Raza / Race /Blutzeugen

Film plot synpsis:

Raza (Race) follows the lives of four Spanish children—Isabel, Jose, Jaime, and Pedro-who are torn apart by the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Republic is proclaimed in 1931. Heroic Jose and his brother Jaime, who has become a priest, support the Falangist fascists, as do Isabel and her officer husband, while Pedro betrays his family's traditional ideals and becomes a republican politician. When the Spanish Civil War erupts in 1936, Jose is captured by the republicans and sentenced to death. His beloved, Marisol, asks his brother, Pedro, now one of the republic's leading authorities, to save Jose. Pedro refuses. Jose is shot and left for dead but survives. Jaime the priest is executed by republican militiamen. Pedro realizes that he has been fighting on the wrong side and begins working as a fascist fifth columnist but is caught. The fascists win the civil war and stage a victory parade in Madrid, where the surviving siblings celebrate Franco's victory.

From the IHF (International Historical Films) website:

One of the most curious Spanish films ever made is Raza (Race, 1942), a fictionalized account of four siblings whose lives are transformed by the Spanish Civil War (1936-1940). What at first seems little more than a highly entertaining, morale-affirming propaganda picture celebrating the victory of Generalissimo Francisco Franco's fascist forces over the doomed Spanish Republic is in fact a clever attempt to shape collective memory through the medium of cinema. Spain, allegorically depicted as a family torn apart by war, eventually triumphs as the result of an enlightened patriot's heroic acts. This was Franco's vision of the civil war as he wished it to be remembered.

The film was financed by the government, which spent an astonishing 1,650,000 pesetas; its script was written by Franco himself under a pseudonym (Jaime de Andrade); and it was directed by Jose Luis Saenz de Heredia, whose cousin, Primo de Rivera, founded the Falange, the Spanish fascist party soon led by Franco. Raza is celebrated for its gorgeous lighting, lustrous cinematography, and fast-paced montage sequences. Especially memorable is the scene of the priests executed at water's edge by moonlight, as their footprints fade in the moist sand. Archival footage is frequently intercut with newly shot material, most notably during Franco's victory parade in Madrid.

The picture was premiered in Madrid on 5 January 1942, but in 1950 Franco suddenly withdrew it and destroyed almost all copies of the film, releasing in its place a revised version that reflected Cold War needs. The Caudillo (leader) had come to power with assistance from Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, toppled a democratically elected republic, and established a military dictatorship that lasted until his death in 1975. Raza was the official version of how the Franco dictatorship came to be. It is seen here in its original form.

Written by Jaime de Andrade (Francisco Franco). Directed by J. L. Saenz de Heredia. Starring Alfredo Mayo, Ana Mariscal, Jose Nieto, Blanca de Silos. Spain, 1942, B&W, 101 mins.

The zone-free DVD  with English subtitles can be ordered form IHF here.

The German poster for the Third Reich cinema release  was printed in 1943 after censorship from the Propaganda Ministry. Our is an extremely rare original of the poster, and we are unaware of any other in existence.

Blutzeugen literally translates as "blood witness"  but a better English translation is "Martyrs." Martyrs to the glory of Spain under Francesco Franco.

We also own the cinema owner's guide (der Werberatschlag) for the film, as well as 2 rare German lobby cards and 9 Spanish press photos for the film. We show the 2 German lobby cards below, followed by our marvelous poster.