazi soldier and becomes as brutal and heartless as the rest of his fellow classmates. No happy ending follows either, which is a relief, since most of Disney movies end happily ever after.Watch for the fairy tale scene with Hitler rescuing a fat girl depicting Germany. That scene is priceless.

Shawn Watson In this dark Disney short (directed by the same guy who did Lady and the Tramp and Peter Pan) we see a young German couple take their newborn baby to be registered as one of 'Hitler's Children'. They have to prove their ethnic origin all the way back to their great-grandparents to authenticate the child's pure Aryan blood. One of Hitler's biggest mistakes is the fact that blue eyes/blonde hair is a recessive gene and is 3 out of 4 times dominated by dark eyes/hair. The parents must choose a name for the child but can only take what is not already chosen from 'the list'. They choose Hans, which ends up being okay. Soon the child is in school and is taught warped versions of typical values. Hans is told of a fox hunting a rabbit. He takes sympathy on the poor rabbit and is ridiculed and tormented by his teacher and classmates. The lesson of 'only the strong survive' is brutally hammered into him.And when Hans gets sick his parents are warned to cease all 'mollycoddling' and he better get well quickly. Hitler's children do no get sick and those who do are taken away and never heard from again. More and more evil lesson and hailing the Fuehrer follow. Soon Hans is a grown man, marching in line with all the other soldiers. Neither of them are individuals. They are robots believing what Hitler wants them to believe. Doing what Hitler wants them to do. Saying what Hitler wants them to say. None of them know joy, happiness or laughter. And soon Hans is dead. Sympathy is felt for the child within who died a long time ago. It's alarming when you consider that this may feel far-fetched yet in today's society we are still reared and duped by lying world leaders. We still believe nonsense we read in tabloids and fear and xenophobia still overpower common sense.A very chilling cartoon.

GlennBrody69 When I first heard of the extensive line of Disney animated films that were banned in the U.S., I became overwellingly interrested. Knowing how Disney always plays off like the wholesome image, it was nice to see some faulties they made. Alas, I first saw "De Fueher's Face (1943)" and I was stunned that this was ever made! Donald Duck, supporting a Swastika armband, shouting "Heil Hitler!" and claiming to be a Nazi??? That was shocking news! Ultimately, I thought the film was pro-Nazi (there are of course, one of the many rumor of Walt Disney was that he was a Nazi supporter during the war). Thus, after you see the short, you realize it's making fun of Hitler's reich and that it's actually Allied propaganda (mostly for the good ol' USA). "De Fueher's Face", nevertheless, was comical and I couldn't count the number of times I've laughed so hard. This, however, isn't a comedy, but very dramatic and tragic.The short, "Education for Death", based off the novel "Education for Death: The Making of a Nazi" (which is unsurprisingly out-of-print, even though Hitler's "Mein Kampf" is still a best seller) is a dramatic look at the dealing with Nazi Germany and formification of a 'Good Nazi' (and that's "good" meaning a Ayran filled with Hate and prejudice). While it's very politically incorrect if watched now a days, back then, it was pretty much Americans' only look through the eyes of a Hitler followerThe film loosely travels along the lines of the famous anti-war epic, "All Quiet on the Western Front (1930" by which instead of the First World War, it's somewhere near the second. The story starts off with a German mother and father, regestering their newborn baby boy to the fascist government of Germany. They name him Hans. There is then a little segment that's really meant to lighten the tone of the film which some slapstick comedy, involving a Nazi 'retelling' of "Sleeping Beauty", in which Democracy represents the wicked witch, Germany represents Sleeping Beauty and...of all people...Adolf Hitler, as Prince Charming. In the twisted and hilarious short, sleeping beauty is an overweight Germanic opera singer and Hitler is shown as a skimpy, snorting wannabe, who struggles trying to get the fat woman up onto his horse. We then cut back to the main story. Hans is now 7 years old and is apart of the Hitler Youth. At one point, he becomes sick and his mother is unable to tender and cuddle him because the state strictly forbids making future soldiers weak and emotional. After Hans gets better, he returns to class to which the subject is 'weaker species'. The teacher, a 'Brown-shirt' Nazi, draws a little cartoon on the chalkboard about a little cottontail Rabbit who runs away from a hungry Fox. It doesn't take a genius to know that the Rabbit represents "Jews" and the Fox is an "Aryan Race". Hans, not understanding the point, feels sorry for the rabbit. The teacher throws a fit and punishes Hans for disobdience. Hans' anger becomes rabid and feels pure hatred towards the rabbit. Immediately following is a series of shots, involving Hans with a Nazi book burning rally, the destruction of a Catholic church (smart move, knowing that if it was a Synagog, this film would never had seen the light of day) finally ending with the Hitler Youth, "Marching and Heiling, Marching and Heiling!". The youth then transform into teenagers, marching and heiling. Eventually, Hans becomes a full grown up SS Stormtrooper, in which he is ready for battle. The eerie final shot in the film shows the troops marching off in the distance, but then they all fade into tombstones, marking from miles and miles. "And now his Education is complete. His Education for Death"This is a shocking and disturbing film that I recommend showing in History classrooms, in a form of the history of propangada or wartime efforts for victory. To an interresting extent, the entire cartoon (I don't like calling it that, because it's much more than a cartoon) is entirely spoken in German, with the exception of the Narrator. It's kind of sad in the end, but true none the less. Of course, the basic point of the film is not very acurate: The Third Reich ruled Germany for only 12 years (1933-1945), so little Hans would only be 12, or 11, by the time the rule ended. But again, the film was made DURING THE WAR! Also, in the regestration scene, the parents show identification showing that their ancestors were "pure Aryan", whatever that means. Still I recommend it. I wish Disney would stop being so uptight and just release the classic film they had during and after the war, instead of fearing protest for racial or offensive content. It is, after all, history in animation.