When Nazi Germany Made Westerns

When Nazi Germany Made Westerns: The Films Nobody Talks About
Performers and Politicians
 Jun 2, 2026  #thirdreich #NaziGermany #WW2
In 1936, German cinema audiences sat in darkened theatres watching wagon trains roll across the American frontier — because Nazi Germany made westerns. Joseph Goebbels understood that German audiences still craved Hollywood-style adventure, and rather than suppress the genre, he decided to compete with it. The result was one of the strangest corners of nazi cinema: frontier epics, gold rush adventures, and cowboy-style films inspired by Karl May's novels and powered by Germany's biggest box-office star, Hans Albers. From The Kaiser of California — shot on location in Arizona and the Grand Canyon — to Sergeant Barry and Water for Kanatoga, these are the films nobody remembers. And the story behind them reveals how even the most tightly controlled propaganda system in history couldn't fully control what audiences truly loved.

Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:10 Goebbels vs Hollywood
2:20 Karl May and the German West
3:47 The Kaiser of California (1936)
5:58 Sergeant Barry (1938)
7:15 Water for Kanatoga (1939)
8:54 Gold in New Frisco (1939)
10:05 What These Films Revealed