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Perhaps the most blatant example of Riefenstahl’s preferred ignorance presented itself during the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. Riefenstahl went to the front as a war correspondent and was horrified at the atrocities being committed on civilians by German soldiers. A still photo in Muller’s documentary confirms her repulsion at what she was witnessing. Without delay she removed herself from her front line position. In the documentary, filmed fifty-four years after the Polish invasion, she claims to have left the front line due to the horrific violence and atrocities she was witnessing. It is just as likely that she distanced herself from the fighting as way of maintaining her ignorance. Riefenstahl was an apathetic woman who was primarily concerned with her career and artistry. Remaining blind to what was unfolding before her eyes was a means by which to retain plausible deniability. For, if she had been truly aghast by what was transpiring, she may not have filmed Hitler’s victory parade through Warsaw one month hence. It can be further argued that had Riefenstahl not chosen ignorance, she might not have sent Adolph Hitler a telegram congratulating him after the German army successfully invaded France and seized Paris.
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In interviews with Ray Muller, Leni Riefenstahl maintained that she believed Hitler and the National Socialist Party conveyed a message of peace. She claimed to have sent Hitler the congratulatory telegram under the pretense that she thought the conquering of Paris meant that the war was over. The telegram captured feelings of awe and adoration and Riefenstahl admitted that Hitler had indeed “stirred feelings” in her. She claimed to have believed the Reich’s message was one of peace yet ''Triumph of the Will'' contained uniformed soldiers in most frames. There was a militaristic theme throughout conveyed through the use of salutes, parades, and flags. In defending her telegram to Hitler, she did not denounce the invasion of another country or express any sympathy for French civilians. By remaining silent, she was giving her tacit approval for Germany to be a conquering nation. She was in awe of Hitler and continued to view him as her country’s savior, as is evident by the way she filmed him in ''Triumph of the Will.''
==== Triumph and Beyond ====
[[File:germantriumph.jpg|thumbnail|300px|left|German movie/propaganda poster for ''Triumph of the Will'', 1935.]]
In the 1935 award winning National Socialist propaganda film, ''Triumph of the Will,'' Riefenstahl exposes the viewer to her magnificent talent as a film maker. She was unquestionably a pioneer and innovator with regards to cinematography and a genius in her application of lighting technique. From the very first appearance of Hitler in the film, as he emerges from the sky to the blaring tones of Wagner, Riefenstahl casts him in a glowing light reminiscent of a deity. During his speeches, she films him from below so he appears as a tall and imposing figure. All flags and soldiers are perfectly aligned and the soldiers’ eyes remain in the shadows of their helmets to signify blind obedience. The scenes from the Nuremberg Rally are magnificent in scope and purposefully depict the National Socialist Party's ideology as a civic religion. In fact, she films Hitler walking down the center aisle of the massive gathering with a man at each side. The trio stops at the altar of the Unknown Soldier, conjuring an image of the Holy Trinity, thus intentionally equating Hitler to Jesus Christ. She filmed segments of the event from above to show the mass of people and flags as being united with one being indistinguishable from the next. All of these images are based on fascist ideologies. The film was funded by the Nazi party National Socialist Party and Leni Riefenstahl helped choreograph and stage the event.
The most atrocious and blatant example of Leni Riefenstahl’s self-obsession was her use of Gypsies when she began filming ''Tiefland'' in 1940. Under Hitler’s regime, Gypsies were rounded up and forced into camps on what American’s would call reservations. Riefenstahl needed extras for several scenes in her movie and made use of the Gypsies. They were forced to work without pay and once filming was complete, they were sent to Auschwitz. Muller showed written documentation of this in his documentary but Riefenstahl denied knowing the Gypsies were from camps or what was to be their fate. In all probability she never saw the names of the people or witnessed the horrors of Auschwitz; however, that does not mean she was unaware of what did and did not exist.
