It was at the end of January that the German weekly Die Zeit published its disclosure which showed that the founder of Berlinale was an active Nazi. That Alfred Bauer worked for the Nazi film institutes during the 1940s must have been known before, but the new evidence shows that his connections to Nazism were even stronger than previously thought.

Member of SA

According to Die Zeit, Bauer was a member of the Nazi Party and also in the paramilitary sub-organization Sturmabteilung, SA. During World War II, he must also have worked in the propaganda agency that Josef Goebbels started to control the film industry.

Alfred Bauer founded the Berlin Film Festival and was its first festival general in 1951 - 1976. He passed away in 1986 and in 1987 an award was instituted in his honor. The silver bear in Alfred Bauer's name went to someone who "opens new perspectives on film art", and has been awarded, among others, Baz Luhrman's Romeo + Juliet and Joshua Marston's Maria full of grace.

Sets the price

Berlinale has now chosen to set the price with immediate effect and has also sent a letter to former prize winners. The letter states, according to American Deadline, that they were surprised by the disclosure and that Bauer was more involved in Nazi politics than previously known. It is also emphasized that, despite bearing the name of Alfred Bauer, there has never been any connection between the significance of the prize and Bauer as a person.

The Berlin Film Festival takes place from February 20 to March 1.