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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.
In interviews with Ray Muller, Leni Riefenstahl maintained that she believed Hitler and the Nazi party 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 ==
