Page "Leni Riefenstahl" Paragraph 21

Olympia was very successful in Germany after it premiered for Hitler ’ s 49th birthday in 1938, and its international debut led Riefenstahl to embark on an American publicity tour in an attempt to secure commercial release.

In 1937, Riefenstahl told a reporter for the Detroit News: " To me, Hitler is the greatest man who ever lived.

He truly is without fault, so simple and at the same time possessed of masculine strength ".

She arrived in New York City in November 1938, five days before Kristallnacht, or ' night of broken glass '; when news of the event reached the U. S., Riefenstahl maintained that Hitler was innocent.

On 18 November, she was received by Henry Ford in Detroit and Olympia was shown at " The Chicago Engineers Club " two days later.

Avery Brundage stated that it was " The greatest Olympic film ever made " and Riefenstahl left for Hollywood, where she was received by the German Consul Georg Gyssling, on 24 November.

She negotiated with Louis B. Mayer and on 8 December, Walt Disney brought her on a three-hour tour showing her the on-going production of Fantasia.