The Show Must Go On: 'Mephisto' (1981)

This episode of the Fascism on Film Podcast centers on István Szabó’s "Mephisto" (1981), a haunting study of artistic compromise under fascism. Loosely based on the life of actor Gustaf Gründgens, the film follows Hendrik Höfgen, a talented but insecure stage actor in Nazi Germany, who ascends to national fame after aligning himself with the regime. Höfgen does not believe in fascist ideology—he considers himself apolitical, a man of the theater. But through a series of seemingly small decisions, he trades principle for opportunity until he becomes a mouthpiece for totalitarianism.

The episode explores how fascism recruits artists and intellectuals, not only to serve its ideology but to sanctify it with prestige and style. We examine the roles of ambition, vanity, self-deception, and silence in the making of complicity. The question is not just why people betray others—but why they betray themselves.

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